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

[jammin]

^Apple - you’re right about dry beans. They are touchy & require kid gloves.

Water is amazing conductor of heat & during development the beans are susceptible to scorching/tipping/defects since they are so dry. Your long roasts are putting in the danger zone. I know we encouraged you to slow things down but not that much. The good news is you obviously have the skill to manipulate the roast. You just need to tighten it up a bit and drink some coffee to see

 

[jammin]

Update - mystery roast is definitely Konga. Was hoping I misplaced some Banko but this will be just fine. Looking forward to about Monday when this roast has had ample time to rest

 

[psubrewer]

Jammin, with the last few roast profiles you've posted the BT rise from 1c to drop is about 10 degrees. Is this something you target or just coincidence?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@jimyson had sent me some coffee a while back and had included a Brazil. I had flirted with Brazil in my early days of roasting, but hadn't roasted a batch in about 2 years because I was always so underwhelmed with it. When I tried jimyson's roast, I honestly couldn't believe the flavors he got out of the bean. For once, despite my own roasts and professionals' roasts, I could tasted something other than "coffee" flavors. It was balanced, loaded with chocolate, and had some hints of fruit.

So, he got me interested in trying to roast some again. I roasted this Brazil Sitio https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/brazil-dry-process-sitio-niquinho and pretty much replicated my Colombian profile: heavy heat, slowing it down as the beans began browning to try to bring out some sweetness. Then getting on the heat again before first crack. Dropped all heat as soon as first crack began, then picked up the heat 30 seconds into 1st C. Dropped the roast about 1 min after 1c ended.

The result? Delicious. Maybe not as good as jimyson's roast, but really good. This is all about the chocolate, and has this really subdued earthy flavor, kind of like if you mixed 90% Brazil/Colombian with 10% Sumatra.

Funny how unrealistic my perception was just because I had screwed up a handful of roasts a few years ago. Thanks again @jimyson for opening my eyes!

 

[jammin]

Jammin, with the last few roast profiles you've posted the BT rise from 1c to drop is about 10 degrees. Is this something you target or just coincidence?

That’s probably fair to say. I’ve found that this general profile strikes a good balance of sweetness & acidty while mainting “terroir” of the bean. I dropped this one when aroma peaked.

 

[applescrap]

^Apple - you’re right about dry beans. They are touchy & require kid gloves.

Water is amazing conductor of heat & during development the beans are susceptible to scorching/tipping/defects since they are so dry. Your long roasts are putting in the danger zone. I know we encouraged you to slow things down but not that much. The good news is you obviously have the skill to manipulate the roast. You just need to tighten it up a bit and drink some coffee to see

Thanks! Will do and post back.

 

[jammin]

Nice looking Ethiopian posted @ SM’s today:
https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/ethiopia-dry-process-guji-njori

This will make a good excuse to order some stuff that I’ve been eyeing for espresso

 

[pshankstar]

Yeah I saw that. Too bad I already have 8 pounds arriving on Monday. I need to stop buying beans for a little while.

 

[jammin]

^the curse of the home roaster. Was literally just telling myself today I should hit the brakes until I’m under 5lbs. Thanks for the motivation

 

[pshankstar]

The other problem I have is wanting to upgrade to a larger roaster too. I just got into this in December and I’m already looking at roasting upgrades. Haha

 

[applescrap]

I dont keep too much around. Just 7 pounds of konga left and a few of the cheap Nicaragua.

 

[arturo7]

I have a rocky, but keep the hopper empty. Unless you're a coffee shop that goes through a hopper in the course of a few hours I wouldn't keep any in there, as it's not going to be kept very fresh. If you keep the hopper empty, it's no harder than any other grinder to switch.

I initially dismissed this idea. Initially, I tried using the Rocky for both and I wasn't happy with the inconsistant results. But that was a couple years ago when I first bought it and my espresso machine. I decided to give it another go this week. I guess my methods have improved since then. Switching back and forth works just fine. Thanks for the tip!

 

[TallDan]

I initially dismissed this idea. Initially, I tried using the Rocky for both and I wasn't happy with the inconsistant results. But that was a couple years ago when I first bought it and my espresso machine. I decided to give it another go this week. I guess my methods have improved since then. Switching back and forth works just fine. Thanks for the tip!

typical weekend morning like this morning has me switching twice. Regular to decaf than back to regular.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Thanks to Jammin I got my thermocouples installed today. Got a roast in of the Kenyan that just came in and making significant progress. Roast time was too long so I have tweaking to do (lowering the heat gun is step one and will go from there). The second thermocouple is actually measuring ambient temps very well I think and the roast smells great. The evenness of how this setup roasts makes me very happy.

 

[jammin]

^that is AWESOME! Looking forward to hearing more updates I always wanted to measure ambient temps like that. Looks like you did a great job.

 

[applescrap]

The thermocouple work looks sharp. What levels, distance are you using?

 

[BrewinHooligan]

The thermocouple work looks sharp. What levels, distance are you using?

