Hi,

Can anyone please advise me of the best Brew Temp to try with the following two home roasted blends.
I have just received my Brewtus II and now have the ability to fine tune the brew temp.
They are roasted in my Hottop Roaster.

Sweet Maria's ........... Liquid Amber Espresso Blend
and
Sweet Maria's ........... Espresso Monkey Blend

I usually roast the beans to the level recommended on Sweet Maria's web page.

Cheers
Eric

Hi Eric,

I cannot recommend temps because I do not have comparable data. However, I can say that I find Tom's roast levels consistently too light. This is no criticism of Tom. It is rather the suggestion that you will need to calibrate your preferred taste to Tom's. Once you see the relative positions you can proceed.

I never got an espresso I liked out of the Amber. I loved the Monkey and have done many batches. I suggest keeping the temp on the low side. With that blend you get more flavor complexity at lower temps.

KS

KarlSchneider wrote:Hi Eric,

I cannot recommend temps because I do not have comparable data. However, I can say that I find Tom's roast levels consistently too light. This is no criticism of Tom. It is rather the suggestion that you will need to calibrate your preferred taste to Tom's. Once you see the relative positions you can proceed.

I never got an espresso I liked out of the Amber. I loved the Monkey and have done many batches. I suggest keeping the temp on the low side. With that blend you get more flavor complexity at lower temps.

KS

Hi Karl,

Thank's for responding.

I understand what you are saying, as the actual roast level will vary then so will the best temp for that particular roast, and preferred taste is very personal.
I had read somewhere that the Liquid Amber was Tom's version of Malabar Gold, which apparently likes quite high brew temps.
I do have some Malabar Gold on its way to me so that i can re try that again now that i can alter the brew temp much more easily.

Thanks again
Eric

Hi Eric,

I went through a pound of Amber factory roasted by Tom, and was initially unimpressed. I accidentally acquired a second batch, and finally stumbled on pull parameters that I absolutely love. This is now one of my favorite blends.

Sorry, no PID, so temps are very approximate. I'm one of those reverse-surfing types.

At Vienna, dose 16g into an LM double basket. Tighten the grind to a .75oz ristretto in about 40-50 seconds. It should be thick enough to coat your tongue almost like honey. Really the time is not of that much concern. You want it very short and very thick, and stop the pour when the light spot appears on top. The crema has larger bubbles than most blends and recedes quickly- this is a blend characteristic, not a flaw.

Pulled at about 197-198 (for me it's a a three-minute surf from max boiler temp) this is syrupy and sweet with hardly any bitters or pungency. You might occasionally taste wood or light smoke and very frequently a surprising and pronounced note of button mushroom. But aside from these intriguing flavors, it's the finish that is truly spectacular. Straight-up milk caramel. It'll stay with you for 15-20 minutes and the aftertaste will revisit you over the next few hours if you don't eat anything particularly strong afterwards. Lovely burps. Sorry, but so true!

Take the temp closer to 200 (for me, a 2:40 surf) and you will get a pungent sort of bite on the tongue. It's not bright, it's definitely bite- like the sensation of tasting a radish, but gentler. It's a little less sweet upfront, but the finish still lingers like candy-apple caramels (more the milkiness of them than the sweetness).


~tMb

Hi Ari,
Many thanks for your detailed response to my question, i will have to order some more beans from SweetMaria's and give your settings a go.

I had completely forgotten this post of mine.
Best Regards
Eric

- Hi Eric

I love SM Liquid Amber its my favorite espresso blend - I usually buy twice a year from Sweet Marias.

On the La Spaz I use 15.5 grams for a double & brew at 92'C for approx 25 seconds ending up a little under the line (long ristretto). Great beans

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the tip on SM Liquid Amber, the last time I tried it I think that I may have been running a little too cool for it.

"You might occasionally taste wood..."

This is what I am tasting and not liking in this blend. Any pointers on roasting or brewing to eliminate?

I just roasted some (10 oz.) Liquid Amber 3 days ago. I use a Behmor roaster. This roast batch, tasted today, tastes quite good - no "off" flavors. (What ever that means). Not too light- or too dark.

I went into second crack in it - but not to the very end of second crack - I guess it's a Vienna roast. (Profile P1, 10 oz. set at a 1lb setting, and reduced time to 16 minutes before start, 69F room temp.)

I do not like Liquid Amber roasted too light - full city. I also do not like it as much at an oily French roast.

Howard

I have found that if any oil is showing immediately after roasting on a Behmor, it is WAY past Vienna. A little oil might show up in a Vienna roast a few days later, though. The best way I figure roast level on the Behmor is to time it from the first crack on light roasts and from the second crack on medium (City+) to darker roasts. For your 10 oz load, 10-20 seconds into a full-on second crack would be a full Vienna roast for me at P-1 and moderate ambient temperature. Other profiles (particularly putting the 60% heat cycle in P-2 earlier or later) creates more variables (as can harder beans than I usually roast) but can give some varied and interesting results as well.

The new Amber blend is by the way different from the old one. It requires in my experience a lower temperature of extraction, but will not yield the same profile. More pointed, less complete now.

One more days rest for the coffee and a slightly higher temp and the woodiness has decreased. Not sure this will end up being on my favorites list though. Man this coffee puts out LOADS of crema.

Update: This coffee seems to improve with further rest. Seven days post roast and the shot today was pretty good.

KarlSchneider wrote:Hi Eric,

I cannot recommend temps because I do not have comparable data. However, I can say that I find Tom's roast levels consistently too light. This is no criticism of Tom. It is rather the suggestion that you will need to calibrate your preferred taste to Tom's. Once you see the relative positions you can proceed.

I never got an espresso I liked out of the Amber. I loved the Monkey and have done many batches. I suggest keeping the temp on the low side. With that blend you get more flavor complexity at lower temps.

KS

Karl, I've not had Tom's blends roasted by him, just home roasted. I also prefer the Monkey, though by far (IMO) his best green blend was the Workshop blend called Oliophite (forgot how to spell it)
Roasted to full city, no oil, at 8 days it was terrific, and remained that way to day 14.
I liked Monkey just a touch darker, still no oil, or maybe a drop. Pulled around 199, or as close as I could get to that.

drdna wrote:The new Amber blend is by the way different from the old one. It requires in my experience a lower temperature of extraction, but will not yield the same profile. More pointed, less complete now.

I prefer it updosed to around 18g, and pulled short (total volume around 1.25-1.5oz) at 94C (circa 201F). Roasted 30 sec into 2nd. Cuts through cap/latte nicely. Stop the pull at the VERY first signs of blonding, or it has an unpleasant aftertaste.