Re: African & other...

RichardM

on 1305278662:

I was really a huge fan of African beans but of recent times I have been finding a love for centrals, if you haven't yet give them a go.

KK and others may have heard me for  some time now say that the results from the African beans, for some reason, do not appeal to me...

But I respect that to another , they could be the best.

I've tried several costa rica, nicaragua, brazil beans, and they all just seem flat to me. Maybe it's my roaster (Behmor) that isn't giving as much of a good result with them?? African's are just wonderful to me.

beanflying

on 1305279803:

I've tried several costa rica, nicaragua, brazil beans, and they all just seem flat to me. Maybe it's my roaster (Behmor) that isn't giving as much of a good result with them?? African's are just wonderful to me.

Me too but I suspect it was partly down to the greens I had and maybe roasting technique. Still love the Africans but Centrals are well worth chasing the good ones. If your doing Suuweet then hit him up and see what else is laying around, a recent Columbian was fantastic.

on 1305278662:

In a couple of weeks, a Mad Neural networking / Mad professor and I will be trying to take  KualityMan (I now call Nitro Man) to Morten island so that he gets a chance to enjoy the cool morning and the chilly nights from teh comfort of a 4X4 while we freeze items of our bodies; that are no longer used, wading out into the fresh swell and cold southerlies. ...

Np problem at all AM I make a little sparless foil that is easy just to leave onboard the truck. Even thinking about a trip to Morten as we suffer in the grips of this Southerly Icy stuff sounds warm at the minute. Look forward to the pics too 

Lou

Thanks beanflying, that was very generous of you and a bit of fun.

on 1305279803:

on 1305278662:

I was really a huge fan of African beans but of recent times I have been finding a love for centrals, if you haven't yet give them a go.

KK and others may have heard me for  some time now say that the results from the African beans, for some reason, do not appeal to me... But I respect that to another , they could be the best.

I've tried several costa rica, nicaragua, brazil beans, and they all just seem flat to me. Maybe it's my roaster (Behmor) that isn't giving as much of a good result with them?? African's are just wonderful to me.

I know what you mean, but from the opposite side as I can

Koffee_Kosmo

I dont seem to have any problems roasting African beans that taste good in the cup From my personal roasting experience I find that they benefit with a longer roast KK

Lou

Thanks KK.  I think I've got some Ethiopian Yirg so I'll try a longer roast next time.

beanflying

Kite is gone on it's way to the North. Will do it again sometime just for a bit of fun.  Interesting on Africans I had been drinking an Ethiopian Harrar from a commercial roaster which was fairly ordinary in the cup being kind to it compared to some recent roasts from other roasters of the same nominal origin, one I had recently was huge in berry flavours that lingered for hours. Also finished off today some Yirg today roasted the week before Easter, lost some of the punch but still far better than the Harrar for overall flavour and balance. Where am I going with this not all Yirgs are yirgs etc, year, batch and actual origin (not an area of the country), and believe about 1/2 of what you may read coming from the roaster or green bean supplier but if it tastes good to you do it again.

RichardM

on 1305620291:

Kite is gone on it's way to the North. Will do it again sometime just for a bit of fun.  Interesting on Africans I had been drinking an Ethiopian Harrar from a commercial roaster which was fairly ordinary in the cup being kind to it compared to some recent roasts from other roasters of the same nominal origin, one I had recently was huge in berry flavours that lingered for hours. Also finished off today some Yirg today roasted the week before Easter, lost some of the punch but still far better than the Harrar for overall flavour and balance. Where am I going with this not all Yirgs are yirgs etc, year, batch and actual origin (not an area of the country), and believe about 1/2 of what you may read coming from the roaster or green bean supplier but if it tastes good to you do it again.

For reference, despite my love of Africans, the only Harrar I've had is one that I also find lifeless.

mycuppa

on 1305279803:

on 1305278662:

I was really a huge fan of African beans but of recent times I have been finding a love for centrals, if you haven't yet give them a go.

KK and others may have heard me for  some time now say that the results from the African beans, for some reason, do not appeal to me... But I respect that to another , they could be the best.

I've tried several costa rica, nicaragua, brazil beans, and they all just seem flat to me. Maybe it's my roaster (Behmor) that isn't giving as much of a good result with them?? African's are just wonderful to me.

Africans offer a broader diversity in both varietal, preparation and approaches that can be taken by the roaster. This can result in wide variations (good and bad) and it's the reason most commercial roasters use smaller proportions of Africans in blends. They are added to supercharge or intensify a blend and a rule of thumb is up to 20%. It really can be difficult to get 100% consistency with Africans, particularly dry processed, yet a quality washed African can be delightfully easy to roast and deliver a consistently outstanding cup. Even once you find a good African, it can be a completely different story on the next crop. Centrals, in general, offer a cleaner cup and can therefore be more suitable for the various types of roasting equipment. Their density (hardness) can also help cope a little better with the occasional fast temp. ramps sometimes evident in non-commercial roasting equipment.

RichardM

on 1305875121:

Africans offer a broader diversity in both varietal, preparation and approaches that can be taken by the roaster. This can result in wide variations (good and bad) and it's the reason most commercial roasters use smaller proportions of Africans in blends. They are added to supercharge or intensify a blend and a rule of thumb is up to 20%. It really can be difficult to get 100% consistency with Africans, particularly dry processed, yet a quality washed African can be delightfully easy to roast and deliver a consistently outstanding cup. Even once you find a good African, it can be a completely different story on the next crop. Centrals, in general, offer a cleaner cup and can therefore be more suitable for the various types of roasting equipment. Their density (hardness) can also help cope a little better with the occasional fast temp. ramps sometimes evident in non-commercial roasting equipment.

Which brings me to the burning question: any more of that bolivian coming in this year that I could buy some green ones of?

mycuppa

Oh yes RM - we have the Bolivian (bit over half a pallet left I think).....an impressive bean........just give me a day or two notice if you need some roasted or send me an email and I'm sure I can spare a little bit of green.

RichardM

on 1305883643:

Oh yes RM - we have the Bolivian (bit over half a pallet left I think).....an impressive bean........just give me a day or two notice if you need some roasted or send me an email and I'm sure I can spare a little bit of green.

Email sent