The Linea Micra also takes over the pole position in terms of power consumption. After heating, with five-covered double espressos, the La Marzocco Linea Micra has a power consumption of 0.07 kwh with the steam boiler switched off. This is the lowest value we have measured so far with an espresso machine!

another_jim wrote:I've had a few of Wendelboe's roasts, although not La Cabra. They were OK to good, workman-like light roasts of slightly above average coffees, nothing more. I much preferred them after ten days than after three weeks.

About the acidity of very light roasts is just as mixed as darker roasts. Kenyas are very acidic no matter how you roast them. A good Kenya is acidic and ripe, so that the sweetness and acidity are balanced. Moreover the acidity carries a host of aromas. You can roast it light or medium, and that simply varies the background flavors from (in the case of Kenya) Maillard-umami to caramel-spice cake.

But Wendelboe doesn't make decisions like that. He has a branded taste of medium acidic bready coffee. When the beans he has aren;lt all that great, like the sample I got, producing this branded taste requires baking the coffee to reduce the acidity so thaty it is still balanced by the lacking sweetness. The result is forgettable, postum-sprite, that is a bready tasting coffee with non-descript and and inobjectionable acidity.

I roast most of my coffee myself. When I get a bean like the one I got from Wendelboee, I throw it away. Life is too short for me to waste my time trying to get a good roast out of a nondescript coffee. This is no hit on Wendelboe. There are no commercial roasters who have only ripe and tasty coffees, they are not be able to cover their demand with only such coffees. My quarrel is with posts regrad the thrid wave brand taste as more important than the coffee.

Bottom line: Starbucks created a brand by incinerating average coffees. Third wave roasters are creating a brand by baking, rather than roasting, average coffees. Whether you darkly incinerate or lightly bake coffee doesn't matter, neither is roasting coffee. Both are just techniques for creating branded tastes someone with three hours worth of tasting experience can instantly recognize and "appreciate."

Getting back to the topic of reviewing machines. The question of "how does it do for baked coffee?" is not high on my list of things to find out. None of my blind taste tests used baked coffee; they were all my own roasts.

OldmatefromOZ wrote:Pretty big claims and probably worthy of its own thread where you can further enlighten everyone as to how you roast such amazing less baked samples on your quest M3? vs a circa 10 min production roast on a 35kg Loring.

OldmatefromOZ wrote:Pretty big claims and probably worthy of its own thread where you can further enlighten everyone as to how you roast such amazing less baked samples on your quest M3? vs a circa 10 min production roast on a 35kg Loring.

malling wrote:He dos have a point that roasters of reasons cannot offer the absolute best coffees (cost and to small lot seizes) and the seizes they order are typically for several months, but all coffee has a set period from end of processing to when these shine, roasting after peak will never be all that great, this will ultimately lead to roasters roasting less then ideal coffees and this means they do certain things to make it drinkable, some roasters toss it in blends.

Your rarely getting the best, that is used for competition, sold in the bars or in closed circles, there few roasters that offer them from time to time but it's typically expensive (availability and demand) the best is never the coffee they offer year round or for several months, it's there and then gone very quickly. I get it on occasion and it's much better then the stable beans you typically find so if that is what you always roast and brew I do understand his point.

yakster wrote:Jim has written several great threads explaining how he roasts over the years not to mention being a featured speaker at coffee expos.