What coffee am I drinking at the moment?

Lwowiak

7 days post roast. El Salvador El Roble Black Honey process. A new bean, and my first roast. Taken to the cusp of second crack. This is a chocolate bomb, with balanced acidity and very nice mouthfeel. Next few roasts will be lighter, as this would be as dark as I would recommend this bean, and I want more fruit flavours to shine. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Hafursa. This coffee smells amazing. Butterscotch aromas and flavours throughout. Further resting will bring out the fruity notes. Easy to roast and a very sweet espresso. My first "Hafursa" coffee, and it is great. A 50/50 blend of the two has yielded a delicious chocolate honeycomb flavour that lingers in a milk drink. Amazing aftertaste.

Simon

Ohhhhh *drools*... that sounds like such a ripper combo mate...

Brett H

Hi mate, I may need some of both of those beans... Stat PM me when you're passing my way again.... I owe you a coffee or three missing you last time!!

LeroyC

I’ve finally found a Sumatran that I like!! This is a very nice coffee from the Kokowagayo co-op. They’re essentially an NGO that are doing some great work in their part of Aceh with their collection of small holder members. They’ve already got a handful of certifications (including all the main ones), but more importantly are on the ground working to empower their female members as well as deliver whole heap of social development initiatives. Above all that the coffee is actually good!! Hallelujah! I’ve never found an Indonesian coffee that I really like. I’ve had moderate success with an FTO from Timor, but nothing else. Even the couple of washed Sulawesis I’ve tried have been average. But this one I like. It’s still wet hulled so does have some of the spicy sort of characteristics you’d expect from this processing method. What it does have though is a pleasant acidity and a decent amount of sweetness. I’ve actually mostly been enjoying it through the Aeropress, but as I just bought a V60 set up I thought I’d better give it a whirl. I roughly followed the Rao method, but I prefer a brew ratio of 1:12 for all my filter coffees. This came out very nice indeed.

Simon

Ah sounds awesome Leroy! I've never found an Indonesian coffee that worked well in filter, only espresso, although i may need to expand my scope of them. That sounds yum! I couldn't seem to get consistently great results with Scott Rao's method, but I actually thought it was my particular roast that I maybe took too dark, but I might try that brew ratio actually.. It's the only variable I didn't alter and play with..

askthecoffeeguy

strange to think that not that long ago 7g was the norm - no wonder the Italians beefed it up with robusta, otherwise you wouldn't taste anything! p

on 1506901925:

Was down to the last dregs of beans (9g or so), and thought, "Hmmmm.... could just brew this up filter style as usual... orrr I could whip out the ol single filter basket and single spout!" So... I did haha. Gave it a crack, and I was pleasantly surprised! About 8 grams in, yielded 19.5 grams out in 19s. A little fast so will go bit finer next time if the occasion arises hehe, but I WDT'd it, nutated it, really tried to get it packed in properly in the very strange single shot basket. Was quite nice! (Drank as an espresso) There was little to no body haha, was very light, had an almost tea-like texture, amazing aroma, nice sweetness, chocolatey. Not in your face at all. Am definitely gonna try this sort of thing more often (yeah... this sort of activity is bordering on insanity right.. look out!), and I think it's healthy to not get too bogged down in sticking with the usual routine/drink and to experiment a bit with curiosity and fun. It's good for me anyways haha

Simon

Hehe yes true! It seems like such a low dose to use... But interesting, I've known a few people who swear by single baskets and that the single shots they've been pulling have far outranked any doubles

Simon

I received some beans as a gift from someone who was in Vanuatu recently, they've got a roastery/cafe there that's a bit of a tourist destination. Very thoughtful gift as she knew I loved coffee hehe. Wasn't sure how these would go as I don't know when they were roasted (it does have a best before date on the back :s... so I'd imagine they may be a bit older). But always love trying new coffees regardless, so I just pulled the first double espresso, piccolo latte, and 1/2 strength cap for my girlfriend with the Vanuatu bean, quite nice actually! Nice fruity/citrus notes, smooth, choc (which comes out great in milk), nutty with a lingering sweet aftertaste. The aftertaste was initially a bit strange and umm 'old', but the sweetness really carries through and helps to balance/mute that out really nicely. I was pleasantly surprised! I can tell they have a bit of age in them, but nevertheless I'll keep playing with them. Good times!

Simon

Iced long black with the Tanna coffee beans... haven't had one of these in yonks!

Simon

Hmmm... is that a doppio espresso? Naahhhh... Aeropress! Ethiopia Sidamo Ardi Natural pushed through an Aeropress using some recipes I have that mimic and come close to espresso flavour. This roast wasn't great but it turned out alright!

K_Bean_Coffee

I over-roasted a little last week and just hit rolled into second crack... and really enjoyed the change. That's what I love about coffee. So many flavours and every coffee and even every roast is unique Cheers and enjoy your weekend brews. Paul K Bean - Coffee Machines Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Simon

YEAH ain't that true.. and yeah I'm often surprised by roasts that I thought were a total mess haha, you brew it in different ways and you can get some really interesting stuff out of them. And those sorts of roasts also promote a real curiosity like "hmm.. what can I squeeze out of this.....", and you find yourself exploring and playing with brew methods that you never even thought of before! Look at us outlaws right hehe! Yes, that latte I'll have after work will be cherished... cheers [emoji106]

Simon

While waiting for my Yirg beans to rest I roasted up a cheeky 114g of Ethiopia Sidamo Ardi Natural for filter, and I'd never really gotten the hang of consistent filter roasts.. for some reason I'd always ended them after first crack was finished, I must have heard that somewhere and unconsciously just kept believing that had to be the way haha. So I decided to drop the roast about 20s into rolling FC and see how it comes out. Well......... Brewed it up with a V60, Scott Rao method. This roast is probably as early/light as I had ever dropped it before, and wwwwwwowza what a massive difference, it's absolutely delicious.... an absolute 'gamechanger' (tehehe) ending the roast earlier.. the flavours are just BURSTING... And it's only about 2 and a half days post roast :D. Filter roasts arrrrre BACK in the game!

