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@applescrap great post putting all those pics together.
My wife & I only drink a 12oz mug each in the morning so an automatic brewer doesn’t fit our lifestyle. I’ve always wanted a Moccamaster though. The oscillating brew head & late Mid-Century Modern design really grab me. Someday I may even buy one for the hell out of it but if I were on the hunt, (@HarborTownBrewing) it’s what I’d buy.
 
I got it I got it I got it I got it! I'm pretty excited about this, I have done pour over every morning for about 6 years so now I'll be able to occasionally use a machine to replace me.

Initial impressions: it's bad ass. After calibrating and whatnot, I ran some Rwanda through it,programming it for 202 degree brew temp and a 1:15 presoak. In the cup it's just about everything I normally get out of my Chem ex with the Able Kone.

I know there's a lot more I can play with and change, so I've got more to figure out but I'm stoked. This is going to be a fun new toy; I can't wait to run some Colombian through it.
20190907_150909.jpeg
 
Damn, that's sexy. And that Ethiopian is tempting, but I have a lot of various Ethiopians on hand right now and am looking for some variety
 
I made 4 quarter pound roasts in the Behmor this weekend. 2 were good, 1 was Starbucks quality nastiness, and one got ruined by the auto shut off function because I wasn’t paying attention. Overall though.... it will roast. Yeah I watch too much forged in fire.
 
Br3w4u said:
I made 4 quarter pound roasts in the Behmor this weekend. 2 were good, 1 was Starbucks quality nastiness, and one got ruined by the auto shut off function because I wasn’t paying attention. Overall though.... it will roast. Yeah I watch too much forged in fire.
Click to expand...

I had a separate kitchen timer I used to keep me aware of when I needed to hit the continue button when I had a behmor. I would max out the extra time setting so I knew when that happen and set the time for 30sec ahead.

I also had a pair of work gloves and external cooling box to lock in my roasts. I would start the cooling then reach in to pull the drum to dump it.
 
ba-brewer said:
I had a separate kitchen timer I used to keep me aware of when I needed to hit the continue button when I had a behmor. I would max out the extra time setting so I knew when that happen and set the time for 30sec ahead.

I also had a pair of work gloves and external cooling box to lock in my roasts. I would start the cooling then reach in to pull the drum to dump it.
Click to expand...
I am also pulling the drum. I dump it in a colander and stir to cool. I don’t see how it could ever cool down just spinning in the roaster.
 
Br3w4u said:
I am also pulling the drum. I dump it in a colander and stir to cool. I don’t see how it could ever cool down just spinning in the roaster.
Click to expand...
It actually cools pretty quickly. All of the metal is pretty thin on the inside, there isn’t that much with any thermal mass in there, so once the heating elements are turned off it loses temp pretty fast with the fans running.

Of course, pulling the drum and dumping into a colander is faster, which is better, but tends to make a mess. I didn’t like that because I always roasted in the kitchen with the Behmor.
 
Thinking about that option-o grinder still. A week ago I was thinking I was going to jump on the pre-order Saturday morning. Then some other ways to spend money came up and I decided not to. They still have pre-orders open with the $100 pre-order discount, but now with a late January delivery instead of November.

Saturday night, I found a CL ad for a La Spaziale vivaldi II for crazy cheap. Ad said that it didn't work, so i contacted the seller to ask what was up. He said that he didn't really diagnose it, but it was blowing fuses so he just bought a new one. He also lowered the price without prompting. I was ready to drive there immediately with cash, but then he said that a friend of his said that they wanted it. He's got a lucky friend. What a let down after getting excited. The La Spaziale is not my dream espresso machine (decent), but it would certainly be a step up from my Silvia.
jammin said:
Anyone see the 92pt Ethiopian that just showed up @ Sweet Marias? 2pt cuppers correction so it's a true 90pt coffee. My golden rule at SM's is that if a coffee has a score of 9 or greater in BOTH Flavor & Sweetness I buy it so picked up 10lbs of it. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype.


