Thank you, Jim and Abe.

This has been exciting and educational. I have no idea how to roast coffee for others; my guests seem to like what I like, so I roasted what I like for the espresso division. Whew! There's a lot here to chew on and think about. I make tiny tweaks as well as make huge changes, and really note everything. And then play some more, keeping my Gene Cafe hot.

The tasting notes will be most valuable to me as I saved some of the roast to compare to judge's thoughts.

My choice to enter an SO as espresso is twofold - 1, I don't know how to blend or understand it, 2, I like exploring all the possibilities SO coffees have to offer.

Again, thank you so much for putting this together, and if I may offer a suggestion, a small entry fee to cover your expenses would be okay with me.

John

Leftovers. I mixed all the remaining finalists' coffees, and have been using them up over the past few days. I'd be very happy indeed if my own roasts tasted this good (lots of Sidamo flowers, some Maravilla citrus, now aged down to sweet, dry fruit, and backed with some darker and creamier notes from the Sumatra and Brazil). So thanks again to the competitors.

Jim,

Are you still going to send reviews to the people who entered the espresso catagory but did not make the finals? I am curious what I did right and wrong in my entry. I have no problem with you posting it on the forum like Tom did for the brewed entries, or off list.
Again, thanks for all of the work that you did in getting this comp. organized and run. I am already looking forward to next year or (hint) another later this year.

Mike (mchet)

Yes I will; but it's going to take until the the weekend.

mchet wrote:Jim,

Are you still going to send reviews to the people who entered the espresso catagory but did not make the finals? I am curious what I did right and wrong in my entry. I have no problem with you posting it on the forum like Tom did for the brewed entries, or off list.
Again, thanks for all of the work that you did in getting this comp. organized and run. I am already looking forward to next year or (hint) another later this year.

Mike (mchet)

Dittos here. I'm hoping my roast was just boring relative to the others, but all the same, it would be great to get some feedback on my Arinagata S.O. roast for espresso. Thank you for all your hard work and I look forward to next time!

Here are my first round espresso notes. I apologize for their lack of completeness. At the time, I was only concerned about dialing each blend in as well as as possible; and scoring it. In retrospect, I should have spent five minutes turning my first impression into a more detailed description.

The two numbers, e.g. 16.5 @ 15.5 means a 16.5 gram dose at a grind setting I normally use for 15.5 grams of a high grown, medium roasted SO. Brazils need finer grinds, and Sumatras much finer grinds than high growns, so this system usually allows me to get the flow right on the first shot, and the right dose/grind combo on the second.

The grade is based on 0 to 6 scale used in barista competition, but using quarter points. Scores of 1 to 1.75 are acceptable, 2 - 2.75 are average, and 3 - 3.75 are good. We had no 4s - very good, 5s- excellent or 6s - outstanding.

Michael Chester nearly made the finals. But with all the finals tasting happening in one session for fairness sake, six competitors is the usual limit. We took the top seven, who all scored 3.25 or better on taste.

Dan Gorman: Ethiopia/Sumatra Dark Roast. 16.5 @ 15.5 Nothing interesting left. 2.25 Ou
Randy Tsuch: 2:2:1 Brazil, Guat, Sumatra. 16.2 @ 15.5 Woody & Flat. 2.5 Out
Michael Chester: D'OH2. 17.5 @ 16 Interesting, underpowered. 3.0 Maybe
Ed 'Bourgeois: 15.5 @ 15 Too Ashy. 1.5 Out.
Ralph Meyer: "Triple Ristretto Blend," 17.5 @ 16 Classic shot. 3.25 In.
Paul Allen: 17.5 @ 16 Balanced & round, but very dulled. 2.75. Out
Jim Gallt: 17.5 @ 16.5 Flattened. 2.5 Out.
David Rainero: 16 @ 15.5 Dull taste, astringent finish. 2.0. Out
Rafael Cobo: 17.5 @ 16 Slightly ashy. 2.25. Out
Rama Roberts: 15 @ 14.75 Toast and fruit. Fun. 3.25 in
Casey Blanche: 17 @ 16.25 Competent dark roast, but nothing stands out. 2.75 out
Marvin Rabinowitz 15.5 @ 15.5 Nice balance and fruit 3,25 In
Jorge Guior 17 @ 15.5 Sumatra comes through, competent roast, but hollow tasting 2.5 out
Sherman Chong 15.5 @ 15. Nice shot, full taste spread. 3.3 In
Shannon Daly 15.5 @ 14.5 Classic shot 3.2 In
Bill Welch 17.5 @ 15.5 Decent Sumatra, but not quite there. 2.75 Out.
John Despres 17.5 @ 15.5 Full bore sumatra taste 3.25 In
Patrick LaPlante 15.5@15.5 Round taste but ashy finish. 2.5 Out
Henry Chang 15.5 @ 14.75 Fruit bomb 3.5 In
Terry Hendricks 16 @ 15.5 Boring and ashy 1.75 Out

Thanks for the feedback. Any tips for what can be done about a "dull" batch? Could that be the same as "baked"? I have been working on speeding up my times to 1st crack, but I am finding that challenging in the Behmor. I have also found that I often have to use more coffee when I brew drip. It seems that I'm doing something that is making a less intense flavor.

EDIT: I found the comments on the drip side - sounds like baking is exactly what's happening. I have suspected this - this is good to have confirmation. I just have to figure out how to get the behmor to shorten the first leg.

Hi Paul,

I think the Behmor is a great bargain in roasting, but instead of bragging about roasting large loads, it may be better to lower the load a lot, lower the heat a bit, roast faster, and cool externally. If you get to the first crack fast, its a good idea to slow down the end of the roast, but if the run tot he first crack is slow, it's best to finish faster.

It's useful to brew your roasts, let the cup cool, and check that the coffee is naturally sweet; if it isn't, pick new coffee.

But also check that it tastes "transparent," not "dirty," "muddy," "fuzzy," "staticy." I really do not know how to describe this; but it's like the noise drowning out the music, or like a paste of mush beans, cabbage and potatoes drowning out all the actual flavors. When you are judging a lot of coffees, anything like this will end at the bottom. If you get this type of mud in cool coffee, you need to speed the roast up without raising the environmental temperatures. You also need to make sure you are cooling in three minutes or less. All this is more or less non-negotiable as far as I know.

another_jim wrote:Hi Paul,
If you get this type of mud in cool coffee, you need to speed the roast up without raising the environmental temperatures.

Does this mean faster ramp rates in the beginning of the roast, with slower rates or flat lines at the end?
I've been playing with profiles like this.

Randy

A lot of this is roaster dependent -- cup or otherwise test every coffee your roast and get to your optimum profile