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

[pshankstar]

Got my Cascara dried cherries yesterday. Not sure what to do with it. Somewhat bitter eating raw, and very dry and leathery unlike a raisin, so I think using them another way is needed. Anyone else try these before? Says eat raw or make tea (no instructions). Bet they'd be good as a flame-out beer addition frankly, but wanted to gather some other ideas first.
TD

I’ve steeped them in hot water for tea. I didn’t get a lot of flavor from them. I splash of honey helps but that’s all I’ve done. I agree with eating them it’s nothing to write home about.
Depending on the beer I think a FO addition would be a good idea but like the tea I don’t think you will get much from them.

 

[TrickyDick]

Kinda disappointing really. Maybe that is why you don't see them for sale because they aren't as good as the coffee. Kind of like the market for banana peels I guess.
TD

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Well, just ordered $500 in coffee, 105 lbs. Got a mix of lots of great looking things coming between Burmans and Sweet Marias. In that mix was the beans I'll be using for my Christmas Blend this year; I won't give it away, but will say that this is one of the beans. Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro It looks fantastic, I can't wait to try it as a SO in the Chemex. Chocolate covered Blueberries? Sounds too good to be true.

I should also mention, some of you follow me (and vice versa) on Instagram and you may notice I'm posting more. Well, it's solely because my wife took it over a couple months ago or so and really stepped it up (which admittedly was not hard because I didn't do...anything on it). So if anyone is looking to follow.... @harbortownroasting

 

[bleme]

So if anyone is looking to follow.... @harbortownroasting

Login • Instagram ???

 

[ba-brewer]

Well, just ordered $500 in coffee, 105 lbs. Got a mix of lots of great looking things coming between Burmans and Sweet Marias. In that mix was the beans I'll be using for my Christmas Blend this year; I won't give it away, but will say that this is one of the beans. Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro It looks fantastic, I can't wait to try it as a SO in the Chemex. Chocolate covered Blueberries? Sounds too good to be true.

I should also mention, some of you follow me (and vice versa) on Instagram and you may notice I'm posting more. Well, it's solely because my wife took it over a couple months ago or so and really stepped it up (which admittedly was not hard because I didn't do...anything on it). So if anyone is looking to follow.... @harbortownroasting

Thanks for the tip about the coffee at Sweet Maria's, I picked up a couple pounds as well as another 8lbs of central american beans. Been trying to draw down my stash before I placed another but with choices looking pretty slim at sweet maria's sometime you need to get things while you can.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

but with choices looking pretty slim at sweet maria's sometime you need to get things while you can.

That's the truth. I had originally picked a Burundi for my blend instead of that Ethiopian. The next day I come back to the computer to order it and it had sold out.

 

[ba-brewer]

What I thought was funny was that they did not have much from south america, just a few Columbian offering. I was hoping for something from Brazil but they had nothing.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I roasted some Panama last night I had gotten from Burmans. Panama Casa Ruiz Jaguar was the name, normally like $7.50/lb, I got it on sale at about $5.50. I roasted it last night and had the strangest roast - there was no first crack. I had a really nice roast going, and got maybe 4 or 5 pops but that was it. I have never had this happen unless I just happen to blow through first crack or stall the beans out, but I didn't do either. So then I started thinking - maybe the beans were a few years old. Looked them up, nope - they were a July 2020 arrival.

I'll report how they taste once I try them later this week. I still hope they are good but I can't think of any other time I have had a good roast that just didn't have a first crack.

Alright I have a follow-up report. I tried that batch of Panama and it was fine but nothing great. I looked at the roasting chart again and thought about it some more; I got to 1C at about 8:30 or so, and the chart showed where my bean temps sort of rounded their way upwards rather than a straight line. So I decided I'd hit it with a little more heat up front to try to make my bean temp rise "straighter", and hopefully hit 1C earlier. I hit 1C around 7:15 or so which was a bit earlier than I had wanted but no problem. It had more of a 1C but still not a very aggressive one.

Tried this roast today and it's fantastic. SOOOOOOOOO much better than my first attempt, it's night and day. Incredible how different coffee can taste when you take a different approach.

 

[Ruint]

Very nice to hear HTB! What size batches are you roasting? On the cracking issue, do you know how much moisture is still in the bean? Probably difficult to determine. Not that I like using older beans, but have noticed when I have, the first crack sounds are quite muted compared to the fresher ones. I am wanting to see if moisture content is the reason. Fresh beans will have had less time to lose their moisture as older ones will have more chance to come to an equilibrium, and especially in the winter months, become more dry, muting the reaction of the cracking. Kind of like a bullet without enough gunpowder in it to properly push the projectile, a coffee bean without moisture doesn't have the reaction to the moisture evaporation in it to pronounce a good audible crack. Interested in hearing possible reasons....

