tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-285199182024-03-07T13:23:47.704-05:00Coffee Roasting JournalMy Adventures with Home Coffee RoastingDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-88214054523964341292009-02-17T12:22:00.003-05:002009-02-17T18:46:51.719-05:00The Behmor Drum Coffee Roaster: My First RoastsWhen my roaster arrived, I was so excited that I decided to roast right away. It came with nine different coffees (7 one-pound samplers plus two coffees that I had ordered, including the Espresso Monkey Blend).I chose to christen the roaster with a half pound of Colombia Huila Valencia. I figured that I didn't want too start with anything tricky, difficult, or too exotic. I wanted a coffee that Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-76091477141412476442009-02-14T22:56:00.006-05:002009-02-21T22:49:41.403-05:00My New LifePreviously, this coffee roasting journal had been about my old life. Then the blog went quiet for a while, as I settled into a steady rhythm of roasting 165g of green beans on my iRoast's preset #1, generally for 6:45 - 6:55 seconds, depending on the beans and the cracks. I bought a stainless steel Bodum French Press for use on days when I work from home (which I do a lot now), and added an Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1156143700202034562006-08-20T23:57:00.000-04:002006-08-21T03:01:40.276-04:00Today's Roast: A Study of Organic Mexico Oaxaca "Finca El Olivo"This is another study, this time of the Mexican. I currently have four green beans in stock and of those I am studying three. And why not study the Guatamalan and make it 4/4? Because I will never ever ever roast that bean any differently then I did the last time. Consider that roast a single-roast study!But, back to the Oaxacan:August 16, 2006I roasted a cup at preset 1. I heard the 1st crack atDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1156132151081890552006-08-20T23:34:00.000-04:002006-08-20T23:49:11.143-04:00Today's Roast: A Study of Sumatran "Iskander"This is another study, this time of the Sumatran. Unlike my first study, the roasts did not take place sequentially, but I am grouping them together by bean so that I can more easily access the information when I want it. The intent of this journal is to be able to look backwards and say "yes, this is a good way to roast this bean" or "no I tried that before and it sucked". And I think it is Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1156131260686823042006-08-20T23:25:00.000-04:002006-08-20T23:34:20.686-04:00Today's Roast: Guatemala Antigua "Maria Especial"This bean is a peaberry, so you have to watch the roast carefully to ensure that the beans are circulating correctly. If not, a gentle shake is usually enough to get things flowing again.I roasted one cup of this bean today using the Sweet Maria's 9:30 roast profile. The recommended roast is "City to Full City", which is quite a range really. The first crack came in at -4:30, the second started Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1156130375615859242006-08-06T23:07:00.000-04:002006-08-20T23:22:07.960-04:00Today's Roast: A Study of Colombia Huila "Palastina"I started this study to identify the best way to roast the Colombian, because I am taking a supply of roasted beans with me on vacation and want to make sure I take a well roasted bean. I would hate to find out too late that the roast was wrong; I would then have to spend my whole vacation drinking flawed coffee! Gross!August 2, 2006I roasted today's cup of Colombian with this roast program:Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1154107681667516392006-07-28T12:18:00.000-04:002006-07-30T15:29:22.853-04:00This Week's RoastsThis week I have been roasting my new shipment of beans. So far I have roasted one cup of everything and have been using variations of the Sweet Maria roast profile. (The variations all involve changing the amount of time I spend in phase three.)Guatemala Antigua Peaberry "Maria Especial"I already reported on this roast in a previous posting. I liked this bean at this roast but will try a little Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1153513237275235802006-07-22T16:17:00.000-04:002006-07-22T12:45:46.133-04:00Today's Cup: Kenya Dorman AAThis is the Kenyan that I roasted on the 19th. This roast is darker than I have ever taken a Kenyan, and more delicious than any I have ever roasted. In fact, now I am a little disappointed that I didn't include any Kenyan in my last order! At this roast, the acidity is toned down to a reasonable level and the coffee has a nice depth to it, and more chewiness than my previous