HB is happy to announce the second annual HB Home Roasting Competition. The theme of this year's competition is to find our most complete home roaster.

Successful craft roasters must do two things well:
-- find rare and extraordinary coffees, and do them justice in the roasting.
-- make memorable and enjoyable blends from the more common good coffees.

So the first part of the competition is to send us an SO you love. Your choice is completely open. If the coffee you love most is a blend, send that. The only restrictions are that you have to roast it yourself, and tell us exactly what it is (so we can lay our hands on it too). Tell us if the coffee is to be brewed or done as espresso

The second part is to create a terrific blend from the five blending competition coffees. The coffees are a Brazil, a Sumatra, an Ethiopian and two Central Americans, all of excellent quality but not rare auction lots. Your blend should be rounder and fuller than any of the individual coffees. Again, tell us whether it's for brewing or espresso. But as befits a roaster's prize blend, also describe it poetically and in detail -- is it a breakfast coffee, a globby comfort food espresso, or an after-dinner demi-tasse?

And there's more ... About ten years ago, Barry Jarrett had a coffee identification competition that featured five coffees from different continents. We each got five bags labeled A, B, C, D & E. The task was to identify from where the coffees came. Very few people got them all right, and to this day I still can't fathom how I could mistake a Brazil for a Sumatra. So, to have a little fun and clear away the preconceptions, the five blending coffees will not be identified. Instead, the competitors will get five two pound bags of coffee labeled A through E. I will announce the exact coffees you received in a few weeks, after all the competitors have ordered. The third part of the competition is matching up your lettered coffees to the list.

Now go hunt for your great SO, and order the five blending competition coffees from this SM Page.

We thank Sweet Maria's for taking the time to support this competition by selecting and packaging the blenders (and creating a very cool logo for the competition).

Competitors may submit up to four entries, an SO espresso and brew, and a blend espresso and brew. However, if the field gets too large, we will only judge one SO and one blend per competitor, so if you submit both an espresso and a brewing coffee in one or both of the competitions, please indicate which one is your first choice.

Submissions must be in by the end of February; I will add the exact details in a few days.

Please view and post your comments in the discussion thread

Here are the Instructions for submitting your entries.

All entries have to be received by Friday, February 25th, 2011
Please PM Henry and/or me when you send us coffee, so we can confirm delivery. Include an email addie or your member name so we can et in touch.

All your entries must:

• have your name on the package
• have the competition division: Espresso Blend, Espresso SO, Brew Blend or Brew SO. on the package
• be packed for freezing
• be between 1/4 to 1/3 pound, 115 to 150 grams

If you want your entry to be rested a certain amount of time:

• Put the roast date on your package
• Put the number of days rest on the package
• Use a shipping method that gets it to us faster than the rest time
• We will remove the coffee from the freezer so the number of days it has been outside the freezer, including the days it was in shipment, will equal the specified rest days on the day it is judged.

26 Feb 2011: The competition is now closed, and the addresses have been removed to minimize spam.

I have received espresso entries from the following (B is for Blend, S for Single Origin):

Dan Remer B+S
Tim Davis B
Ed Bourgeois S
Todd Werner B+S
Marvin Rabinowitz B+S
Stephen Kupovics B+S
Shaun (Sthom) B
Patrick LaPlante B
Pat Campbell S
Henry Chang B+S
Jorge Guior B+S
Rafael Cobo B
Sherman Chong B+S

I'll accept any coffees arriving tomorrow, but cannot go later. I will do preliminary rounds Saturday and Sunday, and post the results Sunday evening. The finalists in each category will be judged on Monday.

Thank you for competing.

Henry (Chang00) has received the following entries for the brew competition. he will drop off the coffees Monday evening, and Tom will judge them on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thanks for competing


Dan Remer B
Jason Griset B+S
Tim Davis S
Ed Bourgeois S
Todd Werner B+S
Jim Schulman B
Stephan Kupovics B+S
Sherman Chong B
Doug Laplante B+S
Ed Bourgeois S
Rafael Cobo S
Pat Campbell S
Jorge Guior B+S
Henry Chang B+S
Rama Roberts B+S

Coffees that arrive before Henry leaves home on Monday will be included. Those arriving later will be too late.

