A festive season bean swap.

mycuppa

Apologies Colin. Some males - myself included - can't multi-task very well at all. I was speaking to a Wayne on the phone whilst being distracted looking at my computer. Roasting fumes affecting what's left of my brain.

Muscles

Collected my beans today and a little extra gift too! Thanks goes out to my secret santa 🙂 I'll report back in a few days... PS, I also reckon we should do this more often

Ronin

mycuppa wrote:

Apologies Colin. Some males - myself included - can't multi-task very well at all. I was speaking to a Wayne on the phone whilst being distracted looking at my computer. Roasting fumes affecting what's left of my brain.

No worries Jeff, been called worse things than that before :laugh: Continuing to enjoy the Swweet blend. Dropped the temp from 94 to 92 deg. Produced more choc notes, still very nice to drink, morish even. Seems to be behaving very much like a Mocha Java type blend, but perhaps slightly lighter flavours and a sweetness on the finish that I can't quite place. Also dropped the dose from 21 to 20 grams and improved again. Haven't had a bad shot yet, but still chasing the best, for my palate anyway. Wifey also enjoyed it this morning, albeit a soy latte with 1.5 sugar. I would like to know what you taste Jeff, to test my palate.

Brett_H

shape_shifter wrote:

Oh good Brett, I've done your blend proud? 🙂

Most definitely by the look of that shot. How did it taste?

mycuppa

Ronin wrote:

No worries Jeff, been called worse things than that before :laugh: Continuing to enjoy the Swweet blend. Dropped the temp from 94 to 92 deg. Produced more choc notes, still very nice to drink, morish even. Seems to be behaving very much like a Mocha Java type blend, but perhaps slightly lighter flavours and a sweetness on the finish that I can't quite place. Also dropped the dose from 21 to 20 grams and improved again. Haven't had a bad shot yet, but still chasing the best, for my palate anyway. Wifey also enjoyed it this morning, albeit a soy latte with 1.5 sugar. I would like to know what you taste Jeff, to test my palate.

Thanks Colin. I generally extract that coffee at 93 on an Expobar. In thinking about what to send you, I could have put any number of interesting and wild coffees in the parcel, but I thought for a moment that perhaps what is more appropriate is a volume coffee from a specialty roaster - something that is traditional, repeatable rather than a 1-trick pony. Suuweet started out life as an idea to take traditional cafe style coffee and offer something more. Richer, smoother, improved balanced, sweeter and stand up well in milk. For a cafe coffee it's pretty much unstoppable. Our clients love it, their customers love it......it seems everyone loves it - a very popular seller and at times we struggle to keep up with demand for it. We regularly do over a ton a week of Suuweet (like this week), so for us it's an important coffee Because of it's popularity it has been ever so slightly tweaked to appeal to a broad majority - offering a little bit of everything. The unfortunate paradox of working in the coffee industry is that most people expect a coffee to remain static, week after week, month after month and year after year (Mark from Coffee Roasters penned a great article on wine lovers celebrating diversity of vintage and how this is not easily accepted by coffee consumers). Alas, applying innovation in a popular blend only ends in tears for me - so we act conservative when it comes to Suuweet. The structure and components (origins) have remained unchanged for a long time (1 or 2 different farms but that's the challenge with any coffee) and when the shot is dialled in perfectly, there are many layers from this 6 bean blend (it's a nightmare to mix). Caramel can be dominant with hint of dark cocoa and berry. The lingering sweetness is most likely from the Ethiopian and Costa Rican added in small ratios, or even from the Sumatran or PNG.

Ronin

Having a cracker ATM Jeff, 93deg, 20g dbl ristretto (30g pour) and some decent art if I do say so myself

Brett_H

Great looking cup Ronin! What machine are you using? Okay, I've just had Tango's Bag B as a double flat white (the only one one not tried thus far). The roast is again quite light and there is some chaff and unevenness of roast but it tastes great. Chocolate and apricot are the predominant flavours and in milk it is just great as an afternoon Cuppa on the deck. Thanks Tango! My wild guess is: Brazil???

Ronin

Brett H wrote:

Great looking cup Ronin! What machine are you using?

Expobar Minore 111 and Mazzer Kony E

mycuppa

Ronin wrote:

Having a cracker ATM Jeff, 93deg, 20g dbl ristretto (30g pour) and some decent art if I do say so myself

I'd say you nailed that shot Colin. Reason is the darker shades of brown that you managed to generate s what I see when it's a "god shot" of Suuweet.

