Jeff and the team at "My Cuppa"

C-man

I was about to send Jeff a PM,  then thought better to share this in an open post.

I am a pretty much tell it like it is kinda guy.

I know most of you guys buy green and home roast, I must say these guys have it down to a fine art.

I am on a real professional roasters journey now and Jeff is the captain of the ship and I love it!

With this latest batch I ordered 3kg, I just asked for;

1. something nutty
2. something berry of cherry like the Yirg they sell at Clandestino for twice the price
3. and still looking for something as rich and good as the Kilimanjaro he sent as a free sample before

what was  posted the same day, but took 4 days to arrive because of Aus-post  was;

1. Brazilian Cambara yellow burbon  ( i am guessing this is the nutty one?)  and also drink now like most Brazilians?
2. Ethiopia Sidamo  Organic  ( I am guessing the berry/cheery one?)
3. Nicaragua Diamond may be a COE (hard to read the bag) no smell yet so I am guessing more rest time with this one?

So basically this post is to ask Jeff about recommended rest times and let everyone know how much I am enjoying this journey..
the last lot was PNG and Rawandan and was delicious
looking forward to trying this new batch..

C-man

UNM

Not tried any of those, but in general the roasted beans I have had from Jeff taste good at two to four weeks post roast. Have frozen his roasted beans before and kept for a couple months, still good. Normal rules for handling frozen beans apply. YMMV

mycuppa

Thank you for the kind words Craig. Sorry, I am not around during the daytime when the team are preparing the parcels, but they do call me for the Roaster's Choice selection - so yes, they are my suggestions. In terms of rest time - this is a fine art and somewhat dependent upon the extraction style. Because of the way our coffees are roasted, with pure convection instead of conduction or a mix of conduction and convection, they tend to take a little longer to stabilize post-roast. By this I mean the coffee, depending upon the type, may show it's best performance at day Day 8 through Day 16 with Day 9 - 12 being the peak. This is based on the specialty cafe extraction - big baskets, fine grind, low, dose and squeeze the fruit out of it with a super-tight double-rizzy. The Cambara is a superb coffee and maybe this can be your first opening (but I don't know the dates on your packs as I am roasting so much coffee every night) - we have cupped and purchased over 15 different Brazil's this year and it's one of the best. A true specialty Yellow Bourbon Natural coffee that trades a good +70% price premium to comparable beans. The Sidamo is an Organic and one of the better lots from a pretty ordinary crop this year. As a natural this one needs some rest. Dialing in the shot can be challenging - it needs a pretty high extraction temp to overcome the fruit ferment. The Diamond was a real surprise package and based on the dates for your packs it might be best to open that after the Brazil. Diamond by name and diamond by nature - this would have to be one of the hardest and most dense beans we have seen in a long while. Dialing in the grinder may take a few attempts, but it will reward you with that classic clean, Nic flavor followed by a truck load of toffee syrup. Enjoy

C-man

Thanks Jeff "This is based on the specialty cafe extraction - big baskets, fine grind, low, dose and squeeze the fruit out of it with a super-tight double-rizzy." I have pulled out the triple basket and will work on this method, I like the sound of it. roast dates; Cambara- 20th already tasting good as I suspected, but still dialing it in.. Sidamo- 21st Diamond- 19th Cheers! C-

C-man

Update- i would have to say that is the best Brazilian I have ever had, most Brazilians are just a firm base for a blend When I tried blending with this one it brought it down IMO  I just liked it as a single origin. The Sid is coming on now , I am grinding  super fine with low dose (coffee goes further that way)  and squeezing a yummy cherry/ vanilla  fruit out of it, loving it. The diamond I can't say, been swapping around so much making coffees fore all the workers, will need to focus and dial that one in.... All good here at the Buddha Cafe'  Lacehims back, expect him any day now for tastings and building inspection.

C-man

The Nic. Diiamond is coming on now super sweet toffee I am ordering more if there is any...

