Espresso Enthusiasts

[Shrink]

I have a Crossland CC1 and Baratza Preciso. Thinking of upgrading to the HG-One hand grinder as it looks awesome, massive Titan conical burr, and single dosing... I single dose my Preciso. CC1 has been great, had almost two years now. If I upgrade machines I'd pry look at the double boilers in the 2-3k range, or even a lever like the Strega.

As is no particular secret here...I'm crazy about my HG-one. I bought in the first production run and they have made some minor tweaks in the second production run which is on now. Single dose, infinitely adjustable grind...and it takes all of 10 seconds to do a complete burr cleaning.

If you are looking at spring lever machines...take a look at this. It's my dream machine!

BTW: Recruiting others into enjoying good coffee by simply serving them some earns you big points around here!

 

[SurferMan]

As is no particular secret here...I'm crazy about my HG-one. I bought in the first production run and they have made some minor tweaks in the second production run which is on now. Single dose, infinitely adjustable grind...and it takes all of 10 seconds to do a complete burr cleaning.

If you are looking at spring lever machines...take a look at this. It's my dream machine!

BTW: Recruiting others into enjoying good coffee by simply serving them some earns you big points around here!

Yeh I've seen the Londinium, really the only two levers that draw me are that and the Strega. I just had my buddy staying here and he was like this is the best @#$%!#$ coffee I've ever had lol. Have Metropolis Redline blend right now. I've read a bunch on the HG-One on CG and HB, love it, awesome piece of machinery.

 

[Shrink]

Yeh I've seen the Londinium, really the only two levers that draw me are that and the Strega. I just had my buddy staying here and he was like this is the best @#$%!#$ coffee I've ever had lol. Have Metropolis Redline blend right now. I've read a bunch on the HG-One on CG and HB, love it, awesome piece of machinery.

Obviously your buddy has %$^&*$* good taste!

 

[Kurwenal]

From the photo the roast appears to be sort of a medium roast. I'm curious if you use it for espresso or a different production method.

This roast is for my Chemex. It is what SM would call City or City+, but I really don't use those terms much. To me, it is just "roast #6" because it is a roasting profile saved in memory #6 on my Hot Top. Some profile I found on the Web at some point that I really like.

My evening cup is never (well, mostly almost never) espresso. Typically, it is a cup from my beloved Aeropress or Chemex, and over the past six months or so is increasingly decaf. For the past few weeks, my evening cup has been the Chemex using Blue Bottle Decaf Noir (recommended by mobilehaathi), which is a very, very nice cup. I can't roast decaf very well anyway.

I roasted a batch this morning of Sweet Marias Liquid Amber Blend. For that blend (and most of their espresso intended blends) they recommend Full City+ to Vienna roast...quite dark.

Yes, SM tends to the darker roasts for espresso, but not always. Unless I am mistaken (which is certainly possible), I believe SM recommends a northern roast for the Liquid Amber blend, so ejecting just after second crack or thereabouts.

I know that the SO beans are an excellent choice of beans. However, I've tried some, and found that I prefer the blends best...philistine that I am.

Well, kick me out of the cool kids club as well. I have never seen a direct correlation between SO and what I like to drink, so I ignore it. It's like with wine, such as when "estate bottled" became the rage a while back. When I have been wow'd by 5 bottles in a row that have "estate bottled" written on them, then I will start to pay attention.

In your experience are there SO beans that handle a dark roast well. Sweet Marias have many SO beans intended for espresso...but I'm interested in your personal experience with SO beans that hold up well with a dark (Full City > Full City+ > Vienna) roast.

Yes. The SM Yerga (one of them, not both of them....hang on let me go get the link). This one:

Ethiopia Dry-Process Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe

I roast it manually, as follows (your recipe will, obviously, differ):

* set the timer at 25 minutes, max temp & no fan
* Ignore the "add beans" signal when it goes off
* Add the beans (250g) at 250 F.
* When you get the grassy smell (3 minutes give or take), run the fan at 25% for 30 seconds, then shut it off.
* At 325 F, set the fan at 25% and leave it on.
* Punch buttons through the temp/eject warnings
* At first crack (first first crack, not "lots of first crack"), set heat to 75%.
* At first active crack (i.e., max first crack), set heat to 25%.
* Monitor the roast, you want to delay second crack until 60-180 seconds later, using the heating elements and fan speed. The guy who wrote up this recipe (I have it linked somewhere) calls this the "pause," but it is not really a pause, more a slowdown, as the heat continues to build, just slowly.
* Just before second starts, kick the heating up to 100% and the fan up to 75%.
* Eject when desired. For me, this means 15 seconds into second crack.
* I then allow my HT to follow its standard 4 minute cool down cycle.

