☕ Coffee ☕: Ingredients, Roasting, Grinding, Brewing, and Tasting

[Medicbrewer]

Just ordered some green Sumatra and peaberry. Looking forward to roasting some good coffee.

Cup On!

 

[pshankstar]

This morning I brewed my first pot of the Burundi Kayanza Dusangirijambo Coop (GCX-5339) from Sweet Maria's this morning and WOW is that the smoothest cup of coffee I have had in a long time! I don't know if I pick up any of the characteristics from the description on the bag's label, but regardless it's a great cup of coffee. The aroma is sweet but not too sweet and there is no bitterness to it either. I may drink the whole pot of coffee before the wife returns. I wish I had a better pallet to taste things like this and beer too.

Anyways, I am very happy with this batch so far. I will probably roast some more later today out in my garage and adjust some things since it will be cooler out there. I'll probably go a little lighter, wait for the first crack to complete and wait 30 seconds or so to start cooling it. But of course I need to keep an eye and ear on things. If it goes darker like these beans that's ok b/c its a great cup of coffee! Thank you all for your input, suggestions and willingness to answer any questions.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I love Burundi coffee. It gives the flavors of other East African countries (Kenya, Ethiopia) but with a body of a Central American. Usually is affordable too.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@jammin I got the Able Kone for Christmas. What size grind do you recommend? I'm guessing slightly more coarse than a v60 or Melitta?

 

[jammin]

@jammin I got the Able Kone for Christmas. What size grind do you recommend? I'm guessing slightly more coarse than a v60 or Melitta?

Man that’s awesome! I brew 350g cups of V60 & 700g pots of Kone. I keep the grind the same for both as it seems to shoot the gap quite well. The filter is really well made and behaves quite similarly to paper. In the cup though it’s much better for some coffees, esp Ethiopian!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Before I saw your reply I made a pot using some coffee from Timor I had. Probably not the best use of the Kone but it was still pretty good.

I did about 48 grams coffee, so about 760 grams water. While the paper filters handle that amount just fine, im thinking that might be the upper limit for the Kone.

For grind size I went with a couple notches bigger than I use in the v60. My entire brew lasted 4:25. I was shooting for 4:00 but I did a lengthy bloom of about 45 seconds.

In the Chemex the resulting coffee looked like of funny because it definitely had an oil sheen to it which I've never seen in the Chemex. There were hardly any grind particles left behind so that was good to me.

Taste was good, though the Timor didn't give it a chance to bring out floral and citrus flavors like I'd expect it to in an East African bean.

So, ultimately I'm excited so far and I'll give you guys an update once I get to run some Ethiopian and Kenyan coffee through it.

 

[jammin]

@HarborTownBrewing - I have to keep the Kone full to the brim when brewing 42:700 to keep my drawn down times under 4:00 - that includes a 30 sec bloom.
One trick I use around 3:00 if I need to speed the brew up is to pick the Kone up by the edges & let it drop back into the chemex or v60 about 1/4”. That little tap/drop evens out the coffee bed and I think somehow clears all the pores of the filter. Draw down goes very quickly after that.
Keep us posted with your impressions of the Kone as you go. Can’t wait to hear what differences you notice

 

[applescrap]

So starbucks was graciously offering tastes of christmas blend. Holy carbon, the beans in hopper were, umm, dark and oily to put it lightly. Makes me wonder if original coffee would even matter

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

That's the benefit for Starbucks. They can char beans from any origin without it being noticeable. Thus allowing them to source beans from anywhere.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

When people tell me they love coffee and then proceed to tell me how Starbucks is their favorite, I immediately know I can't take anything they say about coffee seriously. Reminds me of a conversation I had with my 13yo daughter this morning. She said the Ethiopian Sidama smelled awful while it was inverted in the Aeropress. I then pointed out that it is one of the best coffees I've roasted and that she doesn't get to try my coffee anymore because she puts creamer in it. I told her she doesn't like coffee like she claims she does, she likes creamer

 

[applescrap]

The black friday coffee has been amazing. Roasted 2 more pounds. As I said before I pretty much just bought the most expensive coffee I could find from every region, minus geisha. This one from Nicaragua does have blueberry taste and maple syrup. It's definitely not as good as the Ethiopian blueberry. But it is a Nicaraguan version of the good Ethiopians and would be worth getting, imo. The Nicaraguan los congos was quality coffe, but not as flavorful in a berry way. Merry christmas eve!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Used the Able Kone again today with some Ethiopian I roasted and it definitely brought out body in the Ethiopian I hadn't experienced before, which was great. My brew time was perhaps a little quick though, 3:30 start to finish.