attempts at Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1153533397109388272006-07-21T21:40:00.000-04:002006-07-22T14:54:14.030-04:00Today's Roast: Guatamala Antigua Peaberry "Maria Especial "I roasted this peaberry using my now-standard Sweet Maria's roast curve, minus a minute from the third stage. The first crack came at -2:29 and the second came at -:04.This coffee looks a bit dark, but not at all oily. The roast is also not particularly even, which was a feature of the last Guatemalan that I roasted.My GearHere is a photo of all of my roasting gear:Starting from the left, you canDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1153450112325894012006-07-20T22:19:00.000-04:002006-07-21T14:41:07.543-04:00This Week's Roasts: Mexico, Colombia, and KenyaThis week I finished off the last of the Mexican Pluma Istmo, the Colombian Medelin Supremo, and the Kenya Mchana Peaberry "Lot 405". In each case, the last bit was just a few beans short of a cup. I roasted the Mexican on July 15, 2006, the Colombian on July 17, 2006, and the Kenyan on July 19, 2006.I roasted the Mexican and Colombian beans using the Sweet Maria's Roast curve, although I set theDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152933318415889612006-07-14T23:01:00.000-04:002006-07-14T23:15:18.426-04:00Today's Roast: Indonesia Sumtran Mandheling "Toba" Grade 1I love drinking this coffee but I sure hate roasting it! It just doesn't crack the way I expect it to. I can never tell if I'm in the first crack, second crack, or maybe I'm really still in the zeroth crack? I just can't tell, this bean is so confusing! Today I roasted it for about 8:20 using the Sweet Maria's roast profile. It looks like a roasted bean I guess; I am no more or less certain aboutDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152933581044530872006-07-14T20:15:00.000-04:002006-07-14T23:23:06.626-04:00Today's Cup: Indonesia Sulawesi "Toraja" Grade 1This is the bean I roasted on Wednesday and this is a pretty good roast for this bean. The acidity of the Sulawesi is obvious but not overpowering, and the earthy taste associated with Indonesians is there to add the depth necessary to support the high notes. A nice bean but so far not one of my favorites.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152808819796064662006-07-13T12:11:00.000-04:002006-07-13T15:24:29.053-04:00Today's Roast: Indonesia Sulawesi "Toraja" Grade 1I had less than a full cup off this Sulawesi left; more like 3/4 of a cup. I roasted it using the Sweet Maria's roast curve (see sidebar). The first crack came early, at -4:07, and continued until -1:36. I stopped the roast at -1:00 which is when I heard the second crack starting. The beans look to me like a City roast, but keep in mind that this is an Indonesian bean and the Indonesians roast Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152725280087725832006-07-12T13:00:00.000-04:002006-07-12T13:28:00.160-04:00This Week's Cups: Costa Rican and Kenya AA DormanToday I'm going to talk about my two last roasts, the Costa Rica Tres Rios and the Kenya AA Dorman.The Kenya came out quite good. I could taste the brightness that is the distinguishing characteristic of Kenyans but did not find the acidity overpowering. I also detected a faint cinnamon aftertaste. Even so, this is not one of my favorite coffees. I still prefer the Indonesians and the Central Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152500095153075892006-07-09T22:41:00.000-04:002006-07-09T22:57:29.933-04:00Today's Roast: Kenya AA DormanToday I roasted more of the Kenya AA Dorman. This is one of two Kenya's that I have on hand, and I decided to polish this one off.I had a little more than 1 cup of beans left, so I roasted the rest in a single batch. This was not the best idea; it would have been better to split it in half and roast in two batches. The roaster looked like it could handle the extra beans, so I went for it. But I Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152422926873558922006-07-09T01:09:00.000-04:002006-07-21T22:15:13.730-04:00This Week's Cups: Mandheling, Peruvian, and ColumbianI have decided to post one combined article talking about all the coffees I've drunk this week, instead of a separate post for each one. This is motivated largely by laziness, but also by the fact that my palate is just not as sophisticated as some people's, so I cannot come up with a paragraph on each cup I drink!Which in a way is a shame, because this week's coffee has been great! Even the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152380747552784002006-07-08T13:43:00.000-04:002006-07-08T13:45:47.553-04:00Today's Roast: Costa Rica Tres Rios "La Magnolia"This is one of my favorite beans, and I roasted this one for 8:00 using my now-standard Sweet Maria's roast curve. The first crack came at -3:20, which is slightly early. (The last time I roasted this bean the first crack came at -3:00.) The second crack started at -:10.