To fully answer your question, I have never taken these beans to what I would consider a full Vienna, but certainly what I outline here produces what SM would consider a Full City+. Another 10 seconds? 20? Roasting only 200g? Who knows.

Here's an idea: we should have a roasting/tasting post, or series of posts. Go pick one of the SO's you have never tried, I'll buy it as well, and we can have fun roasting it and comparing notes. What you said is right.....SM has many I have never tried. Maybe we can draw a few more EE adherents over to the darkest side of the force.

My favorite espresso is SM's Monkey Blend. It is very consistent, very tight. Always available, unlike a lot of espressos you find out on the Web, that are there today and gone tomorrow. I like it better than the Amber stuff, but that's just my personal preference. I roast the Monkey the same as outlined above (e.g., putting the beans in late), but I stop it 10 to 12 seconds earlier than for the Yerge, so just barely on the backside of the second slope.

Thinking of upgrading

Well, unfortunately you came to the wrong thread. No one here will try to convince you to buy expensive new kit......

 

[SurferMan]

Well, unfortunately you came to the wrong thread. No one here will try to convince you to buy expensive new kit......

Huh?!?! no clue what your talking about. Wasn't asking for help lol... unless I sense sarcasm

 

[Shrink]

This roast is for my Chemex. It is what SM would call City or City+, but I really don't use those terms much. To me, it is just "roast #6" because it is a roasting profile saved in memory #6 on my Hot Top. Some profile I found on the Web at some point that I really like.

My evening cup is never (well, mostly almost never) espresso. Typically, it is a cup from my beloved Aeropress or Chemex, and over the past six months or so is increasingly decaf. For the past few weeks, my evening cup has been the Chemex using Blue Bottle Decaf Noir (recommended by mobilehaathi), which is a very, very nice cup. I can't roast decaf very well anyway.

Yes, SM tends to the darker roasts for espresso, but not always. Unless I am mistaken (which is certainly possible), I believe SM recommends a northern roast for the Liquid Amber blend, so ejecting just after second crack or thereabouts.



Well, kick me out of the cool kids club as well. I have never seen a direct correlation between SO and what I like to drink, so I ignore it. It's like with wine, such as when "estate bottled" became the rage a while back. When I have been wow'd by 5 bottles in a row that have "estate bottled" written on them, then I will start to pay attention.



Yes. The SM Yerga (one of them, not both of them....hang on let me go get the link). This one:

Ethiopia Dry-Process Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe

I roast it manually, as follows (your recipe will, obviously, differ):

* set the timer at 25 minutes, max temp & no fan
* Ignore the "add beans" signal when it goes off
* Add the beans (250g) at 250 F.
* When you get the grassy smell (3 minutes give or take), run the fan at 25% for 30 seconds, then shut it off.
* At 325 F, set the fan at 25% and leave it on.
* Punch buttons through the temp/eject warnings
* At first crack (first first crack, not "lots of first crack"), set heat to 75%.
* At first active crack (i.e., max first crack), set heat to 25%.
* Monitor the roast, you want to delay second crack until 60-180 seconds later, using the heating elements and fan speed. The guy who wrote up this recipe (I have it linked somewhere) calls this the "pause," but it is not really a pause, more a slowdown, as the heat continues to build, just slowly.
* Just before second starts, kick the heating up to 100% and the fan up to 75%.
* Eject when desired. For me, this means 15 seconds into second crack.
* I then allow my HT to follow its standard 4 minute cool down cycle.

To fully answer your question, I have never taken these beans to what I would consider a full Vienna, but certainly what I outline here produces what SM would consider a Full City+. Another 10 seconds? 20? Roasting only 200g? Who knows.

Here's an idea: we should have a roasting/tasting post, or series of posts. Go pick one of the SO's you have never tried, I'll buy it as well, and we can have fun roasting it and comparing notes. What you said is right.....SM has many I have never tried. Maybe we can draw a few more EE adherents over to the darkest side of the force.