Here are people's guesses about the blenders. As you can see, there is a fiar degree of unaninimity about A being the Sumatra' but the rest are up in the air. Tom will be emailing me the IDs of the coffees and I'll post them, and declare a winner as soon as I get them.

_____________________________________________________________
Name                     A       B       C       D       E
______________________________________________________________
***ACTUAL***............SUMA....ELSA....GUAT....BRAZ....ETHI.
Henry Chang.............SUMA....GUAT....ELSA....BRAZ....ETHI.
Sherman Chong...........SUMA....ELSA....BRAZ....ETHI....GUAT.
Jorge Guior.............SUMA....BRAZ....ELSA....ETHI....GUAT.
Jason Griset............SUMA....ELSA....GUAT....BRAZ....ETHI.
Stephen Kupovics........SUMA....BRAZ....GUAT....ETHI....ELSA.
Patrick LaPlante........SUMA....GUAT....ETHI....BRAZ....ELSA.
Marvin Rabinowitz.......ELSA....BRAZ....GUAT....ETHI....SUMA.
Rama Roberts............SUMA....GUAT....BRAZ....ETHI....ELSA.
Jim Schulman............SUMA....GUAT....ELSA....BRAZ....ETHI.
Shaun (Sthom) ..........SUMA....BRAZ....GUAT....ETHI....ELSA.
Todd Werner.............SUMA....ELSA....GUAT....BRAZ....ETHI.
***ACTUAL***............SUMA....ELSA....GUAT....BRAZ....ETHI.
______________________________________________________________

SO Espresso Results

Calibration coffee: My best SO of the last 12 months, Ethiopia Nekisse DP, tasted as first and last shot.
Extraction: Dose 15.5 gram, grind 15.5 grams, Extraction: normal/slow.
Dry Aroma: alcoholic berries and chocolate
Taste: Pure apricot and chocolate, hints of black tea, medium sweet, light body.
Finish: Short
Score: 91.5, 90.5 points

7th: Stephan Kupevics, Mocha Kadir
Extraction: Dose 15.5 grams, Grind 15.5 grams, flow, normal/slow
Dry Aroma: Almond dominant, whiffs of dark roast distillates.
Taste: Nutty, slight roast notes, foamy body, lacking sweetness but still pleasing.
Finish: Sort, mild citrus.
Score: 86 points

6th: Sherman Chong, Panama Elida DP
Extraction: Dose 15.5 grams, Grind 14 grams, Flow: slow/ristretto
Dry Aroma: Floral with vaguely soapy hints
Taste: Cocoa, normal sweetness, acidity awol, very creamy body
Finish: Pine sap, short
Score 86.5 points

5th: Pat Campbell, Brazil Mogiana
Extraction: Dose 14 grams, Grind 13.25 grams, Flow: ristretto
Dry Aroma: chocolate and mild blackberries
Taste: Classic Cup, sweet, with playful hints of acidity, light body, but creamy.
Finish: Long lasting chocolate
Score: 90 points

4th Ed Bourgeois, Panama Carmen DP
Extraction: Dose 14 grams, Grind 13.25, Flow Ristretto
Dry Aroma: Subdued roasty caramels
Taste: Very Sweet and buttery bodied. A pleasantly salty acidity.
Finish: Very long, refreshing candied orange
Score: 91 points

3rd Henry Chang, Ethiopia Limu DP
Extraction: Dose 16.25 grams, Grind 16.25 grams, Flow: normal/slow
Dry Aroma: Simple roast caramels with almond hints
Taste: Intense almond and coconut, a lively non-specific acidity, and a not quite harmonious saltiness
Finish: Orange, a little short.
Score: 91.5 points

2nd Daniel Remer, Kona.
Extraction: Dose 16.25 grams, Grind 16.25 grams, Extraction normal/slow
Dry Aroma: Rioast caramels with pit fruit
Flavor: Sweet with lively acidity, creamy, deep toned florals and fruit, berries and jasmine perhaps.
Finish: Orange, long.
Score: 92.5 points

1st Todd Werner, Panama Elida DP
Extraction: Dose 16.25 grams, Grind 16.25 grams, Flow: normal
Dry Aroma: Roast caramels with prominent florals
Flavor: Holy cow, it's out of here! Plummy Turkish delight and saltwater taffee.
Finish: Cleanly acidic, with a lingering sweetness.
Score: 95 points


Discussion:

Except for calibration coffee, I tasted and scored everything blind. The coffees went into identical bags with sealed names yesterday. I tasted them at 15.5 grams dose and grind without scoring them or making notes, simply marking the bags with the competition levels for dose and grind. Today, I shuffled the bags, numbered them 1 through 7, and tasted them in that order, taking the tasting notes exactly as reproduced above. When I was finished, I broke open the sealed names and posted the results.

