Hi everyone, we hope you're enjoying the coffee again this month.

Due to the challenging logistics with getting the Fresh Black Coffee to us this month we were unable to get hold of a final production sample before the monthly booklet went to print... so here is our dialling in guide for it.

First things first - ROAST DATE. This coffee was roasted for us on 9th August '22.

Fresh Black Coffee (Kyiv / Lviv, Ukraine) Ethiopia Washed

The final production roast of this coffee is slightly more developed than the original sample we were working to, but don't let that fool you - it only just falls outside of what we would consider a 'Medium' grind profile and into the finer end of what we consider a 'Coarse' grind profile.  With this profile, we found the coffee has a bigger body and a taste profile that shifts away from more Floral into an intriguing Herby-ness.

On Espresso, we went with a grind size of EK2.3 (Coarse... just) and kept the standard 1:2 (18g in - 36g out) recipe. For those going with a straight espresso, at the settings above you will find the citrus acidity comes out before the herby back-end kicks in at the end.  For those going with the milky drink option, you will find this coffee cuts through nicely.

We found on Filter that a grind size of EK 4.3 on our grinder gave the best results.  Again, this equates to 'Coarse(... just)' on our grind size chart.  So when dialling this coffee in at home, aim for a coarser than normal grind.  While this coffee does work on pour-over, we found the extra body meant we preferred it on AeroPress or indeed French Press, where again the citrus and herby notes comes through more.

Finally, we think this is a coffee that works better the fresher it is - so maybe a candidate for the first coffee of the month,