My favorite espresso is SM's Monkey Blend. It is very consistent, very tight. Always available, unlike a lot of espressos you find out on the Web, that are there today and gone tomorrow. I like it better than the Amber stuff, but that's just my personal preference. I roast the Monkey the same as outlined above (e.g., putting the beans in late), but I stop it 10 to 12 seconds earlier than for the Yerge, so just barely on the backside of the second slope.



Well, unfortunately you came to the wrong thread. No one here will try to convince you to buy expensive new kit......

Thanks for the wonderful post, Mate!

I loved your roasting instructions, but my roaster is a bit down the totem pole from yours when it comes to control. Mine (Gene Cafe) is controlled by my senses...visual cues, olfactory cues, and auditory (first and second crack), It also has a nasty little characteristic called "coasting". When I switch from the roasting to the cooling cycle, the retained heat in the drum continues to roast for a couple of minutes during the cooling cycle. What this means is I have to switch cycles BEFORE the roast is completed and let it finish during cooling. A bit of guesswork, because the timing is effected by ambient temperature, which changes by season because in order to vent the smoke produced, I must open the kitchen slider window about 6" to pass a vent hose out (or the Fire Dept shows up as the smoke detectors go off!). So some semi-educated guesswork is involved in every roast.

I, too, really enjoy the Monkey Blend. I've mentioned that I order three blends - Monkey Blend, New Classic Blend, and Liquid Amber - and rotate through them.

Doing a roasting/tasting post with an SM bean sounds like fun. It will have to wait as I just ordered 8 pounds of coffee from SW...and my coffee budget is bottomed out right now. Give my credit cards a few weeks to stop smoking (other purchases, too), and then lets pick a bean or blend and try it.

BTW: I just checked the Liquid Amber Blend bag, and SW does recommend Vienna...especially for milk added drinks. Since I drink it straight, I suppose I could roast it to FC+...but I prefer the vienna roast.

And I completely agree that we here on this thread would NEVER EVER suggest that one spend a lot of money on equipment. No, Sir...not us...

 

[Kurwenal]

Huh?!?! no clue what your talking about. Wasn't asking for help lol... unless I sense sarcasm

Sorry, I struck a nerve about whether you need coffee help or not.....my apologies. My comment was a poor attempt at humor and only a reflection on this thread, not you. If you scroll back, you will find many posts with links to wondrous and expensive coffee equipment. I call them "shrinks."

No offense intended.

my roaster is a bit down the totem pole from yours when it comes to control.

Or up the pole. My guess is you have finer control over the process. One can go full manual with the Hot Top, but mostly, I tweak one of the ten memory settings. Each has eight segments, in which you separately program temp, time, fan speed, etc. So, you program it all in, sit back and hear the cracks, drink, and then obsess over whether you should go in and change step #5 from 2:47 to 2:52. It's not OCD....it's OED, Obsessive Espresso Disorder, aka, "crap, I can never really KNOW if I'm missing something that would be better."

I, too, really enjoy the Monkey Blend. I've mentioned that I order three blends - Monkey Blend, New Classic Blend, and Liquid Amber - and rotate through them.

It's been a while since I tried the NCB. Glad you mentioned it. I'll have to order some.

I just ordered 8 pounds of coffee from SW

Well, what do you plan to drink after Wednesday?

 

[Shrink]

Or up the pole. My guess is you have finer control over the process. One can go full manual with the Hot Top, but mostly, I tweak one of the ten memory settings. Each has eight segments, in which you separately program temp, time, fan speed, etc. So, you program it all in, sit back and hear the cracks, drink, and then obsess over whether you should go in and change step #5 from 2:47 to 2:52. It's not OCD....it's OED, Obsessive Espresso Disorder, aka, "crap, I can never really KNOW if I'm missing something that would be better."



It's been a while since I tried the NCB. Glad you mentioned it. I'll have to order some.



Well, what do you plan to drink after Wednesday?

No programming at all on my roaster. The only controls are Temperature (somewhat iffy), a roasting cycle and a (too slow) cooling cycle. The cooling cycle quits at 140ºF and I quickly dump the beans into a colander which I keep in the freezer to speed the cooling. Then into the fridge for a few minutes for further cooling before dumping into a Friis container for resting. It's all very down home with lots of guesswork...but fun!