This was a very powerful field indeed, and getting to taste these coffees has been more than enough reward for doing this.

Most of the roasts were medium-light to medium, and did the coffees justice. Stephan's roast of the Mocha Kadir was darker, and also very good. However, this blend was simply out of its league in terms of the bean quality, and stood no chance regardless of roast. Sherman roasted the Elida, same coffee as the winner, but got only a middling score. Here something went quite wrong. The coffee tasted pleasant, but distinctly flat and piney. Also, the beans had a very low density. Sherman said he was storing the coffees outdoors, and the cold may have affected the roast, overdrying the beans.

The other five coffees scored 90 and above, a fabulous result, and much better than I was expecting from the calibration I was doing yesterday. However, I have to admit that I'm pretty sure Todd's coffee, the winner today, was the standout at yesterday's calibration session. There's no way of telling for sure, since I only numbered the coffees today; however that remarkable plummy saltwater toffee taste is pretty unique, at least to me!

Daniel and Todd, the two winners, are quite new to HB, although I have a feeling they know a good deal about roasting. It would be nice if we could hear more from them.

Please note, there were some submissions that were simply one of the five blend coffees. I excluded these on the grounds that they stood no chance, since the SO competition was for high end auction and micro-lot coffees. If the person submitting these did not submit a blend, the single blend coffee was moved to the blend competition, if the person also submitted a blend, the single blender was excluded.

Blend Espresso Results

SCORING METHOD: Sherman Chong, acting as guest judge, and I scored each coffee without consultation. After we were done tasting, but before we knew which coffee was by who, we compared notes. It was clear we were calibrated enough not to need any adjustments, and that we could average our scores to determine the winner. Our raw tasting notes are reproduced below.

We calibrated our scoring by discussing a melange blend I had put together as a par, pulled at two doses, 15.5 and 14 grams, which we set at 85 and 87.5 respectively (the lower dose was distinctly sweeter and at the blend's best potential). Unlike the SO competition, the overall scoring was based purely on the formal balance and complexity of sweetness, roast and origin flavors, without scoring rare or exquisite flavors higher than any other. The scoring guideline was this: if this was the blend at the cafe next door to you, how happy would you be getting it as your daily shot for the next ten years?

Our shot by shot procedure was to grind the coffee at the given grind setting, smell the cofffee in the doser, dose to the given weight, watch the flow, stir and taste the shot, then wait a minute or two for finish to play out, and finally give an overall 0 to 100 score. In terms of letter grades, below 80 is an F, 80 to 84.5 is D, 85 to 87.4 is a C, 87.5 to 89.9 is a B, and 90 and above is an A.

It should be noted that Sherman had both entered the competition and judged it. This is obviously improper. However, it also turns out to be impossible, when judging blind and fairly, to distinguish ones own entry in a competition of this sort. Sherman's judgment and ranking of his own entry was completely in line with mine. Since he didn't take a top place this year; I thought it better to have the extra reliability and comfort of using competent second scorer, rather than to insist on total proprietry. Leaving his scoring out does not change the top three finishers.

11th: 81.75 Tim Davis
BLEND: TBA
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17.5 grams; Grind: 15.5 grams-equiv; Flow: fast
DRY AROMA: JS: dark roast distillates SC: creosote
TASTE: JS: Very dark, not ashy, some remaining sweet SC: overwhelming sharp tannic. no body, not sweet
FINISH: JS: smokey SC: hidey, pungent
SCORE: JS: 84.5 SC: 79

