August 2012 Bean Swap

Lacehim

shape_shifter wrote:

A little bit of feedback for Lacehim 🙂

They where roasted just into RSC, but at least not to 3rd crack :rofl: It's interested to trying different things though, at least you get an idea about what you do, and don't like. I fully understand SS. To be honest I wasn't 100% happy with the blend roasting, but you can't always have it your way eh. The SO was Guatemala Finca Santa Clara Bourboncillo http://www.beangreen.com.au/product-info.php?pid181.html The Blend was a 30% Brazil Daterra Estate - Sweet Collection http://www.beangreen.com.au/product-info.php?pid121.html 30% PNG Wahgi AA (CS bean) and 40% of the Indonesian Java Kalistat @BF What beans did you send me? Also can you let me know how they have been roasted? ie to what depth.

Koffee_Kosmo

This information is for my swap partner UNM Regarding the Blend and SO that was sent to him KK

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Roasting a secret special blend This blend has a Yemen, PNG, Costa Rica and Ethiopian The secret is in the prep 1) All beans were separately stabilized in low heat 2) Beans were roasted together but not pre blended 3 The roast was a stagard bean drop The hard dry grown beans were started first First the Ethiopian followed by the Yemen 30 seconds later They were followed 45 seconds later by the Costa Rica SHB and another 45 seconds later for the PNG Total green bean weight was 900 grams As this blend is destined for the bean swap I won't reveal the amounts now KK

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Roasting on the KKTO as I post on the iPad 600 grams of Guatamala Antigua Los Volcaneos It's the 100% genuine stuff Originally supplied by sponsor Mycuppa 200 grams of this SO will be separated to be sent with the blended bean swap beans KK

WotB

Ronin wrote:

I had my suspicions that I was the reciepent of WotB's roasts. Now just to find out the beans/blends. BTW I have some left that I will try again tomorrow as I'm unsure how these light roasts develop. And the cold brew in the fridge too Thanks for a great experience WotB :thumb:

Glad to hear you enjoyed them. I think with coffee, a lot of people get caught up in the stuff a machine puts out. Then of course there's the machine snobbery (my bling's better than yours). I believe in taking coffee down to it's simplest, truest form - coffee and water, with next to zero mechanical assistance (apart from grinding). Both bags were ratio variations of the same blend. Only two beans were used; Colombia Santa Rita (known as basmati by some) and some Aussie beans (Green Cauldron Late Harvest Naturals microlot to be precise). One thing I've found with the Oz beans is that they are fantastic for filter, not nearly as good for espresso. As an SO, they just scream out those jammy characters in aroma and flavour, very "juicy" so to speak. Bit of a shame that my roasting has taken a back seat to my day (night) job.

UNM

WotB wrote:

Then of course there's the machine snobbery (my bling's better than yours). I believe in taking coffee down to it's simplest, truest form - coffee and water, with next to zero mechanical assistance (apart from grinding).

I am going through a phase of trying to avoid the snobbery. Many of us here are, or have been, coffee snobs at times and it is worth remembering that espresso is NOT the only/best way to enjoy coffee, just one of many. I think the bling factor with espresso does sometimes tend to blind us to the basics that we need to get right. More and more of my roasts are to the lighter end and currently through the aeropress. When weather improves will also do more CP. Having said that, I also intend to try doing some darker espresso targeted roasts rather than using a one size fits all approach as that can end up giving a roast that is less than ideal for any brew method.

Bottom_Line

I picked up my beans from the post office on Saturday. Unfortunately the single origin bag had come open and the beans were through the package. Had a quick taste on Sunday; remember light toast and little bit of burn. This morning I had a better look and pulled a couple of shots. The beans seem to be a mid roast with a small amount of scorch, like it had been exposed to an open heat source (Behmour?). Blend

Bottom_Line

madpierre wrote:

This is interesting. The blend has turned into a right crema monster, pumping out masses of beautiful creamy liquid. A short black this arvo had me pushing my left eye back into the socket, increasing brightness and acidity left me almost gasping. By the same token, a similarly increased push through the milk as well. Loving this coffee.

