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so...after 20+ cups of espresso not done to a tolerable drinking level, I took a day away from it. The following morning, the wife made a normal pot of coffee with it. It was not right there either!! I roasted it just a bit darker and was solely going to use it to tune my espresso skills in... LMAO!! I must have made 10 of those cups, as good as they were gonna get! I freakin dumped them and put some new roast in, and boy howdy....I am back to feeling that I can make some very drinkable espressos!!!
 
"Shows some burn marks on inside from a small fire I had, but does not affect functionality in any way."

tenor.gif
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
Maybe he wouldn't have had a fire if he'd given it a simple cleaning every once in a while.....Just sayin'.
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Yeah, I kinda wondered which came first, the fire or the need for a through cleaning. I wouldn't pay $300 for that roaster, but at an asking price of $100 and willingness to ship, it could be worth some elbow grease and maybe a new chaff tray.
 
One thing that looks a bit funny about that behmor is the basket looks quite clean compared to the chaff catcher.

A Oxyclean soak would clean up the chaff catcher and a bit of simple green would clean up the inside.
 
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ba-brewer said:
One thing that looks a bit funny about that behmor is the basket looks quite clean compared to the chaff catcher.

A Oxyclean soak would clean up the chaff catcher and a bit of simple green would clean up the inside.
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I was looking at my chaff catcher today and wondering if it was ok to soak in some Oxi-clean or PBW. I assume you have done this without any issues? Also, is the drum ok to soak too for the occasional deep cleaning?
 
I had a behmor for a while and soaked both the drum and chaff catcher in the unperfumed oxi-clean, seemed to be OK. I only had the roaster for a year to 18months so only cleaned it a few time.

The simple green stuff also cleaned the chaff catcher pretty well but I hated the smell and would leave the roaster open to air out before using again.
 
I've never thought of using PBW on the chaff tray either. I'll have to give that a try. If it's good enough for beer cleaning I assume it's good enough for this. Plus, I'm thinking that the dry burn cycle post-cleaning (after a thorough rinse) would take care of things.
 
TallDan said:
I always cleaned my Behmor with simple green every five roasts. Kept it looking good for 4.5 years.
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I too clean the inside of the Behmor with Simple Green every five roasts or so after doing a dry burn. The inside looks excellent and shiny, the glass nice and clear.
I was wondering about the chaff collector today when I was looking at it closely and noticed it was pretty dirty. Some Simple Green helped it but it made me wonder if a good soak was ok or not.
 
Kealia said:
I've never thought of using PBW on the chaff tray either. I'll have to give that a try. If it's good enough for beer cleaning I assume it's good enough for this. Plus, I'm thinking that the dry burn cycle post-cleaning (after a thorough rinse) would take care of things.
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PBW is fantastic at cleaning coffee out of my SS travel mug. I had considered soaking my Behmor parts in it, I’ll bet it works great.
 
Roasted a couple 1/3 lb. batches of the Colombian I picked up from Mill City. First run I stopped a couple minutes into 1c, before 2c, medium roast. Second batch a little longer, a few seconds into 2c, but not to French roast. Ground a little of the first batch and brewed with the Keurig insert to get a quick-and-dirty idea. Nice cuppa--warm, some tea-like flavor with what seems to me like stone fruit. My palate isn't that sophisticated, so what do I know? But I like it. Which is good, as I have 10 lbs.

20190617_110929.jpg
 
jammin said:
Hi All,

I placed an order from Royal for a 22lb box of their recent Kenyan offering: Kenya Nyeri Ichamama Triple Washed Red Cherry Crown Jewel

They loaded 4 new Crown Jewels today, 3 Kenyans & 1 Ethiopian. All are washed so no Dry Process Ethiopian Berry bombs in this update. All sound amazing and it was difficult to pick which Kenyan of the 3. The AB jumped out at me right away as last year's crop was comprised primarily of AA (large screen/bean size) offerings and I have best luck with the AB's for some reason. So I called up Royal, had a good chat and went with the Ichamama. Due to it's very high density & slightly lower moisture content it's a somewhat intimidating coffee but I was assured this is one of the better Kenyans to come across their table and most importantly for me, a standout in the sweetness department.
Click to expand...