C-man

here we go, 3 more KGS of coffee came today 1. Kenyan 2. Mexican 3. Eth. this will be fun..... Lacehim will be by shortly for his I am sure

Lacehim

on 1382001495:

here we go, 3 more KGS of coffee came today 1. Kenyan 2. Mexican 3. Eth. this will be fun..... Lacehim will be by shortly for his I am sure

What am I getting?

mycuppa

Now boys - no hogging..........share and care - half each 

C-man

Actually 4 KGS another Nic. Diamond hiding on the bottom

C-man

This Kenya is hitting the mark perfectly...... the Sid needs more time The Mex is like a Cuban, but only tried it once so far

C-man

Jeff,  any clues on this  Guatemalan special  Peaberry?

Vicroamer

Just joined this forum and for my first post, I have a question  re a MyCuppa blend, hoping someone can help to save me groping around in the dark. I have just taken delivery of my first order and have the Barista Blend on the go at the moment. Firstly I am very impressed with the the result but I am not getting a chocolate finish, rather I am left with an after taste with citrus notes and I am not sure of the best way of correcting it to get a result closer to the roasters notes. My machine is a Aurora lever, which I have had scaced, I'm getting a temp profile from 96 to 90 degrees, I'm using a 14 gram Espresso Parts HQ Precision Filter Basket dosing it with 25gram of the Barista Blend, I also have the 21 gram triple if needed. I am very impressed with the blend and would love a bit of help to get the most out of it rather waste time chasing my tail.

Lacehim

Hi Vicroamer.  I'm sure I recognised you from another coffee forum! 25gm is a pretty big dose for a double basket.  I haven't tried this blend (I just get a choice of bags when C-Man orders which is great) but I would probably try a lower dose, grinding finer to compensate and see how you go. Hopefully Jeff might stick his head in to give you a hand. PS.  Make sure you post in the I'm new here thread.  It's a great way to introduce yourself.

Brett H

Welcome Vicroamer! I've just popped into this thread to compliment Jeff on an incredible Roaster's choice.  My wife adored the velvety chocolate taste and I had a flat white and a short black and I really don't know which I enjoyed more!  This is a Costa Rican like none I've ever had.  It screams  excellence on every level.  I'll try it as a Syphon on the weekend.  Thank you Jeff... Expedient and pure excellence.  I am truly humbled! Your other components of the order look terrific too for the Christmas present season!

mycuppa

on 1385018363:

Just joined this forum and for my first post, I have a question  re a MyCuppa blend, hoping someone can help to save me groping around in the dark. I have just taken delivery of my first order and have the Barista Blend on the go at the moment. Firstly I am very impressed with the the result but I am not getting a chocolate finish, rather I am left with an after taste with citrus notes and I am not sure of the best way of correcting it to get a result closer to the roasters notes. My machine is a Aurora lever, which I have had scaced, I'm getting a temp profile from 96 to 90 degrees, I'm using a 14 gram Espresso Parts HQ Precision Filter Basket dosing it with 25gram of the Barista Blend, I also have the 21 gram triple if needed. I am very impressed with the blend and would love a bit of help to get the most out of it rather waste time chasing my tail.

Hi VR. Unfortunately, there is no simple, definitive answer to that. Generally, the cup has fruit notes with cocoa and a balanced caramel and raisin with a chocolate finish. Extraction heavily governs the chocolate notes. As an example - I have a customer in the Melbourne CBD with the highest-end equipment, they are 10-year top-flight baristas and know exactly what they are doing at all times - on top of their game. They don't particularly like too much chocolate in their custom blend. No matter what I do in terms of blending or roasting profiles, almost everything has chocolate in it. They use 21g VST baskets dosed to 24g and run a standard length shot - not ristrettos. The longer the shot, the more the chocolate. Another customer using similar coffee with different gear, different style baskets and doing double-rizzi's manage to get truck loads of fruit and no chocolate. I've even experimented by giving them both the same coffee, same batch roast split in half - totally different cup. Go figure. Temperature plays a big part in the extraction and resultant cup. Try altering dose, temp and shot time - you will find it ! Could also be the coffee is way too fresh. I'll have $100 on that one  ;D

mycuppa

on 1385033445:

Welcome Vicroamer! I've just popped into this thread to compliment Jeff on an incredible Roaster's choice.  My wife adored the velvety chocolate taste and I had a flat white and a short black and I really don't know which I enjoyed more!  This is a Costa Rican like none I've ever had.  It screams  excellence on every level.  I'll try it as a Syphon on the weekend.  Thank you Jeff... Expedient and pure excellence.  I am truly humbled! Your other components of the order look terrific too for the Christmas present season!

Thanks BH. That CR is extremely rare and unique. Let me indulge in a story...... When a 3rd generation coffee broker tells you a bean is the best natural he has cupped in 30 years - your ears open wide. There were just 8 bags of that coffee brought into Australia and it was not offered as available - instead the broker mentioned it to a few of the "select group" of roasters (let's not call it playing favorites) and I jumped at the chance. I bought a bag - outside of the COE coffees I regularly purchase, this was the most expensive. The intention was to use it in the Golden Bean. Being too busy, I never got a chance to play with it beforehand. I was actually contemplating not entering GB because of workload and other issues (not related to the event). With just 2hrs to spare before the last post, I ripped open the bag and popped a lot into the roaster. First thing I noticed is the roaster took off faster than a F1 racecar - wt......you know what i mean. It was literally impossible to control the roast - even with the burner and airflow down. In my mind, I am thinking - massive density and moisture acting as too efficient heat conductor. Anyway, as the batch was dumped into the cooling tray, so did a pile of black gunk from the roaster's faceplate. The damn bean was like ball bearings Not having any time to think about it much, I panicked and ran another batch - no way was this baby going to get the better of me ! Having seen how it jumped like a cut snake in the drum, I pulled back all the heat and let it run though. Still not happy and had absolutely no idea as to which of the 2 different batches to enter into GB. I put the remainder of that coffee away for a while and thought about what to do when faced with roasting it again - which was a week+ ago. This time, I developed a supa-dupa profile to deal with high ROR. The result is what you have Brett - I'm not sure it's absolutely perfect in terms of roast, but my goodness it's about the most challenging bean I've had to roast in a very long time. I thought you might like it - sometimes tricky to dial-in. Please don't ask for any more - there's not much left and I'm not sure when I will run it again - probably mid December, who knows - might need a stiff drink or 3 beforehand - such is the way that bean can rattle even the most seasoned of roasters. Jeff

mycuppa

on 1384899873:

Jeff,  any clues on this  Guatemalan special  Peaberry?

Sorry Craig - I have'nt had a chance to jump on the computer all week. lovely vanilla, nuts in cocoa powder, juicy, meaty and highly complex That is the first time I've roasted that new bean - it's quite rare to see a Guat Antigua PB. To be totally honest, it was taken a bit on the lighter side than I would have preferred - damned hipsters in Melbourne put in a special request for it to be used as an espresso bean, not a milk-bean which is probably what it's best suited for actually. If I get time next week I will give it some serious heat and see what eventuates.