After Wednesday I go to my Emergency Bottle Of Excellent Instant!

(It even hurt to type that! I joke...I kid...please don't hurt me!)

 

[mobilehaathi]

No programming at all on my roaster. The only controls are Temperature (somewhat iffy), a roasting cycle and a (too slow) cooling cycle. The cooling cycle quits at 140ºF and I quickly dump the beans into a colander which I keep in the freezer to speed the cooling. Then into the fridge for a few minutes for further cooling before dumping into a Friis container for resting. It's all very down home with lots of guesswork...but fun!

After Wednesday I go to my Emergency Bottle Of Excellent Instant!

(It even hurt to type that! I joke...I kid...please don't hurt me!)

I just assumed your roaster was controlled by the envy of all roasters: the Shrink brain. Hmmm you should figure how to harness that bad boy. Then you'll have achieved supreme perfection!

 

[Shrink]

I just assumed your roaster was controlled by the envy of all roasters: the Shrink brain. Hmmm you should figure how to harness that bad boy. Then you'll have achieved supreme perfection!

Actually, it's an extremely scary place. It's all I can do to control the thing...turning it loose would be disastrous!

 

[mobilehaathi]

Actually, it's an extremely scary place. It's all I can do to control the thing...turning it loose would be disastrous!

Terrifying, no doubt, but the coffee!!!

 

[Kurwenal]

No programming at all on my roaster. The only controls are Temperature (somewhat iffy), a roasting cycle and a (too slow) cooling cycle. The cooling cycle quits at 140ºF and I quickly dump the beans into a colander which I keep in the freezer to speed the cooling. Then into the fridge for a few minutes for further cooling before dumping into a Friis container for resting. It's all very down home with lots of guesswork...but fun!

I'm sorry, I don't recall which roaster you have. How does it handle chaff collection/removal?

The Hot Top has a little collection tray that must be emptied after every cycle (or the next cycle won't start). It works well, but, still, about every 5th roast I have to take the drum out and stick the end of my shop vac inside for a bit.

 

[Shrink]

I'm sorry, I don't recall which roaster you have. How does it handle chaff collection/removal?

The Hot Top has a little collection tray that must be emptied after every cycle (or the next cycle won't start). It works well, but, still, about every 5th roast I have to take the drum out and stick the end of my shop vac inside for a bit.

Since mine is sort of a drum/air hybrid, the chaff is blown into a large collector on one end of the machine. it is easy to clean as it comes off the machine and can be dumped out. I also go into it with a brush to make sure it is really clean...but that is not really necessary...just my clean up thing. The arrows indicate the chaff collector. The one shown (and the one I have) is the optional Large Chaff Collector with a "neck" protruding on the top onto which the vent hose may be fitted.

It's a Gene Cafe roaster, bought at SM...

 

[SurferMan]

Sorry, I struck a nerve about whether you need coffee help or not.....my apologies. My comment was a poor attempt at humor and only a reflection on this thread, not you. If you scroll back, you will find many posts with links to wondrous and expensive coffee equipment. I call them "shrinks."

No offense intended.

Haha no worries, I sensed the sarcasm when I re-read lol. I was doing something else and when I 1st read it I was what lol.

So don't talk me into a Slayer machine.... Heh

 

[VideoFreek]

Hi Guys;

I'm rather late to this delightful thread, but I wanted to express my appreciation to all who've contributed here. I've spent some time over the past week skimming through all 1,760+ posts (whew!), and I've found them to be both highly informative and thoroughly entertaining.

By way of self-introduction, I'm presently seeking to improve my coffee experience. I've been drinking Nespresso over the past several years. but have found myself increasingly dissatisfied and yearning for something better. Having traveled extensively and even lived in Europe (Germany for 5 years), I know that better is certainly possible. I don't wish to slam Nespresso, however. What is remarkable about their system is not so much its many shortcomings, but rather that it works at all. Their ability to deliver a consistent cup anywhere on the planet is an engineering and logistical marvel.

Nevertheless, I feel it's time to move on. I've just invested in a good grinder, and my next move will be to acquire a decent espresso machine. For a variety of reasons, I'm inclined to skip the entry level and start with a midrange machine in the $1000-1500 range...something I can grow into and be happy with for quite some time. I'm eyeing the Expobar Office Lever, but any thoughts on other options or on my general approach to this would be most welcome.