 

[TrickyDick]

Well, just ordered $500 in coffee, 105 lbs. Got a mix of lots of great looking things coming between Burmans and Sweet Marias. In that mix was the beans I'll be using for my Christmas Blend this year; I won't give it away, but will say that this is one of the beans. Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro It looks fantastic, I can't wait to try it as a SO in the Chemex. Chocolate covered Blueberries? Sounds too good to be true.

I should also mention, some of you follow me (and vice versa) on Instagram and you may notice I'm posting more. Well, it's solely because my wife took it over a couple months ago or so and really stepped it up (which admittedly was not hard because I didn't do...anything on it). So if anyone is looking to follow.... @harbortownroasting

Congrats! I ended up buying some of that coffee, and now am officially at my limit for on hand greens. It sounds awesome.

 

[Ruint]

180 grams of coffee bean Used for 60 ounces of coffee. 2 different beans split at 90 grams each. 1 Colombia Antioquia supremo, 1 Brazil Salto Estate. Colombia bean has chocolate walnut, and Brazil is milk chocolate, nut tones, and orange zest. 2 cups dark brown sugar, 2 cups white granulated. 2 cups white rum. 1 cup vodka. Both spirits are top shelf. One premium vanilla bean, cut into thirds, and split down the middle. = 2/3's gallon of what already tastes fantastic home made Kahlua

 

[TrickyDick]

I might be able to convince my co-workers to try my coffee with that recipe. Don't think that boss will be happy with them drinking at work though!
TD

 

[TrickyDick]

Anybody using Artisan? Anybody tried using Roast Learner add on (GitHub aderusha search) ? It is an A.I. with USB mic and python coding setup to auto detect and mark in Artisan when it detects 1C start.
Let me know if anyone has had success with using. Not much out there about it.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Anybody using Artisan? Anybody tried using Roast Learner add on (GitHub aderusha search) ?

This doesn't help much given your question but I'm still using Aillio's Roasttime software; I'm on their first version of the software still as well. I'm generally a late-adopter type of person and hate to mess with something that I've figured out so I'm stubbornly still using the original version. I know eventually they'll stop supporting it but I'm holding out!

 

[Ruint]

I have not ventured into Artisan either, and like HTB, have stayed with Roasttime. I have not stayed with the original version, and have not had any glitches so far either. Don't know if that is because I usually wait until at least the first update to newly released versions before switching or not......but it's been a charm so far!

 

[ba-brewer]

Anybody using Artisan? Anybody tried using Roast Learner add on (GitHub aderusha search) ? It is an A.I. with USB mic and python coding setup to auto detect and mark in Artisan when it detects 1C start.
Let me know if anyone has had success with using. Not much out there about it.

I had used artisan for a little while but not the add on mentioned. I had been using it with some phidgets modules but I quit because I think there was an issue with those not adjusting to ambient temp properly.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Well, just ordered $500 in coffee, 105 lbs. Got a mix of lots of great looking things coming between Burmans and Sweet Marias. In that mix was the beans I'll be using for my Christmas Blend this year; I won't give it away, but will say that this is one of the beans. Ethiopia Dry Process Hambela Goro It looks fantastic, I can't wait to try it as a SO in the Chemex. Chocolate covered Blueberries? Sounds too good to be true.

Alright so I have a follow-up post to report. Roasted up both beans for the Christmas Blend (the Ethiopian Goro and a Colombian). I didn't exactly get the roast I wanted as I thought I may have roasted them a little fast. About 20 mins post roast I was putting them away and decided to take a sniff of the canisters. Opened up the Ethiopian one and it was BLUEBERRY HEAVEN. Oh man, I got excited but waited a couple days to actually drink it.

So, after about 3 days of rest I blended 50/50 of the Ethiopian and the Colombian, brewed it in the Chemex, and inhaled a nice sniff from the Crust as it was blooming in the Chemex. Again, BLUEBERRY HEAVEN. Now I'm getting reaaaally excited. I take another sniff and must have too eagerly inhaled too much of the off-gassing CO2 because I could hardly breathe haha.

In the cup, it's just delicious. The blueberry is certainly there but it's complimented so nicely with these other dark fruit flavors. The Colombian gives it the body it needs and rounds it out. Since blending it a number of times and running it through the Chemex and Behmor Brewer, I have also tried both beans on their own and they are both delicious as single origins. I still want to get a slightly longer roast on the Colombian to get a bit more body (I think I had hit 1C at like 6:30 so about a min earlier than I had wanted to) but man...there is just nothing like a great cup of coffee.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Congrats! I ended up buying some of that coffee, and now am officially at my limit for on hand greens. It sounds awesome.

@TrickyDick have you had a chance to roast the Goro?

