Hopefullly my guess will be confirmed in a few days, but either way, I will change the title to list the origin and varietal when it is certain.

I am hoping others will share their experience, tips, learning in roasting this bean. Mill City reports they have more so maybe non-cntestants can take part. The size and expansion in roasting is striking to behold. Which is certainly a tip as to varietal and origin, pre-roast. I was given a bag of roasted coffee that looked like this a few years ago which had been purchased in the airport as a friend was leaving his home country. I remember how sweet and caramelly the shots were from that coffee and I was excited to find some notes like that in my sample roast of FOTR 2016 lot 2. Thus my guess.

Here is the second roast of this bean and my penultimate:



I don't know what happened to the image: 400g in 332 out 17.7% moisture loss; Huky 500
The Huky seems to lose some beans so I compensate by adding 3 grams to my final weight, but I normally don't see 17% weight loss at a drop temperature of 216 C and 21% development. I backed off on the heat too soon, extending my drying time, but I was shootin for 4 min+ ramp; we shall see if I am more pleased with the extractions of this roast, compared to my 9:20 roast 15% development I went with earlier, "Focusing" on origin notes.

[edit 9/6 first tastes]: very sweet aroma; sweetness, chocolate, lingering cola; cool cup more cola. (this was post roast day 1; grinds rested 25 minutes prior to Kalita pourover). I think tasty espresso looms in next few days from this roast.

16% moisture loss, the sample roasted as supplied, 2 lbs, about right quantity for the TJ-067 electric



green beans large, roasted beans large

I decided to roast the whole bag of each of the 5 samples rather than breaking them down into 2 or 3 roasts each. I did this mainly because of lack of time. Regardless, here is my profile of #2. I've enjoyed it quite a bit. I've never seen or roasted a coffee like this before. The first crack was probably the loudest/most boisterous I've ever heard.

I would have made quite a few changes on a future roast if I would have had more greens.

Here's the profile I used for Lot 2. Note that this is a generic cupping profile, not one customized to bring out the best in this particular bean. I find that roasting each coffee similarly helps me taste the differences between them more clearly with less risk of mistaking profile variations for varietal notes. I have roasted coffee coming out of my ears right now but I look forward to doing a more focused roast of this before too long.

---

Roasting Info:

Bean: FOTR Blind Lot #2
Roaster: USRC Sample Roaster
Charge Mass: 333g
Charge Temp: 390F
Dry/Ramp/Development: 3:45/4:07/2
FC-start temp: 377F
Finish Temp: 395F
Overall Roast Time: 9:52
Moisture Loss: 15.9%

Profile Plot:



[BT=Red, Exhaust=Green, Gas=Blue, Fan=Yellow]

I left my cupping notes at work ... I'll post them tomorrow.

And here are the notes from when I roasted and cupped this for the competition:

Green bean observations: Fresh, grassy smell. Large beans. Significant luminescence under UV.

Roasting observations: Slow drying (dense/moist). Moderate FC speed. Roasted beans are huge, with a glossy appearance and a clearly defined white center line. Chocolatey smell dominates in the roasted coffee.

Cupping:

1. Dry aroma: Rich, floral, complex. Dominant lime note, subtle vegetal/savory undertones.

2. Wet aroma: Emerging caramel notes, otherwise consistent.

3. Warm tasting: Floral/lime, fresh peas (?), slightly drying in the finish.

4. Cool tasting: Really complex, some emerging spiciness. [Guess as to varietal & origin omitted.]

---

Subsequent brews and shots have been similar to the notes above. The mixture of sweet lime & florals with that subtle vegetal/savory undertone is a unique experience and (if my ID is right) a common characteristic of the bean in question. I found that I didn't like shots from this coffee much (although I should try again now that it has rested more), but the v60 brew was very memorable. Certainly not a comfort coffee, but a very interesting and unique experience.

Did anyone catch if this is a washed or pulped natural?

Cafe Imports has a Chatatenango Pacamara on their website. It's listed as washed.

[creative nickname] wrote:...

3. Warm tasting: Floral/lime, fresh peas (?), slightly drying in the finish.

...

Warm peas remain? Appealing?

I get just a TON of grief at the cupping table when I say "celery." I love it, find it pleasant and memorable, but no one ever says, "yeah, there's celery in there."

Their loss.

Thanks, woodchuck, for clarifying the process. I've seen enough Brazilian coffee so I should have been certain it was washed and not pulped natural or honey (I think) but compared to the other FOTR lots, this one has more silvery skin on the green bean.

I brewed my morning cup of this coffee, my 2nd roast - graph above, as French press. I get caramel sweetness and something floral/aromatic that I can't name. Drinking my noon cup of the same roast, brewed Kalita wave, I think I know what [creative nickname] is calling lime. I was thinking cola initially, but now further post roast, I don't call it cola, maybe a hint of coconut in the lingering aftertaste.

I think my next roast of it - hopefully tonight - I 'll try for shorter dry; same 4 min ramp and 20% development. How will you adjust your next roast, anyone?

Warm peas remain? Appealing?

I get just a TON of grief at the cupping table when I say "celery." I love it, find it pleasant and memorable, but no one ever says, "yeah, there's celery in there."

Their loss.

I've gotten a similar response when praising sun-dried tomato notes in Kenyan coffees. To each their own! I've always loved sweet & savory combinations, so it is no surprise that I enjoy them in coffee as well.