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1152380572672711562006-07-06T13:39:00.000-04:002006-07-08T13:42:52.683-04:00Today's Roast: Colombia Medelin SupremeoToday's roast comes from Colombia. I roasted this bean using a modified version of the Sweet Maria roast curve (which I have lately posted in the sidebar because I got tired of having to link to it all the time). The modification consisted of shortening the last stage by a minute, so the roast curve is for an eight minute roast. However, since I stopped the roast at -:30, so the roast actually Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151987871222822272006-07-04T00:24:00.000-04:002006-07-04T00:54:42.896-04:00Today's Roast: Organic Peruvian Fair TradeThis is the last of the organic Peruvian that Mike gave me out of his private stash. Mike does not like this bean, but I like it as long as it is not roasted too mildly.Speaking of Mike, I learned a disturbing secret about him today. It is a secret so terrible, so dark, that I hesitate to mention it here. But I cannot keep it to myself, so you my gentle reader shall bear the burden of this Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151987056115179422006-07-01T12:10:00.000-04:002006-07-04T00:24:16.123-04:00Today's Roast: Indonesian Sumatra Mandheling Grade 1 TobaToday I roasted one cup of this organic Sumatran using my now-standard Sweet Maria's roast. As is typical with this particular bean, recognizing the cracks and distinguishing between first and second crack are very difficult. Actually, every time I roast this bean I end up feeling like the first crack was skipped entirely and the bean only went through the second crack. I'm sure you can imagine Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151986236456534142006-06-29T00:07:00.000-04:002006-07-04T00:10:36.470-04:00Today's Roast: Papa New Guinea "Arokara AA"This is a fine bean whose recommended roast is City to Full City. Unfortunately I screwed up this roast so badly that I cannot accurately report anything.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151541224415393862006-06-28T20:26:00.000-04:002006-06-28T20:37:06.913-04:00Today's Roast: Java Private Estate Type PrinceThis is the 2nd time I've roasted this bean and the first time it was delicious. Luckily for you, the first roast was on May 7, which is before I started this blog, so you don't have to feel obligated to go read that entry. Instead, you should call me and I'll fax you the page from my paper journal. (Ha ha)This time I roasted a tad lighter than the first time, and I used an unmodified Sweet Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151548955129260352006-06-28T18:22:00.000-04:002006-06-28T22:43:20.883-04:00Today's Cup: Ethiopean Dry Processed GhimbiToday's Ethiopean came out perfect! The only problem with this pot was that it was my work-from-home day, so I wasn't able to share this awesome cup with anybody. On the bright side, it was my work-from-home day, so I didn't have to share this awesome cup with anybody! :-)This coffee has a pleasant, earthy taste and the flavor lingers long after the mouthful is gone. A very satisfying cup!A Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151540625945557442006-06-27T20:04:00.000-04:002006-06-28T20:34:03.516-04:00Guatemala Huehuetenango "La Miravilla"This is the last 1/2 cup of the Guatemalan that freaked me out the last time I roasted it and that was so successful back at the office. I used what has become my standard procedure for these 1/2 cup roasts and the 1st crack came as expected at around -3:05. I stopped the roast at -:30, which was 10 seconds into the 2nd crack.Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28519918.post-1151371505633140962006-06-26T21:14:00.000-04:002006-06-26T21:25:05.656-04:00Today's Roast: Ethiopean Dry Processed GhimbiI roasted my last 1/2 cup of this Ethiopean today for drinking on Wednesday. I used the same roast that I have been using all week and which I posted on Saturday.The last time I roasted this bean was on May 3, 2006. Luckily for you, my blog doesn't go back that far, but I complained in my paper journal about an uneven roast. I experienced the same thing with this evening's roast. Most of the Davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07796760612281097843noreply@blogger.com0