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I got a new drum to get away from angering SWMBO by using my kitchen convection oven...
Missing my old Behmor just a bit...
Need to build a small spit and crank and journal to spin the new drum over my brew burner...
Six and a half more lb in my current reserve from Burman. Good so far of what I ordered!
 
I think I'm getting the hang of roasting decaf for my wife. The last batch was pretty good, for decaf. Today's batch looks and smells pretty good
I still don't understand the point of decaf. Caffeine apparently is the cause of some of my wife's heart issues so she needs to avoid it. But why drink brown sadness water before work?
 
bkboiler said:
My wife drinks decaf for the same reason. Altho it offends my sensibilities she also prefers her keurig...live and let live... 🙄🤐
Click to expand...
My wife drinks the coffee I drip brew on weekday mornings, but puts flavored creamers in it. I should live and let live more, but can't resist making derogatory comments, especially right now. The flavor she currently has is...

pumpkin spice.

Yes, she brought that into my home. How embarrassing.
 
Awesome seeing some "long time silent" contributors post! Welcome back to y'all!
Seems I misspoke about why my charts had crossing lines between the drum temp (which is really the Infra-red Bean temp ) and bean temp (which is an actual temp probe). As I had just cleaned it thoroughly, and I was testing batch sizes, I construed the charting lines to cross because of thermal mass overtaking the drum temp. I was wrong in assessing it as such. Some folks on the roast.world forum went thru this occurrence too. As it turns out, they found that the IBTS lens will do this when it gets dirty. I cleaned it until I didn't see any residue come off when I cleaned it. After reading what they discovered, I went and disassembled my roaster and went through 15 double ended q-tips, with some isopropyl alcohol, cleaning just the sensor. Have not had any lines cross since and they have had very nice separation in temperatures. The residue stopped showing after 5 q-tips, just like it did when I did my thorough cleaning, but I went well beyond that. Just goes to show that it never hurts to read up on things!!
 
Drinking one of the best cups of coffee I've had for a long time. This is my second roast of this coffee, the first was good, but not great. This batch is great. I don't think I would have ever come up with the cherry cola description myself, but it's accurate. I bought 5 pounds and after today's cup, I'm seriously thinking about buying more.
https://www.roastmasters.com/ethiopia-hambela.htmlI might try dropping a few degrees lower, but I'd hesitate to mess with a good thing on the next batch.
Ethiopia Hambela Natural 20-09-27_2030.png
 
464D2883-8A85-46AB-BF9F-15BEEA1F7B95.jpeg
My order from the Coffee Bean Coral arrived today. It was the cheap Brazilian and Rwanda beans @TallDan shared a few days ago. They shipped quickly which is nice!
First observation was I like the cloth bags they came in b/c they can be reused for other things later on. What I didn’t like was they don’t seal all the way so there were some beans spilled out within the box. Not a dealbreaker but more surprised than anything. Looking at the beans they all seem very small in size, similar to peaberry beans I’ve purchased before. I also found many beans that seem to have deformities to them, which isn’t something I’ve seen much in my short time roasting.
I’m excited to roast some of these beans to see how they taste, that’s all that matters. I’m not complaining by any means but sharing my initial thoughts and findings with these sub $4/lbs beans including shipping.
 
I bought 12 lbs of the same Brazilian beans. I'm not 100% sure I liked the bags' smell. I repackaged into 1 gallon freezer bags immediately. The beans looked ok to me: uniform size, no debris, broken beans, or fibers in there.
I would be very interested to hear about experiences roasting and brewing them.
 
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I'm not sure I want fruit salad in my coffee, thank you very much. Also, preserves? Why not fresh fruit?
Not that I want that in my coffee, either. How about just coffee flavoured coffee...

Has anybody roasted the 'roaster rescue' brazilian beans yet (see pshankstar's post a few posts back)?
Do they need to be redried before storage?
 
Gruel said:
I'm not sure I want fruit salad in my coffee, thank you very much. Also, preserves? Why not fresh fruit?
Not that I want that in my coffee, either. How about just coffee flavoured coffee...

