Want to know how your roasts compare to other home roasters? This is your chance to find out.

Every year, the SCAA Roaster's guild gets together. Included is a team roasting competition, done more for fun than blood. Each team creates a blend, everyone tries them blind at the final dinner, and the top voted blend wins. As home roasters, we can't duplicate this competition in detail, but we can do one of our own in the same friendly spirit. We hope that this competition becomes an annual event.

UPDATE:
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Here are the details:

The Coffees

• Ethiopia DP Haile Selassie Sidamo or, for those with bean size issues (Behmor drum may let beans drop through), Ethiopia Gr.3 Dry Process Yirga Cheffe
  
• Guatemala Huehuetenango Finca La Maravilla.
  
• Brazil Fazenda Vista Alegre Natural Dry or
  Brazil Moreninha Formosa "Raisin" Coffee
  
• Sumatra FTO Aceh Arinagata

How To Participate

• Buy the four coffees from Sweet Marias. Please limit yourself to two pounds of each.
  
• Roast the coffees, cup them, blend them, and come up with either one brewing blend/SO or one espresso blend/SO or one of each. Do not create more than one entry in each category; if you send more, all your coffees will be discarded.
  
• Entries should weigh no less than 100 grams and no more than 150 grams.
  
• Send entires to the address below, so they arrive on or before Monday 22 February 2010. Anything arriving later than that will be discarded.
  
• Entries will be frozen in the received packaging, so pack them appropriately.
  
• Brewing entries will be defrosted the day they are judged.
  
• Unless otherwise instructed, Espresso entries will be defrosted so that one week non-freezer time will have elapsed from the roasting date to the judging date. Judges will determine the best tasting dose and grind for each entry. If you want your entry to be handled in a different way, please include instructions.
  
• Include your name, and full details of the coffees, roast date, roast level and length, and blend. Also state that these are entries in the home roast competition.

How the Coffees will be Judged

• All entries will be judged blind
  
• Brewing entries will be judged using open bowl cupping on an 80 point scale that will include 10 points each on aroma, taste, finish, body, acidity, sweetness, cleanliness, and overall balance. Twenty points will be added to give a 100 based score. The winning score will probably be in the high 80s or low 90s
  
• Espresso entries will be judged on the WBC scale, with 0 to 6 points for crema appearance, 0 to 6 for crema consistency, 4 times 0 to 6 points on taste balance, and 4 times 0 to 6 points on tactile balance for a total possible 60 points. The winning score will probably be in the high 30s (WBC points are a lot harder to come by than cupping points).
  
• The brewing roasts will be judged by Tom Owens of Sweet Maria's, Ryan Brown and Steve Ford of Ritual, and perhaps Jeremy Tocker of Four Barrel. In addition they will be judged by Bob Yellin and Jim Schulman of Coffeecuppers. The espresso roasts will be scored by USBC sensory judges Abe Carmeli and Jim Schulman. Samples will be overnighted to the judges outside Chicago.

How the Results Will be Communicated

• Results will be posted Monday 1st March 2010
  
• The names and overall point scores of competitors will be posted. Those scoring over 30 in the espresso category and over 85 in the brewing category, will have the (mostly flattering) tasting details posted too. All entrants who have included an email address will get their detail scores sent to them.
  
• Non-competing blends by Jim Schulman and other judges will be included in the blind judging and have their scores posted as a reference.
  
• There is no prize other than bragging rights

Address For Entries

James T Schulman
5555 North Sheridan Road #511
Chicago IL 60640

The results of the preliminary brewing round:

1  Ed Bourgeois..........89.50
2  Henry Chang...........88.63
3  Casey Blanche.........88.25
4  David Rainero.........88.15
5  Stephan Kupavics......87.25
6  Bill Welch............86.70
7  John Despres..........86.38
8  Michael Chester.......86.30
9  Andy Thomas...........85.63
10 Ralph Meyer...........85.05
11 Paul Allen............84.00
12 Randy Tsuch...........83.75
13 Jorge Guior...........83.00
14 Shannon Daly..........81.75


The first eight entrants are through to the finals, although Tom and his crew will judge all fourteen roasts. Jim Schulman's coffee was used in each of the three cupping flights to calibrate the results. It scored 86.75.