Thanks! I tried the blend this morning. Interesting. Not much acid at all for me. I remember it was distinctively "fat". Although I had it after the coffees from Jonty. I haven't created this blend before and one of the beans I hadn't roasted before. Bit of a "thought" blend and the "fat" was what I was after. I sent some to SS, will be good to see what she gets out of it.

madpierre

Bottom Line wrote:

Thanks! I tried the blend this morning. Interesting. Not much acid at all for me. I remember it was distinctively "fat". Although I had it after the coffees from Jonty. I haven't created this blend before and one of the beans I hadn't roasted before. Bit of a "thought" blend and the "fat" was what I was after. I sent some to SS, will be good to see what she gets out of it.

Hmmm....would you expect any differences which might occur through technique to account for such a difference?

Ronin

madpierre wrote:

Hmmm....would you expect any differences which might occur through technique to account for such a difference?

I would think that is the case MP. Dose, grind size, temp, shot time etc are all variables that effect flavor in the cup

Ronin

hazbean wrote:

Tried a couple of shots with Bag 1 (pic in post #74 above) of my beans this morning. First was a semi-ristretto -- nicely rounded, very nice. For the second I made the grind a touch coarser for a normal espresso shot. This "opened up" the flavour profile considerably. At first some fleeting and pronounced fruity notes, settling down to very pleasant dark fruit wineyness ("winey" meaning complementary fruitiness and acidity, complexity and depth of flavour ie that can be appeciated in the way a good wine can). Earlier I said I thought this might be a post blend. Not so sure now. My two bags had no information with them (not that I mind, it's fun trying to guess) so could be SO + blend, two blends, two batches of one blend etc. Anyway I think there is a good chance this is an SO. If so, I suspect a Kenyan, Tanzanian, something like that. More work needed though. All in all, I think this is a very high quality coffee, and roasted with respect for its qualities. I'll also try it brewed. At first, judging by appearances, I thought it would be espresso only, but after this I think it might brew very nicely.

Just let me know when you want some more info Hazbean. But neither bag is an SO :stir

hazbean

Ronin wrote: "Just let me know when you want some more info Hazbean" Not yet! It's too much fun making wild guesses. And looking forward to finding out how far off bean the guesses are 🙁 I took Bag 1 into work today and it was the subject of some discussion over lunch. Unfortunately most of it disappeared in the process. First point of consensus was (as you say) that it is not a SO. One thing that stands out a lot more in the glass cups we use at work is the amount of crema, not consistent with eg a Kenya as I surmised earlier. All the shots today emphasized roast characteristics, in fact the consensus was that they were a touch over prominent. One person mentioned "marzipan" notes and suggested an African bean (maybe Rwanda) contributing to the middle palate. Another commented on the low acidity and suggested mostly South American with some African (Kenya, Tanzania but not Ethiopia). Possibly Brazil for the body. So you can see lots of opinions. Personally I'm still going for mostly African as above with something else to give crema and body. Personally I quite like it. Interesting, the different results with different extraction techniques. Bag 2 hopefully will get a similar treatment tomorrow. Everyone is enjoying the exercise, it's not often a coffee puzzle lands on the desk. I tried bag 2 yesterday on the grounds cupping style: I found low acidity, slightly earthy overtones, overall very pleasant. Espresso I'm sure will be quite different.

Koffee_Kosmo

UNM wrote:

You might notice I included pics of my bean swap beans as whole beans and ground coffee, alongside one of my roasts for reference. See - some of us do pay attention.

Any more comment on my Swap blend and the SO as espresso and with milk KK

UNM

Koffee Kosmo wrote:

Any more comment on my Swap blend and the SO as espresso and with milk KK

Older daughter has now been weaned and drinks coffee black. That only leaves younger daughter whose only feedback was that she finished her flat white. She is not very communicative about her coffee likes and dislikes and the best I ever get is either 'good' or a shrug if I enquire closely. The blend was not to my liking as aeropress, but plenty of chocolate came through as SB which was why I guessed the PNG beans - didn't pick any of the others though. A good one for espresso and it probably would work well for those that like milk. Both were evenly roasted (evenly throughout beans as well as all beans same colour) and chaff free. Oh - there was one huge defect I spotted in the SO. Photo attached

UNM wrote:

day two of bean swap SO roasted 29th July. Enjoyed my short double ristretto just before heading out to walk the dog and the flavour lingered nicely. some citrus to this one and sharper than the blend, low sweetness. It reminds me of the Los Volcanes beans I got from mycuppa a while back.

