Attending my first London Coffee Festival on Saturday. Flying solo.
I’m struggling to work out - even having looked at the materials provided - what exactly a non-industry coffee nerd should spend their time doing.
Just wandering around taking it all in? Are there roasters there brewing coffees to try? New gadgets on display?
Any tips as to how to maximise my four hours in there would be very welcome.
My buying window has come around. I have half a bag left, and one bag fully rested waiting for me, so now is when I’d usually get another couple of bags in stock.
However, I’ll be attending LCF in two weeks’ time - my first time at LCF - and would prefer to buy there if possible. Obviously they’d need to be rested though to be usable straight away.
Are there typically 3/4 week rested beans available at LCF?
I have a washed Kenyan from Taith (UK) with box notes which suggest high acidity and tart fruitiness. I’m just tasting classic Kenya - syrupy dark berry, some umami, and a nice spicy/cola/tomato leaf finish.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely coffee. But I don’t feel that I’m getting anywhere close to the notes. I’m not suggesting I want it to punch me with specifically lime rather than lemon, but some zippy fruit notes would be nice. I’m reaching the end of the bag, but if I could get a couple of different cups out I’d be very happy.
Grinder: C40 Mk4 (variously between 18 and 25 clicks as I tried to dial in)
Water: Distilled + TWW Light Roast @ 1 : 2.5 (1 sachet into 5L)
Brewer: Have tried Origami and V60, both with Cafec Abaca papers.
Ratio: Roaster suggested fine grind (17-20 clicks) and a 1:20 ratio, so tried this first. When this resolutely came out syrupy despite other changes, I went to 1:18 and then to 1:15 because I’m more familiar with this range for dialling in.
Method: 3x bloom for 30 seconds, 3x again for another 30, then slow central pour to max volume (low agitation).
As you can see above, I’ve played around where I can, but the result has always been the same flavour profile. When I go coarse and lower agitation, I get a more tea like version of blackcurrant and tomato leaf. The opposite gives me Ribena syrup and sticky cola. All of which is great fun! But nothing like lime and raspberry.
I know I’m being picky - I’m getting reasonable and perhaps expected results given the origin. But am relatively new to this hobby and want to know whether I’m missing something.
Thanks!