I am about 3/4" from the bottom, around 1/2" clearance from the stir arm for the probe that measures the bean temp. The probe that measures the ambient temp is about 1/2" from the top of the pan/tray.

 

[applescrap]

Thanks, really glad to have that info. I had trouble wording that question right, i more meant hg settings distances and times. Curious how you made that lovely roast above.

 

[TallDan]

Somehow, as of a few days ago I had not yet roasted the Ethiopia Banko Fuafuate. Decided it was a great candidate for the first roast in the new house. Phenomenal cappuccinos this weekend, lots of fruit, citrus and berry, a little honey, and graham cracker. I probably should pull an espresso shot and try it by itself, but I'm also anxious to try it in the french press or chemex tomorrow morning. I thought that Konga was going to be hard to top, but this does it for me. Just delicious.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Thanks, really glad to have that info. I had trouble wording that question right, i more meant hg settings distances and times. Curious how you made that lovely roast above.

I haven't measured the heat gun distance. I used high heat and once first crack started I pulled the aluminum foil cover to help extend. I pulled right as first crack was ending. Total roast took 15 minutes so I will be lowering the heat gun and see how that works.

 

[applescrap]

Whoops, Was running the smoker, the stereo, the hg, and the bm at the same time on this power strip and its fused popped. But I wasnt there, so dont know how long everything was off. Got it back on and finished roast. Plan was to go high heat then lower but finished with high heat. Voracious crack, wanted to pull this much lighter. I see some char, ugh. Happy as hell to drink it

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Had a shot of espresso this morning then a cup of coffee, but I couldn't taste the coffee at all really. Just tasted really watered down.

Maybe you can't taste coffee too well after espresso? Kind of like you would not drink a stout followed a cream ale?

 

[jammin]

I have a shot of spro & a cup every morning. Similar experiences

 

[pshankstar]

@HarborTownBrewing and @jammin, what espresso machines do you use? I’m curious about espresso machines but I am in no place to drop a lot of money on one. But if I could find a great deal on one well that may be a different story. Thanks guys!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I picked up a refurbished Gaggia Classic about two years ago on Ebay, sold by Whole Latte Love. It was in great shape, couldn't tell it had been used.

I've had mediocre results with it. Some days I can pull incredible shots, others are just horrible. However, I have a good feeling that's not on the espresso machine but on the user. I have no experience with this sort of thing, and I only use it once a week at most. So I'm not getting a ton of practice.

The Gaggia Classic and Rancilio Silvia tend to be the entry level machines. If you take a look on CL or Ebay you'll see some used ones for $200+, but some of them have been heavily used.

 

[TallDan]

I’ve got the Silvia with a PID. Love it when I am pulling good shots, but I’d really like to upgrade to something more consistent.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Eventually I will spring for a decent espresso machine. Maybe with one of my bonus checks I will treat myself. I don't want to invest too much, but I also don't want to buy garbage, so I'm sure you can see my struggle. That's why I've been happy with my aeropress.

The Kenya poured a great cup this morning through the AP, speaking of. Like a liquid mixed berry jam. I will take the roast just a little further next time to see what that does, but this is very excellent coffee.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Good espresso is not a poor man's hobby, that's for sure. I knew that going in since I had lower grade equipment (and still do) so I didn't expect much. I do like a quick espresso when I'm in a rush, and I like it in the summer when I don't want to drink a cup of coffee on my patio when it's 85 out, so I got the machine for those times.

One of my issues, I believe, is the pressure of my Gaggia. Optimal is around 9 bar, but most people say their Gaggia comes from the factory at 12. I used a method to time the amount of water I got out of it to determine the bar and while most people reported it at 12, mine was at 9. This may be because I got a refurb. Or I might just not be measuring it well at all. I should make up a gauge for my portafilter because even with a very fine grind and a firm tamp, my shots are 15 seconds.

 

[applescrap]

Are the gaggia classic and silvia pressurised porta filters? If so, have you tried removing them. I havent upgraded to one of those yet because I figure pressurized pf is a pressurized pf regardless of quality. I could be wrong though. Honestly I am still pulling shots on my $55 ec155. I use it probably 6 to 12 times a week without pressure pf. I get 30 second shots plenty. Some faster or slower based on grind and tamp and also how full the pf is. Virtuoso set at 4 grind. the non pressurized pf is less watery. With the ppf it makes a decent enough shot, but watery for sure. I know that espresso is a rich man's game and that there are way better machines Etc, but that's not going to keep me from drinking three or four shots every weekend. I drink iced lattes basically and enjoy them. I have posted plenty of picks and those are all real crema as the pressure piece has been removed. I know some day i will have a way better machine, but for now am really happy to have some, rather than none. ,my first one died and they sent me a new one right away.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Are the gaggia classic and silvia pressurised porta filters?

The Gaggia comes with standard and pressurized baskets. I've only ever tried the standard one; I'm not sure what the Silvia has.