I have one light filter roast of the Volcanes maturing right now in fact and will try a few more roasted darker to see if I can approximate your roast. One reason I guessed the Volcanes might have been that the bag was sitting where I can see it in my study, who can say.

Ronin

Got a chance to play with the cold brew I made on the weekend. Initial results were that it was not to my taste. I decided to find out why and went through the brainstorming thingy. Came to the conclusion that it was not what my brain was use to. Usually a darker roast with choc flavors & milk is my cold brew, slightly sweetened. Tried the brew straight cold, with milk (adjusted by taste) both with some sugar and without. as it turns out, after some drinking and remembering to listen to my taste buds, not my brain (those with an aroma kit will know what I mean here) I ended up enjoying the brew both black, and with milk and some sugar. I pictured myself with a cold glass reading a book. Would be a most enjoyable way to spend some time one summer afternoon. Thanks again WotB. Most enjoyable

Koffee_Kosmo

UNM wrote:

Older daughter has now been weaned and drinks coffee black. That only leaves younger daughter whose only feedback was that she finished her flat white. She is not very communicative about her coffee likes and dislikes and the best I ever get is either 'good' or a shrug if I enquire closely. The blend was not to my liking as aeropress, but plenty of chocolate came through as SB which was why I guessed the PNG beans - didn't pick any of the others though. A good one for espresso and it probably would work well for those that like milk. Both were evenly roasted (evenly throughout beans as well as all beans same colour) and chaff free. I have one light filter roast of the Volcanes maturing right now in fact and will try a few more roasted darker to see if I can approximate your roast. One reason I guessed the Volcanes might have been that the bag was sitting where I can see it in my study, who can say.

Thanks for the finishing summary Its my goal to try and achieve a chocolate and caramel toffee flavour

Oh - there was one huge defect I spotted in the SO. Photo attached

The one way valve dislodged or something that looks like one KK

UNM

Yep, KK, one way valve it was. If ya like caramel and choc, try my blend of 50% brazil, 13% PNG highlands, 13%Java and 24%Yirg. Worked well for me. Maybe slightly more PNG and less of one of the others, but I was happy for a first roast of a new blend. I have run out of the Brazil Monte Alegre blend and trying the Opus 1 exotic now, will see how that goes.

mycuppa

Fear not UNM - I have tasted your cleverly disguised samples a few days ago and made the obligatory notes. Just need to find said notes (of the physical kind) so I can post comments - relying on memory is not safe.

lemoo

reason why i love the bean swap : double ristretto cheers galumay! PS: photo was taken after awhile to give the crema some time to settle but as you can see, its not going anywhere lol

WotB

Ronin wrote:

Got a chance to play with the cold brew I made on the weekend. Initial results were that it was not to my taste. I decided to find out why and went through the brainstorming thingy. Came to the conclusion that it was not what my brain was use to. Usually a darker roast with choc flavors & milk is my cold brew, slightly sweetened. Tried the brew straight cold, with milk (adjusted by taste) both with some sugar and without. as it turns out, after some drinking and remembering to listen to my taste buds, not my brain (those with an aroma kit will know what I mean here) I ended up enjoying the brew both black, and with milk and some sugar. I pictured myself with a cold glass reading a book. Would be a most enjoyable way to spend some time one summer afternoon. Thanks again WotB. Most enjoyable

I've never quite understood darker roasts and cold brew. It's not that pleasant without any additions. If you really want to do both your head and tastebuds in, try the cold brew both at room temp, then toss a single ice cube in and swirl.

UNM

I enjoy a strong cold brew with added hot water. Nice to experience the flavour gradually changing as it cools towards room temp. Will give the ice cube thing a go sometime.

beanflying

Cracked the bag of SSSO this morning (13 days post roast), first shot a little fast but tasty and shame to say better over milk than the blend was :-| Dialed in a bit better for the next one 🙂 Re the CP/COld Brew lighter roasts are better and forget about milk with it :thumb:

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