Has anybody roasted the 'roaster rescue' brazilian beans yet (see pshankstar's post a few posts back)?
Do they need to be redried before storage?
Click to expand...
I roasted two pounds the other night but haven’t brewed with it yet. I may brew with it in the French Press tomorrow morning. I’ll report back once I try it tomorrow or Sunday.
 
pshankstar said:
I roasted two pounds the other night but haven’t brewed with it yet. I may brew with it in the French Press tomorrow morning. I’ll report back once I try it tomorrow or Sunday.
Click to expand...
Thanks; I'm worried that the shipment I received might be a bit damp. It was a few ounces underweight though, which I don't think the seller would do on purpose, so that argues for it getting drier, maybe?
 
corkybstewart said:
I think I'm getting the hang of roasting decaf for my wife. The last batch was pretty good, for decaf. Today's batch looks and smells pretty good
I still don't understand the point of decaf. Caffeine apparently is the cause of some of my wife's heart issues so she needs to avoid it. But why drink brown sadness water before work?
Click to expand...
Please pass along any tidbits of advice! I find it extremely difficult to roast in my Bullet roaster because the crack sounds seem muted, and it progresses much faster than a regular roast. I think roasting it darker than I do for non-decaf (My fave is Ethiopian Dry Process stuff) is the key. I have some Peruvian Organic that I roasted and vac sealed into one pot portions and tossed into freezer for when I'm feeling like coffee in the evening.
TD
 
pshankstar said:
Wow that sounds amazing!
Click to expand...
I just bought 5 pounds and wanted to share, but you beat me to it! key word in description that made me buy 5# was...
BLUEBERRY

I'm a sucker for that. So has anyone tried this yet? I assume NO since its probably so new at SM.

FYI they also are selling dried coffee FRUIT! Never had it before, but hoping I like it. Kinda costly for a 3oz at almost $6 before shipping.
TD
 
TrickyDick said:
I just bought 5 pounds and wanted to share, but you beat me to it! key word in description that made me buy 5# was...
BLUEBERRY

I'm a sucker for that. So has anyone tried this yet? I assume NO since its probably so new at SM.

FYI they also are selling dried coffee FRUIT! Never had it before, but hoping I like it. Kinda costly for a 3oz at almost $6 before shipping.
TD
Click to expand...
Last night I ordered 5lb each of Ethiopia Organic Dry Process Shakiso Bookkisa and Ethiopia Guji Uraga Yabitu from SM. It will probably be a few weeks before I have any comments on it. It was tempting to go for 10# on the Bookkisa based on the description, but I held back. Problem is, by the time I have a chance to taste it, I'm sure it'll be long gone from SM. Flip side is, there's been a ton of great sounding Ethiopians lately, I don't want to overstock! I should really start breaking my 5lb bags down to 1lb bags and putting them into the deep freezer.
 
TallDan said:
Last night I ordered 5lb each of Ethiopia Organic Dry Process Shakiso Bookkisa and Ethiopia Guji Uraga Yabitu from SM. It will probably be a few weeks before I have any comments on it. It was tempting to go for 10# on the Bookkisa based on the description, but I held back. Problem is, by the time I have a chance to taste it, I'm sure it'll be long gone from SM. Flip side is, there's been a ton of great sounding Ethiopians lately, I don't want to overstock! I should really start breaking my 5lb bags down to 1lb bags and putting them into the deep freezer.
Click to expand...
thats a good idea. Mylar bags with Oxy Absorber if you can do it. Works great. I am a bit high on stock now myself, but not overly so. Been staying away from GCBC and their 5# increments has helped. I've missed out on some great coffee no doubt, but there is a limit to how much I can drink, and seems wasteful how much I had stockpiled in the past.
TD
 
F823A72B-03BF-4161-98E1-2809495B870E.jpeg
Enjoying a cup of the Brazilian beans from the Coffee Corral (the roaster relief beans) along with some apple muffins. This cup was made in our French Press and I’m getting a strong woody character followed by a nutty and slight chocolate note. The body is very full and bright, not thin at all.
Yesterday I brewed it in our Bonavita drip coffee maker. With that I detected more chocolate and nutty character and the body was still full, similar to today’s French Press.
I think it’s a pretty good bean nothing mind blowing but for the cost you can’t beat it. I would be curious to see how it works with blending it with other beans like an African bean. Maybe a 70/30 blend give or take. I think a fruity kick to complement it would be pretty darn tasty!
 
pshankstar said:
Enjoying a cup of the Brazilian beans from the Coffee Corral (the roaster relief beans) along with some apple muffins.[...]
Click to expand...
Good to hear! I also roasted some of it today. The repackaged green coffee smelled just fine, no trace of the slightly dank smell of the original cloth bags. Must have been the bags. The beans expanded maybe a bit more than usual (for me), more than a factor two. Both first and second crack seemed pretty quiet. It will be a week before I get to try some of it.
 
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.
 
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
 
TrickyDick said:
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
Click to expand...
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.
 
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
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
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
Click to expand...
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.
 
ba-brewer said:
but with choices looking pretty slim at sweet maria's sometime you need to get things while you can.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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....
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
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
Click to expand...

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

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