This Tchembe is really killer. I have half pound resting that I roasted about 6 days ago and its very tasty. Ripe tropical fruit salad and brow sugar finish. I used it as component for ad-hoc blends and it really lifts up whatever you add it to. Standalone is amazing in Americanos and that's how I prefer it... Really nice coffee.

I haven't touched any of mine yet, mainly because I wanted to see what your recommendations were. 12 days of resting "and I still feel like it might be a little young for espresso" so I'm staying tuned to see just how long I need to let it rest before I pull my first espresso shot.

I really appreciate you sharing this information with us as while we might be able to figure out what's optimal, it's very refreshing to have a roaster who takes some of the guess work out and saves us burning through beans.

3 more pounds were brewed up today and honestly, I just couldn't make it do what it did yesterday. It tasted fantastic, but it was better yesterday.

I think the window for espresso is going to be days 10-12. I'll be working with our next batch on Saturday which will be 10 days post-roast so I'll be able to report back what I find out then. So far I've just worked with it on days 12 and 13 (yesterday and today) and I think there was a lot more sweetness yesterday. If you like a better balance between chocolate and fruit then day 13 is where it's at for you, but I liked this one when it was a little more fruit forward, day 12.

-bry

My best results so far have been with the "banana+chocolate" taste profile; I haven't been able to really hit the tropical fruit flavors. Although I did pull a shot this morning that was similar (17g at 198f) but much more ristretto - as a straight shot it was almost undrinkable, lots of tannins, leather and a bit of ferment, but as a macchiato it was very nice.

Lots of exploring to do with this coffee!

How old are your beans? What's your dose/time/temp/yield? I'm not trying to be offensive, but if you aren't getting fruit, you are doing something wrong. If your dominant flavors are tannins and leather I'm curious to know more details about how you are pulling your shots.

It sounds like you are pulling your shots too tight with too cool of water using beans that are too young.

Again, I'm not trying to be insulting, but in 10 years as a roaster and barista this is one of the most fruit forward coffees I've encountered.

-bry

It sounds like you are pulling your shots too tight with too cool of water using beans that are too young.

That's definitely correct on all three My first round of shots ended up near the first profile you posted, and definitely had flavors of banana and chocolate. I tried to move towards the second profile you posted, a little cooler and smaller dose. My guess is that I overshot on my adjustments and/or the beans haven't quite rested enough. I'm looking forward to the weekend when I'll have a little more time to play around with the profile. But even so far, when I'm pretty much just guessing at what might work I haven't gotten a bad shot yet - all were tasty, and sometimes in new and unexpected ways.

Focus the least on the water temperature, BTW. Dose, yield and age being the most important factors in this particular recipe.

-bry

Bry, how was the second batch? I am on day 7 post roast and it's all acid! I can tell it is full of fruit but can't get enough sweetness. I guess I still have to wait a few more days?

We haven't changed any roasting parameters, therefore I haven't changed any brewing parameters. If it tastes young at 7 days then I'd recommend waiting longer to pull a shot again (like I've already said 3 times on this page alone).

I'd just like to point out that as I read back through this thread nearly everyone who has tried this coffee young has been unimpressed, yet everyone who has waited has said it's fantastic.

Let's all agree to follow the pattern going forward and actually let the coffee rest The coffee is tasty under 9 days rest as a manual brew (but don't bother before day 6) and the coffee is tastiest days 9-14 as an espresso.

Refer to our website for parameters:
http://www.compasscoffeeroasting.com/blog/tchembe
-bry

Thanks for all the guidance, I'll be sure to keep it all in mind if I order another bag.