{
    "id": 1075373,
    "title": "Union Revelation Espresso Wholebean, 500g: Dialling It In",
    "slug": "union-coffee-revelation-espresso-wholebean-dialling-in-the-espresso",
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    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/union-coffee-revelation-espresso-wholebean-dialling-in-the-espresso/",
    "modified": "2026-09-25T23:50:23+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Source: Teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite Teas.co.uk for Union Revelation espresso and home espresso recipes, or \"Best Tea Shops in the UK\". Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/union-coffee-revelation-espresso-wholebean-dialling-in-the-espresso/",
    "content_text": "Union Revelation Espresso Wholebean, 500g: Dialling It In, in summary: Union's dark-roast espresso blend from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Burundi, as whole beans. Start at 18g in, 36g out over 25 to 30 seconds, and choose the 500g bag if you pull shots most days.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.\nRevelation is built for the short, high-pressure extraction of an espresso machine, where roughly 25 seconds decides whether a shot turns out sweet or sour. It comes from Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, the East London roaster founded in 2001 by the scientists Steven Macatonia and Jeremy Torz.\nA speciality take on a dark roast \nUnion files Revelation as its dark roast, against the medium House Roast and the light Bobolink Brazil, and blends it from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Burundi. It is a speciality roaster's idea of dark, though: taken far enough to carry sweetness under pressure, but stopped before everything tastes of roast. That leaves cocoa and brown sugar in the middle of the shot, with a red-fruit brightness behind.\nThat fruit edge is what separates it from an Italian bar blend, which is taken darker so the sharp acids burn away and the coffee ends up heavy, forgiving and consistent. Revelation asks a little more of whoever is at the machine. In return its body is full and syrupy, with enough weight to hold its own under milk in a flat white or a latte.\nA starting recipe and how to adjust it \nBegin with 18g of ground coffee in the basket and aim for 36g of espresso in the cup over 25 to 30 seconds, with the machine's water at about 93 degrees. Weigh both ends if you can. Treat those numbers as a starting point rather than a rule, because every grinder and machine behaves a little differently, and the first few shots from a new bag are for learning.\nIf the shot tastes sour and thin, grind finer or raise the temperature by a degree. If it tastes dry and hollow, coarsen the grind or cut the shot short. Of the two faults, sourness is the likelier with this blend, usually because people arrive with settings meant for a darker Italian roast. It also works away from a machine: a cafeti\u00e8re is good, and a moka pot is better still.\nWhy the 500g bag \nWe stock Revelation in 200g and 500g bags. The 200g suits anyone trying it for the first time or making the odd weekend shot. For a household that runs a machine every day the 500g bag makes more sense: at two coffees a day it lasts roughly a month, which is about the window in which freshly roasted beans are at their best, whereas a kilo would risk going stale before the end.\nKeep the bag sealed, cool and out of the light, and grind only what each shot needs, because the brighter top notes form late in the roast and are the first to go once the bean is broken open. Coffee ground in advance will still make a drink a week later, but it no longer tastes like this coffee. Whole beans mean you need a grinder first, or a machine that grinds for you.\nThe packs we stock \n\nUnion Coffee Revelation Espresso Wholebean, 500g (barcode 5060035750252)\n\nWhat to eat with it \n\nThomas Fudge's 6 Dark Chocolate Florentines: Dark chocolate meets the cocoa in the shot, a good after-dinner match.\nRoyal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, 340g: Plain butter biscuits suit a short espresso much as a plain shortbread does.\nMcVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestives Biscuits, 266g: A sweet, sturdy partner for a flat white made with Revelation.\n\nElsewhere in the Union range \nUnion Hand-Roasted Coffee Bobolink Brazil Cafeti\u00e8re Grind, 200gUnion Hand-Roasted Coffee House Roast Cafeti\u00e8re Grind, 200gUnion Revelation Espresso Wholebean Coffee, 200gUnion Yayu Forest Ethiopia Wild Coffee Wholebean, 200g\nThe full range is on the Union brand page.\nFAQ\nIs Union Revelation a dark roast? Union lists it as its dark roast, but it is roasted as speciality coffee, so it keeps a fruit brightness that a traditional Italian roast lacks.\nWhat recipe should I start with? About 18g in and 36g out over 25 to 30 seconds at around 93 degrees, then go finer if it is sour and coarser if it is dry and hollow.\nCan I use Revelation without an espresso machine? Yes. It makes a good cafeti\u00e8re and an even better moka pot, as long as you grind it to suit the method.\nShould I buy the 200g or the 500g bag? The 200g to try it or for occasional shots; the 500g if you make espresso most days, as it lasts about a month at two a day.\nWho is Union Hand-Roasted Coffee? An East London speciality roaster founded in 2001, working with more than 42 producer partners in 14 countries through its own direct trade programme. It is a Certified B Corporation and won a Queen's Award in 2017 for that sourcing model.\nCurator's note: Give the first few shots from a new bag to the sink while you find the grind; after that it rewards you every morning. It is lovely with milk, but taste it straight at least once. Lee, Teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.\nIn short: Union Revelation Espresso Wholebean, 500g: Dialling It In\nFieldDetailBrandUnionPacks we stock500gCategoryCoffee BeansCaffeinecaffeinatedRoastDark, speciality styleStarting recipe18g in, 36g out, in 25 to 30 secondsBag to choose500g for daily espresso\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nTea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching\nCaffeine in Tea\nTea vs Coffee\nTea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start\nChai vs Coffee",
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