Coffee Log

EXTRACTION SETTINGS

• Equipment: Gaggia Classic Pro E24, DF54 Grinder
• Grind setting: 9.0
• Dose in/yield out: 17.5g in / 17 to 20g out
• Extraction time: 16 seconds (ristretto attempt)
• Other notes: 18g IMS precision basket, 1.0mm puck screen, frozen beans.

I heard many glowing reviews about Monmouth Coffee and after visiting one branch in the Summer of 2025 to sit in and enjoy a coffee and pastry (Finca Las Alasitas from Bolivia), I decided to buy some beans to enjoy at home.

To be honest, the Finca El Guatalón was quite disappointing and I don’t think it’s down to the quality of the bean but moreso with how it’s been handled after processing. When you enter a branch of Monmouth, the beans are sitting in big jute sacks, open tops and exposed to the world. Honestly, it’s lovely to look at and the company gets to show off their wide range of roasted products. It adds to the vibe of the space but, vibes aside, it is clear that this negatively impacts the beans freshness. It shortens the time you get to enjoy it at home. Something I didn’t really think about until I bought some.

As this was on the darker roasted side, my goal was to extract a ristretto espresso (a 1:1 ratio within 15 to 20 seconds) but due to the delicacy of my Gaggia Classic Pro and it’s associated modifications (the Super Steam Wand from Shades of Coffee), I found that such fine grinds threw the mod out twice in the space of a week. I needed to manually reset it when I tried extracting a ristretto from my coffee ground as fine as 8.0 on my DF54.

However, when I managed to land at my final parameters, I did extract an intensely sweet stoned fruit heavy ristretto-like espresso. Laden with subtle hints of cocoa. It ended up being an okay coffee that lacked punch because the flavour fell flat. I generally preferred this latte a little longer with about 250ml of milk.

Rating: 🤎🤎 (2 / 5) Balanced and clear.

FLAVOUR PROFILE

– Flavour: Dark cocoa, prunes, salty and stoned fruit – Acidity: Rounded, fruity, sparkling – Body: Creamy – Finish: Jammy, lingering

A BIT ABOUT THE PRODUCERS

After some difficult years due to an exceptionally dry season, reduced flowering and as a result – heavy pruning which reduced new growth; Finca El Guatalón have produced a small amount of coffee for their customers including Monmouth Coffee Company in 2026. They focused on a recovery process including prioritising their most productive areas, setting up irrigation systems and shade canopy’s to support growth in the dryer months. Lucky for them, the high commodity market has come at an excellent time. Meaning that this family farm has had a good year. The reduced yield has been balanced out with more income from higher valued coffee. I’m hoping this will help these excellent growers recover from the last difficult years. 🙏🏾

More information can be found from the roaster, @MonmouthCoffee.

Until our next bag,

– Anita, Your Grind Guide