2014 HB Home Roasting Competition

Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
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another_jim
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#1: Post by another_jim »

GENERAL INFORMATION: This year, HB is pleased to announce that the brewing competition will have the ultimate celebrity judge; Ken Davids. Ken runs Coffee Review, the premier reviewing site for roasted coffees. He is also the acknowledged father of contemporary home coffee roasting, being the author of Home Coffee Roasting: Romance and Revival, the book that began home coffee roasting in the 1980s. Our deepest thanks goes to Henry Chang for arranging Ken's participation.

To do this opportunity full justice, the competition is open: entrants will be able to use any coffee they please. You can try to pick a coffee that will impress; but you might consider picking the coffee and roast you liked most this year, and see how it fares with Ken. Unfortunately, Ken will only be able to judge the top ten entries. Entrants in the brew competition will need to send out TWO samples. A small one (25 grams) to Jim Schulman for the preliminary round; and a larger one (100 grams) to Henry Chang.

Regrettably, to avoid conflict with Ken's obligations to Coffee Review; this competition is open only to amateurs.

The espresso competition will be more technical, featuring a single, pulp natural coffee, the very fine Costa Rica El Centro Black Honey. The task is simple; produce the best possible SO you can from this coffee. Jim Schulman will judge the preliminary rounds. The final round judges will be announced shortly.

FORMAT There is only one espresso and one brewed competition this year.
  • Espresso: Best roast of a single Bourbon pulp natural
  • Brewed: Any coffee, any roast, to be judged by Ken Davids
COFFEES DATES Entries must be received no later than Monday, May 12. Ken Davids will judge the best brew entries on Wednesday, May 14; Jim Schulman will select the finalists on May 13. Preliminary espresso rounds will take place May 15 and May 16, judged by Jim Schulman; the espresso finals will be May 17, judges TBA. The final announcement of the brewing winners may be delayed for several weeks, since Ken will be doing a full report, similarly in format to the one Coffee Review.

ADDRESS FOR ESPRESSO AND BREWING PRELIMINARY ROUND ENTRIES ENTRIES


ADDRESS FOR BREWING FINAL ROUND ENTRIES


PACKAGING
  • Espresso Packaging must be ready for the freezer
  • Ken does not want brew entries frozen. Time your roasts accordingly
  • Brew entries must include complete information on the coffee and roast. See Coffee Review write ups for the level of detailed Ken expects.
  • It must be robustly labeled with your name, email or HB handle, and what it is entered for.
  • You can include notes on paper about the blend and roast, or submit these by email/pm
REQUIRED WEIGHT
  • Espresso entries should be a minimum 100 grams roasted weight.
  • Brewing Entries to Henry should also be 100 grams minimum roasted weight. Brewing entries to Jim should be 25 gram minimum.
  • There is no need to send more than these amounts.
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Jim Schulman

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another_jim (original poster)
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#2: Post by another_jim (original poster) »

The following are the PRELIMINARY Brewing Results based on the cupping done Tuesday 13th May by Jim Schulman.

The discussion of these results is in the comment thread

Please note: A brew entry sent from Hong Kong by Alex Fan arrived at Henry's place, but the one destined for me is hung up in customs. That entry was cupped against the 9/10 coffees by Henry, and based on that was also submitted to the final round judged by Ken Davids

11TH PLACE Dave Arellano -- Ecquador Taza Dorado Jose Encaldo

CUPPING NOTES Initially a dull smelling cup with flat baking soda flavors. The finish is good, and some fruit starts poking out as the cup cools; but mostly this coffee got flattened in the roast

DRY FRAGRANCE 3
WET AROMA 2.5
TASTE 6.5
FINISH 7.7
ACIDITY 5
BODY 7.5
+50
TOTAL 82.2


9/10TH PLACE Alan Cohen -- Costa Rica El Centro Black Honey

CUPPING NOTES A pleasingly warm and sweet cup flavored with spice and molasses. Slightly skunky aromatics and a soapy finish detracts.