Tango

Hey Brett - close! It was 33% Nicaragua and the rest Yemen! Glad you liked it 🙂

Brett_H

Tango wrote:

Hey Brett - close! It was 33% Nicaragua and the rest Yemen! Glad you liked it 🙂

Wow... You've really spoiled me. I have some mates coming over Wednesday and I can't wait to see what they make of it. I malso might decide not to share.... :angel:

Brett_H

Ronin wrote:

Expobar Minore 111 and Mazzer Kony E

Nice.... Very nice!

mycuppa

Well, what a surprise.........UNM matched me with SS (Nic). Have been feeling very left out thinking my Festive partner had got "Cold Feet". After what has been an insane week, I spied an Express Post satchel sitting on the desk next to mine in the office late yesterday. Said to The Little One"where did that come from ?" and she replied - "Oh, it's been there for a while, you have been locked in the Roastery for days on end you just did'nt see it". I decided not to argue as I would have lost. Open the parcel last night and it's 2x very nicely packed kraft bags labelled 1 and 2 from SS - roasted date 27/11 and just perfect for testing right now - sometimes things happen for a reason. This morning, eager to play my role in the evaluation, I opened #1, but not without careful use the swiss army knife to combat the tape (tape almost won). Visual inspection - delightfully nice shade of monk-brown. Superbly even roast (I'm jealous) - 9.7 out of 10 for roast consistency. Dry aroma. Hint of spice. Woody. Cloves. First shot was a little fast, but still generated monster crema. Put that aside. Second shot was tightened up considerably and there was a slight emerging tiger stripe. Over the top crema - still a bit bubbly. Sip as espresso. Front palette just a slight bit of edge (barely). With milk. A little acidic. Initial palette smooth, but midway there is a slight "speed bump" and then finishes just a little (and I'm talking very small) flat. The Little One mentioned she could not detect much aroma, so I'm guessing it was a Sumatram, MM or other. The beans appeared soft, so they did'nt look like a CentAm. Overall, I think #1 was a great effort and if perhaps it was left 1 or maybe 2 shades darker, the acidity would have been more balanced and some sweetness could come into play at the finish. What it does tell me - SS, you are absolutely on the right path here. The roast may have been pulled just a tad early but my goodness it was heading in the right direction and quite close. Of course, all of the above might look like hogwash once the components are revealed.

shape_shifter

I think I'll have to read that a few times Jeff. It is definitely what I wanted when I said yes to the swap. Number 1 was Haiti Grand Cru de Beaumont. Purchased from CS. Roasted in my modified popper. I pulled it at about 50 seconds past second crack, what I found with this bean was that instead of getting a definite all beans cracking it was rolling, so yes I think you are completely correct when you say it could have been a shade or two darker, I was afraid of going too far. Aroma, there is a definite aroma when you take the cap off the falcon tubes but it is very light, after one sniff if you try for another it appears to be gone. The findings aren't surprising in that respect. The reason why they were sent so late is because I wanted to have them rest in the falcon tubes, to get an idea of what could be coming into play there as well. 😃 about the tape, I've learnt that sticky tape doesn't like the bags so it went from a neat and tidy little piece of tape to a 'this will not open' chunk of tape.

UNM

I am pretty sure everyone has more or less received their beans, which is good and nothing got lost in the mail. I have now tested the second batch of beans AM sent me (KKTO roasted I believe). Nowhere near as dark as the first batch, nice even roast and just a couple of oil spots developing as it ages. First shot was far too fast - grinder set same as batch 1. I did taste it, but down the sink it went. Second shot still fast pour, but getting there. Far less of the roast flavours that bag 1 had. The crema on both roasts is really nice - a deep reddish brown, buttery and smooth. I'm enjoying this one. I also tried bag one cold processed - very pleasant too, better than as espresso. AM - fyi, that milk I bought in specially really doesn't work well. :-X

