Binge's House BlendI received Binge's House Blend beans approximately 8 days ago. I say this only to point out that I did not brew the beans as quickly as I should have. I don't think waiting a week made the beans go stale, but they are not as fresh as they were when I first received them. Thankfully, Binge put them in a vacuum sealed bag, so I think there was a good bit of leeway in taking a week to sample them. Thank you Binge!
Typically, I make coffee in a Chemex, so to keep everything as consistent as possible to what I'm used to, I brewed Binge's beans in the same manner -- same grind, same tools, etc.
The BrewThere wasn't much of a bloom with my first pour. I blame this more on my delay in brewing, than with the beans themselves. I also found the brew to be a bid muddy which tells me I should have followed Binge's advice and gone a little coarser with my grind. Given the brew time, I was in the ballpark so I don't think any large adjustment was required.
AromaSmokey, which I like a lot, and carmelized sugar.
TasteVery earthy overall. I tasted a good bit of dark chocolate and Guinness with hints of clove and star anise. If this were a beer, I'd call it a stout.
ConclusionI enjoyed these beans very much. It's a very hearty blend for people who enjoy a really good, dark, strong cup of coffee. It was a departure from what I've grown accustomed to these days, but they definitely took me back to the days when this was my norm. It was a delicious trip down memory lane.
Should I receive any samples in the future, I'll break up the batch into two brews so that I can overcome any difference I run into with the first brew.
Thank you Binge for kicking this Coffee Exchange off and for including me with your first samples. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing this again soon. Also, thank you for including the two key caps, that was definitely unexpected!