Is this a bit of peremptory campaigning I see?
BTW, Randy, though I truly respect and admire the "eminent" names you may be alluding to, I like the idea that us plain 'ol home roasting folks (you included, of course) will get this unexpected opportunity to stretch our wings, expand our horizons (and hopefully others as well) and create in a manner we never imagined possible, all the while working with Professionals who will be our safety net, so to speak.
After reading many, if not most of my fellow participants posts over the years, I feel confident that each and every one of you would do HB and it's members proud.
Time for some coffee.

I think it's really interesting how many non-traditional blends are being developed. For example Paradise has a Panama Gesha- Lake Tawar blend. A rather odd couple but when ya think about it makes sense. As one who is a passionate roaster I've enjoyed the ever expanding variety of beans that are becoming available. One of the top coffees of the year was the El Injerto Pacamara hybrid from Guatemala. More DP coffees are being carefully processed and vacuum packing at origin is helping to preserve the quality and characteristics. And today I'm roasting a dried on the tree Brazil! Thanks for considering me for this special opportunity.
having so much fun,
farm

Hi guys,

well some how I got my own MVP bar :O

Good luck to all the eligible MVP's it seriously does sound like a very cool gift.

Regards,
dsc.

Thanks. I'm so pleased just to be in such fine company, and am sorry the distances make it impossible for those out of the lower 48 and the USA. Some of my favorite reads come from those folks, especially on the Lever Forum where I lurk and post regularly.

A thought occurs to me (and I'm sure probably has to the others) that coffee varietals being seasonal, there may be a few personal favorites not available at this time. Funny, but that just goes to show how good the Professional roasters truly are, being able to pretty much maintain consistency with their blends by finding adequate substitutes when that becomes necessary. I suppose these days, with so much vacuum packing of green, that may be less a problem?
I've not yet had green shipped to me still vacuum packed, as i purchase in 5-10# increments.
I'd love to smell a 9 month old vacuum packed Sidamo or such just to see how the green has held up.


Edit...corrected to say "these DAYS:

Rob
I bought a 5kg biscuit a couple years ago. They are very tightly packed and are hard as a rock. I've been told that they must use clear bags due to smuggling. Having a bag that wouldn't let light through would be better. But the box helps with that.

sweaner wrote:Randy, I see that you are "candidate #5." Remember, no funny stuff. We will be watching.

"That thar's some pretty suspicious talk, Pilgrim, considerin' I ain't takin' no prizes..."

Besides, if my history here is anything like that on a.c., I haven't got enough friends left here to sway the vote any more than, say, a 2004 presidential election in Florida...

So we won't even know the details of whats really in it? I had hoped we could work to create within their available beans.
Ed

farmroast wrote:So we won't even know the details of whats really in it? I had hoped we could work to create within their available beans.
Ed

By no means are we planning on keeping the blend a secret. As we often do with our blends, the components will be listed in the description of the coffee on our website. The clarification was meant to ensure whoever wins this gift that they aren't expected to have blending experience. If you do have blending experience, or want to select specific coffees from our offerings, we certainly have no problem doing that - as long as the blend cost stays within our target. We aren't looking to make a reserve blend with this; We are looking to make a great everyday blend that is perfectly matched to the winner's taste preferences.

We also have the experience to know how certain coffees will affect an espresso blend, so if you are focusing on a particular attribute of the espresso {sweetness, body, crema production, flavor characteristics} then we know what will and will not accomplish that.

Thanks Aaron,
That is all perfectly reasonable. Thanks for the opportunity and the clarification.
Ed

Dan...if I understand this clarification from Paradise, it would seem our ORIGINAL winner of this great gift ought to have 2nd thoughts about participating. I for one would have no problem if he was to reconsider, and you accommodated him. he mentioned a certain lack of expertise. Though I believe we (the current participants) have fairly educated taste buds by now, that shouldn't necessarily disqualify him. I hope I'm not getting folks angry with me.

d'accord

He is most generous.

getting a little off topic now, but we pulled an 8g single of our Monkey Parchment a couple of days ago. It was, to say the least, amazing. Mellow, super sweet, and tons of body. But at a cost of $5.75 for this single shot, it's not something that most people are willing to do.

The target price for this espresso is $16.95 per (12 oz) bag or less. So unfortunately this probably excludes our Grand Reserve coffees from being part of the blend. But I'm sure we can still put together an amazing blend with the MVP.

HB wrote:Let's give this a try... the MVP Challenge. Open only to those with a MVP score of five or higher, it's based on the previous contest mechanics with added elements of strategy. I coded it up rather quickly, so please be patient if there's a hiccup (even one requiring a reset, but hopefully not!).

The game begins now and ends promptly this Sunday at 6PM EST.

With gratitude to Dan and to Paradise Roasters, and for a variety of professional reasons, I will take a pass on this. Good luck, entrants!