A festive season bean swap.

UNM

I am pretty sure everyone has more or less received their beans, which is good and nothing got lost in the mail. I have now tested the second batch of beans AM sent me (KKTO roasted I believe). Nowhere near as dark as the first batch, nice even roast and just a couple of oil spots developing as it ages. First shot was far too fast - grinder set same as batch 1. I did taste it, but down the sink it went.  Second shot still fast pour, but getting there. Far less of the roast flavours that bag 1 had.  The crema on both roasts is really nice - a deep reddish brown, buttery and smooth. I'm enjoying this one. I also tried bag one cold processed - very pleasant too, better than as espresso. AM - fyi, that milk I bought in specially really doesn't work well. :-X

borat123

Just tried Muscle's Blend '2', and I have to say he's done an excellent job  :thumb: Only a faint aroma from the bag; a bit stronger & something quite pleasant wafting up out of the doser but I couldn't put a name to it.  The aroma reminded me a bit of the strawberries & cream from some Haiti Grand Cru I had a while back. Slightly lighter medium roast, no oil.  One of the beans slightly lighter than the others. I could be wrong, but possibly a bit of robusta in there.  I didn't pick robusta by taste, just be looking at the shape of some of the beans in the blend. Last night as a long mac, it was smooth, sweet, well balanced, almost what I would describe as a 'delicate' flavour. The wife liked it too. This morning as a ristretto, again it was smooth, balanced, light body.  I'm not normally a straight espresso drinker but I think this blend is well suited for it.  A little bit chocolaty, possibly a hint of some type of nut in there. I would be hard pressed to pick the beans.  With milk, at first I thought maybe a bit of harrar for the sweetness but I didn't pick up any fruits or berries...  No earthiness or 'funk' / winey - I don't think they're indo / java, and to me they don't scream out as anything Ethiopian or otherwise African that I could point a finger at. Somewhere South American  perhaps?

Muscles

Woohoo - feedback! The 500gm is 60/40 Colombian Supremo/Ethiopian Harrar, roasted separately and blended post... The 180gm is a Costa Rican blend 55/45 Finca La Candelilla Geisha/Herbazu Estate, blended pre-roast... I almost wasn't going to share the CR blend but thought, hey, it's nearly Christmas 

mycuppa

SS (Nicole) Pack #2. Firstly, thank you again - I can see there has been considerable effort put into preparing these packs. Opened it the other day to transfer into a better container until I had time to properly evaluate. After studying the beans, I can honestly say they are expertly roasted from a visual perspective. The color is superb and very even with only a couple of quakers evident. They look like Ethiopian or some larger peaberry like a Kenyan - quite a large screen size and relatively consistent. I initially thought there might have been a small amount of something else in this coffee as there were a couple of "standard" looking beans. dry aroma - very mild general aromatics, need to get close to take in dominant notes of lemon and sandlewood grind - needed to go much finer than expected to extract correctly espresso - good crema production, mid-level body. Initial tastes of espresso a little sharp on the palate (higher acidity) but develops nicely as it sits and cools. with milk - immediate hit on front of mouth with a very strong woody and grapefruit extraction. This is quite a juicy coffee and there are some mild notes of bitterness but they contrast well into the lemon/grapefruit flavor. The more I sipped this coffee, the more I liked it - somehow the grapefruit was teasing my tongue and driving a desire for the sweet lemon finish. It's an interesting combination - not sweet, but somewhat addictive. A very different coffee. The Little One did'nt like it so much as she prefers sweet, berry-ish coffees whilst this had a very interesting sourness from the grapefruit and lemon. Preferred it as a cold espresso and perhaps if I had the time, to make a filter or cold press this would be a great coffee. I enjoyed it as something very different to what I'm used to drinking. Tips/Recommendations:- There is a mid-palette flat point in this coffee. After the initial sharp hit, it drops considerably midway before climbing back up. It's where the woody notes can over power and dominate. For alternative brew methods this might be neutralized, separated and even celebrated but in espresso it is amplified and has a tendency to mute out the delightful lemon, spice and grapefruit as they "hide in the woods". Without seeing the roast profile, there could be a couple of reasons for this. The roast may have slowed or stalled at some point or the reverse being the roast could have progressed too quickly and insufficient sugars develop. Great job Nic and I thoroughly enjoyed sampling both coffees with my preference for the unique character of #2.