DRY FRAGRANCE 2.5
WET AROMA 2.8
TASTE 7.9
FINISH 7.3
ACIDITY 7
BODY 8.2
+50
TOTAL 85.7


9/10TH PLACE Andrew Kan -- Colombia Familia La Guerra La Isla

CUPPING NOTES Lovely light floral and caramel aromas are overwhelmed by unripe fruit flavors. The cup is sweet but undeveloped.

DRY FRAGRANCE 3.7
WET AROMA 3.4
TASTE 7.3
FINISH 7.1
ACIDITY 7
BODY 7.2
+50
TOTAL 85.7



8TH PLACE Hank Levine -- Colombia Granja La Esperanza Geisha

CUPPING NOTES There is a hint of florality and good sweetness; but the smell and finish are dominated by chlorogenic acids. A good coffee that is underroasted and undeveloped.

DRY FRAGRANCE 3
WET AROMA 3.5
TASTE 7.5
FINISH 6.3
ACIDITY 8.5
BODY 7
+50
TOTAL 85.8


7TH PLACE Cammie Hill -- Sulawsi Peaberry

CUPPING NOTES A pleasingly sweet cup, but so lightly roasted that unripe and nonspecific fruit flavors dominate from start to finish. A third wave generic that someone with a more attuned palate may appreciate more tha me.

DRY FRAGRANCE 3
WET AROMA 4
TASTE 7.7
FINISH 7.4
ACIDITY 7.8
BODY 7
+50
TOTAL 86.9


6TH PLACE Aaron McDougall - Yemen Hirazi Marquaha

CUPPING NOTES Subtle, Ethiopian florals are joined by well developed and complex spice flavors. The coffee doesn't quite pop, but it is roasted so that there's great deal of intricacy in the taste.

DRY FRAGRANCE 4
WET AROMA 4
TASTE 8.3
FINISH 7.4
ACIDITY 7.5
BODY 7.5
+50
TOTAL 88.7


5TH PLACE Allen Bartee -- Colombia Antiquoia las Mercedes

CUPPING NOTES Woodsy and distillate flavors hint at an Indonesian coffee. The taste is complex, sweet and well balanced.

DRY FRAGRANCE 4
WET AROMA 3.8
TASTE 8.3
FINISH 7.7
ACIDITY 7
BODY 8.5
+50
TOTAL 89.3


4TH PLACE Mark Spottswood -- Kenya Gaturiri Microlot

CUPPING NOTES A muscular coffee with spice and dried berry flavors, reminiscent of a Kenya, and consistently excellent from dry aroma to cool taste

DRY FRAGRANCE 4
WET AROMA 4
TASTE 8.3
FINISH 7.8
ACIDITY 8
BODY 7.5
+50
TOTAL 89.6


90 POINT REFERENCE Panama Elida DP

CUPPING NOTES Big dry process florals in the dry aroma become more subdued in the brewed cup, which is a beautifully sweet, classic cup with flora overtones. The dry process shows up as a slight astringency flaw in the finish. This is almost certainly my DP Elida that I threw in to be the 90 point reference.

DRY FRAGRANCE 4.5
WET AROMA 3.5
TASTE 8.5
FINISH 7.5
ACIDITY 8
BODY 8
+50
TOTAL 90


3RD PLACE Dustin Demers -- Ethiopia Danch Meng

CUPPING NOTES The dry aroma is subdued and floral, Geisha or Sidamo. The wet aroma adds spices, and the warm cup is complex, sweet and balanced. As the cup cools, it becomes spectacular: black walnut flavors emerge, and the taste unfolds into lots of detailed floral, fruit and spice flavors. A superb coffee as it cools.

DRY FRAGRANCE 4.3
WET AROMA 4
TASTE 8.5
FINISH 8
ACIDITY 7.5
BODY 8
+50
TOTAL 90.3


2ND PLACE Henry Chang -- Ethiopia Worka DP

CUPPING NOTES The dry aroma says flower bomb geisha. The wet aroma and warm cup are more fruit and chocolate; but as it cools, the florals return and interesting licorice flavors emerge. A superb coffee, well roasted.