Have heard folks say hard to get uniform roast throughout the dense beans for the AA and smaller AB heat penetrates more evenly than the AA. Not sure if there is any proof to that or not.

Sounds like awesome coffee! Keep us posted, and more importantly, any potential group buys!
 
Oxyfree for sure I think. I use it for everything. I use a light solution. But stronger works quicker. I also run it in light solution through my coffee machine, dont know if that's bad? Then rinse the bejeebies out of it. Have been thinking about running it through the delonghi. Any thoughts?

Drinking guat geisha. Ran out of the hana. It was nice,nice body. Made melitta pour overs across the west. Not very talented at that as actual fact. It splashing out for the v60 after all these years didn't help. Cant wait to hear about the Kenyan. I think I will roast some of the bogali tomorrow.
 
I have found a weaker solution of oxyclean does work just as well as strong especially if you allow to soak over night. It also does not leave as much of a film.
 
I have really struggled with my last 8 roasts for the past month and it's been frustrating. Last night I decided to go back to basics. I roasted the Honduras Legacy Farms, using a good benchmark profile I have. I was able to replicate the roast almost exactly against the benchmark and got a nice solid 1st crack.

It is funny how you can sometimes feel like you cant do anything wrong, then feel like you can't do anything right. It's tough to get motivated when it's not working out how it should. Hopefully now I'll start trending in the right direction.
 
That is the nice thing about roasting coffee you get quick feedback, in a day or two you know if you are back on track. With beer you are waiting almost a month to see if your changes work.
 
Down to only 6 pounds of green coffee on hand, time to start looking. Anything good? Maybe should wait until my upcoming travel plans/vacation is over. Anything really good out there now? Any blueberry bombs? Any super Central American beans?

Did my first batch of Guji natural Guracho from GCBC. A little fresh from roasting with less than two days of rest, but is tasting petty nice so far. Not super fruity, more bittersweet chocolate in the aftertaste. Oddly plum-like flavors up front, and maybe a hint of orange. Maybe will change with longer rest, but it’s all I’ll be drinking until I head on vacation.
 
SM’s just posted a nice Burundi. 8.8 rating for sweetness. If I wasn’t flush w/greens it would be tempting.
Of course there is a nice looking Kenyan AB at Royal Crown Jewels. I’m not sure what they have left in stock but honestly all those Kenyans sounded terrific. It was tough to settle on 1 out of the 3


Speaking of letting those fruit bombs rest, I’ve been noticing mine are taking a good 5 days lately to really show the fruit. Maybe it’s the light roasts with higher airflow or maybe the current crop.
 
jammin said:
SM’s just posted a nice Burundi. 8.8 rating for sweetness. If I wasn’t flush w/greens it would be tempting.
Of course there is a nice looking Kenyan AB at Royal Crown Jewels. I’m not sure what they have left in stock but honestly all those Kenyans sounded terrific. It was tough to settle on 1 out of the 3
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up! I’ll check out the Burundi. Not typically a huge fan of Burundi, but might be I pooched the roast on the one time I had some. Don’t you need to order 22# lots on the royal crown? Do you need a special account? I’ve not had theirs other than the special selection you got for us a couple years ago.

TD
 
I had tried another roast of the Ethiopia Hambela and that's a good example of a bean I just have been struggling with. After a week there is still no fruit flavor. Tried it as an espresso this morning and got a really nice long shot but without much flavor. Also made a paper Chemex with it but still not a whole lot going on.

I think I'm going to take some time away from it and then try again later.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I had tried another roast of the Ethiopia Hambela and that's a good example of a bean I just have been struggling with. After a week there is still no fruit flavor. Tried it as an espresso this morning and got a really nice long shot but without much flavor. Also made a paper Chemex with it but still not a whole lot going on.

I think I'm going to take some time away from it and then try again later.
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Sounds like me with my last couple roasts. Those higher charge temps and fast roasts led me to let them get away from me and roast too dark for my tastes. Finished the last of a batch of the "killer" Columbia La Sampadrena this morning, and while it wasn't *bad*, my previous batches were better. Just a bit too far toward the dark roast flavors and missing out on the complexity and balance where I like it.
 