Ethiopia Dry Process Guji Gerbicho Rogicha
Click to expand...
Might order some of this one too. I have much more ethiopian coffee than anything else right now though. I feel like i need a little more variety.
 
Ruint said:
Not from Brazil...but I am very interested in this one...
https://royalcoffee.com/product/cjo1311/

It should be delivered this next Monday...along with a double washed Banko...lol
Click to expand...

If you’re looking to sell any, I’d be interested in 5lb of that. If not, is there enough interest from others here to split a box?
 
I could probably do that TD. Sounded like a tasty coffee to me. If there is enough interest in this one, I could order another as well. So it is known....I don't know where it will place in flavor...no promises with my choice of a "sounds tasty to me" selection...
 
Ruint said:
I could probably do that TD. Sounded like a tasty coffee to me. If there is enough interest in this one, I could order another as well. So it is known....I don't know where it will place in flavor...no promises with my choice of a "sounds tasty to me" selection...
Click to expand...

I like Guatemalan coffees. I’ve liked the Crown Jewels that jammin has split in the past. Only skimmed the info on crown’s website but it seems like a solid bet. I also need a little more variety. Running low on non-Ethiopian coffees.
 
Haha, I only drink Ethiopian as you all know, maybe a little Kenyan or Burundi here and there. But yeah I need some other coffee too to remind me how good the Ethiopian is. Otherwise the extraordinary can become ordinary. Probably, gosh, dare I say it, Kenyan.
 
The dry process Ethiopian coffee becomes hard to find for periods of time which help thin the over stocks. I almost bought 5lb of the last one Jammin posted but went with only 2 pounds instead as the oldest stuff in my coffee locker is almost a year old.
 
Ruint said:
Not from Brazil...but I am very interested in this one...
https://royalcoffee.com/product/cjo1311/

It should be delivered this next Monday...along with a double washed Banko...lol
Click to expand...

Hey guys. Been lurking here for awhile. Roasting the past couple of years on a gene cafe which has worked well for me. Purchased my first true espresso machine after TD suggested several. I chose the decent pro which fit my situation best. Great machine and it’s been fun learning how to pull a shot.

Anyway I saw the possible box split for some yummy guat and thought I’d speak up. I’d do up to 5lbs if you’re still splitting.

Thanks and I appreciate the work everyone’s put into this thread.
 
@Sprouthog - welcome aboard. would like to hear more about your experiences with the GeneCafe & Decent Espresso Machine. The DE might be the most flexible, interesting espresso machine produced to date.

shelly_belly said:
I like this one. I'm using it straight up for espresso shots and cappuccinos.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY what i was looking for! thanks for the suggestion - i actually wanted it for espresso too
 
I wanted to share a couple quick thoughts on the recent (2019) Banko a lot of us grabbed from the Crown Jewel.

1.) I am not getting hardly any berries from this coffee. After multiple roast attempts, letting it age for 2 weeks, several brew methods/parameters no a drop of Blueberry to be found. This is disappointing as on their flavor cluster, Blueberry was listed in a larger/bolder font than many other descriptors. With a deeper review of the roast notes, I could see that it wasn't cited hardly at all. Not sure where that got lost in translation but if weren't so optimistic I believe my expectations could have been tempered more accurately. I'm ok with this as it's a good lesson learned and Im far from disappointed with this coffee. In fact, I find it quite good.

2.) This coffee cupped blind to me would have shouted washed Yrg. When Royal noted this as being an EXTREMELY clean Natural, they were spot on. With my quicker roasts, Im getting some excellent high floral notes with a very clean, slick & light bodied sweetness. It's a bit of a delicate cup but I can see why they were excited about it. Those floral notes displayed so clearly & cleanly are rare especially when coupled with a white-sugar sweetness/bakers chocolate background.

I hope others weren't let down by the lack of promised berries and were able to enjoy the nuances of this coffee. The preparation on it is top tier with perhaps the exception of the sorting being a little fast & loose (to be expected with such a large lot).