The following competitors are in the finals for the espresso:

Henry Chang
Sherman Chong
Shannon Daly
John Despres
Ralph Meyer
Marvin Rabinowitz
Rama Roberts

Abe Carmeli will be judging them on Friday.

My notes on the entries are at the end of the discussion thread

Espresso Finals

1st/2nd Sherman Chong: Taste 3.5 Mouthfeel 3.2. Light roast, low dose blend. Lovely balance and integration of fruit and caramel flavors, very clean citrus finish. Good mouthfeel. 50% Sumatra Aceh, 25% Brazil FVA, 25% Huehuetenango Maravilla.

1st/2nd Ralph Meyer: Taste 3.5 Mouthfeel 3.2. High dose, dark roast blend, Seattle style blend with a complex, seductive mix of chocolate and smoke flavors, with a hint of mint and lemon in the finish. 50% Brasil Morinhena, 25% Sidamo Haile Selassie, 25% Huehuetenango Maravilla.

3rd Henry Chang: Taste 3.6 Mouthfeel 3.0 Light roast, low dose blend. Sparkling and clean fruit bomb, slightly lighter bodied than the winners. 60% Sidamo Haile Selassie, 40% Huehuetenango Maravilla.

4th Marvin Rabinowitz: Taste 3.5 Mouthfeel 3.0. Light roast, low dose blend. A subtle blend of dry fruit and milk chocolate, clean finish. 68% Brazil Morinhena, 10% Sumatra Aceh, 22% Sidamo Haile Selassie.

5th John Despres: Taste 3, Body 3.2. Light roast, high dose SO. Smooth citrus attack with a smoke and chocolate finish. A beautiful take on this Sumatra. 100% Sumatra Aceh.

6th Shannon Daly: Taste 2.6, Body 3. Medium roast, medium dose. Good taste balance and body, but a slightly dull finish. This coffee did not show as well as in the preliminary round. 55% Brazil Morinhena, 35% Sumatra Aceh, 10% Ethiopia.

7th Rama Roberts: Taste 2.4, Body 2.3. Light Roast, low dose blend. This coffee did not show as well as in preliminary rounds, where it stood out for its light roast toast and fruit taste. In the finals, it pulled too light bodied and light tasting even at ristretto pours. 50% Sidamo Haile Selllasie, 50% Sumatra Aceh.


The Competition Process:

Abe Carmeli tasted and scored the shots. The coffees were blind, numbered from 1 to 7. Jim Schulman pulled the shots using the dose and grind adjustment previously determined to be best. He knew the coffees, and tasted each shot to make sure they were as good or better than in the preliminary rounds. However, he did not figure in the final score.

In two cases, for the entries by Shannon Daly and Rama Roberts, additional shots were pulled at changed doses and grind settings, but no improvement was registered. The other five entries tasted better than in the preliminary rounds, and no additional shots were pulled.

Abe also tasted reference shots from Jim Schulman's calibration blend whenever he wanted. These were pulled simultaneously on a second machine and grinder by a volunteer. These shots were defined as rating 2.8 in taste and 3 in body.

Sherman Chong, one of the finalists, who lives in Chicago, was the volunteer pulling the calibration shots. He did not know which blends were which, and he did not participate in the judging or the pulling of the competitors' shots.

Brewed Coffee Finals

This is a long post. There is a table of results giving the scores and ranks by Jim Schulman, Bob Yellin (of the top eight roasts), and Tom Owens of Sweet Maria and Steve Ford of Ritual combined. The final columns show the average rank and and average score, the two combined (as tie breakers) determine the final standing.

Below the table is a paragraph for each entrant giving the cupping comments by the judges.

The number assigned to each roaster in the code column is how Bob, Tom and Steve knew the roasters.

Bob, Tom's and Steve's scores are tightly correlated, since the judged all the coffees together, and did not know their composition. Jim grouped the coffees by composition, a flight of Hailes, of Maravilla blends and of Aceh blends, blind cupped them within flights, and then calibrated each group's score by comparing it to his own roast's score with that flight. This led to better scores for the non-Haile coffees.

