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

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I'm freaking dragging today so made some espresso for first time in a while. Kenya, with a little Columbian. Man it's good. A little too sweet but so much flavor

too sweet? kenyans are usually not suitable for espresso due to their high acidity levels. I'd love to have a shot of Kenyan thats "too sweet". sounds amazing!

The Crown posted a nice sounding Kenyan:
https://www.royalcoffee.com/products/cj1127/
 

Roasted my first batch of this (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Konga Natural) yesterday and have it blended about 50/50 with Guatemala El Socorro Maracaturra in my cappuccino right now. Wow! Even at only about half of the coffee in this, it's a berry bomb. Not what I usually go for in a cappuccino, so I think I'm going to make an americano with it next.

Thanks for pointing this one out, I ordered 5lb, but since it's still in stock, I might order more. It's going to be killer in the chemex tomorrow morning.

Speaking of the chemex, I bought this a week ago:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QTBOK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Similar to the able kone, but a fraction of the price. Have only used it a couple times, but seems pretty solidly built and so far I'm happy with the results.
 
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Roasted my first batch of this (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Konga Natural) yesterday and have it blended about 50/50 with Guatemala El Socorro Maracaturra in my cappuccino right now. Wow! Even at only about half of the coffee in this, it's a berry bomb. Not what I usually go for in a cappuccino, so I think I'm going to make an americano with it next.

Thanks for pointing this one out, I ordered 5lb, but since it's still in stock, I might order more. It's going to be killer in the chemex tomorrow morning.

Speaking of the chemex, I bought this a week ago:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QTBOK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Similar to the able kone, but a fraction of the price. Have only used it a couple times, but seems pretty solidly built and so far I'm happy with the results.

That's great to hear! I'm hoping to finally roast some today myself.

I've been using my Able Kone for a few months and am really happy with it. I'll be looking fwd to hearing how you like yours (same thing). It does let a little sediment through but it's minor. Way less than press pot.

My esprssso roasts so far have been all over the place. Lots of learning to do still. I think I need to order some pro roasted stuff to help me get calibrated
 
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Cmon man! Just passedpawn and I for a roast trade of same variety. Bodhileaf has a nic on sale for 3 a pound, use that one?

I have some experimenting I would like to do. Where I roast really slow or maybe really fast and switch up when I start fast and when I start slow. I think too often the adjustments I make are all these little miniscule adjustments, where I'm looking for a much bigger Spectrum.
 
too sweet? kenyans are usually not suitable for espresso due to their high acidity levels. I'd love to have a shot of Kenyan thats "too sweet". sounds amazing!

The Crown posted a nice sounding Kenyan:
https://www.royalcoffee.com/products/cj1127/

Sorry for the delay on getting back on this, but I've been out and about.

This Kenyan was Kenya Othaya, currently out of stock from SM's: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/kenya-othaya-farmers-aa-5376

I've got to roast some more of it and give it a try to see if it pulls sweet again. The acidity was great, to me, but I tend to like the acidity from Kenyans. If it comes up again, I recommend grabbing 5 lbs of it. It has nice rounded fruit flavors, maybe a little more rounded than most Kenyan coffees.
 
Roasted my first batch of this (Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Konga Natural) yesterday and have it blended about 50/50 with Guatemala El Socorro Maracaturra in my cappuccino right now. Wow! Even at only about half of the coffee in this, it's a berry bomb. Not what I usually go for in a cappuccino, so I think I'm going to make an americano with it next.

Thanks for pointing this one out, I ordered 5lb, but since it's still in stock, I might order more. It's going to be killer in the chemex tomorrow morning.

Speaking of the chemex, I bought this a week ago:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QTBOK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Similar to the able kone, but a fraction of the price. Have only used it a couple times, but seems pretty solidly built and so far I'm happy with the results.

How did it come out in the Chemex?

I have a few pounds of it in my cart right now. Ready for your approval before I pull the trigger. Also have that Columbian in the cart which @jammin recommended.
 
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How did it come out in the Chemex?

I have a few pounds of it in my cart right now. Ready for your approval before I pull the trigger. Also have that Columbian in the cart which @Jammin recommended.

With the chemex, it's not quite the berry bomb I got from those first shots of espresso, but still a good coffee. A combination of herbal/floral and berry fruit that kind of reminds me of the balance of a good earl grey tea. I'm wondering if french press might bring out the berry flavor more.
 
With the chemex, it's not quite the berry bomb I got from those first shots of espresso, but still a good coffee. A combination of herbal/floral and berry fruit that kind of reminds me of the balance of a good earl grey tea. I'm wondering if french press might bring out the berry flavor more.

This is good to know. I ended up ordering 7 lbs of that Ethiopian, as well as 5 lbs of that Columbian Microlot.

Have any of you also done any side by side comparisons with the Able filter vs a paper filter in the Chemex? I would consider upgrading to that if it's truly comparable.
 
This is good to know. I ended up ordering 7 lbs of that Ethiopian, as well as 5 lbs of that Columbian Microlot.

Have any of you also done any side by side comparisons with the Able filter vs a paper filter in the Chemex? I would consider upgrading to that if it's truly comparable.

I have not. In fact, i don't think I've even brewed the same coffee on both filters yet. I'd say that it seems to brew a different cup of coffee though. More mouthfeel than the thick chemex paper filters, almost like splitting the difference between chemex paper filters and french press.

