I’m getting close to knowing what I’m doing. Last thing to do, really is to install a manometer so I know exactly what the gas is set at during each stage of the roast. I’m guessing too much for my liking at the moment…

I’ll post cuppings when I have a bit more time to written them out.. but the Harar (1c=9:15) was pretty amazing.

Roast 2 has more vibrancy and a bit more body. In comparison, the longer development (in roast 1) after 1c muted it’s fruit and floral notes, and slightly muddies the body tones. Not that it’s awful, just not as good.

Bolivia Cup of Excellence: San Ignacio Juana Mamani Huanca.

Not my best effort at the roast. Rushed the warm, and pushed 1rst crack up about 2+ minutes. Shit. And it shows in the cup. Green and tight on the tongue, florals and fruits aren’t well developed. It still has some real nice sweetness that comes out as it cools, but it should be more delicate, balanced than this.

Well, still tweaking the roaster, but damn, wish i’d done this with a coffee that I didn’t have so little of, or that cost so much ($25/lb). Oh well, at least it was only 125g. And I still some.

But, on the bright side of things, I fiddled with the air/fuel ratio on the pinhalense tonight and have a much better flame now, one that has a slight hiss and a good tightly formed flame - not the laziness that it was before. Seems it needed more air (O2). I hope that this means that I’ll be able to mve at least a full load through the times I’m expecting… till now, 300g has been somewhere about a slow 30min. ugh.

Beautiful, clean, light and floral sweetness. Grapefruit like undercurrent helps round out structure - especially in the mid range temperatures as the cup cools. It shows a lighter body than most other Brazils - even compared to the more citrusy, nutty sul de Minas region or certain Central American coffees - this tends toward the light side. But don’t take this for thin. It has depth and structure.

Said sample of Brazil Carmo de Minas at a light - city plus - roast in order to preserve the delicateness of the yellow bourbon varietal. You can see that the surface color is still mottled as it hasn’t progressed far enough past first crack to even the surface out… Not a bad thing at this stage of roast. The interior is very even and consistent with the surface color.. and by the way, this is the first roast that I am satisfied with since hooking up the Pinhalense…

(Use the zoom to be able to read them)

This one taken about 1rst crack… give or take 30sec. I don’t quite remember.

cheers

A traditional tea in Yemen made from coffee husks. I mean, yeah! okay, I’m gonna try it - purely out of curiosity. So I got a 1/2 pound of qishr from sweetmarias when I saw it available - no expectations of what it was other than Tom’s description (good, not great. Rosehips. Ginger Tea). But what the hell. I’ve paid more for a cup of coffee that was awful, so at worst, I am better informed and out 5 bucks.

Well, i don’t know if I will actually make it through the entire 1/2 pound I bought. Not that it is all bad, actually, and there are some very interesting things going on in the tea, but it left a pretty acrid and biter finish that was not at all to my liking. And it lasted for a long long time.

Unsealing the bag released powerful aroma of apple, clover, the Portland Rose Gardens in full bloom - an intensity like standing under a magnolia tree in full bloom, but not quite the same syrupy depth. It’s actually very beautiful to see - looking to me a lot like a certain cinnamon and honey encrusted pistachio shells.

Them being husks, I fully expected it to be earthy, spicy, and, well, husky - but that was just not there in the aroma. Just intense fruit like I was sticking my nose in a vat of juiced apples. Maybe all the earth was in the brew?

After that… mildly tea-like, but more like mild, thin good coffee - traces from that same aroma, hints of the sweet rose flavor. Overall, nice.. And then I sat and worked for a while, and then it started showing itself. Bitter. Astringency. Acridity. And it went on for a while.

It was pleasant until that. That harsh acrid overtone - pasting itself across my tongue. Rough, harsh and started killing my buzz. I don’t want to go back to that. It was worse than poorly toasted black tea. Worse than

I think I might try putting some in the oil over a tea light and let it fill the room with its smell. Dim the lights & spin some Tosca. I Want Some Honey. Loud.

I just got news that my roaster from Pinhalense is…

Okay, it’s not heading on the water, but by air - and it currently is being held in Chicago -  but I love this image. Much more exciting than a plane, don’t you think?

(thanks o lawatt for the cargo ship.. Here’s the original link.)

March 18th, totally unknown to me, the Brazilian customs agents went on strike.. with a vote of 98% in favor of striking…

Sounds like they are still striking.

update Found this which states in part that only live stock, perishables, explosives and flammable cargo, and medicines are being allowed through port.

Awww shit.

update 2I did trade emails with the exporter for Pinhalense, who assured me that things are indeed moving through customs and that they are working to get the roasters they have at the airport on their way…
I hope that the strike is resolved soon, though.

I can hardly stand the slowness that designing and building this roaster is. I know that it is my doing, but that doesn’t make it any easier not being able to really control my roasts. And it’s becoming increasingly painful as I become ever more eager to sink deep into cupping coffee and reaching balance with a roast. I’m not currently exploring as I know I am able… and truly return to my craft.

Well, In fact I couldn’t let this go any longer, and so purchased a sample roaster from Pinhalense.. I just got word at the end of last week that it is essentially ready in the factory as of tomorrow, so all it needs is some crating, an airplane,  one long flight from Sao Paulo to Portland. Some gentle customs agents, and a van to get it home. If all goes well, by next weekend, I should be tearing through some junky green that I’ve been stashing away over the past couple months to get it nice and seasoned.

So even though it sucks right now, and is going to impact the course of specialty coffee - how exactly I am not certain - they had the right to do what they did. And good for them. So, but probably, in a way no one is seeing at the moment (well, 1 person is, but he or she is diligently working in secret, at an accelerated pace…) it will eventually be good for everyone. Remember that Starbucks is at least indirectly responsible for George Howell’s founding of the Cup of Excellence program. And that is a greater deal for specialty coffee than 1000+ Coffee Connections were ever going to be.