10th: 83.75 Shaun (sthom)
BLEND: 50% E, 35% D, 15% C
EXTRACTION: Dose: 15.5 grams; Grind: 16.25 grams-equiv; Flow: Lungo
DRY AROMA: JS: Nutty caramels SC:lightly woody, sweet
TASTE: JS: Medium sweet, creamy body, acidic but no complexity, SC: quiet. no strong presence, boring. weak/light body
FINISH: JS: citrus peel bitters SC: bitter lemon rind finish, terminating quickly
SCORE: JS: 84.5 SC: 83

9th: 84.25 Daniel Remer
BLEND: 91% D, 9% E
EXTRACTION: Dose: 15 grams; Grind: 15.5 grams-equiv; Flow: Normal
DRY AROMA: JS: Choclate, hints of dark fruit SC: light roast notes, not much else
TASTE: JS: Pleasant roast & choc, but lacking sweetness SC: classic cup. slightly sweet, less acidic/sour, average/unassuming
FINISH: JS: Musty SC: medium body, light finish
SCORE: JS: 83 SC: 85.5

8th: 85 Todd Werner
BLEND: 50% D, 25% A, 25% E
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17 grams; Grind: 17 grams-equiv; Flow: Normal-fast
DRY AROMA: JS: mild fruit, light caramel SC:cured meat/savory smell
TASTE: JS: creamy body, but dry and grassy SC:strongly acidic, lots of high and middle at the expense of sweet. any more unbalanced and it would be marked down
FINISH: JS: grassy SC: quick lemon finish, unbalanced
SCORE: JS: 85 SC: 85

7th: 85.75 Sherman Chong
BLEND: 60% B FC, 20% C City+, 20% D FC
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17 grams; Grind: 16.25 grams-equiv; Flow: fast-lungo
DRY AROMA: JS: Choc-carael, fruit hint. SC: roast distillates, somewhat alcoholic
TASTE: JS: Balanced, classic cup SC:lots of highs, balanced but tending toward sweet
FINISH: JS: slightly soapy-flat SC: very light, almost too light. weak middle, but not harshly acidic.
SCORE: JS: 86 SC: 85.5

5th/6th 86 Stephan Kupevics
BLEND: 45% D, 45% E, 10% C, all FC
EXTRACTION: Dose: 14 grams; Grind: 13.25 grams-equiv; Flow: slow-ristretto
DRY AROMA: JS: caramel & chocolate SC: woody, toasty, vegetal
TASTE: JS: Sweet caramels, non-acidic, but not flat SC:woody, medium sweet, straightforward and somewhat monotone
FINISH: JS: roasty notes SC: medium body, light citrus finish
SCORE: JS: 86 SC: 86

5th/6th 86 Marvin Rabinowitz
BLEND: 15% A FC, 65% B FC, 6% C FC, 8% D City-, 6% E FC
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17 grams; Grind: 16.25 grams-equiv; Flow: Noral-fast
DRY AROMA: JS: dark caramels SC: woody, sweet
TASTE: JS: classic Illy lemon-toast. SC: more acidic, less balanced. low sweetness, too many highs
FINISH: JS: Fresh. SC: slightly sour and quick finish, but not terribly so.
SCORE: JS: 86.5 SC: 85.5

4th: 87.5 Henry Chang
BLEND: 65% D, 26% C, 9% A
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17 grams; Grind: 17 grams-equiv; Flow: Normal-fast
DRY AROMA: JS: mild, but oddly discordant fruit SC: vietnamese food redux - meaty/savory
TASTE: JS: perfectly balance, good body, but too plain SC: exceptionally balanced and complex. medium/light body
FINISH: JS: piney SC: lasting, well rounded. no off notes
SCORE: JS: 86.5 SC: 88.5

2nd/3rd 88.25 Rafael Cobo
BLEND: 90% E City, 5% D, 5% B
EXTRACTION: Dose: 17.5 grams; Grind: 17 grams-equiv; Flow: Normal
DRY AROMA: JS: Caramel, sharp fruit hints SC: seafood! sauteed shrimp/crab
TASTE: JS: Illy lemon-toast, but sweeter/better SC: exceptionally well balanced, present citrus and sweet, creamy body
FINISH: JS: toast to citrus, short SC: deeply complex finish. lingering syrupy orange notes
SCORE: JS: 87 SC: 89.5