I roasted 2 batches of the latest Ethiopian Natural from SM's today. Here is a shot of the 2nd - I am happy with the curve and looking forward to cupping this coffee soon:
Gerbicho f R2 9:14:19.png
 
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I for one am not disappointed. I found it to be extremely balanced and otherworldly smooth. Flavors of light chocolate, peach, and red berries....not really discernable between strawberry or raspberry. I got the double washed banko today, along with the Guatemala. TD and Sprout hog...you guys still want a 5 lb split each?
 
Ruint said:
I for one am not disappointed. I found it to be extremely balanced and otherworldly smooth. Flavors of light chocolate, peach, and red berries....not really discernable between strawberry or raspberry. I got the double washed banko today, along with the Guatemala. TD and Sprout hog...you guys still want a 5 lb split each?
Click to expand...

Yep. If you’re willing to sell and do the shipping.
 
Ruint said:
I for one am not disappointed. I found it to be extremely balanced and otherworldly smooth. Flavors of light chocolate, peach, and red berries....not really discernable between strawberry or raspberry. I got the double washed banko today, along with the Guatemala. TD and Sprout hog...you guys still want a 5 lb split each?
Click to expand...

Yep. I’d do 5lbs if you can spare it.
 
As mentioned some were interested in the gene cafe roaster and decent espresso machine. Over the next few days, schedule permitting I’ll try to give a brief overview of each device and some opinion based on the use there of
 
I ordered about 20 lbs of Honduras from Legacy Farms. They currently have beans from a neighboring farm which they are helping sell, which I think is really cool.

I had an issue with the shipment, USPS delivered it incorrectly to the wrong address. Long story short, DEA got ahold of it, returned it, and wrote Legacy a not so great letter. All because it got delivered incorrectly by USPS. Anyways, I talked to Ashley, the owner, and he reshipped it to me and wouldn't accept additional payment. When I opened the package he had included some Coffee Cherry Tea and a nice note on a Honduran bill.

I haven't roasted this yet but I'll continue to sing their praises. If you want to buy good coffee, give this farm a try. The quality is fantastic, the prices are very reasonable, and you are buying straight from the farm. Ashley doesn't talk about it much but he does a lot to make sure his employees are paid appropriately and that he does things the "right" way.

Just wanted to share this little story. Hopefully I'll get to roast these in the next week and I'll post my review.
20190910_115147.jpeg
 
Gene Cafe

Off axis hot air roaster. Manual two dial control for both time and temperature control. 1/2 pound capacity. Large chaff collector and 3 inch exhaust nozzle. Retail $585. Never pay retail!!!

Purchased Nov 2017 and roasted 80+ batches. 230gr batches seems to be the sweet spot leaving roughly 190gr out. Roasting procedure is as follows preheat chamber, charge chamber, roast to max or desired temp, reduce temp 1 min prior to desired roast, emergency stop, pull chamber, return roaster to cooling mode then force cool beans externally.

This is my first roaster. I wanted something that would be a step up from the counter top roaster, with some technology, some adjustability, not overly complicated and I could use in the house year round.

1/2 pound is a reasonable size for me based on consumption and i can do 2lbs/hr. Machine is not excessively noisy but it is difficult to hear the crack. Glass chamber and experience helps in determining the correct roast. Large exhaust manifold collects chaff and exhaust nozzle can be fitted with flexible tubing and run out the range exhaust. Only a small amount of chaff is left in the chamber. I externally cool beans using air from a small vacuum piped into a small bucket covered with a collider containing the beans. Cooling to room temp takes about 2 minutes.

All in all the machine works for me. Drawbacks based on my experience is batch size when roasting large quantities, dialing in specific characteristics not having quick temperature changes and the moisture loss is 5% high than the recommend norm.

This has been a great learning machine for me and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting a starter machine. I’ve tried many more beans having a home roaster then I would have without one.

Bemore was my second choice mainly due to its open exhaust.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I ordered about 20 lbs of Honduras from Legacy Farms. They currently have beans from a neighboring farm which they are helping sell, which I think is really cool.