Scores

              Name   Code  Jim JimR    Bob  BobR    Tom   TomR     AvRank AvScore
1.......Henry Chang....9...88.60..2....89.2..2.0....86.50..2.0.........2....88.1
2..Stephan Kupavics....6...87.20..5....88.0..4.0....88.00..1.0.........3....87.8
3........Bill Welch...15...86.70..7....90.4..1.0....84.75..5.0.........4....87.3
4......John Despres...13...86.38..8....88.2..3.0....85.50..3.0.........5....86.7
5......Ed Bourgeois....2...89.50..1....86.6..8.0....84.00..7.5.........6....86.7
--.....Jim Schulman....4...86.75..6....86.8..7.0....84.00..7.5.........7....85.9
6.....Casey Blanche....3...88.25..3....81.8..9.0....83.00.10.0.........7....84.4
7...Michael Chester....8...86.30..9....87.7..5.0....82.00.11.0.........8....85.3
8.....David Rainero....1...88.15..4....86.9..6.0....79.00.14.0.........8....84.7
9/10....Jorge Guior...12...83.00.14....80.0.12.5....85.25..4.0........10....82.8
9/10....Randy Tsuch...11...83.75.13....80.0.12.5....84.50..6.0........10....82.8
11......Ralph Meyer....7...85.05.11....80.0.12.5....83.50..9.0........11....82.9
12......Andy Thomas...14...85.63.10....80.0.12.5....80.00.12.0........12....81.9
13.......Paul Allen...10...84.00.12....80.0.12.5....79.50.13.0........12....81.2
14.....Shannon Daly....5...81.75.15....80.0.12.5....78.50.15.0........14....80.1


Comments

1 Henry Chang code 9
Jim 88.63 2 Sweet and fragrant. The tannins that kept this Sidamo out of points stratosphere were well controlled, almost absent, in this roast
Bob 89.2 2.0 Excellent roast for this blend (bean?). Floral/fruity aromatics. A sweet cup with complex fruit (mostly citrus), some chocolate, good acidity and a long finish no astringency.
Tom & Steve 86.50 2.0 Sweet, fruity, well-roasted. STEVE: Good sweetness though slight under-developed in roast, grain taste detracts

2 Stephan Kupavics code 6
Jim 87.25 5 Another sweet and perfectly rounded interpretation of the Haile, the aroma was not quite as strong as Henry's roast.
Bob 88.0 4.0 Citrus and floral aromatics. Well-balanced, mild cup with good body and a medium-long finish.
Tom & Steve 88.00 1.0 nice body, really sweet initially, more acidic in the finish, good drinking coffee. lotsa eth natural. a nice roast! STEVE: Light to medium roast level, Sweet cup, natural

3 Bill Welch code 15
Jim 86.70 7 Light and crisp, cools into a refreshing summertime central; but slightly flat and unaromatic when warm.
Bob 90.4 1.0 This cup has it all; excellent balance with a cup profile of fruit, chocolate, buttered toast, caramel, malt, good acidity and a long finish with a toasty hit near the end.
Tom & Steve 84.75 5.0 A nice body from a light roast, cools well, but a little on the too-light side. Grain. (Tom=85.5) STEVE: Good strong acidity but very light, a cupping roast( Steve=84)

4 John Despres code 13
Jim 86.38 8 A successful darker interpretation of the Haile, the mellow cello to Henry's and Stephan's violins
Bob 88.2 3.0 Relatively mild, non-complex cup with a citrus profile. Very long finish.
Tom & Steve 85.50 3.0 nice roast development, sweet initially, then roasty in the finish. STEVE: Different acidity, Mild, nice, drinkable

5 Ed Bourgeois code 2
Jim 89.50 1 The standout of the Maravilla blends, with crisp acidity and creamy body. A poster roast for the classic Central American apples, cream, and filberts flavor profile.
Bob 86.6 8.0 Non-complex cup profile with aromas of fruit and vanilla.
Tom & Steve 84.00 7.5 pain and pleasure: one cup has cherry fruit notes, the other has a tight finish. From blend? Apparently no. Roast looks good, but is it a long roast, a little baked? STEVE: lighter roast, white pepper, some fruit sweet, mild

-- Jim Schulman code 4
Jim 86.75 6 Sweet, generic, 100% unobjectionable and forgettable. A boringly correct blend and roast
Bob 86.8 7.0 Calibration/control roast from Jim.
Tom & Steve 84.00 7.5 a nice buttery body for a light roast, but a bit of quakery notes, and the finish has dry nut skins. Papery, under-developed. STEVE: Very light cupping roast, thin, weak acidity, underdeveloped, undefined