Ol Grumpy

on 1385034876:

Thanks BH. That CR is extremely rare and unique. Let me indulge in a story...... <snip> Jeff

Aaah Yes, and telling that story could be worth, I dunno, perhaps pick a nice round six or seven figure, figure. Put that story on a small folding card attached with a short loop of gold thread... And watch them line up for miles and miles and miles... With a little tweaking you could easily have a Perfect 'A Hero's Tale'... Never heard of it...  Well think of little tales like, "Star Wars", "Batman", "Superman", "Avatar"... Google- 'A Hero's Tale' and see the movie fit the template... Hand in glove... Or Jeff, you could introduce the "Eighth Wonder of The World".... "Forced Continuity"... Instead of waiting for schmucks like me to guzzle the goop... You introduce the 'Preferred Customer Club' whereby once a month you have a 'select' bean... With an appropriate and fitting (true) story... Instead of paying $60- for a kilo of Mass Produced Marinated Franchise Glop, well you'll have 1kg of the Reserve GradeDiamond 'Select' beans delivered to your door, automatically and Guaranteed on time, each and every month.... The Freshest, tastiest Coffee Beans you've ever tasted or you'll refund the entire months payment and give them a gift voucher for another 1KG of beans of their choice, Free for their trouble. All for $49- per month and includes Free Postage. Think about the number of 'casual' bean buyers you have on your books, multiply this number by $49- and multiple that by 12.... Nice looking number, is it? What, double your turnover, overnight? And all paid in advance... I have to say, if it's not already obvious, I can't help myself!!! Honestly, I see tooooo much opportunity! Having an entrepreneurial brain is really quite the curse.... Oh yes, that little snippit above did cost me $25k, but I'll let you have it for Free... Cause I like your coffee beans and so long as you promise not to tell anyone, our little secret ;-)

C-man

on 1385035303:

Sorry Craig - I have'nt had a chance to jump on the computer all week. lovely vanilla, nuts in cocoa powder, juicy, meaty and highly complex That is the first time I've roasted that new bean - it's quite rare to see a Guat Antigua PB. To be totally honest, it was taken a bit on the lighter side than I would have preferred - damned hipsters in Melbourne put in a special request for it to be used as an espresso bean, not a milk-bean which is probably what it's best suited for actually. If I get time next week I will give it some serious heat and see what eventuates.

Jeff, be sorry for nothing, not being on the computer means you have a life! I think that bean needs more time, roasted on the 11th Even when I choke it and it finally starts to run, it goes watery pretty quick see what time does for it.

Vicroamer

25gm is a pretty big dose for a double basket

Yes it is but the grind from the Pharos seems be a bit smaller in volume than the norm so the basket takes a few grams more for the same volume. The Aurora is not very forgiving when it comes to channelling and to overcome it I dose to below the screen so the puck expands into the screen and tightens up. "Normal" lever techniques have resulted in underdosing and channelling hence my dose it up method.

Brett H

I knew there was a reason I felt truly humbled when I tasted it.  Drinking it now as we speak.  Extractions are wonderful!!  I must have got lucky because the previous grind setting was just a bit finer so the first shot was a ristretto so that went to Mrs BH.  I must say though, I've always been shocked at how good your product is... I remember getting some beans from you in the bean swap and thinking "these must be like $1000/Kg" only to find out from your site that they were a regular offering!  Thank you again Jeff!

UNM

on 1385068506:

Jeff, be sorry for nothing, not being on the computer means you have a life!

:rofl: Not necessarily. Probably means he was working every hour available, then finally managed to fit in some computer time while doing half a dozen other things  at the same time.

Brett H

Had a Syphon today with the Rare Natural and it was spectacular.  Even the wife who likes milky coffee tried it and didn't want to give it back!!  Tried the Chai powder and was mightily impressed.  How do they do that....?...No, don't tell me... Those will be stellar stocking fillers!

