Favorite Single Origin Coffee Beans

Hi,
I want to know what you favorite single origin coffee beans are. My favorite are African beans from Kenya and Ethiopia. I love the fruity taste that those beans give especially the Kenya AA which is my variety for pour over and espresso. I use to think that the chocolate favors you get from the Peruvian and Mexican beans where great for espresso, and they are, but I’m now one hundred percent in favor of the African beans.

Again, let me know what your favorite single origin is and why.
 

709espresso

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The best I've had has been Brazilian (Santos, Daterra Farms Sweet Collection) Indonesian (Sumatran Mandheling) and Indian (Monsooned Malabar). I like dark, bold but mellow, earthy tones, and if there's some tobacco in there, all the better. I'm not a big fan of acidic coffees or light roasts. I always use an espresso machine.

Currently just finishing off my stash of the Monsooned Malabar, and have some Costa Rican Tarrazu (medium roast) on the way to try something different.

Interestingly, my tastes have changed significantly since getting into fresher beans and really preparing my espresso with care. Before that, I would have told you that my preference is for medium roast Kenyan or Columbian, but neither have really interested me since. I tried Columbian Supremo, which was very meh to me, and Kenyan AA was definitely better, but lacking the thick body and complexity, compared to the dark roasts I'm enjoying. For me those dark roasts seem to have more (as in quantity of...) distinct notes. That said, its probably just the way my palette interprets them, or it could have been because both the Kenyan and Columbian seemed to be difficult to dial in. I tried Guatamalan Antigua as a light roast, and it was very interesting, and almost refreshing, but wasn't what I'd call coffee. I drank half the bag and have put the rest away for a rainy day. I did enjoy it, but couldn't drink it as my sole coffee for a whole week.

I like to try a lot of different beans, and I keep a journal of the settings I settle on for each bean so that if I re-order, I have a good starting point for weight and grind.
 

shadow745

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Aug 15, 2005
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Over the years I've found most SOs to be boring/one-dimensional, especially for espresso, which is all I focus on. Whether it was coffee I bought years ago already roasted or any green SOs I roasted myself just was never impressed until somewhat recently. My favorite green seller has had several lots of a particular natural process Brazil and I push it to a full city range and the end result is outstanding. The heavy body and rich/deep notes have made it one of my absolute favorite coffees I've ever had. Other than that particular SO everything else I roast is blends as it's how I roll.
 

wstsider

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May 24, 2019
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I’m am African guy and love Ethiopians. The Guatemalan I got from @musicphan was outrageously delicious! I tend to stick with what I like but try out from different roasters because each roaster has a different roasting method and pull on the bean. But I’ll try any coffee just about once to say I’ve had it.
 

Fishreeler

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Feb 9, 2020
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My colleague and his wife traveled to Bali around the last year. For fun, he brought from there as a souvenir a small 200-gram package of local coffee, which he bought there very inexpensively ... Damn! I want to have regular deliveries !!
 

shadow745

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Aug 15, 2005
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Central North Carolina
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My colleague and his wife traveled to Bali around the last year. For fun, he brought from there as a souvenir a small 200-gram package of local coffee, which he bought there very inexpensively ... Damn! I want to have regular deliveries !!

I just received 5# of this https://www.sweetmarias.com/bali-wet-hulled-bangli-kintamani.html and have started experimenting with roasting/dialing it in for espresso. Taste so far has been quite good and the texture is outrageously heavy, which I like. No weak/thin espresso belongs in our home.
 

Musicphan

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May 11, 2014
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