TallDan said:
Sounds like me with my last couple roasts. Those higher charge temps and fast roasts led me to let them get away from me and roast too dark for my tastes. Finished the last of a batch of the "killer" Columbia La Sampadrena this morning, and while it wasn't *bad*, my previous batches were better. Just a bit too far toward the dark roast flavors and missing out on the complexity and balance where I like it.
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I roasted one pound of three I bought. I must not have done a very good job and was not highly impressed. I think I often do not let my coffee rest long enough and it’s gone once it’s at its sweet spot.
 
TrickyDick said:
I roasted one pound of three I bought. I must not have done a very good job and was not highly impressed. I think I often do not let my coffee rest long enough and it’s gone once it’s at its sweet spot.
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Went to go look up the original cupping notes on this one and came across my post on H-B talking about this coffee:

H-B TallDan said:
I got 5lb of this one. Have roasted two .5lb batches. The first, unfortunately, got away from me a little and ended up too dark for my taste. Early in the roast it seemed to just soak up the heat and then flew right through 1c. Combined with the flavors in the coffee, this just wasn't a great batch for me. The second batch I learned and turned back the heat earlier and got something much more to my liking. Roasted nuts and slight dark chocolate and red wine per the GCBC cupping notes seem accurate. The acidity comes through a little strange to me in a SO espresso, maybe just because it's different than the more citrus and berry like acidity that I'm accustomed to.
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Those first two batches were roasted on the behmor, and my more recent batch was on the MC, so i'll cut myself some slack there, but really, it's my own fault for not learning from my mistakes. That same description of the roast process fits my experience on the MC as well, so i should have turned down the heat and/or up the airflow earlier in the roast.

So, my advice on it would be to keep it light.
 
Royal crown jewel kenyas and Ethiopian are like $10/lb !! But free shipping LOL! I’d be good for up to five pounds on one or a mix even of these if anyone else is interested in a group buy. The Guatemalan RCJ sounds most intriguing to me though (and cheaper).
 
TrickyDick said:
Down to only 6 pounds of green coffee on hand, time to start looking. Anything good? Maybe should wait until my upcoming travel plans/vacation is over. Anything really good out there now? Any blueberry bombs? Any super Central American beans?

Did my first batch of Guji natural Guracho from GCBC. A little fresh from roasting with less than two days of rest, but is tasting petty nice so far. Not super fruity, more bittersweet chocolate in the aftertaste. Oddly plum-like flavors up front, and maybe a hint of orange. Maybe will change with longer rest, but it’s all I’ll be drinking until I head on vacation.
Click to expand...

Sweet Marias has my favorite Brazilian in stock. It's great as espresso and makes a great blend base.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/brazil-dry-process-pedra-branca-lot-1-6069.html
 
I don't even drink the office coffee but I'm pretty sure I am the only person who cleans the coffee pot and coffee maker. I don't need to but it just looks disgusting!
 
Hey TrickyDick...no special membership requirements needed for Crown account. Shortly after they had that Ethiopian Banko that @jammin turned us onto, they had a "special" buy package (that I haven't seen them do since!!) where they gave a sample of 3 of their coffees for a set price. All 3 were fantastic! It was like a total of 5 lbs worth if I remember correctly. I would be willing to join in on a group purchase too!
 
I’ll have to look into this once I am back from vacation.
$10/lb a bit too steep for me though.
But on second thought, could be a nice way to pad my PayPal account with group buys...
 
Can't remember who here recently posted about getting a new scale for coffee. My latest cheap amazon scale that I used for chemex and various kitchen uses appears to have crapped itself after 18 months of use, so I need a new one. Most frequent use is for chemex or v60, but I also use it as a general kitchen scale frequently.

The "OXO Good Grips 6 Lb Precision Coffee Scale with Timer" and Hario scales are in consideration. I'd rather avoid another cheap scale that will crap out and cause me to overflow my coffee mug all over the countertop again.

