London coffee bean reviews, Part 1.

This is the first part of my reviews of the coffee beans which I bought in London.  First up is the Caravan Coffee, Market Blend.

http://caravanonexmouth.co.uk/roastery/coffees/caravan-espresso

The packaging was the first thing that I noticed about these beans.  It is a little bit plain, being simply a white bag with some information about the coffee on it.  It did not have a one-way air filter, or a sealed top, which was a little worrying at first, meaning air or moisture could get into the beans.  (As soon as I got home, I put it straight into an air tight container!)

Packaging for Caravan Market Blend

However, the nice touch of the packaging was including the origin, tasting notes and roasting date.  The roasting date was the day before the purchase date, which is something that isn't seen extremely often.

When opened, the beans have a smooth, fresh aroma.  It isn't an extremely intense aroma, but what is there is very pleasant.  You can pick out the cocoa aroma which they say about on their website, and it suggests the smooth body.  The roast seemed quite light at first, around 2/5 to me, and seemed quite an even roast.  As it is ground, it smells very fresh and a little more fruity.

I have made a few flat whites and latte's with this blend, as well as an espresso.  The espresso tasted quite nice, but could only taste the citrus, lemon flavours which were pleasant.  The milk based drinks tasted extremely mellow, which are nice for an afternoon coffee.  You could taste slight apple citrus and almond flavours, but were not extremely intense.  

I would rate this coffee 4/5, simply because I could not pick out enough flavours.  However, it is very fresh and amazing for an afternoon coffee.  However, I am going to leave it to rest for a few days or so, and will review it again if that makes any difference to the flavours.

Department of Coffee and Social Affairs Stargazer blend

http://departmentofcoffee.com/product/stargazer-espresso/

At First, the packaging looks a little bit plain, being  brown bag with a label on.  However, on closer inspection it gives a small story of the coffee, comparing it to the stars and galaxies. (I am studying astrophysics, and I love how they relate coffee to astrophysics - galactic complexity and a celestial bandwidth of flavour.)  This is pretty clever! It also describes the flavours, and also compares it to Christmas Cake.  It seems to have had a lot of thought put into the descriptions and information, which is a very nice touch.  It includes the mill and exact origin of the beans, as well as the picking date (around a year ago), process type and roasting date.  It does also have a one way air filter, with a foil inside which keeps the beans fresh.  

Stargazer Packaging.

As it is opened, it has a more intense and fresh aroma, with hints of nuts, a little cocoa and quite a bold, earthy body.  It was roasted around 10 days before it was opened, which has given it a little time to rest and bring the flavours out.  

The roast and body seems reasonably full, and the roast was also medium to high.  It is roasted extremely evenly with a lovely colour.  As it is ground, it has a great aroma, a little fruity and nutty.

The espresso had a reasonably dark crema on, and you can taste a berry and fruity flavour, with a little almond.  It goes great with milk, giving a creamy and smooth flavour, with the same flavours.  There is also a gorgeous after-taste, which tastes of caramel.  The flavours are very well mixed, and go well together.  I will rate these beans 4.5/5.

These are both great beans, very freshly roasted and I will review the rest soon!