Sunday Musings - Coffee roasting

[plexiprs]

Today is a roasting day and I'm camped in the rudimentary "man-cave" aka the garage with the Behmor, a Castello Aristicata, some AJ's VaPer, and several pounds to be roasted.

Coffee Roasting Points

- A Shop-Vac or equivalent is most important for keeping the Behmor clean.

- Keeping a log of previous roast is most helpful. Having them in a spreadsheet and the laptop here in the "man-cave" is allowing consistent, foolproof roasts from batch to batch.

- I currently favor roasting 12oz batches on the one pound setting. Great range into 2nd crack .....




Life is good!


What are you up to?

[golfermd]

Amen BOTL. I home roast as well. It's really makes a difference when you control all aspects of the process (beans, roasting level, rest time, etc...). I am recovering from a divorce so all I can afford is a Fresh Roast for my roaster. My online bean source is Sweet Marias. Tom has the best beans!

[plexiprs]

Some additional points from using about the Behmor .....

- Windex Wipes (in the Yellow Pack) do a G R E A T job cleaning out after the roasting session. Gets smoke residue, oily buildup, and when followed with a simple water wipe down, no aroma or residue.

5 pounds roasted, two pipes completed!!! Woo hooo!!

[Mister Moo]

One and a half pounds (one load) of Ariche 27 thru the MooB'Q Saturday morning. (Jeepers - this coffee is spectacular even the next morning.)

Getting a shopvac was key to keeping the bottom of the grill free of chaff and spilled beans; no more fires and acrid black smoke mid-roast. Love the shopvac for cleaning the grill, cooling the beans and blowing off the porch when the deed is done.

[plexiprs]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

One and a half pounds (one load) of Ariche 27 .....

And that is??

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by plexiprs

And that is??

Norman at UncleBeanz called it "Speechless". Mrs. Moo concurred (couldn't get a word out); I was about at a loss. Freshly roasted/ground a powerful aroma of blueberries rises. Blueberry is there in the cup, profoundly. The body is perfect and the undertones are rich. I'm not making this up. Aricha micro lot (1/10 of a mini-lot) 27 is the best coffee I ever tasted with a perfect (one in twenty) Kona being a near 2nd. I take it to a minute or so past the finish of first crack, ramping the temp down to the end. The color can be a little irregular and the skins hold tight so the beans get extra post-cool agitation and tumbling in a coarse strainer.

Roastmasters.com sez:




Aricha Selection Seven received a 95 point rating in Coffee Review when it was roasted by an American firm. This coffee is one of several fantastic micro lots of natural coffee that are being produced for and in cooperation with Ninety-Plus Coffee company. In Ethiopia there are more an estimated 10,000 genetically distinct varietals of coffee growing wild in its indigenous forest. The company works with its producing partners, farmers, agronomists, processors to develop tiny lots of unique, superior coffee - those that command high values. Producers are never paid less than double fair trade minimum prices.
This 28 bag slice was one of 15 coffees processed at the Idido mill in Yirgacheffe not far from the town of Dilla. The Aricha locality is found close to Idido at above 1850 meters in elevation. Selection Seven was the favorite of the fifteen micro-lots developed by Ninety Plus and SA Bagersh, the miller and exporter also known for the famed Idido Misty Valley coffee in Yirgacheffe. Produced naturally without artificial chemical agents. The coffee is naturally processed - it is not washed.
Ken Davids' wrote this about Aricha: "No hints here: The aromatics are direct, inescapable, lavish. Lushly intense blueberry, chocolate, and floral-toned honey in the aroma. In the cup the incendiary aromatics are influenced by a wine-like acidity that turns the berry and chocolate notes crisp and richly dry. The fundamental berry and floral notes linger with surprising clarity in the finish, although they are outlasted by a slight but forgivable astringency."
Cup Characteristics: Very fragrant in ground form, Aricha is a big, wild intense coffee with a complex, lush ever changing taste profile. Explosive flavors of ripe berry sweetness, citrus and dark chocolate. Winey with a pleasing, lingering finish.
Roasting advice: Keep the roast on the light side, like a City but not Full City Roast to maximize the fruit and subtler elements of the coffee, which will be diminished by darker roasting.

[longburn]

Cool,another home roaster. I use an I- roast coffee roaster. It only roasts a 1/2 cup at a time but it's really convienient and you can roast a batch every 15 minutes. It can be programed for different temps/times however if you unplug it then you have to reprogram so I keep a written list as well. But it has two basic roast formulas of a light and dark roast.

But I found the best way is just to let it roast then stand near and listen.I like a full city roast of just past first crack.

I order my beans from Caracolillo Coffee Mill located in Tampa Florida.
ccmcoffee.com

They don't have a huge selection but their prices are great and the selection they do have is really good coffee. I especially love their Costa Rican Hard bean and Kenya.

[Patrick B]

Keep talking, I'm sucking up the knowledge.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by longburn

...love (CCMCoffee.com) Costa Rican Hard bean...

They say, "Green - Costa Rican (hard bean)Tarrazu - Considered as one of the finest coffees in the world. Full bodied, rich, bold flavor."

I totally agree and add it may be the last, great quality coffee bargain around for $3.60/pound x 5# or $3.15/pound x 25#.

[plexiprs]

Well, I'm on a melange-blend kick right now with a Guatemalan bourbon with three roast levels, blended with a Kona at two roasting levels. But damn Mr. Moo that Aricha Selection Seven sounds like a real delight!!!

Longburn, I still got my i-Roast (Gen-I) and occasionally pull it out. Great roaster to start with, but if you go by the sound of the cracks then you gotta hear the quiet of the Behmor ..... I think I can count the number of bean cracks sometimes!!!

It is good to be a home-roasting tobacco-smoking fool!!!

[longburn]

I just looked up the Behmor as I wasn't familiar with it.I was impressed with the reviews I read and with the larger bean roasting capacity.The price wasn't as bad as I thought it would be as well.At $399 it seemed a bargain to me when compared to other drum roasters of similar capacity and features.

My main problem will be in being able to convience my wife (who isn't a coffee drinker) that I need yet another roaster

Mister Moo,I think your right.The Costa Rica hard bean is a great deal.I like a bright coffee with a "tang" to it such as the Kenya or the Costa Rica and they are always helpful,have great prices and are very prompt shippers. My wife's mom lives in Clearwater Fla. and they are friends of hers.They are true old world classics left over from another time and age and their attention to quality and detail along with their old fashioned business ethics are still present.

If you get a chance,try these:
Colombian Supremo (Huila)Huila (screen 17-1-Heavy body, rich flavor. Supremo beans are considered the finest of the Colombian coffees. Select Coffee

This bean has that bright twang I like such as I described before combined with a Columbia's usual body and richness.It's a nice surprise in a Columbian. Roast it at full city to retain that winey taste and tang.

[mhortsch]

Just a touch off topic but not quite.

I'd consider swapping out your windex for simple green.

Simple Green is recommended by Joe B himself, and was supposedly created with roast cleaning in mind (quested that myself)