6 Casey Blanche code 3
Jim 88.25 3 Delicately fruited blend despite the lack of acidity, also some creamy chocolate. A crowd pleasing cup.
Bob 81.8 9.0 Dark roast with oil droplets on the beans. Roast taste somewhat masks the varietal flavors. Lost a few points for finish (slightly bitter), low acidity and balance.
Tom & Steve 83.00 10.0 Very low acidity, but a dry smoke in the finish, some dark chocolate flavors that are nice, appears to be a melange of different roast levels. STEVE: medium/dark, mild sweetness to start, roasty in finish

7 Michael Chester code 8
Jim 86.30 9 Subdued aromas, but good mix of caramels and mild fruit in the cup. Slight hint of burn in the deeper caramels as the cup cools.
Bob 87.7 5.0 Aromas, confirmed in the cup, of fruit (citrus), chocolate and brown sugar. Long finish.
Tom & Steve 82.00 11.0 This tastes a bit scorched to me, resinous, but roast looked really nice (?!) Confusing. Some good flavors. STEVE: mild cup, balanced, ok acidity, mineral water body, cooled poorly

8 David Rainero code 1
Jim 88.15 4 A Maravilla blend with a complex darker roast laced with heady distillates. It finished sweet when hot, but got a little ashy in the finish when cool. Even good dark roasts suffer when they cool; in this one, the problem was minimal.
Bob 86.9 6.0 Good balance for a relatively dark roast. Caramel, molasses, distillates with a faint citrus finish.
Tom & Steve 79.00 14.0 An extremely spicy cup, tight, resiny. It's just not sweet. It tastes scorchy. a lot of eth. natural, but very turpeny. Roast looks good STEVE: Distinct darker roast, pine, pineapple resinous

9/10 Jorge Guior code 12
Jim 83.00 14 Sidamo that is simultaneously grassy and ashy, roasted way beyond the speed limit
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 85.25 4.0 Hard to speak only about roast, because the coffee is beautiful Eth natural, initially sweet, dry apricot, rustic in the finish. Does not cool well though. Roast is very scorchy. Poor roast, good coffee! STEVE: Sweetcup with good acidity, balance, roasty finish

9/10 Randy Tsuch code 11
Jim 83.75 13 Good Sumatra flavors, but dulled aromas and acidity, with overly lactic flavors when cool. Needs more heat, more speed
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 84.50 6.0 A lot of Sumatra here, herbal, drying in the finish, but a good roast for a Sumatra (Tom -86) STEVE: Underdeveloped green peas flavor (Steve -83)

11 Ralph Meyer code 7
Jim 85.05 11 Great aromas and lively on the initial taste; but a lethal combo of ash and astringency in the finish, especially when the cup cooled. Another roast for traffic court.
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 83.50 9.0 a reasonable darker roast, dry on the tongue in the finish, but pleasant and sweet initially. some dark beans in there. STEVE: Melange? Bright acidity with roasty tones - Starbux-like. Minty

12 Andy Thomas code 14
Jim 85.63 10 Well balanced Mocha-Java blend, but flawed with ashiness.
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 80.00 12.0 Roast is a little heavy-handed and makes the eth natural seems alcohol-like and resiny. Blend isn't working well. STEVE: Green and roasty, too fast and too hot

13 Paul Allen code 10
Jim 84.00 12 Blend with flattened aromas, rounded but dull flavors. Not ashy, but baked first, then dark roasted
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 79.50 13.0 hard flavor, burned, even some plastic in the finish. scorched I think. STEVE: Overwhelming roast taste, Ash with fennel flavor

14 Shannon Daly code 5
Jim 81.75 15 Blend with fruity dry aroma that gets drowned in ash. A roast that went very wrong
Bob NA
Tom & Steve 78.50 15.0 This tastes extremely ashy to me, a roast issue. A lot of a soft coffee in this, roasted at high heat? Some discs blown off. lots indo coffee here. STEVE: Dark and flat, paint-like, roast overwhelms cup

Two entrants were finalist in both the brewing and espresso division and get the nod as combined champions. Given the difficulty of nailing even one roast, doing well on both sides shows some serious roasting chops.

Henry Chang, first in brewing and third in espresso

John Despres, fourth in brewing and fifth in espresso