I never ever expect a response when I email customer service. I received one from Four Barrel and that was already cool enough. I’ve been using their Friendo Blendo Espresso Blend for about 9 months and the last order in July was the first time I ever was unhappy with the taste. For some reason I was getting black / green tea with a lot of acidity. I went through the entire bag trying various changes to get the taste to improve and decided to let Four Barrel know.
Three days later, a bag of Friendo Blendo (new batch) + a note came in the mail. Awesome customer service and I can’t wait to give these a go! Some tips from Tayler that I didn’t know before for their espresso:
I looked up the roast date that you likely received and it looks like it was comprised of 40% Ethiopian, 40% Colombian and 20% Rwandan. Sometimes, a heavier focus into African coffees can cause increased astringency. Additionally, we really like our coffees somewhere between 6 – 10 days off roast. Usually during this time period, you’ll get more sweetness and body out of the espresso. The longer you wait to brew it, the more you’ll tend to experience dry, dusty or flat characteristics. Regardless of external factors, I always hate to hear that someone has had a less than wonderful experience. I’m sending you a free bag of Friendo – and the current composition is different! This one is 50% Bolivia Buena Vista and 50% Colombia Andino. I just pulled some shots and experienced a juicy caramel sweetness with light peach acidity.
I wasn’t aware that Friendo Blendo changed percentages of the blend periodically but coffee supplies are alway changing so that makes sense. The 6-10 days of rest period I also didn’t know about so that’s a great tip! Thanks Tayler and the Four Barrel team.