RichardM

So after a long rest due to my machine being down (see other thread), the Colombian that KK sent me has settled down a lot. It's still very fresh, but now it's getting a rich, caramel coloured crema, and a nice acid/bitter balance that just sits beautifully in milk as a picollo. Mmmmmm. Guests are using it all on me though :'(

shape_shifter

Wow thanks so much Jeff for all the feedback, it was the reason I was freaking out and the reason I loved getting you for my swap partner, I knew I would get something that would help me assess where I needed to go from here. You guessed right, bean 2 is the Kenya Kagongo Peaberry, also from CS.  I love this bean and one thing I noticed you did that I do to is let it cool slightly, it certainly does help the flavour. I've included the basic roasting profile I'm using at present, I'm preheating to 90 degrees which becomes stable at 3 minutes.  There is a slight stall at the 6/7 minute mark and also at the 12/13 minutes mark. First crack happens at approximately 11:48 minutes and second crack approximately 16 minutes. The end changes slightly depending on how I feel the bean is going, whether I let it go on further from second crack than 30 seconds, rolling or until I hear a lot of cracking.

mycuppa

Thanks Nicole - I suspected it was a Kenyan due to acidity, screen size and the soft, puffy structure that required fine grinder adjustments. Here are a few suggestions (and I would not know how to roast on a popper if my life depended upon it). Perhaps run a steeper ramp from the turning point (when the bean has dried out and is starting to gain thermal momentum)  up to say 165 - 170, then back off the heat and let the bean coast along a little without it getting away from you. You will experience some acceleration as it approaches FC. What you are looking for here is to try and reach FC maybe say 60 or 90 seconds earlier than in your graph. As you may have stalled a little when the beans transitioned from exothermic to endothermic at the end of FC, you need to anticipate this mark a bit earlier, hit the heat harder so that the beans run through the transition period without stalling. I call it "blasting". This is perhaps the most delicate of zones to negotiate as too much heat will result in the bean racing to SC without adequate roast development and limited sugars. As it runs through this transition period be very careful to back off the heat so that the roast can develop and you manage the rate of degrees C rise in a linear manner. Don't be overly concerned about timing marks - they are good guidelines but more importantly you need to analyze the roast curve carefully. Keep thermal momentum moving, don't let it stall and keep the focus on where the majority of the roast develops between FC and SC. Kenyans can be interesting to roast - they take a fair bit to get going but once they do it's vital to keep control as they can run on very easily. Hope that helps. Jeff.

shape_shifter

Jeff thank you so much for all of that information and assessment, it helps immensely.  OH and I have been talking about making UCR Mark 2   I asked him to hold off until I knew what needed fixing in my roasting.  What you've said means that we can go ahead and it's more about what I do with the heat, fan and temps than the actual UCR itself Yah new roaster time, with more accuracy on the cpu side of things.

mycuppa

No probs Nic. Here is an example of what I might use as a starting point for profile. The other thought I had was to bring your roast back a little in overall time (I know I said don't be governed by timing marks) as I believe your small batches and hot air roasting method over such a long period only increase the risk of stalling as you control the roast. Maybe try for a 14 min 30 sec end point. Most importantly, cup the results and keep records of what changes impact the end result. Good Luck.

Koffee_Kosmo

My assessment number # 2 after a few more days post roast As noted in my original post My Brisbane based swap member roasted 2 single origins + 1 surprise blend Even after a period of time its remained a beautiful and even roast, that you would think it was shop bought Roasted on 27th Nov 2011 - the single origins were 1) Venezuela San Cristobal  2) Rwanda Tumuhay-impindu washed process As in my first assessment My wife assisted me in the sampling so there is no bias She is my canary in the mine Assessment Venezuela San Cristobal Previous assessment is quoted as a ready reference