Ol Grumpy

Well I'm continuing my journey with the Blue Batak... Today, I found the previous grind setting returned a gusher, so I tightened it only 10 mins of adjustment on a clock face and got a choker. That's over 12 bar with not even a single drop from the spout... 6 shots later, back and forth, I reached a point where I got the 100% Rich Crema shot I know this bean can deliver. I discovered that from this sweet spot- just two-three minutes of movement to tighten the grind delivers a choker- defined by no more than 6 drops of shot @ 12 bar. Two -three minutes adjustment below the sweet spot returned a gusher- defined by free dripping of the shot at pre-infusion or 0 bar of pressure. Man, that is tight! At least it seems to me like an extremely narrow range of 'sweet spot'. There's no problem with the settings or calibration of the Pharos- unless of course this is to be expected during 'bedding in' of the burrs. There is no 'slipping' of the grind setting either. I always insert the 'accessory bar' into the body of the Pharos and hold the handle in this fixed position to adjust the grind setting. This has never 'moved'. I've heard that small adjustments on the Pharos can deliver bid differences in the shot, but frankly I'm astonished. I'm only around 3-4 weeks out from roasting and the beans are stored in a cool dark spot. Mind you- once I was 'on song'-  the flavour was to die for- no complaints there. I've stuck with 18g shots, simply because they've worked and I struggled with inconsistency even more at 16 g shots. I'm thinking I'll leave this bean to the Pro's....

Ol Grumpy

It's the next day and I had not altered the grief (grind) setting on the Pharos since yesterday's success... The first shot was a gusher- at pre-infusion the shot ran freely with perhaps 6-8ml of black water running into the shot glass in as many seconds.... @ 0 bar pressure. So, I tightened the grind setting by 5mins on the clock face and got a choker, I backed off the grind setting 2 mins of adjustment for the next 5 shots and all were chokers- but getting 'better' at each setting. Clearly, I have now moved around 5-6 mins of adjustment back past the original grief setting that gave me a gusher and I am still getting chocked shots!!! And I am seriously considering a session on the couch with my therapist.... This IS doing my head in.... Finally I hit today's 'sweet spot' and I am rewarded with the nicest tasting coffee I have tried yet. It's not the 'best' coffee I've ever had- but it is the nicest tasting coffee, for me, that I have tried yet. Oh My, such a Quandry....... This reminds me of my wife.... I married a redhead and indeed she certainly lives up to the reputation, fiercely independent, incredibly passionate and fiery, iron willed. At times it's like living with a prickly pear... BUT I just wouldn't have it any other way.... Oh My....

Brett H

Mate, seriously, this is some of the funniest stuff I've read here yet. I love the Blue Buttocks and like your summation/quandary even better!!

C-man

OG  haha what is  the  difference between  a red and  a  blonde?

Ol Grumpy

Ok @C-man, hit me with it?......

mycuppa

on 1386392876:

Ok @C-man, hit me with it?......

Grumps - I think C-Man is seeking another pearl from you. RE: your Blue Buttocks (and Blue Faces). Yes, it can be a tad temperamental, but that's the case with many Sumatrans as they are rather unique in the coffee world - density, moisture, varietal, processing, etc. Get it right and it's a pure magic, offering up many complexities and layers above and beyond the majority of other origins. As others have noted, it's true for most SO's - mastering is the key and like a game of golf, it takes practice.

Ol Grumpy

Well I'm afraid it's a blue day today... My journey with the wicked Blue Batak has sadly come to an end... It seems we had barely come to know each other and as fleeting as the purple rain of the majestic Jackaranda in bloom... So it is, the grinds of delight have cast their spell and moved on... On a brighter note, I was running quite low on Santosa and with supplies of Sidamo also in ebb, I tried an experiment. I'm sorry I didn't weigh them now, but I tipped the remnants of the Santosa into the Sidamo in a ratio of around 25-30% Santosa to 70-75% Sidamo and tried a blind test on my dear longsuffering wife... The result= pretty darn good! I'm sure it's no surprise to the more experienced, but in blending the two beans, the strengths of each complemented each other, in the cup. With a brew that was somehow more than just the sum total of the individual beans... Call it fluke or beginners luck, at the very least, it confirmed my suspicion that in our household anyway, the taste buds are best sated with a blend, or two. So, the next chapter begins with another sampling of the 'MyCuppa' delights... This time in the blended variety......... And so now we hurry up and.... Wait a while.... :AusPost