 

[S.B.G]

Hi Guys;

I'm rather late to this delightful thread, but I wanted to express my appreciation to all who've contributed here. I've spent some time over the past week skimming through all 1,760+ posts (whew!), and I've found them to be both highly informative and thoroughly entertaining.

By way of self-introduction, I'm presently seeking to improve my coffee experience. I've been drinking Nespresso over the past several years. but have found myself increasingly dissatisfied and yearning for something better. Having traveled extensively and even lived in Europe (Germany for 5 years), I know that better is certainly possible. I don't wish to slam Nespresso, however. What is remarkable about their system is not so much its many shortcomings, but rather that it works at all. Their ability to deliver a consistent cup anywhere on the planet is an engineering and logistical marvel.

Nevertheless, I feel it's time to move on. I've just invested in a good grinder, and my next move will be to acquire a decent espresso machine. For a variety of reasons, I'm inclined to skip the entry level and start with a midrange machine in the $1000-1500 range...something I can grow into and be happy with for quite some time. I'm eyeing the Expobar Office Lever, but any thoughts on other options or on my general approach to this would be most welcome.

Welcome aboard! If you've read or skimmed all the posts in this thread, you're sufficiently warped now to be a member!

There are some very good experts on machines here and I know they'll be along to provide some tips.

 

[Shrink]

Hi Guys;

I'm rather late to this delightful thread, but I wanted to express my appreciation to all who've contributed here. I've spent some time over the past week skimming through all 1,760+ posts (whew!), and I've found them to be both highly informative and thoroughly entertaining.

By way of self-introduction, I'm presently seeking to improve my coffee experience. I've been drinking Nespresso over the past several years. but have found myself increasingly dissatisfied and yearning for something better. Having traveled extensively and even lived in Europe (Germany for 5 years), I know that better is certainly possible. I don't wish to slam Nespresso, however. What is remarkable about their system is not so much its many shortcomings, but rather that it works at all. Their ability to deliver a consistent cup anywhere on the planet is an engineering and logistical marvel.

Nevertheless, I feel it's time to move on. I've just invested in a good grinder, and my next move will be to acquire a decent espresso machine. For a variety of reasons, I'm inclined to skip the entry level and start with a midrange machine in the $1000-1500 range...something I can grow into and be happy with for quite some time. I'm eyeing the Expobar Office Lever, but any thoughts on other options or on my general approach to this would be most welcome.

Let me echo SBG's Welcome!

You are now in the Land Of The Coffee Crazies. It's always a pleasure to have a new sucker...er...poster join this happy band of idiots in our collective pursuit of the Perfect Cup Of Coffee.

Let me put in one vote for the Expobar Lever machine. I've had one for over a year, and it's a gem. Great construction, terrific materials, and, IMO, very user friendly. It has been pointed out in reviews that I have read that spending a lot more for a machine will gain only marginal improvements in materials and function.

That said, I look forward, as you do, to the suggestions offered by other posters with far more knowledge of equipment than I.

And be assured...we WILL spend your money freely! Nothing like having the fun of spending money not our own.

You read the WHOLE THREAD!?

You're in big trouble, Friend VideoFreak!

 

[Shrink]

Although I'm sure you are aware of what you're getting yourself into using a semi-automatic espresso machine (my preference over an automatic or super automatic machine...I enjoy the process), let me just offer the caveat that you are going from a push-the-button-and-come-back-and-there's-your-coffee to and good deal more work, time and mess!

Dialing in your grinder for a particular blend to work best in your machine takes a bit of doing. Then grinding, tamping, and standing there while your machine does the extraction is much more time consuming than what you have been used to. Also, you will be juggling a number of variables...the grind, tamp pressure, extraction time, etc. which will put you on a life long learning curve! I think most here who have been at this for a while would acknowledge that the learning never stops.

The wonderful part of this thread is that everyone here is happy to help anyone with any questions about anything coffee...equipment, preparation, accessories...anything coffee related. And don't let the thread title mislead you...we love all kinds of coffee and coffee production methods.

My caveat notwithstanding...I have found that the whole messy process of pulling a double shot is a joy, even though production and clean up takes more time than consumption. It became, for me, a wonderful, calming, ritual that I enjoy each time I do it. And as long as I have been doing it, I still utter an involuntary "aaahhhh" after that first sip!