Bodhi's weekly special is this Kenyan for $4.75: https://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/col...eto-green?mc_cid=237ea46569&mc_eid=68998bb514

It sounds good, but I've had a string of iffy beans from Bodhi. They've all been fine, but nothing extraodinary. Not sure if I want to give them another shot or not.

 

[jammin]

I grabbed a pound of SM’s latest Kenyan when I grabbed a 5er of the Sidama Station. The Kenyan is very good for drip. Would recommend

https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/kenya-nyeri-kieni-ab

 

[applescrap]

^^htb i wouldn't, for that coffee unless you are looking for a deal. I'm sure that coffee is great and maybe even a deal. But I'd rather spend a little extra money and get something nice if I can afford it. Sometimes, because shipping is five or six dollars for me from them, I will order three one pounds of coffees that are seven or eight dollars, and 2 of the deal, or the other way around. That way I offset the price a little and it becomes hard to differentiate great when every coffee is amazing. The cheaper coffee is provide a nice change . I recommend the costa rica sarchi villa natural I think it was and Nicaragua limoncello javanica.

 

[Kealia]

Today I roasted a test 1/4lb of Kona beans from SM.
Pulled just at 2nd crack/Full City level and will give this a try in a few days. I'm wondering if I can taste the difference in coffee this expensive.
(Hmm....having trouble adding a pic now...)

 

[Kealia]

 

[jammin]

^it appears you're getting some tipping. what kind of roaster are you using and what are your heat settings? Hawaiian coffee is low density & needs to be handled with kid gloves. 2nd crack isn't what is normally recommended although the beans do look tight for a roast that deep.

FWIW - Hawaiian coffee is grossly overpriced IMHO and if you like its flavor profile Brazilian coffee would save you a lot of money.

 

[Kealia]

Im using the Behmor 1600+. I roasted using manual P5 setting and kept the temp between 300-320 degrees once it hit that level until 1st crack. At that point I dropped it to P3 (50% power) for the next 3 minutes until I heard the first snaps of 2nd crack. The temp hovered around 275 for that time.

Time to 1st: 8:00.
Time to 2nd: 3:00.

My wife prefers darker roasts and that is really who is drinking 90%-95% of the coffee in the house. I'm drinking a bit here and there because I like it and want to learn more about the tastes, but I have to manage caffeine intake closely due to migraines

Thanks for the note and the Brazilians...we'll look into that. I do want to try some of this at a lighter roast because the description talks about fruity but nothing about it being acidic.

Q: Would the tipping be caused by too much heat between 1st and 2nd crack(s)?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I haven't roasted Kona before, but I was under the impression it should be taken a bit slow. P5 being 100% heat is going make it go quickly, obviously, but it also going to make it run from 1C to 2C pretty quickly, both factors leaving little development time in the roast.

I'd recommend modulating a little bit between P5 and P4 (75% power) up until 1st Crack. At 1C I'd also go to P1 as soon as it begins to crack, then about 30 seconds later go back to P5 to pull it out of 1C and however much longer you want it to roast.

The thing with the Behmor is, to slow the heating and roasting momentum you have to anticipate the end of the roast by about 20 seconds. So if you want to stop the roast right as it's getting to 2C, you have to hit "Cool" about 15 or 20 seconds before you think it's going to start. On a bean like the Kona I would be hitting Cool about 15 -50 seconds after 1C has ended, but not letting it get too far.

Hope that also helps; just other things to consider.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Going through my roast notes for the year and it looks like I roasted about 125 pounds of coffee in 2017. I paid an average of $6.28/lb after shipping throughout the year, so I spent $785 on coffee throughout the year (not including what I haven't roasted yet).

