I just opened a bag of Indian Monsooned Malabar and have only gotten two 'blonde gushers' so far (extreme side flow as far as I can tell from the bottomless PF).

Any tips on pulling this particular coffee? It is about 3 weeks from roast, just opened, not too dark but oily ... I had my grinder and tamping working well for the DP Brazilian that I just finished, I don't understand why this one would be so much different!

One thing I've noticed is that it seems to swell more then other coffees- all the way to the showerscreen- while the Brazil puck hardly changed at all...

Anything to point me in the right direction would be appreciated!

Henry

Henry,

I picked up some green Monsooned Malabar beans. Must admit up front that I'm not a fan of it. The stuff I roasted tasted a bit medicinal. I've heard others say it can be musty.

Anyway, as to your problem. My understanding is that the tendency for MM to be musty inclines some roasters to roast it darker in an effort to mask the mustiness. The other thing about MM that I've noticed in roasting it myself is that it looks much lighter for the degree of roast than it really is (just the opposite of Sumatran coffees which look much darker when roasting).

So, the coffee you have may be roasted quite dark and therein may lie the problem. Dark coffees, in my experience, require a finer grind otherwise you tend to get a very light fast pour. I think it must have something to do with the fact that a darker roast pulls more of the oils out of the bean (which means less emulsification during extraction). My advice would be to try adjusting your grind a bit finer (or overfilling the basket somewhat).

Good luck,
Ken

I have noticed that when I add Monsooned Malabar beans to my espresso blends (I home roast) - I need to grind finer otherwise the pour is too fast.

Howard

Grind it turkish, a true powder, otherwise the shots won't flow right. The bean is so rubbery that there are almost no fines when it's ground.

Thanks guys, I dialed the grinder finer then anything I've done recently and was rewarded by a decent pour! Interesting taste, I'm liking it so far, thanks for helping me not waste any more of it!

Any temp. recommendations?

I might try even finer for the next shot as it was still a bit fast. Still had too much flow on the sides, will try updosing as Ken mentioned.

re: roast color/depth, yeah, I've never seen so much oil on such a light roast!

Henry

[EDIT] Didn't see your post Jim, thanks. Glad to know it is the bean, not just me!

The monsooned malabar can taste very different depending upon roast profile.
I myself have talked with Doctor John several times regarding this.
I use only josuma select malabar there are others as well however I believe no one comes close to the process they use to monsoon the coffee consistently.

Back to the roasting.
Low drop temps preferred get your turn around point to about 200 then slowly work your way to first crack; my 1st crack is about 12 minutes. It requires a slow ramp to first crack otherwise you scorch the surface of the bean and very easily too.

I drop my temp to low 1 minute before second crack and keep it on low a total time of 2.5 minutes. Then slowly bump the heat up in 3 30 second increments then it finish right at the beginning of the rapid audible second crack. When you pull it you should have just a small amount of oil on a few beans the rest will be dry of any oil. Much past this roasting level it starts tasting roasty and woody. Much before this level it is sour and grassy. There really is only a small roast level window to get it right.

Keep in mind this is my opinion and roast profile using my equipment as based on my experiences roasting it for about 3 years. 1 year on home equipment and 2 years on professional equipment.
I am finally just getting the malabar right for me and consistent and it has made a world of difference in espresso for me.

Also you do need to grind finer as mentioned above with blends using malabar or S.O. malabar.
I do not prefer the S.O. malabar by any means but it is an excellent canvas for the other coffees in a blend if you roast it right.

A lot of people give up working with it because it takes some time to profile it right.
But hopefully I am giving you the shortcuts of years of experience with it so it can help you.

High brew temp is your best bet.
Don't roast to visual roast, the bean takes roast differently.

It's an "acquired" taste indeed.

I've just started my first bag of MM, it certainly produces the best-looking pours I've ever seen with the naked pf. The crema is very different to what I have always gotten before - much more dense, more bubbly: more like whipped cream. Is this normal?

Thanks

Yes it is normal to have large bubbly thick crema the monsooned malabar has alot of viscosity to it.
I appreciate Chris Tacy and his add in on this as well.
I know he is not a fan of the Monsooned Malabar but to each his own.
he is very knowledgeable in his own right.
He is correct as to say it takes roast differently than most coffees.
I really do not use roast color as a tool to tell when a roast is developed.
I use a profile and time method and if I have completed the correct profile in the right time frame I find the roast always come rather consistent in roast color.
Of course it depends upon which coffee I am roasting and the amount of roast I want a coffee to have.
I am by trade a student of light to medium roast coffees.
I have had to roast dark but with no where near the success of petes or some of the other dark roasters out there. Plus I do not prefer it.
Good Luck to everyone roasting the MM let me know how you fair and if I can help in anyway let me know.
Thanks
Jason Casale

Appearance, volume of crema and low acidity are the arguments for this bean in espresso.