Tonight I had three more of this batch of Sana'ani. I was exploring Peacecup's suggestions about size of cup and had two espressi in a cappa cup and one in an espresso cup. All three had considerably more delicacy and elegance than thus far. I am almost inclined to think the issue is aging. This one finally developed.

I have read the discussion of staling and find it difficult to agree with what appears to be a claim of change in flavor such that there is a steady decline. My tasting of fresh beans in the first week always encounters change in rate and direction of flavor change as opposed to straight decline. I must be misunderstanding the thread.

KS

Roasted two Brazil's today. My intended espresso roast for the week is an SO Faz Brauna Peaberry which SM's says in natural pulped. My Americano roast is an Org/FT Poco Fundo. Since I have never had the F. Brauna I had to try it at a mere 4 hours after roast. The first cup went into a heavy IPA Illy Logo because I expected Brazilian heaviness. I was much surprised by what I think was the best espresso I have had from any roast at such an early stage. Amazing balance and developed complexity. The shot ran a bit fast so I decided to "get more extraction" and set the grind finer and tamped harder. I succeeded in getting a slower flow. I also got an overextracted cup with a bitter tone in the finish that was wholly absent in the first cup. Here too there seems to be a sweet spot of level of extraction -- an Aristotelian mean between the extremes which is different or each roast (each day?). A final Yemen of last week's roast was fine but I think my Elektra was a bit too hot and I had a burnt taste in the end.

KS

Yesterday...
My espresso roast for the week is an SO Faz Brauna Peaberry which SM's says is natural pulped (which I recall malachi to have praised as a type). Since I had never had the F. Brauna I had to try it at a mere 4 hours after roast. The first cup went into a heavy IPA Illy Logo because I expected Brazilian heaviness. I was much surprised by what I think was the best espresso I have had from any roast at such an early stage. Amazing balance and developed complexity.

Tonight I had three more Brauna Peaberry's. By accident while pulling them I am listening to a contemporary composer on the radio discuss the extraordinary range of the violin compared to other instruments. It dawns on me that this same tremendous range and harmony of tastes is what raises thus Brazillian above almost all other SO's and into the same elevated levels of the best Yemeni and Ethiopians. Such a coffee gives a Violin Concerto of flavors by itself Most other instruments are stretched too far in a solo concerto. A cello and a piano can also reach this range but seldom do other instruments.

These Brauna beans are truly pea-like in their small roundness.

Glorious espressi that shall get better still. Used pre-Black Cat Intelligentsia cups made by d'Ancap. Fine quality and on the heavy side of the spectrum. Because this roast still tastes as if it is opening the weight of the cup was a good pairing.

KS

I am fascinated by my current roast. It is a great favorite, Yemen Sana'ani. Since i thought my latest was too dark i decided to make sure I did not make the same mistake again. Well, success is not always what we want. So far, at 54 hours the espressi tonight were bitter in the end. Since I had good flow rate I infer that i did not either under or over extract. I know that two days is early for Yemeni beans but I am quite sure this roast is for me too light.

I almost always start with 225 g in my Hottop. While this amount is below the capacity of that machine it gives me two advantages, I can easily get as dark as I want with the smaller amount. And, secondly the resultant 182-187 g is just exactly my 6-7 day need for espresso beans.

My log tells me that the earlier too dark roast was 182 g (from 225). This too light roast was 186g. Thus it appears that 4 g out of 182-6 makes a clear difference. That is less than 2% difference in weight reduction that takes me from under to over-roasted. A small window.

KS

24 hours later ... Well as I have said elsewhere Yemen roasts need three days. This one clearly developed dramatically in one more day (= # 3). On a simple level the basic difference is that today those bitter flavors that ruined the finish of all three cups yesterday are now gone. Well, not exactly. With real attention i note just the slightest twinge of bitterness in the first two cups but only so slightly and only in the end of the finish. The third cup had none at all. But of course that is the third cup from an Elektra which usually is overheated by then. I have to say if it was overheated it was not by much. Today this roast was just fully opening. I loved it yet I could tell there was elegance still to come. The flavors have opened but not the structure.

Contrary to my own advice I have to admit I changed more than the variable of time. In this case it was completely unanticipated. Friends dropped off two cups they acquired in Puebla, Mexico in 1971. These people are current art gallery owners who are retired college art department faculty, university gallery art directors and both potters. I am not trying to impress anyone just explain that these cups came from the personal collection of serious artists. The cups are more "peasant" than anything i have including the thick Nuova Points. There was an astonishing harmony between these cups and the young but still evolved Yemen roast. It really was a moment of harmony. Tomorrow something else will be better. Porcelain is worlds away from these cups. But the Yemen sang on this particular stage as well as it ever has. I did not expect this at all. And so again I must quote the Pre-Socratic philosopher, Heraclitus, "Expect the unexpected."

KS

Karl,

Long time no post. Glad to see the SO thread is alive and well. I've been sampling some locally-roasted Sanani over the past month, and I've really enjoyed it. I credit this thread for piquing my interest in SO's. I hope to begin roasting my own at some point. Although I have a great local roaster who roasts to order, I still don't have the ultimate control over roast time, etc. that is really required for the type of subtleties you describe.

I've noted that you've expressed interest in a Cremina - I would really like to see a comparison of the Elektra and the Cremina. I strongly suspect that the Elektra would hold its own.

Also, you've discussed over-heating. Have you tried cooling the group with a wet towel. The large group on the Elektra appears to be designed to mimic those of commercial levers - they sink heat to keep temperature stable. I've noticed that I can keep my PV at my preferred brew temperature by just cooling the group a bit between later shots.

