Has anybody tried the new Sweet Maria's Espresso Workshop #20 -Gneiss Shot? I won't be able start roasting it until later this weekend, but I was wondering thoughts on the blend and any roasting profile tips that you enjoyed. The description sounds good and I am excited to try it when I get some time.

I've gone through a pound and quite liked it. something like a 23 minute roast for 1lb on my Behmor using P3.
Liquid amber roasted to Vienna has been my favorite so far.
Also dig the intro/afro/outro.

I keep buying 8lb lots, 4 of espresso blends and 4lbs of SO. So far, I have yet to get results out of an SO that match any of the blends, although the SO's are interesting.

After two days rest I started pulling a couple shots of the blend. I roasted to Full City. This is a nice sweet creamy blend. I got a little citric tanginess but not as much as I was expecting and hoping. I am going to adjust the brew parameters a little more and see if I can draw it out. SM describes the sweetness as complex and that pretty much explains it. This is a nice blend and definitely recommended.

I'm having a hard time pulling this. Roasted the first batch in my Behmor to City+ and pulling at 202F I am close to choking my Silvano at first, but it quickly turns into a blonde gusher. If I grind finer, I wind up completely choking the machine. I've adjusted the dose a little but it doesn't seem to help.

Any suggestions? This is really frustrating as I have five pounds of the stuff. Just ordered some Rustico from CC so I'll have something good for the weekend. Might have to order some more Espresso Monkey from SM as I always have good luck with that.

I have some greens waiting to be roasted. Curious to see how you make out.

I have some ready for the grinder tomorrow.

Jaholliday- maybe try adjusting the dose? What are you dosing now?

I have been using a "large" dose of around 16-17 grams and a temp of 200-201 degrees. I usually took my roasts to Full City level.

The batch I have for the Faema compact is fc.
The batch resting for the weekend shots on the lever is C+.
gonna be interesting to explore this blend in different ways.

allon wrote:I have some ready for the grinder tomorrow.

Jaholliday- maybe try adjusting the dose? What are you dosing now?

I'm using a triple basket in my bottomless portafilter - around 22g. Might try dropping that and going a little finer on the grind. It's very strange and something that I've never run into before. The shots taste pretty good so maybe it's just too much information with the bottomless. That said, the last couple shots I pulled took about 10 seconds to get going from the time I turned on the pump, and then at about 20 seconds began flowing much faster than normal. I'm getting 60ml in about 30 seconds, so not so far off the mark. Just a big weird how it goes from nearly choking to a quasi-gusher.

Perhaps I need to rest it a little longer? The first shots I pulled were around 4 days post-roast, but the beans I'm using are gradually getting 'younger' since I've been pulling a lot of shots trying to get it right (and hence running out of rested beans).

I took the roast I did today a little farther - more like FC - so we'll see if that helps.

I couldn't wait to get onboard. I roasted a full pound on P1. I took it further into 2c than I would have liked. I saw some small bits of chaff ignite and second crack started rolling even after I hit "cool". Ended up with FC+ (Maybe Vienna?). The surface of some of the beans show some dark divots from CO2 release.

It's further than I'd have liked, but not burnt. It doesn't smell or taste particularly carbony. I'm waiting until tomorrow before I start pulling shots.