EDIT: Also, i don't have the able filter, i have the Osaka that i linked above. I paid $20, looks like it's marked down to $15 now. At that price, just get it and try it out!
 
Can't wait for these to post. Hopefully they don't get stretched out over several days.

rm9gt0s.jpg
 
My favorite coffee last year was the Kenya Nyeri Ichuga.

Unfortunately, the window to buy extraordinary coffee is not open for too long these months, and if you don't snag it someone else will.
 
This weekend I will use the last of the Ethiopian coffee that @jammin roasted and sent to me. I really don't know what I'm going to do or how the wife and I will survive on second rate coffee now. I didn't think this through and don't have a back up plan yet. Is there a 12 step program to ease us back to the coffee we were drinking before? :D
 
This weekend I will use the last of the Ethiopian coffee that @jammin roasted and sent to me. I really don't know what I'm going to do or how the wife and I will survive on second rate coffee now. I didn't think this through and don't have a back up plan yet. Is there a 12 step program to ease us back to the coffee we were drinking before? :D

Step 1: Buy or build a roaster...
 
http://www.home-barista.com/buysell/hottop-kn-8828b-w-tc-usb-upgrade-t47652.html#p539785

http://coffeegeek.com/forums/members/buysell/723422

^both are good deals. I'd opt for the 2nd listing though. Built in USB connection to artisan is a damn nice feature. One I can't live without and also understand the PITA it is to retrofit it. I started out on a Hottop and don't regret it a single bit. Installing thermocouples isn't terribly hard and you have the luxury of choosing what you like. I used a 1/16" tc for bean temp in my old Hottop b and loved how responsive it was. My Quest M3 had a 1/8" tc for bean temp (BT) and 1/16" for roaster temp/heat applied to beans; called MET (Max environmental temp). It worked well too and he addition of the MET sensor was a big upgrade.

Sometime in between all that I built a couple Heat Gun/Bread Machine's (HG/BM), roasted in a dog food bowl, burnt out a behmor and had a hell of time with all of them. Although I hated the behmor most, it was easy to roast good coffee on.

Lots of good ways to roast coffee. Some more consistent than others. Like many things, money can buy a higher bandwidth for error. Of course, the law of diminishing returns does apply.
 
....and so it begins.
I have enough DYI projects going on and have done some research on roasters. Say someone had $500-1000 mad cash to get started.

i cant remember your situation but you can always start with something like a whirlypop. i had one laying around which i used for about 4months with fantastic results. If you buy quality beans and drink the coffee promptly, i guarantee youll enjoy the results
 
....and so it begins.
I have enough DYI projects going on and have done some research on roasters. Say someone had $500-1000 mad cash to get started.

My intro to this roasting thing was the whirlypop. It does a GREAT job with coffee beans. I had the one with the nylon gear at the top. That fell apart. I replaced with the all steel version.

I know it's a long thread, but if you look through it you'll get a lot of ideas. Don't spend $$$ until you've gotten a taste of what ¢¢¢ can get you.
 
Also - another easy to get into roasting: RK Drums. They fabricate kits to roast coffee in your gas BBQ. I've never used one but they have a good reputation amongst owners. 2-5lbs per batch is a very realistic quantity. The control knobs on a BBQ are well suited to offer a great deal of control over the roast.

https://www.rkdrums.com
 
I roasted 2lbs of an Ethiopian DP last night (Kongo from RM's). 1 for pour over, 1 for espresso. Here is the curve for the espresso roast. I pulled a shot this morning and it was amazing. Low acidity, easy drinking milk chocolate & loaded with berries. I can't remember the last time Ive had a shot this good. Cant wait to see how it develops with some rest -

3dO3PhG.png


The pour over roast is tasting great too albeit muddled. Needs some rest to bring out the clarity in the cup. Sweetness is there for sure.
 
I rested some Columbian greens in a pretty much empty bottle of Evan Williams bourbon for 6 days. Roasted it up, and after 2.5 days of rest the brewed cup was pretty phenomenal. It smells of bourbon, and has a super super rich caramel vanilla flavor. I get no origin flavors from this coffee, but that's just fine because the bourbon flavors provide everything you could ask for.
 
I roasted 2lbs of an Ethiopian DP last night (Kongo from RM's). 1 for pour over, 1 for espresso. Here is the curve for the espresso roast. I pulled a shot this morning and it was amazing. Low acidity, easy drinking milk chocolate & loaded with berries. I can't remember the last time Ive had a shot this good. Cant wait to see how it develops with some rest -

3dO3PhG.png


The pour over roast is tasting great too albeit muddled. Needs some rest to bring out the clarity in the cup. Sweetness is there for sure.

Sounds like an awesome roast. Can you tell us how you adjusted your heat and air flow through that roast. I'm surprised you were able to get to First crack at 8 but then stretch it so long, without finding second crack. Also I'm surprised it's not acidic. The quicker roasts I have done have been acidic. I might be roasting too much at one time though too.
 
@inkleg what about the behmor? it seems like people really love them, and they're pretty sweet looking machines
 
Anyone have experience or suggestions on roasting coffee from Mexico?

A friend has been asking me to make him some, so I picked up this one: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/mexico-org-tenejapa-kulaktik-coop-5369

One roast with is so far, where I took it kind of slow and ended about a min after 1C stopped. It kind of has a grape flavor and I can taste a bit of coconut, but it's just a little flat.
 
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