Gypsy Boy wrote:I just bought a bag of of beans yesterday from Big Shoulders, a local roaster. The package is simply labelled "Uganda" (no farm or estate is named at all which I imagine suggests some kind of blend) and a dark roast (!) (I'm used to light roasts for single-origin beans). Just had it and am quite underwhelmed. It's "fine" but has little character at all; it's remarkably meh. I searched here and found almost nothing. Do others have any experience of these folks?
FWIW, although I have tried beans from a variety of roasters around the country off and on over the years (and even found some I liked enough to return a few times), my go-to since the 1980s has been Intelligentsia.
Personally, not a fan of Big Shoulders, maybe unfairly, because it’s the kiosk nearest to my typical gate at Midway and the coffee drinks are consistently abysmal.
But seems like there were plenty of clues that this wasn’t going to be to your taste (lack of designation, dark roast, etc.).
We tend to stick with roasters we know and branch out in trying different options they offer. We also will buy bags of beans from places we discover traveling whose coffee we like at the shop. But we seek out beans with descriptions for the type of coffee we like (not too floral, no cherry-flavor, no dark roast; chocolate/caramel/baking spices/stone fruit all good) so that we minimize the risk.
"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad." Miles Kington