PC

peacecup wrote:Karl,

Long time no post. Glad to see the SO thread is alive and well. I've been sampling some locally-roasted Sanani over the past month, and I've really enjoyed it. I credit this thread for piquing my interest in SO's. I hope to begin roasting my own at some point. Although I have a great local roaster who roasts to order, I still don't have the ultimate control over roast time, etc. that is really required for the type of subtleties you describe.

I've noted that you've expressed interest in a Cremina - I would really like to see a comparison of the Elektra and the Cremina. I strongly suspect that the Elektra would hold its own.

Also, you've discussed over-heating. Have you tried cooling the group with a wet towel. The large group on the Elektra appears to be designed to mimic those of commercial levers - they sink heat to keep temperature stable. I've noticed that I can keep my PV at my preferred brew temperature by just cooling the group a bit between later shots.

PC

Hey PC,

It is good to have the time to return to this place. They gave me a new job at work and, surprise, surprise, I am busier than ever.

I highly recommend home roasting. It does give you much more control and info with which to develop one's understanding. I had three more shots tonight of this week's "underroasted" Sana'ani. On the whole they followed the pattern of yesterday. The still further evolved roast had more richness than ever. But it also still has just the slightest edge of underroasting. In the first cup I noted just a single twinge of bitter in the taste just before the last drop of the third sip left my mouth. The after-taste was full and had no tint of bitterness. In the second cup I could taste just a little under-developed flavor in the center of the taste. Right when one should get an additional deep tone in the middle the taste thinned out rather than opened.

I actually read your note just before leaving work so I did try using a wet sponge to cool the group on shots 2 & 3. On the basis of two shots alone I think I tasted a difference. The temperature of the shots was not so hot. But more important the taste was not burnt as is often the case with the third Elektra shot.

On the issue of an Elektra vs. Cremina comparison I would absolutely love to do this. I am negotiating to get a Cremina at least to test. Since I have never used a manual lever I will need time to learn but I would gladly do a side-by-side taste test on my various roasts. I wholly lack the technical knowledge of a Steve Robinson or a Dan Kehn. I think I can taste OK and would gladly share the story I can tell.

KS

peacecup wrote:Karl,

Also, you've discussed over-heating. Have you tried cooling the group with a wet towel. The large group on the Elektra appears to be designed to mimic those of commercial levers - they sink heat to keep temperature stable. I've noticed that I can keep my PV at my preferred brew temperature by just cooling the group a bit between later shots.

PC

PC,

While I have read this suggestion before I admit I never tried it. But you persuaded me to test this. I have been sporadically using a cold, wet sponge to cool the group. I can report clear success. I can taste in the 3rd and 4th shots on Niccolo Amati much less over-heating. I know the taste of a too hot group. I first learned it on my ECM Giotto and the same result comes on an Elektra. I admit that I need to study the procedure more as i can still taste slight over-heating even if much less. My results already bring things close to acceptable and far better than with an un-cooled group.

Thanks for making me try this.

KS

KarlSchneider wrote:Roasted two Brazil's today. My intended espresso roast for the week is an SO Faz Brauna Peaberry which SM's says in natural pulped. My Americano roast is an Org/FT Poco Fundo. Since I have never had the F. Brauna I had to try it at a mere 4 hours after roast. The first cup went into a heavy IPA Illy Logo because I expected Brazilian heaviness. I was much surprised by what I think was the best espresso I have had from any roast at such an early stage. Amazing balance and developed complexity. The shot ran a bit fast so I decided to "get more extraction" and set the grind finer and tamped harder. I succeeded in getting a slower flow. I also got an overextracted cup with a bitter tone in the finish that was wholly absent in the first cup. Here too there seems to be a sweet spot of level of extraction -- an Aristotelian mean between the extremes which is different or each roast (each day?). A final Yemen of last week's roast was fine but I think my Elektra was a bit too hot and I had a burnt taste in the end.

KS

I am finally back to the Brazil F. Brauna Peaberry discussed in March. Again at about 6 hours after roast I taste quite amazing balance. The biggest difference is, as mentioned above to peacecup, the third shot (and unusually for me a fourth) was not over-heated or so slightly that it was not really significant. The manual cooling worked very well. I have been inconsistently using this technique and I am coming more and more to think it is a great idea. I can imagine a parallel post to Dan's "How I learned to stop worrying and love an HX (a home lever)." While intrigued by the buzz here for commercial levers I am not yet convinced they are the answer. My basic hesitations so far are cost, size and necessity of plumbing. I keep thinking they are comparable, for me, to getting a Hummer to go two miles to the grocery.

KS

KarlSchneider wrote:I can imagine a parallel post to Dan's "How I learned to stop worrying and love an HX (a home lever)." While intrigued by the buzz here for commercial levers I am not yet convinced they are the answer. My basic hesitations so far are cost, size and necessity of plumbing. I keep thinking they are comparable, for me, to getting a Hummer to go two miles to the grocery.

KS

Hey Karl,

I too am firmly in the "Small is beautiful" camp. My Cremina bicycle gets me to a world class espresso in just 12 minutes.

IMO we are trading control for predictability; i.e., we can't control many of the variables as precisely as the bigger prosumer or commercial machines, but we can predict the state of our machines and use that knowledge to produce improved shots.

Tonight's SO was Sweet Marias's Decaf Sulawesi roasted to Vienna 5 days ago. Just at the edge of acceptable acidity - any more and I'd be reaching for a liqueur to help mute the taste. But in this espresso the acidity brightens all the other flavors and adds a refreshing zip to the cup rather than an acidic overtone.