DRY FRAGRANCE 5
WET AROMA 4
TASTE 8.8
FINISH 8.5
ACIDITY 8
BODY 7.5
+50
TOTAL 91.8


1ST PLACE Tom Chips -- Sisters of Panama

CUPPING NOTES More subtle than coffee 2 (Henry's coffee), but more refined as well. Another superb Geisha or high end Ethiopian cup tasting like a bowl of ripe fruit and floral perfumes. The only thing preventing this coffee from scoring north of 95 is the slightest hint of soapy ferment in the finish.

DRY FRAGRANCE 4.8
WET AROMA 4.9
TASTE 9
FINISH 7.7
ACIDITY 8
BODY 7.8
+50
TOTAL 92.2
Jim Schulman

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#3: Post by another_jim (original poster) »

  • ESPRESSO RESULTS
Discussion


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/2 26 points Alan Cohen
SWEETNESS/ROAST 9 Sweet caramel and distillates
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8.5 jammy dried berries
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8.5 very good

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1/2 26 points Dave Arellano
SWEETNESS/ROAST 9 sweet sugars, very clean finish
INTEREST/ORIGIN 9 dried fruit, very clean and clear, slightly raw
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8 good body

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3-6 25 points Steve Barrington
SWEETNESS/ROAST 8.5 Very fine bitter-sweet distillates, slightly astringent finish
INTEREST/ORIGIN 7.5 mild dried apricot
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 9 thick

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3-6 25 points Tom Chips
SWEETNESS/ROAST 8.5 sugar, light caramel. clean
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8 mild non-specific fruit, clean but a little raw
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8.5 slightly syrupy body

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3-6 25 ponts Andrew Kan
SWEETNESS/ROAST 9 swwet sugars and light caramels, clean
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8 raw fruit, good
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8 good body

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3-6 25 points Aaron MacDougall
SWEETNESS/ROAST 7 semi-sweet and slightly soapy
INTEREST/ORIGIN 9 clean, ripe fruit
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 9 syrupy body

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7 24.5 points Denis Basaric
SWEETNESS/ROAST 8.5 Sweet medium caramels, distillates, some soap
INTEREST/ORIGIN 7.5 bare hints of fruit
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8.5 very good mouthfeel

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 24 points Mark Spottswood
SWEETNESS/ROAST 7 Some Caramel, soap and cocoa finish
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8 Pleasing Melon & Pit fruit Acidity
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 9 Syrup Body

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9/10 22.5 points Henry Chang
SWEETNESS/ROAST 6.5 semi-sweet and soapy
INTEREST/ORIGIN 7.5 OK dried fruit
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8.5 very good body

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9/10 22.5 points Cammie Hill
SWEETNESS/ROAST 7 Neutral but clean
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8.5 Pleasing but raw fruit
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 7 light bodied

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 22 points Alex Fan
SWEETNESS/ROAST 6 No caramels or sugar
INTEREST/ORIGIN 8 Raw, but clean and pleasing
BODY/MOUTHFEEL 8 good

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Schulman

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#4: Post by another_jim (original poster) »

  • BREWING COMPETITION RESULTS
These are the overall results of Ken Davids' cupping; details to follow.

discussion start


Tom Chips (TomC) Sisters of Panama Geisha - 93.0

Alex Fan (afan) Sidamo Shilcho, Babe, Shebe DP - 93.0

Andrew Kan (fu11c17y) Colombia Familia Guerra La Isla - 93.0

Mark Spottswood (creative-nickname) Kenya Gaturiri Microlot AA - 92.5

Henry Chang (chang00) Ethiopia Gedeo Worka DP - 92.0

Hank Levine (hankua) Colombia Granja La Esperanza Geisha "Margarita's Micro Lot" - 90.0

Allen Bartee Colombian Familia Guerra-La Gallimeta WP - 89.5

Aaron MacDougall Yemen Haraaz Marqaha - 89.0

Cammie Hill (Cammie) Sulawesi Peaberry WP - 87.0
Jim Schulman

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#5: Post by another_jim (original poster) »