I'd be curious to see what kind of volume some of you are doing, if you feel like figuring it out and sharing.

 

[Kealia]

Thanks. All input is appreciated as I gather data points. From what I read I needed hot and fast on these which is why I went with P5 to 1st. From there I did drop down to slow down development a bit. If the beans were for me, I would have stopped just after 1st as you indicated, but my wife likes most roasts darker. We spend a lot of time in Hawaii and she loves Kona coffee so she was pretty jazzed to have some green beans to play with.
I do understand the delay in cooling, etc. - thanks.

Hopefully this reply doesn't come off as dismissive as that isn't the intent. Just sharing my thoughts and why I did what I did. Again, as I learn I take in all input so thanks for adding your thoughts.

 

[TallDan]

I roasted 40.5lb this year.

(edited. derp.)

 

[ba-brewer]

I don't keep notes on my roasts, but I roast 2 to 3lb every week to 10day, so maybe 90 to 100lbs per year.

Hard to say what the cost was but I am pretty sure it was less than the money my wife and kids spend on ice tea from starbucks.

 

[pshankstar]

Going through my roast notes for the year and it looks like I roasted about 125 pounds of coffee in 2017. I paid an average of $6.28/lb after shipping throughout the year, so I spent $785 on coffee throughout the year (not including what I haven't roasted yet).

I'd be curious to see what kind of volume some of you are doing, if you feel like figuring it out and sharing.

I just started roasting this month and went through 5-6 pounds so far. Probably closer to 6 pounds.

Maybe we should start a new thread for keeping a tally on how much people have roasted for 2018. It would be interesting to see for sure. This thread seems like the only active one here for coffee and it covers everything. I still haven’t read through it all.

 

[passedpawn]

I just started roasting this month and went through 5-6 pounds so far. Probably closer to 6 pounds.

Maybe we should start a new thread for keeping a tally on how much people have roasted for 2018. It would be interesting to see for sure. This thread seems like the only active one here for coffee and it covers everything. I still haven’t read through it all.

Do it. New year is the time to start one.

 

[pshankstar]

Do it. New year is the time to start one.

Just created the thread. May the counter begin in a few days! [emoji6]

 

[Ruint]

Holy smoke...118 lbs purchased...from the beginning of August. I haven't roasted all of it, being I still have 22.5 lbs still in inventory!! I have roasted 13 lbs worth that I have not purchased, so that puts me at 108.5 lbs worth of roasting done. I don't want to start adding the amounts of those purchases up now, seeing that the poundage alone is frightening enough! I would say eye opening...but that would be the end result after the cup!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Have my sister and her fiance in town this weekend and have been introducing him to all different coffees.

Just gave him his first shot of espresso, a 50 50 blend Ethiopia Gedeb Asasa and Colombia Narino. Loved it.

Fun to watch people get into something as a craft as opposed to as a utility.

 

[jammin]

Happy New Years, Coffee Crew

 

[C-Rider]

With 84 pages of posts I'm not gonna try to read them all. LOL I may even have posted here years ago. LOL

Living here on O`ahu all I have to do is go on a short hike at the right time of the year and I can harvest all the coffee cherries I want. I did this about 20 years ago w/my since past on father. Let me tell you starting from scratch is a lot of work.

1st picking and cleaning the cherries
2nd separating the fruit from the seeds
3rd drying the seeds
4th cracking and peeling the "parchment" from the seeds. Parchment is something like the soft paper like substance you find around peanuts. But w/coffee it's hard and a lot of work to remove.
5th figuring out what percent of "dryness" you should dry the beans to
6th drying the beans and getting it right on the first attempt, not likely
7th figuring out how long to roast and at what temp.
8th roasting and getting it right on the first attempt, not likely
9th grinding, and brewing which is the only thing easy.
10th realizing that starting from scratch is a lot of work and I can get better coffee by leaving the first 8 above to the pros. I can get 10 oz bags of 10% Kona coffee for about $4.00 on sale. Maybe I'm just getting lazy as I approach my 75th year. LOL

HAPPY NEW YEAR or as we say in Hawai`i Hao`oli Makahiki Hou