So again...welcome to the world of continuos learning...and a thread of much fun, silliness, and welcoming warmth and good will (unlike some other places on this Forum I could mention!).

 

[mobilehaathi]

Hi Guys;

I'm rather late to this delightful thread, but I wanted to express my appreciation to all who've contributed here. I've spent some time over the past week skimming through all 1,760+ posts (whew!), and I've found them to be both highly informative and thoroughly entertaining.

By way of self-introduction, I'm presently seeking to improve my coffee experience. I've been drinking Nespresso over the past several years. but have found myself increasingly dissatisfied and yearning for something better. Having traveled extensively and even lived in Europe (Germany for 5 years), I know that better is certainly possible. I don't wish to slam Nespresso, however. What is remarkable about their system is not so much its many shortcomings, but rather that it works at all. Their ability to deliver a consistent cup anywhere on the planet is an engineering and logistical marvel.

Nevertheless, I feel it's time to move on. I've just invested in a good grinder, and my next move will be to acquire a decent espresso machine. For a variety of reasons, I'm inclined to skip the entry level and start with a midrange machine in the $1000-1500 range...something I can grow into and be happy with for quite some time. I'm eyeing the Expobar Office Lever, but any thoughts on other options or on my general approach to this would be most welcome.

You're doomed.

Welcome!

 

[Shrink]

You're doomed.

Welcome!

Ssssshhhhh!

Don't warn VideoFreek off until the hook is firmly set!

We don't want to lose any nice people by letting them know too soon that this is an asylum for the badly demented.

Oh, well...to late now!

Abandon hope all ye who enter here!

 

[Kurwenal]

Ibut have found myself increasingly dissatisfied and yearning for something better.

Congratulations!

I don't wish to slam Nespresso, however. What is remarkable about their system is not so much its many shortcomings, but rather that it works at all. Their ability to deliver a consistent cup anywhere on the planet is an engineering and logistical marvel.

I am critical of a lot of coffee and coffee equipment, but hopefully always objectively and not in the sense of "slamming" anything. I have several espresso and other coffee makers, and sitting right next to them is my wife's Keurig. Mrs. Kurwenal does not drink coffee, but she uses the Keurig for hot cider and hot chocolate. I tell her that I can make her a much better, nice hot chocolate, using the steam wand on my Rocket and some real ground chocolate, but she almost always declines. She's happy with the Keurig and that's what counts, in the end.

I'm eyeing the Expobar Office Lever, but any thoughts on other options or on my general approach to this would be most welcome.

Lots to consider. Do you plan to focus mostly on "just" espresso, or will you be using the machine to regularly make white coffees as well? That model has the E61 brew group, which is a "must have item," I think. Single boiler, though, it appears? That may or may not matter to you.

The brand is very good, well reviewed.

As has been mentioned (and you already recognize), the grinder is more important than the espresso machine. Spend your money on a better grinder and then upgrade the espresso machine down the road if you like. It sounds crazy, but it is true: the grinder is 10, 20, 50, 100 times more important than the espresso machine.

A brief comment on the semi-auto vs. full auto point Shrinktabulous raised (and with which I agree, as I do most everything he writes). I have both; my super-auto is a Gaggia Accademia. Wonderful machine. Over the years, super-autos have been, appropriately, the butt of many jokes, but the quality has improved greatly, especially on the higher-end machines. It depends on what you want. Like Shrink-o-manual, I love the process. The best part of roasting beans is picking up a just-roasted bean, smelling, feeling, savoring, using a fingernail to peel away any remaining chaff, expecting how good the coffee is going to taste. But, my first cup at 4:30 am is usually out of the Gaggia, because at 4:30 am push button coffee is just fine. I call my Gaggia the "80%" machine. It produces coffee (especially americanos and white coffees) that are 80% as good as I can produce manually.

Sometimes, like at 4:30 am, 80% is ok (gasp, shock, horror......my pass to sit at the cool kids table may have just been revoked).

But I never use the super-auto when I want to drink espresso. For that, the Rocket is required, or whatever my then-current semi-auto is. 4:30 am is the Gaggia, but 5:30 am is a double espresso from the Rocket (I am a habitual creature of habit).

 

[Kurwenal]

I, too, really enjoy the Monkey Blend. I've mentioned that I order three blends - Monkey Blend, New Classic Blend, and Liquid Amber - and rotate through them.