Any recommendations?
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I got this one about 10 months ago and it's leaps and bounds better than my old one. I like the size - it comfortably holds a Chemex, and it came with a rubber mat so things don't slip around on it. It also is big enough I can set a plate on it for use in the kitchen (my older scale was smaller and couldn't really hold a plate).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071J3YXFH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Other than the rubber mat, i would have said the same about mine if you had asked me before this week :(

In addition to the failing kitchen scale, I have two bathroom scales, a luggage scale, a shipping scale (also used to weigh grain), a 0.1 gram scale (used to weigh coffee for espresso shots and hops), and a 0.01 gram scale (used for water addiditions). It's a bit crazy to have all of these scales and still feel like i need to replace this one.
 
I bought a used Brewista scale. I’ve been happy with it & sure as heck wouldn’t shell out for a Lunar. I don’t used the timer function very often, only for the occasional pour over.
I used a bigger scale for the morning filter batch & the timer on the kettle.
 
TallDan said:
Other than the rubber mat, i would have said the same about mine if you had asked me before this week :(

In addition to the failing kitchen scale, I have two bathroom scales, a luggage scale, a shipping scale (also used to weigh grain), a 0.1 gram scale (used to weigh coffee for espresso shots and hops), and a 0.01 gram scale (used for water addiditions). It's a bit crazy to have all of these scales and still feel like i need to replace this one.
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I think you need to start a "show us your scales" thread in the equipment section. With pics. ;)
 
jammin said:
SM’s just posted a nice Burundi. 8.8 rating for sweetness. If I wasn’t flush w/greens it would be tempting.
Of course there is a nice looking Kenyan AB at Royal Crown Jewels. I’m not sure what they have left in stock but honestly all those Kenyans sounded terrific. It was tough to settle on 1 out of the 3


Speaking of letting those fruit bombs rest, I’ve been noticing mine are taking a good 5 days lately to really show the fruit. Maybe it’s the light roasts with higher airflow or maybe the current crop.
Click to expand...
Wish I had anything with fruit. I've got a little of the small lot blueberry left, that's it. The others are just nice cups. Sorry td havent been looking, but I would wait and make sure you get something really killer, just my 2c. Let me know if you find the mana. Also I agree that the coffee gets better after a few days and I drink it a little early as well. Yeah rcj seems a little pricey imo, but realistically most coffee I buy after shipping is 9 to 10 a pound.

The way I see things is take shipping out and the difference in per pound bean is worth a little more. I generally don't care about "deals" anymore unless the coffee is good. A real deal to me involves killer coffee. Imho, if you dont want to spend to much but want to drink the best coffe, a good plan is this. You get either the sweet Maria's or bodhi leaf Ethiopian deal when they offer it in bulk.

That's what I do for worst case scenario coffee drinking. At 30 percent off the 7.50 (update 7) a pound plus bulk pricing and shipping it's a great deal. Grade 1 Ethiopian natural, it wont win any awards but its stellar. I see they have it now for 33 if you buy 5 pounds plus their 7 shipping. That's a good deal. I would rather get better, but when its 30 percent off that, they force me into it. They have done that at Christmas the last two years. My last was that sm, is that the hanabongi? It's super good, a little better than the maho. It was a superb deal.
 
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HarborTownBrewing said:
I had tried another roast of the Ethiopia Hambela and that's a good example of a bean I just have been struggling with. After a week there is still no fruit flavor. Tried it as an espresso this morning and got a really nice long shot but without much flavor. Also made a paper Chemex with it but still not a whole lot going on.

I think I'm going to take some time away from it and then try again later.
Click to expand...
How do you know there is fruit in it?
 
applescrap said:
Wish I had anything with fruit.
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I think mentioned this one a long time ago but Klatch must have a contract & great relationship with this farm. Ive had several year's crops on this & it is the most consistently fruit-punch coffee Ive ever had... wish is remarkable. Its always extremely fruity and ranges from a tropical fruit salad to blueberry & strawberry. It's not hard to pull the fruit flavors out either. Cool part is you can order it roasted by Klatch as well & compare to your own roasts to see how you're stacking up. Ive done this a couple times and been able to get pretty close to what they do with it.
If you order a 10lb bag, it drops the price to $8/lb which IMHO is a good price all things considered.
FTO Ethiopia Gedeo Worka Natural
 

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