Here is the detailed write up by Ken Davids
Ken Davids wrote: Home Roaster Competition 2014: A Long Way from Iron Skillets

Recently Henry Chang, a passionate home coffee roaster (when he's not pursuing his successful career as an obstetrician/gynecologist), sponsored a contest for his home roaster Internet correspondents. He asked Coffee Review to act as judge. As busy as we were, we agreed, since both my co-cupper Jason Sarley and I are strong supporters of the home roasting community even though our reviewing work is exclusively devoted to evaluating professionally roasted coffees. My third book (Home Roasting: Romance and Revival, St. Martin's Press) helped kick off the home roasting movement when it first appeared in 1996; it is now in its second edition in English and has been translated and published in Taiwan and Korea. Although I intended it as a cross-over book aimed at beginning professional roasters as well as home roasters, it was most clearly designed to encourage a home roasting community in North America.
Henry Chang first screened the samples sent by his home roaster colleagues, then presented us with twelve. We eliminated two more of the twelve and cupped and evaluated the remaining ten; one of the ten was later withdrawn because the roaster sells his coffee as well as consumes it himself, which Henry felt disqualified him from this competition. Reviews of the remaining nine samples appear below.
I had no idea what to expect; some years ago I suspect there would have been quite a few overroasted or poorly roasted entries. Not this time around. The green sourcing was excellent and the roasting sound, ranging from medium to light, with the only suspect sample one that was clearly a little underdeveloped, plus two that may possibly have been very slightly underdeveloped. When I write underdeveloped, I do not mean "too light"; I mean that the pattern of heat transfer or "profiling" overall did not succeed in fully developing aromatics and sugars, at least to our palates. For us sensory signs of a successful very light roast of a fine coffee are notes of honey, meadow flowers and crisp roasted cacao nib, among others. Signs of a somewhat underdeveloped light roast are hints of raw nut or fir-like wood and floral notes that more suggest sweet grass than flowers.
But we only cupped one sample that was clearly if slightly underdeveloped, an attractive but difficult-to-roast peaberry. With two other samples, the aromatic muting could just as well have been owing to faded green beans or fading of the roasted coffee on its complicated way from the roaster through Henry to us.
The norm, by far, was very nicely roasted coffees that probably hit or came very close to a sweet spot for their respective beans. The percentage and degree of success, by the way, about duplicates the percentages associated with samples we receive from professional roasters. Of course, in this case some samples were screened out in advance, but still, the showing of those we did cup definitely suggests how far the home roasting community in the United States has come.
The first paragraph of each little review represents our blind rating and assessment, which we arrived at before Henry told us the identity of the sample. The second (usually shorter) paragraph of each review represents reflections on origin, roast, and issues that, in retrospect, may have affected the cup character of the sample.

Tom Chips. Sisters of Panama Geisha: Panama La Mula Dry Process and Finca Santa Teresa Honey-Processed Geisha. 93.0
Giddily exhilarating; great balance and sweetness. Buoyant, lively acidity. Very silky mouthfeel. Notes of peach (particularly), sweet milk chocolate, flowers, a hint of musk in aroma and cup. Flavor simplifies in a clean though slightly drying finish.
A blend combining dried-in-the-fruit and honey preparations of the spectacular (and expensive) Geisha variety. Nicely roasted.

Alex Fan. Sidamo Shelcho, Babe, Shebe Dry Process. 93.0
Crisply sweet, delicately pungent. Smooth, balanced acidity. Light but silky mouthfeel. Notes of roasted cacao nib, lavender, honey, cider, peach in aroma and cup. Rich finish with excellent flavor saturation led by peach, lavender and cacao nib. Mildly drying in the long finish, but the sweet-toned flavor pushes on through.
Subtle, sensitive light roast of a very clean dried-in-the-fruit Ethiopia. The glories of this coffee are its crisp sweetness and complex aromatics.