 

[TallDan]

Espresso based drinks have been a pleasure to make and tasting better than ever in the last week.

 

[TrickyDick]

@TrickyDick have you had a chance to roast the Goro?

No not yet. Been working my tail off and got sick so just started feeling better again. Tend to not drink coffee much when I'm feeling bad. I did recently decide to cut back on my brewing ratio , as it seems that it might been too much coffee and not enough water. I'd been using a 16:1 Im not sure where I am at not, but I definitely enjoy the coffee better with more water. I'll be working on the Goro in the next couple of weeks.

TD

 

[TrickyDick]

Espresso based drinks have been a pleasure to make and tasting better than ever in the last week.
View attachment 707112

what is this thing??

 

[bleme]

what is this thing??

It looks like a Monolith Titan

 

[TallDan]

what is this thing??

This angle is a little more self-explanatory:

and here is a full family picture:

The two mazzers, the Baratza Vario, and the HG-1 are all getting listed for sale. I’ve had fun playing with the mazzers, and the HG-1 and vario have served me well, but the kafatek and ditting more than cover my coffee grinder needs.

 

[Ruint]

A couple of things to mention. The Kahlua turned out ok. The taste was good, but boy howdy was it sweet! It is gone none the less, and 2 gallons are now maturing. 1 was made with 200 grams freshly brewed coffee, the other I used 3/4 gallon of my undiluted cold brew. Both have 4 cups alcohol, and 3 cups sugar and 1.5 vanilla beans. Looking to take some of the syrup sweetness away and improve the "alcohol presence". We will see how this turns out.
I finally updated my roasting software/firmware....Uuuggghhhh!!
Did this on a Friday night in preparation to a roasting session that I planned to do on Saturday. Surprise!!! I had unplanned guests show up that stayed a little too late for me, so I put off the roasting until Sunday morning. Got out in the shed and needed to warm things up about 10 so I cranked the heater, and went back inside to pick my beans out. Got that accomplished, went back to the shed to start my roasters' preheat....only to find that my control board and display were not going to function on my roaster. That's when the fun started! Messed around with that until late afternoon, getting it back to functional....Now I still am not sure that I have the latest and greatest software/firmware on it, and I can't begin to extrapolate on how much I'm looking forward to trying it again!!!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Got my Christmas Blend tweaked and really happy with how it's tasting this year. This is usually the only blend I do each year, everything else is single origin, so it's kind of a fun surprise and something I look forward to. My friends who buy from me also look forward to it and have really been enjoying this one too which is fun to hear. Roasting up a bunch during December was always a lot of work on the Behmor, the Bullet makes the busy month a lot easier.

This past weekend I tried the cocktail Churchill's Breakfast for the first time, brewing up some Japanese-style cold brew that I mixed into it. If any of you are into bourbon, you would most definitely looooove this cocktail. I don't know why it took me so long to find it but I'm going to make up for lost time, that's for sure.

 

[Ruint]

Hey HTB! I too am doing a Xmas blend, and like you, only have ever blended during this holiday season. Last year I had more demand on the blend than I anticipated, which was quite a surprise! I have different beans to blend this year for the Xmas blend, so hopefully it goes as well as last years! I, would love to try yours, if you have enough, so pm details please.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

The Bullet is a beeeaasst. 9 lbs roasted and bagged in 2 hours!

@Ruint i owe you a message still, have not forgotten, just crazy busy.

 

[pshankstar]

If anyone does the green coffee bean subscription with Sweet Maria's or Bodhi Leaf, can you please share your thoughts and what you received? I'm on the fence because I think it would be fun to try new beans, but I like to typically order more than 1lbs of beans so I can roast them a few times in various different ways. Plus I like to select my own beans, but a surprise would be fun too.

 

[Ruint]

I have thought about getting a subscription, but I buy way too many pounds from several different vendors for it to be much more than a fleeting thought. It is also a very convenient way for vendors to lighten their load of beans that are not that appealing or selling that well. Yep, surprise!!!! You get to have the latest coffee bean that tastes like toe jam and dirt, and an after taste of seaweed sea foam and clam! Lmao!! Exaggerations of coarse, but no thanks anyways!!

 

[pshankstar]

I have thought about getting a subscription, but I buy way too many pounds from several different vendors for it to be much more than a fleeting thought. It is also a very convenient way for vendors to lighten their load of beans that are not that appealing or selling that well. Yep, surprise!!!! You get to have the latest coffee bean that tastes like toe jam and dirt, and an after taste of seaweed sea foam and clam! Lmao!! Exaggerations of coarse, but no thanks anyways!!

I was kind of thinking the same thing about offloading beans that are not selling well or just not that good. I'm holding off for now but I'm curious to see if anyone does try any of these subscriptions.