After reading so many intriguing posts about this coffee, I broke down and ordered a pound of ISH/Napoleon Estate direct from the ISH Coffee company. It arrived after a month in transit, I roasted a batch last Thursday, and with great anticipation, brewed it on Saturday. Well, what can I say...serves me right for now waiting for SM to carry it. In spite of my careful roasting (a few snaps into 2nd crack), I would describe the coffee's flavor as something between Maxwell House and sawdust. I mean, truly bad, much MUCH worse than SM's Ugh! coffee: the dry aroma was, how shall I put this, lightly "stale" (this from a fresh roasted coffee rested 72 hours), the wet aroma was rubber, and the taste...I've never quite tasted this before (maybe I would have called it "nasty"), but I suppose it is what one would call "baggy". Moreover, the body was thin and flavor, well, hard to say, but certainly unpleasant. Wow. I feel had in a big way. (Should I even bother e-mailing the ISH company about it?) I mean, I may not be a Master Roaster, but I have had consistently fantastic results with greens purchased from SM, so I find it hard to believe that I screwed up this batch. This coffee was horrendous, but I have learned my lesson: No more buying non-SM greens! (And to think I could have had 5lbs. of Kora for what this one lb of ISH cost!) |
Aaron, I am sorry for your bad experience. As one who has really pushed ISH on this list, I feel a bit responsible. However, you make a great point. We do pay Tom to separate out the GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY. (sometimes the ugly tastes good) Tom is very ethical. Check out the following statement about the Jaramillo, (Tom's note: the coffee was auctioned reached $21 per lb, and will need to offer it at about $25 or $26 per Lb. to cover costs and our modest margin.) He is selling it for $24.80! A small price to pay for a coffee that none of us could have enjoyed without a broker (Tom). He also cupped it to make sure, and he packs and ships for us at a very modest mark up. At the PNWG 2 Tom told me about a bag of ISH that was junk! Tom also takes a risk for us. That all said, many on the list don't realize how good we really have it now. When I first started homeroasting 20 years ago, I could get good beans from one place. Most roasters would dump their old beans on us homer oasters if you could get them to sell to you at all! I was happy with 3-5 coffees in the stash. I would panic now if the stash got that low. I have more than 5 Brazilians in the stash right now! So, I am with you Aaron, I don't buy direct anymore. If Tom gets some ISH I hope you give the good stuff a try. However, with some of the great Centrals, the Aussie, the super PNGs and the Kenyas and the new Rwanda, ISH just doesn't seem so important anymore. Les "AARON W. SEESKIN" wrote: After reading so many intriguing posts about this coffee, I broke down and ordered a pound of ISH/Napoleon Estate direct from the ISH Coffee company. It arrived after a month in transit, I roasted a batch last Thursday, and with great anticipation, brewed it on Saturday. Well, what can I say...serves me right for now waiting for SM to carry it. In spite of my careful roasting (a few snaps into 2nd crack), I would describe the coffee's flavor as something between Maxwell House and sawdust. I mean, truly bad, much MUCH worse than SM's Ugh! coffee: the dry aroma was, how shall I put this, lightly "stale" (this from a fresh roasted coffee rested 72 hours), the wet aroma was rubber, and the taste...I've never quite tasted this before (maybe I would have called it "nasty"), but I suppose it is what one would call "baggy". Moreover, the body was thin and flavor, well, hard to say, but certainly unpleasant. Wow. I feel had in a big way. (Should I even bother e-mailing the ISH company about it?) I mean, I may not be a Master Roaster, but I have had consistently fantastic results with greens purchased from SM, so I find it hard to believe that I screwed up this batch. This coffee was horrendous, but I have learned my lesson: No more buying non-SM greens! (And to think I could have had 5lbs. of Kora for what this one lb of ISH cost!) |
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. Les, thanks for your post. I suppose my $40 down the drain is a small price to pay for the valuable lesson. I figured that at such a high price, the ISH people would make sure they sent out quality beans. Of course, I had already learned this lesson at the other end of the spectrum, that when you buy cheap beans you get what you pay for. It really is remarkable how many steps - careful preparation, shipping, cupping, roasting, brewing - it takes to get a fantastic cup of coffee in your mug. By the way, I also noticed SM's ridiculously low markup on the Jaramillo. What WAS he thinking? : ) Aaron P.S. If Tom vouches for a lot of ISH in the future I will, of course, have no choice but to partake. I am powerless to resist! |
Or in other words; Life is too short for bad coffee. With a limit of 3- 4 double a day I'm going to rely on Tom to get use the best / aka most interesting beans available. Lesley Albjerg wrote: <Snip> |
Tom has so many good coffees to offer that I've never ventured into = ordering direct, though I have considered some Kona direct but haven't = ordered any yet. I find that as the only coffee drinker in my house it = is a challenge for me to even get to all of those coffees that Tom has! Dave Lowe |
By the way Aaron, I would contact David Henry. When I had a bad experience, he was more than generous in his response. Les Ben Treichel wrote: Or in other words; Life is too short for bad coffee. With a limit of 3- 4 double a day I'm going to rely on Tom to get use the best / aka most interesting beans available. Lesley Albjerg wrote: <Snip> |
<Snip> From the green's appearance, can you determine old crop, bad storage, or (I hate to think this) some other bean? Always complain if you are not satisfied. <Snip> No freshly roasted coffee should taste as you describe. However, one bad bean can ruin an entire brew. Did the roasted beans and grounds smell normal? I believe the rubber smell is characteristic of robusta, can you identify the beans as such from the shape and the split? Do not overlook the fact that you *can* make a mistake in roasting. For example, my latest roast of African Highlands decaf smelled and tasted like a wet brown paper bag. I had apparently stopped it too light. A reroast fixed that problem. -- |
Aaron, Tom makes his money by volume! His mark up is low on all his coffee. He is one of those rare honest people! Les "AARON W. SEESKIN" wrote: Les, thanks for your post. I suppose my $40 down the drain is a small price to pay for the valuable lesson. I figured that at such a high price, the ISH people would make sure they sent out quality beans. Of course, I had already learned this lesson at the other end of the spectrum, that when you buy cheap beans you get what you pay for. It really is remarkable how many steps - careful preparation, shipping, cupping, roasting, brewing - it takes to get a fantastic cup of coffee in your mug. By the way, I also noticed SM's ridiculously low markup on the Jaramillo. What WAS he thinking? : ) Aaron P.S. If Tom vouches for a lot of ISH in the future I will, of course, have no choice but to partake. I am powerless to resist! |