K_Bean_Coffee

I picked up some Yirg Grade A and it is out of this world. Even the green beans smell amazing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Simon

on 1512517793:

I picked up some Yirg Grade A and it is out of this world. Even the green beans smell amazing Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Ah sounds awesome.. YES with my Yirg beans I was super surprised with the smell of the greens! I'd never had greens that smelled like that haha, just exquisite... do you have a particular approach with roasting Yirgs Paul? I tried some recently in which it was a more aggressive faster ramp up in temp at the start, and they were beautiful but not out of this world.. I know some approach Yirgs much slower and gentler at the start..

Koffee_Kosmo

@simon Learning from various roasting profile techniques in the past I now roast all dry African beans on a slow ramp to first crack (12 to 14 min)  and a quicker time to second crack (3 to 4 min ) KK

Simon

on 1512526232:

@simon Learning from various roasting profile techniques in the past I now roast all dry African beans on a slow ramp to first crack (12 to 14 min)  and a quicker time to second crack (3 to 4 min ) KK

Ah that's interesting.. just I thought because it's a high grown dense bean so thought a faster roast would penetrate the bean and roast more evenly, and bring out flavours better... Obviously it depends i guess, and perhaps natural/dry process beans would affect approach and effect too (which I'm not yet well versed in..) I'll keep that in mind, thanks KK

Simon

Currently enjoying this roast of Colombia Red Bourbon Honey Las Margaritas La Esperanza (honey processed) in a long black. Wowza! Even the first dial in espresso even though it was a tad fast was really quite nice. Slowed it down for the long black. Tasting notes that came with it are: Sweet red cherry and raspberry upfront. Inky mouthfeel, rich chocolate and cream notes throughout. High lemon acidity going into a walnut and toffee finish. Roasted to slightly different depths, the first 300g batch I went through was stopped 30s after end of FC, was really nice but something was missing, and also couldn't get consistent shots.. But this second batch, yuummmm... roasted to about 1m after end of FC, massive difference.. just BURSTING with flavour, so incredibly juicy, and the aftertaste is unreal, almost has a freshness or even mintiness to it! Can totally get the cherry and raspberry in this lot...

Lwowiak

Looks great Simon. I was wondering what to roast today, you made the decision for me.

Simon

on 1517964677:

Looks great Simon. I was wondering what to roast today, you made the decision for me.

YES, I should have mentioned they were from you mate, these beans are incredible... sooo nice.. it's the first time roasting these, the first batch was maybe a little too light, but I was experimenting with different depths, this one was spot on... thanks for the awesome beans Stan

Simon

And now been trying out the darker roast (1m 30s post-FC) of the same bean, feel it doesn't really suit this bean, its alot nicer a bit lighter. It's okay, but a tad on the harsh side no matter how I pull it really, but I tended to enjoy it more with a lower brew ratio, so tried a double ristretto today (23g in, 24g out in 34s), really thick and goopy pour, incredible body! Super chocolatey, but still a bit of harshness, will up to maybe 1:1.5 ratio or so

Simon

Wow, this is a stunner of a coffee... Double espresso of Sumatra Lake Tawar, courtesy of @mycuppa. Just wanted to give massive props, such a delicious bean... Love the slight spiciness in aftertaste, and I would go so far as to say it has a wild herbal aftertaste (I don't know what that means exactly... but that's what I get!). Highly recommended, scores 93+ in cupping scores. Thanks Jeff! [emoji106]

JohnA

currently enjoying from mycuppa, the centre way blend. Enjoying it as a ristretto or a ristretto latte. 19g in 19g out 93.6 deg 28 seconds very nice

Simon

on 1535527104:

currently enjoying from mycuppa, the centre way blend. Enjoying it as a ristretto or a ristretto latte. 19g in 19g out 93.6 deg 28 seconds very nice

Ah yum I haven't tried that one yet... only been trying the single origins every now and then

JohnA

on 1535534350:

Ah yum I haven't tried that one yet... only been trying the single origins every now and then

I have tried most of their blends now and will start on the single origins next. They have a great range and all well priced

Simon

on 1535534766:

I have tried most of their blends now and will start on the single origins next. They have a great range and all well priced

Ah nice, yeah for sure some crackers in there...

JohnA

double ristretto latte i am enjoying right at this moment, again using the centre way blend from mycuppa

Brett H

Wow... Loving this thread.  Lots of great information and pictures here.  I'm stuck in the dark-ages with my roasts compared to you guys who are stopping in the vicinity of first crack. I've always associated that with cupping and lighter roasts but there are some terrific espresso pics here. Thanks for broadening my horizons!! P.s John, LOVE that picture!!!

Simon

on 1535673855:

Wow... Loving this thread.  Lots of great information and pictures here.  I'm stuck in the dark-ages with my roasts compared to you guys who are stopping in the vicinity of first crack. I've always associated that with cupping and lighter roasts but there are some terrific espresso pics here. Thanks for broadening my horizons!! P.s John, LOVE that picture!!!

Yep for sure Brett, it's nice seeing how others pull shots and what they enjoy, definitely helps broaden the horizons and try new things. I love lighter roasts in espresso (by lighter I mean medium hehe), there's so much more flavour to explore I reckon, but obviously really depends on the particular bean. And yep, beautiful rosetta too John

JohnA

Trying a blend from one of our local roasters here in Preston Melbourne Double espresso, and it is very smooth indeed as the name suggests