How to fast-track espresso roast tasting? - Page 2

Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
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another_jim
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#11: Post by another_jim »

If you want to win a cupping competition (picking the odd cup of three), you'll smell the dry and wet aroma, and then completely ignore the cups unti they cool down to around 110F - 120F. Coffees are more different in smell and cool taste than in hot taste. This is true for everyone.

Me? I'm either getting old or espresso deformed, but I prefer a 13:1 cupping ratio over the 16:1 standard. That's the sweet spot for me in individuating the coffees, while higher concentrations start to taste bitter to me. Brewing ratios, I think, are a matter of personal experiment.
Jim Schulman

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baldheadracing
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#12: Post by baldheadracing »

More cups. Try doing three cups of the same roast. That quickly gets to a lot of cups, so maybe only look at three roasts (nine cups total). Cup with some semblance of blindness. Don't be surprised if you find the best and worst cup come from the same roast - we've all done that :oops: .

... and, lower temps. Keep tasting until the coffee gets close to body temperature, and see how the tastes vary as temperature changes.

I'm not really addressing how "good" a taster you are, nor how to improve that skill. I'm not that good at that - I'm (very) slowly working through CoffeeMind's Sensory Evaluation books.

Here's a fun exercise that I think is worth doing:
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

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LBIespresso
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#13: Post by LBIespresso »

Thoughts from someone with more confidence than experience roasting...

Someone around these parts, forgive me for forgetting who it is, has suggested that Turkish is a good method for "cupping" sooner. I haven't tried that method yet as my Turkish brewing skills are newbie level and I don't brew that way often enough to get consistent.

I do crunch a bean out of the cooling bin post roast and find it somewhat useful. At this point it mostly tells me if something is off more so than how well I did but that might change with more experience. I feel the same way about smelling fragrance (dry) and aroma (post break/wet). I know I am not the only one to not get much value from that but I am willing to chalk that up to inexperience too.

Cupping with at least 2 bowls of each roast blind and tasting from 10 minutes out until body temp has been the most helpful. It gives me the best info on what happened in the roaster (good and bad). It has also been the most helpful at developing my sensory skills. I just need to get better at resisting the temptation of seeing if my guesses are right until the end :lol:

One other thing that I read here recently is that drop temp is going to be the easiest thing to taste difference-wise among roasts. If you are new to cupping, start there.
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Brewtonian
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#14: Post by Brewtonian »

If we assume degassing is all that's going on with resting, the pre-grinding and waiting is obviously the way to go. But if there is more to resting than just degassing, then here is a thought experiment:

According to SCA, resting speed doubles with every 10 degrees C. So theoretically speaking, perhaps it is possible to speed it up by putting it in an oven? The temperature would have to be high enough to be practical with regard to speed, but low enough to not "bake" the coffee.

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drgary
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#15: Post by drgary »

I suggested the Turkish method but am not settled on whether the flavors correspond well with how the coffee will taste when well-rested. I do enjoy that method for brewing very fresh coffee. The method I use for Turkish was well-described here.

How to prepare Turkish coffee
Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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LBIespresso
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#16: Post by LBIespresso replying to drgary »


Oooo, Thanks for that! That's a nice deep dive. I have only been working off of the video from Mill City with that guy from STC, which has worked well enough but this is some good reading.
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drgary
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#17: Post by drgary »

Recent tasting suggests that the Turkish method emphasizes body and caramels and de-emphasizes high notes like florals. Unlike standard cupping, which starts with hot water on the grounds, Turkish brewing with the method I use infuses the coffee during rising temperatures. I stop heating before the coffee burns.
Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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