I've been going a little nuts the last few weeks. Haven't had time to roast and have been relying on a combination of Di Bella, Stable Treat and Venezanio beans. By far the best was the Stable Treat from Ministry Grounds Coffee, but even so - it's not my preferred style: too fruity and bright.
Finally had a chance to roast again last night and put together a blend of Brazil Daterra Estate Sweet, Costa Rica Herbazu Estate and Monsoonal Malabar roasted to just the start of second crack.
First pour this morning - still fresh, of course, but a tight grind mitigated most of the grassiness associated with that. But the rest was pure heaven - thick creamy mouthfeel and body, caramel and (according to my wife) hazelnut flavours and plenty of crema.
I'd begun to think there was something wrong with my machine - every pour I'd done had been 'thin' the last few weeks, I couldn't brew a truly great coffee to save my life. I wouldn't say this morning's was truly great, but it was as close as I've been for some time.
The take-away from all of this is not that I'm naturally a master roaster of incredible talent.
I'm a decidedly average home roaster who is too lazy to worry about roast profiling or even taking notes. But I know what I like and what my wife likes and I know which beans (in general) seem to get the result I'm after and how to roast them to the point that I get that result.
It's truly incredible to me that we're able to do this: that we have access to the resources (our site sponsor green bean suppliers), the technology (from home-built KKTOs and air poppers to Hottops) and the knowledge to be able to produce what has historically been beyond the domain of the home enthusiast.
