Late Harvest Ethiopian Yirgacheffe

[NCatron]

My first attempt at homeroasting was with a pound of Late Harvest Yirg I got a couple months ago at SweetMarias. First roast was underroasted, tasted like wood. Second roast much improved, I stopped just after first crack. This time, it had a very "odd" flavor that I hadn't experienced before in coffee, it tasted very much like the southern-style iced tea my mother used to make using orange ceylon tea. It was pretty "good" but if I wanted my morning pick me up, this isn't going to cut it.

Out of curiousity, I went to the local independent coffee shop that roasts its own beans and bought their Yirg. Amazingly, it tasted almost EXACTLY the same as mine, except it was roasted darker so it had more of the stereotypical "coffee" flavor on top of the weird tea-like essence.

Is this flavor unique to this late-harvest, or does it show up normally in Yirg?

[ResIpsa]

Originally Posted by NCatron

My first attempt at homeroasting was with a pound of Late Harvest Yirg I got a couple months ago at SweetMarias. First roast was underroasted, tasted like wood. Second roast much improved, I stopped just after first crack. This time, it had a very "odd" flavor that I hadn't experienced before in coffee, it tasted very much like the southern-style iced tea my mother used to make using orange ceylon tea. It was pretty "good" but if I wanted my morning pick me up, this isn't going to cut it.

Out of curiousity, I went to the local independent coffee shop that roasts its own beans and bought their Yirg. Amazingly, it tasted almost EXACTLY the same as mine, except it was roasted darker so it had more of the stereotypical "coffee" flavor on top of the weird tea-like essence.

Is this flavor unique to this late-harvest, or does it show up normally in Yirg?

Yirg, in my experience, has a very tea like quality to it. That's why I don't like it, generally. But that's just me.

[novasurf]

Amazingly, it tasted almost EXACTLY the same as mine, except it was roasted darker so it had more of the stereotypical "coffee" flavor on top of the weird tea-like essence

The darker you go with Yirg, the harder it is to find tea or lemon. Congrats on yer first roast.

[kjd2121]

I just picked up some Yirg - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Wet Processed FTOand I'm finding your description very similar to what I'm tasting - I went a little past first crack - No oil on beans. Tonight I'm going even further to compare tastes.

[Moglman]

Yirg is generally a light to medium roast to maximize the floral/citrus tones you tasted. While I like it, it is a mood thing for me, and I find it best on a lazy sunny morning as opposed to a power-flight morning. Goes excellent with a cigar IMO and also makes a nice iced coffee.

[PuroRob]

Originally Posted by Moglman

Yirg is generally a light to medium roast to maximize the floral/citrus tones you tasted. While I like it, it is a mood thing for me, and I find it best on a lazy sunny morning as opposed to a power-flight morning. Goes excellent with a cigar IMO and also makes a nice iced coffee.

I just roasted some yesterday just past the first crack. Blended it 50/50 with Sweet Marias Donkey Blend Decaf to lower the octane to make a great afternoon cup used for iced coffee.