As espresso I found this bean to have a fermented citrus taste Tasted better as it cooled With Milk eg flat white/cappuccino I found this bean to have an even flavour but could not pick one over the other However all flavors combined in this SO seemed overpowering to the pallet with a general smoky metallic taste with an unsweetened cocoa aftertaste My wife also commented that it tastes dry to the mouth and less creamy Will try again with more degas or blended

After a few more days degas this bean has settled and has lost up to 90% of its metallic taste however the crema has taken that very characteristic, it has been tamed with time to be a pleasant bean It has now developed a mono chocolate flavour with a little smoky aftertaste The wife is still not to fussed with it as a single origin and still noted that it has a dryer mouth feel than she is used to but when I did a 50/50 mix with the other bean she liked it better Assessment Rwanda Tumuhay-impindu Previous assessment is quoted as a ready reference

As espresso A combination berry/citrus flavour was observed Tasted better with a little added water Quite pleasant to my pallet but may be strong for others With Milk eg flat white/cappuccino This SO is very pleasant It has a wetter creamier feel in the the mouth as opposed to the Venezuelan that felt dry It has an even but mild chocolate taste with a creamy feel Wife commented almost the same as myself, saying that this coffee has a creamier mouth-feel with an even flavour but no flavour punches through Less and a milder aftertaste than the Venezuelan

Whoa This bean has gotten a lot better with age (at least by a few days  ;D) Everything I wrote above with the raw edges taken off My lovely wife said, the faint chocolate taste is great with the silky mouth feel KK

Ronin

Glad they improved for you KK That Rwanda Tumuhay-impindu was a nice bean I was given by Jean Paul Sutton of Veneziano Brisbane. Had enough for 2 roasts only, and you nearly didn't get it  . The Venezuela San Cristobal seems to have a dry finish and I've tried to use it in a shiraz blend but didn't work so well. I liked it but would probably not purchase it again. The Surprise blend is something the guys at work like, but not necessarily for me. did some research on beans you liked in the past and decided on this one. Interested on your thoughts on this one too when you can.

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1323675088:

Glad they improved for you KK That Rwanda Tumuhay-impindu was a nice bean I was given by Jean Paul Sutton of Veneziano Brisbane. Had enough for 2 roasts only, and you nearly didn't get it  . The Venezuela San Cristobal seems to have a dry finish and I've tried to use it in a shiraz blend but didn't work so well. I liked it but would probably not purchase it again. The Surprise blend is something the guys at work like, but not necessarily for me. did some research on beans you liked in the past and decided on this one. Interested on your thoughts on this one too when you can.

I would be happy to post the review of the Surprise Blend right now This blend is cacao/chocolate all over Cuts through milk effortlessly and is all back tongue sensation of flavour Has a long lingering bitter/sweet cacao after-taste for approx 15 min I suggest to have this coffee with a sip of cold water near by From my many blend recollections I will take a guess at the mix Its reminiscent of a Mocha Java blend  so I will give my gut feeling the benefit of the doubt and go with North African mixed with Indonesian or a PNG bean  My wife simply said yummy and delicious - and you cant get a better review than that This bean swap concept is a wonderful platform for home roasters with a passion to have there roasts assessed by there peers Hope to do another again in the near future KK

Ronin

Thanks KK Ethiopian Gemballa Sun-dried 100g Sumatran Mandeling 100g Indian MM 50g Its the MM in it for me that's the killer as I'm not a fan. I have had a few say they like the blend though, and remember reading that you enjoy it also.

Ronin

on 1323689837:

This bean swap concept is a wonderful platform for home roasters with a passion to have there roasts assessed by there peers Hope to do another again in the near future

I'd like to echo these comments and thank UNM for organizing the bean swap. It's a fantastic idea which seems to have been very successful. Kudos to you UNM, Thanks very much  :thumb:

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1323757923:

Thanks KK Ethiopian Gemballa Sun-dried 100g Sumatran Mandeling 100g Indian MM 50g Its the MM in it for me that's the killer as I'm not a fan. I have had a few say they like the blend though, and remember reading that you enjoy it also.

How close was I with the blend Got to give my taste buds a present & have another  COFFEE :thumb: KK