I had an issue with the shipment, USPS delivered it incorrectly to the wrong address. Long story short, DEA got ahold of it, returned it, and wrote Legacy a not so great letter. All because it got delivered incorrectly by USPS. Anyways, I talked to Ashley, the owner, and he reshipped it to me and wouldn't accept additional payment. When I opened the package he had included some Coffee Cherry Tea and a nice note on a Honduran bill.

I haven't roasted this yet but I'll continue to sing their praises. If you want to buy good coffee, give this farm a try. The quality is fantastic, the prices are very reasonable, and you are buying straight from the farm. Ashley doesn't talk about it much but he does a lot to make sure his employees are paid appropriately and that he does things the "right" way.

Just wanted to share this little story. Hopefully I'll get to roast these in the next week and I'll post my review. View attachment 644669
Click to expand...
Cool story. I like people like that and I like people who support businesses like that. Need more people like that in our world.
 
Sprouthog said:
Gene Cafe

Off axis hot air roaster. Manual two dial control for both time and temperature control. 1/2 pound capacity. Large chaff collector and 3 inch exhaust nozzle. Retail $585. Never pay retail!!!

Purchased Nov 2017 and roasted 80+ batches. 230gr batches seems to be the sweet spot leaving roughly 190gr out. Roasting procedure is as follows preheat chamber, charge chamber, roast to max or desired temp, reduce temp 1 min prior to desired roast, emergency stop, pull chamber, return roaster to cooling mode then force cool beans externally.

This is my first roaster. I wanted something that would be a step up from the counter top roaster, with some technology, some adjustability, not overly complicated and I could use in the house year round.

1/2 pound is a reasonable size for me based on consumption and i can do 2lbs/hr. Machine is not excessively noisy but it is difficult to hear the crack. Glass chamber and experience helps in determining the correct roast. Large exhaust manifold collects chaff and exhaust nozzle can be fitted with flexible tubing and run out the range exhaust. Only a small amount of chaff is left in the chamber. I externally cool beans using air from a small vacuum piped into a small bucket covered with a collider containing the beans. Cooling to room temp takes about 2 minutes.

All in all the machine works for me. Drawbacks based on my experience is batch size when roasting large quantities, dialing in specific characteristics not having quick temperature changes and the moisture loss is 5% high than the recommend norm.

This has been a great learning machine for me and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting a starter machine. I’ve tried many more beans having a home roaster then I would have without one.

Bemore was my second choice mainly due to its open exhaust.
Click to expand...
Great review, that roaster looks sweet.
 
Just curious, what is everyone’s favorite coffee bean from legacy farms? I usually get the honey processed lempira but have also had the red bourbon and I am not sure what I want to order next.
 
I've tried them all except for the peaberry. My favorite is the natural Lempira. It has a little more depth of flavor than the red honey Lempira. But I mainly drink espresso. They will let you mix it up in 1 pound increments so you should get some of it all. Just order through the "additional pounds after minimum 6 pound order" link. Your first 6 pounds can be mixed to qualify as the minimum 6 pound order!
 
I got an email last night from Legacy that if you order 6+ lbs you currently get entered in a drawing for some free stuff.

I just ordered some beans from Sweet Marias; they are running 20% off Burundi and Rwanda, and they have a ton of different choices. All in all though, the SM offerings are fairly lacking currently (I didn't look at the African beans though, as I have a surplus). I needed some Colombian or Brazil to use as a base for my bourbon-aged coffee, but they're options are pretty poorly rated and frankly all over the place. No chocolate bombs, which surprised me. The one coffee that looked good was a Guat but it was something like $7.50/lb.

Anyways, ordered 40 lbs from them so I'll be good until around Thanksgiving. I'll probably go back to Roastmasters next time around.

Finally, I tried some of the coffee tea Legacy sent me and it was pretty good. It didn't smell great as a brewed cup so I didn't think it would be that great but it was actually really good. Very smooth, not bitter.
 

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