2nd/3rd 88.25 Jorge Guior
BLEND: 33% A, 33% D, 33% E
EXTRACTION: Dose: 16.25 grams; Grind: 15.5 grams-equiv; Flow: normal
DRY AROMA: JS: Caramel with fruit hint SC: vietnamese food
TASTE: JS: Sweet, fruited, playful acidity, light body SC:bright, sweet, fruity and acidic in a good way. lots of high/mid notes
FINISH: JS: Clean, short SC:medium body, clean finish
Score JS: 89, SC: 87.5

Winner: 89.25 Patrick LaPlante
BLEND: 100% E
EXTRACTION: Dose: 16 grams; Grind: 15.5 grams-equiv; Flow: Normal
DRY AROMA: JS: almond and blossom SC: slightly smoky/woody. remarkable in quiet complexity
TASTE: JS: Ringer? Floral and sparkling sweet SC: exceptionally wellrounded and forward. good, thick body
FINISH: JS: Refreshing candy SC: strongly sweet and citrus finish. good lingering finish with no off notes
SCORE: JS: 90 SC: 88.5


DISCUSSION: The standard was again very high, and I was surprised at how good the three winners tasted, since I didn't think it was possible to pull this much out of these coffees. I'm a little sorry to see that Patrick's winning effort is basically an SO, all E, since that kind of puts a cramp on the notion that blends can improve less than steller coffees. But I can take some comfort in the top group being so bunched.

The mixed reaction to Tim's dark roast illustrates two things I've noticed about the objectivity of coffee taste. First off, really good tasting coffees gets unanimous or near unanimous applause from knowledgeable people. The less fortunate coffees get a mixture of mild praise and thumbs downs. Second, if you roast really light or really dark, you need to do it perfectly, since you are dealing in flavors that some of your audience doesn't naturally appreciate. With middle-light to middle-dark roasts, you have more leeway.

The three top finishers, Patrick, Rafael, and Jorge, competed last yar, and didn't do as well as would have liked. It's clear that they've picked up their game this year, congratulations to them.

Who's best at IDing coffees?

The five coffees were:

• A-Sumatra Grade One Mandheling
• B-El Salvador Siberia Estate Bourbon
• C-Guatemala Bourbon San Diego Buena Vista
• D-Brazil Dry Process Bahia Chapada Diamantina
• E-Ethiopia FTO Wet Process Uraga Layo Teraga

The two winners are Jason Griset and Todd Werner.

There is no sensible way of selecting runners-up; any one wrong guess forces at least one other misidentification.

You can check how you did by comparing these to the guesses of all the entrants posted above

Results of the Brewing SO Competition with Tom's notes and scores:

11 Timothy Davis (timdavis551) SO only Tazanian Peaberry, Very dark roast scent plus rustic qualities, roast taste is a bit toward charred, but some dark berries in finish 84.4 Pts

10 Rafael Cobo (arpi) SO E100% Restrained and balanced roast taste, slight floral, very balanced and , for an Eth, not a "big" cup, but opens up as it cools, great mouthfeel, velvety, floral-honey, finish is tight. 86.5 points.

9 Pat Campbell (danetrainer) SO Panama Elida, Intense fruity-pulpy scent, rustic, like a DP fruity brazil but less of a soft finish, very intense, slight alcohol-fermenty aspect, very nice coffee when hot, drops of a bit as it cools, but I think very good roast level for this cup 87.8 Pts

7-8 Henry Chang (chang00) SO Ethiopia Lemma; Peach and apricot fruit fragrance, sweet cup, a little thin in body, darker roast level, very clean 88 Points

7-8 Doug Laplante (dougla) SO Ethiopian Limu-Niguise Lemma, Intense rustic dark fruits, very oily bean (dk roast + age), Anticipating darker, older roast taste but it is very lively, super intense tangy chocolate, dark fruits, drier finish 88 Pts

6 Jorge Guior Coffee D; Fruity, slight fermenty, banana, very rustic fruits, lots of dried banana, melon in the finish, complex and aromatic, mix roast appearance (nature of this coffee, no culling done by Jorge, apparently. 88.2 Pts

5 Stephen Kupovics (kupe) SO Colombia Microlot Filadelfia, Balanced sweet fragrance, well developed roast, a restrained flavor profile, very sweet, roasted so a milk chocolate roast taste emerges, crowd pleaser coffee 88.3 Pts

