I've been following the "Favorite Espressos 2015" over on the Bench subforum on this group. I'm buying and trying these blends.

I was blown away by the Nossa Familia Full Cycle blend. Based on the apparent lightness of the roasted beans, I expected a bright, fruit forward sort of a taste profile. But to my surprised it was one of the most balanced, beautiful shots I've ever tasted. I also noticed that the main center chaff crease in the beans was pretty dark, almost matching the bean color for the most part.

I'm wondering, does this darker center (chaff) crease in the bean indicate it's a roast that's been drawn out longer? Because the blend #2 (Heart Stereo) seemed to be roasted to the same tone, but it was much much brighter and citrus forward and also, the center of the #2 bean crease was lighter in tone, like a medium to light grey.

Is this center crease color an indication of roast development time? ... Aaron

They have a Loring. Without one, you can't compare.

I don't know about "reverse engineering", - the best you can do is an Agtron-style reading of the bean/ground color. I bet you would find that the Heart roast would have a larger difference than the Nossa, and therefore a shorter development phase. I don't know the Nossa Famiglia brand, but it sounds like maybe a traditional Italian blend, and as such, it would be a drawn-out roast, to mute acidity.

akiley wrote:
Is this center crease color an indication of roast development time? ... Aaron

No. It <can> be an indication of surface sugar content. I roasted a flight of pulped naturals, from "white honey" (short pulp exposure time) to "black honey" (long pulp exposure time) and noted that with otherwise identical roasting conditions the higher the surface sugar, the darker the chaff, including the crease.

Alan

bohemianroaster wrote: 8)I don't know the Nossa Famiglia brand, but it sounds like maybe a traditional Italian blend, and as such, it would be a drawn-out roast, to mute acidity.

Nossa Familia is Portuguese for "our family". I love their coffees and am currently enjoying Full Cycle. My wife's enjoying one of their light roasts as pour-over. Try 'em, - you'll probably like one or more. And Geof is a truly great guy who will go the extra mile for you.

My wife and I were in Portland for a week during the summer. Went windsurfing in the Gorge, then spent 4 days in Portland, hitting as many coffee shops as possible. I had read about the HB crawl. When we went to Nossa Familia, I mentioned the crawl. They light up and insisted on giving me a few free shots, then a tour. Their Full Cycle, for my 64 year old buds, is about as good as I've ever had. Not classic italian to me. More balanced, sweeter, softer and more interesting than any espresso I've had in Italy.

I was "hoping" that if I drew out my Kenyan roasts to 18 minutes or so, maybe I could get that soft sweetness that I experienced in the Full Cycle blend. My Kenyan SO roasts were great, until I tasted Full Cycle. I guess I'm going to have to give in to blending for espresso and more research.

The color of the splits can also be an indicator of the processing. Most washed coffees will stay blond until you get up near second crack where most natural coffee will darken nearly in step with the roast.