borat123

Just tried Muscle's Blend '2', and I have to say he's done an excellent job :thumb: Only a faint aroma from the bag; a bit stronger & something quite pleasant wafting up out of the doser but I couldn't put a name to it. The aroma reminded me a bit of the strawberries & cream from some Haiti Grand Cru I had a while back. Slightly lighter medium roast, no oil. One of the beans slightly lighter than the others. I could be wrong, but possibly a bit of robusta in there. I didn't pick robusta by taste, just be looking at the shape of some of the beans in the blend. Last night as a long mac, it was smooth, sweet, well balanced, almost what I would describe as a 'delicate' flavour. The wife liked it too. This morning as a ristretto, again it was smooth, balanced, light body. I'm not normally a straight espresso drinker but I think this blend is well suited for it. A little bit chocolaty, possibly a hint of some type of nut in there. I would be hard pressed to pick the beans. With milk, at first I thought maybe a bit of harrar for the sweetness but I didn't pick up any fruits or berries... No earthiness or 'funk' / winey - I don't think they're indo / java, and to me they don't scream out as anything Ethiopian or otherwise African that I could point a finger at. Somewhere South American perhaps?

Muscles

Woohoo - feedback! The 500gm is 60/40 Colombian Supremo/Ethiopian Harrar, roasted separately and blended post... The 180gm is a Costa Rican blend 55/45 Finca La Candelilla Geisha/Herbazu Estate, blended pre-roast... I almost wasn't going to share the CR blend but thought, hey, it's nearly Christmas 😉

mycuppa

SS (Nicole) Pack #2. Firstly, thank you again - I can see there has been considerable effort put into preparing these packs. Opened it the other day to transfer into a better container until I had time to properly evaluate. After studying the beans, I can honestly say they are expertly roasted from a visual perspective. The color is superb and very even with only a couple of quakers evident. They look like Ethiopian or some larger peaberry like a Kenyan - quite a large screen size and relatively consistent. I initially thought there might have been a small amount of something else in this coffee as there were a couple of "standard" looking beans. dry aroma - very mild general aromatics, need to get close to take in dominant notes of lemon and sandlewood grind - needed to go much finer than expected to extract correctly espresso - good crema production, mid-level body. Initial tastes of espresso a little sharp on the palate (higher acidity) but develops nicely as it sits and cools. with milk - immediate hit on front of mouth with a very strong woody and grapefruit extraction. This is quite a juicy coffee and there are some mild notes of bitterness but they contrast well into the lemon/grapefruit flavor. The more I sipped this coffee, the more I liked it - somehow the grapefruit was teasing my tongue and driving a desire for the sweet lemon finish. It's an interesting combination - not sweet, but somewhat addictive. A very different coffee. The Little One did'nt like it so much as she prefers sweet, berry-ish coffees whilst this had a very interesting sourness from the grapefruit and lemon. Preferred it as a cold espresso and perhaps if I had the time, to make a filter or cold press this would be a great coffee. I enjoyed it as something very different to what I'm used to drinking. Tips/Recommendations:- There is a mid-palette flat point in this coffee. After the initial sharp hit, it drops considerably midway before climbing back up. It's where the woody notes can over power and dominate. For alternative brew methods this might be neutralized, separated and even celebrated but in espresso it is amplified and has a tendency to mute out the delightful lemon, spice and grapefruit as they "hide in the woods". Without seeing the roast profile, there could be a couple of reasons for this. The roast may have slowed or stalled at some point or the reverse being the roast could have progressed too quickly and insufficient sugars develop. Great job Nic and I thoroughly enjoyed sampling both coffees with my preference for the unique character of #2.

RichardM

So after a long rest due to my machine being down (see other thread), the Colombian that KK sent me has settled down a lot. It's still very fresh, but now it's getting a rich, caramel coloured crema, and a nice acid/bitter balance that just sits beautifully in milk as a picollo. Mmmmmm. Guests are using it all on me though 😢

shape_shifter

Wow thanks so much Jeff for all the feedback, it was the reason I was freaking out and the reason I loved getting you for my swap partner, I knew I would get something that would help me assess where I needed to go from here. You guessed right, bean 2 is the Kenya Kagongo Peaberry, also from CS. I love this bean and one thing I noticed you did that I do to is let it cool slightly, it certainly does help the flavour. I've included the basic roasting profile I'm using at present, I'm preheating to 90 degrees which becomes stable at 3 minutes. There is a slight stall at the 6/7 minute mark and also at the 12/13 minutes mark. First crack happens at approximately 11:48 minutes and second crack approximately 16 minutes. The end changes slightly depending on how I feel the bean is going, whether I let it go on further from second crack than 30 seconds, rolling or until I hear a lot of cracking.

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