4 Todd Werner (ecc) SO Ethiopian Ardi , Honey and fruit natural ethiopia scent, brown beer with hops, well articulated rustic, floral jasmine, honey, slight tannic finish is bittering, complex, fennel and dill, very nice natural - 90 pts

1-3 Ed Bourgeois (farmroast) SO only; Panama Esmeralda Gesha Lot 10, 2008, Super sweet, nuanced, fruit + floral scents, hop flowers, light-bodied, sweet, aromatically complex, unique fennel seed, floral and fruit, citrus zest, tropical but in a restrained way, orange honey, not a "big" cup but a taster's delight! Little dry in the throat on the finish. 91 points

1-3 Jason Griset SO Ethiopia Uraga Layo Teraga; Lighter roast, dynamic honey and floral scent, sweet melted butter, extremely sweet, again this honey butter floral note, incredible retro-nasal aromas, lighter roast than others of this coffee, but well developed, Simply amazing next to the others. I want his secret! 91 Points

1-3 Rama Roberts SO ; Jammy clean fruit sweetness, savory sweet, kenya-y, Brilliant acidity, some of that aggressive kenya sweaty flavor, long jammy finish, grape-currant, slight winey and slight pungency. Please tell me its KenyaŠ 91 points

Results of Blend Competition with Tom's Notes.

10 Jorge Guior SO D100%; Blend A1/3; D1/3; E1/3; Rustic earthy notes and fruit, cup is very rustic too, earth, hidey. A little sulpherous in roast taste. 84.5 points

9 Doug Laplante (dougla) Brew A +D: Rustic sweetness, intense, most rustic coffee here, very earthy (one cup has slight phenolic defect, actually, a bad bean!), softish roast taste, murky unclear, sweet pulpy fruit, slight ash finish, definitely a winner for those who like fruity Brazil and Sumatra! 84.8 Points

8 Daniel Remer Blend; A100g/B20g/E30g; Dark fig sweetness in fragrance, strong Sumatra influence in overall flavor, thick body, chocolate roast taste, mild brightness, earthy-groundy in finish, slight ash. (Note- I don't think the lined paper bag protected roast well through freezing - more stale than other roasts.) FC++ roast. 85.3 Points

7 Stephen Kupovics (kupe) Blend (no proportion); Balanced honey and caramel scent, lighter roast level, slightly tight in finish (brazil like finish), seems to have a strong Brazil base, mild caramel and honey roast taste, C+ roast. 85.4 points

6 Henry Chang (chang00) Blend D60%, E40%; Balanced caramel and fruit, peaches, dulce de leech, slight gritty finish, rustic but with some nice clean accents. 85.7 points

5 Todd Werner (ecc) Blend D50%/E25%/C25% Strong Ethiopia honey-fruit sweetness in fragrance. A very balanced cup, lots of body, fruitiness of Brazil really comes through, slight herbal finish. 85.8 Points Roast is C+ but cups more like FCtoFC+ (Note: Todd's origin guesses 100% correct. amazing!)

4 Jason Griset Blend A38% and D62% : Lots of rustic fragrance, is this a melange of different roasts, because it manages to avoid too much earth from Sumatra, as well as softish or under-roast taste in Brazil. Melons in finish, herbal Good use of these coffees. I taste Centrals too, but seems like there are none. 86.2 Points

3 Sherman Chong Blend only; B60%/D40%; Clean honey-like sweetness, very clean blend with beautiful roast appearance, subtle and restrained cup character, balanced roast (C+/FC it seems). A little plain brewed, but I would love to do this as SO espresso. 86.4 Points

1/2 Rama Roberts Blend; Brighter fruit sweetness in fragrance, clean cup, caramel sweetness, slightly nutty finish (hazelnut + nut skins), stone fruit, Low intensity overall but very nice finish. Seems to have no Sumatra or Brazil - 86.5 Points

1/2 Jim Schulman (another_jim) B1/6; C1/2; E1/3: More neutral caramel sweet scent, Clean cup, jammy tastes, baked peaches, blend of roasts (interesting choice, i would have done the opposite - centrals darker, ethiopia lighter) but it works, preserves aromatics and sweetness while delivering some aggressive roast taste too. 86.5 Points