Andrew Kan. Colombia Familia Guerra La Isla. 93.0
Sweet with a pleasingly complementary bitter edge; impressively balanced. Rich, deeply expressed acidity. Syrupy though lively mouthfeel. Notes of dark chocolate, hazelnut, orange marmalade, a hint of narcissus-like flowers. Chocolate and hazelnut in particular lead into a long, resonant finish.
Displays the big, deep, balanced structure of a fine Colombia; well-roasted.

Mark Spottswood. Kenya Gaturiri Micro lot AA. 92.5
Gently pungent, very complex. Straightforward, bright, functional acidity. Mouthfeel is leanish but buoyant, lively. This coffee is most successful not so much in structure but in aroma and flavor: almond, lilac, blood orange, roasted cacao nib, a hint of saffron. Flavor consolidates but persists in a gently rich, sweet-toned, deep finish.
Fine Kenya; appears well-roasted.

Henry Chang. Ethiopia Gedeo Worka Dry-Process. 92.0
Big, juicy, fruity-fermented. Round, juicy acidity. Full though perhaps not fat mouthfeel. Notes of buttery dark chocolate, lush night-blooming flowers, cantaloupe. The pleasingly pungent, sweet-fermented note we ended associating with the Brazilian spirit cachaça, though grappa or the more rustic style of brandy might work too. The finish is long, rich, deep, with considerable flavor saturation, although it shortened a bit as the cup cooled.
A fine example of the grand-gestured, richly fermenty style of dried-in-the-fruit Ethiopia cup, well-roasted.

Hank Levine. Colombia Granja La Esperanza Geisha "Margarita's Micro-Lot". 90.0
Delicate, sweet, crisp. Bright, lively acidity. Syrupy mouthfeel. Notes of molasses, almond, roasted cacao-nib, walnut, honeysuckle and a hint of freshly picked vegetable - pea or tomato vine - in aroma and cup. Rich, sweet-toned finish, though flavor fades rather quickly.
Given the very distinguished tree variety and producer, something may be a bit off here. The structure (acidity, mouthfeel) are outstanding, but the aroma/flavor should have been much more complex, pronounced and dynamic. This fading could have been owing to partial staling after roast or an older green coffee, although the rather muted aromatics and the molasses and hints of vegetable possibly suggest (alternatively or in addition) a very slightly underdeveloped roast.

Allen Bartee, Colombia Familia Guerra-La Gallimeta Wet Process. 89.5
Crisp, sweet, slightly woody. Acidity is delicately brisk and balanced. Mouthfeel is impressively full and syrupy. Notes of almond, molasses, carob, cherry-like fruit and a hint of flowers in aroma and cup. When the cup is hot, finishes well: sweet, rich, long, with good flavor saturation. The finish tends to fade and the woody note comes forward as the cup cools, however.
Our rating for this coffee when the cup was hot was 90.5. We deducted one point for fading of flavor and aroma as it cooled, which accentuated a backgrounded woody character, suggesting either fading after roast, fading of the green coffee before roast, or perhaps a slight underdevelopment in the roast.

Aaron MacDougall. Yemen Haraaz Marqaha. 89.0
Woody but sweet, rich. Backgrounded acidity. Lively but slightly rough mouthfeel. Notes of strawberry, walnut, roasted cacao nib, a hint of brandy in aroma and cup. Very sweet in the finish, though still woody, with the strawberry note in particular persisting into the long finish.
Yemen coffees do not store or transport well; perhaps fading of the green coffee is the cause of the mild woody listlessness that dampens an otherwise very sweet, aromatically complex dried-in-the-fruit coffee. Roast seems sound.

Cammie Hill. Sulawesi Peaberry Washed. 87.0
Delicate, softly brisk. Acidity is lively and gently bright, though a bit woody. Mouthfeel is lightly syrupy at first impression, though leanish thereafter. Lemon grass, honey, prairie flowers, woody walnut, a hint of vanilla in aroma and cup. Some flavor carries into a long, sweet-toned finish.
This coffee displays the honeyish, sweet but slightly floral-vegetal character of a coffee that most likely was not quite fully developed in the roaster, perhaps because peaberry is a difficult bean to roast.
Jim Schulman