RichardM wrote:
AngerManagement wrote:
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.