I decided to experiment a bit, using the SM Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe, and your comment about taking an SO all the way up to Vienna. Here are the results:

Definitely a darker roast (the difference is even more apparent than the picture shows). A few details. I only had 211g of this coffee left, so my batch was smaller than typical, and that really showed in the results (with a shorter than usual roast). I used my standard roast curve for this coffee and just planned to extend it manually at the back end. Second crack started at 14:08, which is about 75 seconds early for this recipe. I normally would have ejected about 12 seconds later, but I left it running. Temp at this point was 412. Eight seconds later, the heat was already up to 426 and I cranked the fan full blast. I was surprised how quickly the heat climbed. The roaster safety/auto ejected the coffee about 35 seconds later, at a temp of 444. I had planned to roast it for about 10-15 seconds longer, but I couldn't keep the heat low enough to allow that to happen.

The beans are very dark, and look, smell and taste nice (I chewed up and swallowed one bean). I will let them sit for 48 hours and then grind up a shot. We'll see.

 

[Shrink]

I decided to experiment a bit, using the SM Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe, and your comment about taking an SO all the way up to Vienna. Here are the results:

Image

Definitely a darker roast (the difference is even more apparent than the picture shows). A few details. I only had 211g of this coffee left, so my batch was smaller than typical, and that really showed in the results (with a shorter than usual roast). I used my standard roast curve for this coffee and just planned to extend it manually at the back end. Second crack started at 14:08, which is about 75 seconds early for this recipe. I normally would have ejected about 12 seconds later, but I left it running. Temp at this point was 412. Eight seconds later, the heat was already up to 426 and I cranked the fan full blast. I was surprised how quickly the heat climbed. The roaster safety/auto ejected the coffee about 35 seconds later, at a temp of 444. I had planned to roast it for about 10-15 seconds longer, but I couldn't keep the heat low enough to allow that to happen.

The beans are very dark, and look, smell and taste nice (I chewed up and swallowed one bean). I will let them sit for 48 hours and then grind up a shot. We'll see.

I'll be really interested in how that bean tastes roasted to Vienna. My understanding of what makes a SO bean or blend "suitable for espresso" is it's ability to handle a dark roast. Obviously all beans or blends are not at their best with a very dark roast, and since I don't know anything about the beans you used...it will be fascinating to see if that bean handles a Vienna roast.

Your roaster is MUCH more sophisticated than mine, and has far more in the way of controls than mine. My roaster is effected by ambient temperature, and the open window nearby (to vent smoke) effects timing the roast.

Since the timing of the roast is changed each time, eyeballing ( and smelling) is my only method of judging the final roast color. It usually takes 11:30 - 12:30 to first crack, then very careful observation until the beans are just a bit lighter than where I want them (somewhere between 14:30 - 14:50 at about 472-476ºF). Then switch to cooling cycle, and let them coast to the final color during the cooling cycle.

Lots of guesswork!

I can't tell from the photo...do the "Shrink beans" have a very light, oily sheen, or are they dry?

 

[Kurwenal]

I can't tell from the photo...do the "Shrink beans" have a very light, oily sheen, or are they dry?

I would term it tending to the dry side with oily spots. I am nervous that the heat spike at the end did them in, but we'll see. Next time, I will not be lazy and will program up a batch recipe that has the necessary longer length of time without the heat spike (i.e., more and earlier fan, a more gradual increase in heat starting somewhat earlier). Or, maybe these are perfect. We'll find out.

Roasted a bunch today. I think I am coffee'd out. Anyone recommend a good year for Diet Coke?

 

[Shrink]

I would term it tending to the dry side with oily spots. I am nervous that the heat spike at the end did them in, but we'll see. Next time, I will not be lazy and will program up a batch recipe that has the necessary longer length of time without the heat spike (i.e., more and earlier fan, a more gradual increase in heat starting somewhat earlier). Or, maybe these are perfect. We'll find out.

Roasted a bunch today. I think I am coffee'd out. Anyone recommend a good year for Diet Coke?

Early 2013...excellent nose...full, rich and deep bouquet. A good front and middle...a little weak at the back end. Lovely aluminum undertones, slightly drier the the Classic.

Highly recommended.

I'm partial to Sprite Zero, myself.

/Off Topic...