They are quality beans, I've tried only the Brazil, Colombia and Mexico single origin, all medium roasted, paired with milk

oh you're referring to the brewing pressure gauge... we found the best is actually at the dark brown area (right before the red), this is where you get the "mouse tail" extraction.. this is usually a grinder issue.. assuming you're not using stale coffee beans.

the wpm machine ought to come with this below (open the back metal door).. and it says for group head cleaning disc..


if you don't have this, it's gonna be odd..

starbucks is too cliche (we did get a bag from it once before.. long time ago )..
underwhelming... hhmmnn.. i'm guessing you're looking for some robusta in the mix?

there're 2 groups of coffee beans that you may come across... single origins and blends
depends on your taste/palate.. in general, blends may have stronger taste as opposed to single origin. this arise from adding(not all occasion) robusta beans into the blend, hence the "kick"..

mister coffee has good offerings on blends.. the cheaper blends do have mixture of robusta in it.. if you can take the additional caffeine, why not?

if you can consider a 1kg bag purchase... there're some choices for your consideration;
1. lavazza's gold selection (the best we tried on lavazza)
2. coffex coffee's primo quattro (blends consist of 4 types of beans, hence quattro)

over time, your taste/palate may change... moving from blends to single-origin (or vice versa)... or from darker roast to a lighter roast.. enjoy the taste

I see - i somewhat prefer their dark roast.

did they get your specifics correct? i read some of their comments which states the roasts are uneven and some bean even have "holes" on them and needed to be discarded

got it from starbucks because it's convenient for me and it is safe (?).

underwhelming in the sense that the extraction does not end up with what I was expected - perhaps i was expecting too much or maybe the coffee beans have been sitting on the shelves for far too long.

i have been buying their Caffe Verona beans because I really like that chocolate-y taste that the espresso gives out but i feel like these beans are not at their full potential (or something like that, if you get what i mean )

I want to seek a new source for my coffee beans purchase but not sure from who or where =(

If you are in PJ area, can try cloud catcher, they allow you to sample their beans on hand before you buy.

Just wondering, what do you mean by Starbucks beans are 'safe'?

I used to buy collective bold 1kg rm129. But i already subscribed beanshipper for half year during 11.11 promotion period. Every month will receive 500g bean. 😂

This post has been edited by luvox: Jan 16 2020, 10:31 PM

i've seen people complaining about improper roasted beans, poor quality beans etc when they source it from individual suppliers and most of them are relatively more expensive than you can find in starbucks.

my term "safe" here is that, how bad can starbucks be and if they really do turn out bad, it's a one-off purchase and I lose only RM30.00 (still something i can afford to waste)

how's the coffee beans so far? are they, OK?

I am planning to get a Nuova Simonelli Oscar 2.

What is the review around the corner? It's about RM4,000 for that machine, apparently I'm using breville bcg820 smart grinder for my filter coffee which I'll be using that for my espresso too temporarily.

Is it worth to buy one for home use? As I like to test out different coffee and able to do my own latte art

I see. IMHO, improperly roasted beans e.g. uneven roasting is something that is a definite no-no. However, as you mentioned beans with 'holes' in them, I think that is still pretty acceptable as long as very little in number. Hand sorting, which will have a high probability of eliminating such beans, is time-consuming and labour-intensive, so not all producers and/or roasters will be willing to do that. If they do, the extra effort will of course be reflected in a much more expensive retail price. Besides, when I was just starting out I also bought beans from Coffee Bean & Starbucks. Mostly because they were cheap, and also because I didn't know any better. But...I found that they were more often than not roasted too dark as to completely eliminate all of the subtle tastes and nuances that we all strive for in the coffee beans itself. Plus, I found a fair share of beans with 'holes' and also cracked beans inside those bags of coffee from CBTL & Starbucks. So...I wouldn't categorically say that beans from CBTL & Starbucks are 'safe', either.

Have you noticed that those bags of roasted coffee at CBTL & Starbucks have expiry dates? Who knows when they were roasted. Thus, there is a high chance that they have indeed been sitting on the shelf too long. Good specialty coffee roasted by a reputable roaster will have a roast date imprinted on the packaging, not an expiry date.

TL:DR: try any beans from beanshipper.com or Reframe Coffee Roasters (webshop, also an active member here on this thread) or arkib.kl (on Instagram). Prices are higher than Starbucks but you're paying for quality, skill and knowledge...things that don't come cheap by themselves. Your coffee brewing & drinking experience will most likely improve as a result.

Of course, this is just my dua sen. YMMV. Hope this helps.

i m using oscar 2. and i like it.... average around 2-3cups a day.

i find tht the steam wand is a little too powerful for me 😅 is just about 4-5 seconds to froth, tad too fast for amateur like me; and, it controls the expresso output by time and not by volume.

beside these two... it works great!

Nice, I'm usually controls my the flow by looking at the color changes and measuring the espresso at the same time.

Powerful steam is a BIG PLUS point. haha

You're using it at home?

yep at home.

Ahh... fresh insight. I always thought that Starbucks would mess up less since they would have a more properly controlled roasting procedure as compared to sole-props.

I'll probably try a pack from the recommended suppliers and see how it fair (once i've run down my current supply, of course).

Speaking of which, just to survey. How much gram do you guys consume in a week - just needed a point to benchmark whether i'm consuming "normal" amounts.

Lol I actually have it at location you mentioned.

by the way, instead of beanshipper try this new company out there call perkcoffee. Similar business as beanshipper but more customizable depending on your wants.

here's a RM25 if you register my referral LINK

they have subscription base coffee or 1 off purchase. Waiting my first 2 pack of coffee arrive tomorrow

Just got the timemore ice dripper and dripped my first icedrip coffee ytd
Took 4-5 hours, 30g beans 210g water 150g ice.
Taste the fruitiness and sweetness of my beans without any sign of bitterness.


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Nice to have support from the forum all these years. Thanks guys

Besides the expectations of better quality, the deal about supporting the small guys is it's usually self run by the roaster themselves or the boss at least - the person behind the concept and flavor of the coffee you are drinking.
So if you get a bag from us, you're not just taking a bag and go home to figure it out yourself. You get to contact me to ask me about brew recipes, what you should expect and even feedback directly to the roaster man himself. We love it when customers come back and engage with us on this topic that we are so passionate about.

We're minus the packaging and adverts and branding and all that. We are more interested in putting our craft and our proud creations out there than anything else. The close relationship matters the most, at least for me