Roast and Learn Together - General Discussion - Page 3

October 17th, 2013, 1:54 pm

Count me in too, sounds like fun.

#22: Post by **pShoe** » October 17th, 2013, 2:08 pm

Maybe targeting a specific problem roasters have can determine the coffee we choose sometimes. For instance, I see quite a few posts about tipping and scorching when using lower grown or DP coffees. Or a problem I remember having specifically was roasting a Sumatra coffee. I just could not get a handle of it. Someone with more knowledge can suggest a coffee that is prone to the stated problem. As a group, all roasting that bean, we can provide tips and profiles to help eliminate common problems and maximize the flavor of that coffee. Maybe we could have a blending session, although that seems like it will be much more complicated than focusing on one bean.

Can I suggest the OP be update once we choose a coffee, where is could be purchased, and how long the club will spend roasting the currently selected coffee.

October 17th, 2013, 2:53 pm

pShoe wrote:...

Can I suggest the OP be update once we choose a coffee, where is could be purchased, and how long the club will spend roasting the currently selected coffee.

Certainly.

#24: Post by **Kabouter** » October 18th, 2013, 2:58 am

I would much like to join this. But my recent purchase from SM turned out quite expensive due to shipping + import duties.

I have little insight into how coffee distribution really works, but could it be possible that some of the same lots that SM sell might also be available from European vendors so that I could joing using identical coffee bought here?

#25: Post by **TomC** » October 18th, 2013, 3:05 am

This should come together quite nicely. I have spoken with Dave and Ed and there's great ideas/seeds to be planted. I like Ed point that to really hammer this home and make it truly enjoyable for all involved, we should all take part in the bean sharing after the roast. Ed mentioned something like $2 to mail a small envelope with enough of a roast to make a sampling cup or two cupping brews, etc. I think that's a great idea.

I think that we should elect on topics we like to evaluate further. We can agree by majority rule to pick a common green, that is easy to source, and break down the whole process of what we're doing and why. In the HB 2013 comp this year, I was strongly considering taking some fine macro shots of the bad beans that were culled out of the main pile. I'll likely do stuff like that now too, and make commentary as to why during the roast.

I think we can chase down topics that are of interest to us and see if we can get results out of our roaster that we've seen the same green coffee develop into elsewhere. A communal maddening of fighting over and trying to figure out why a promising Ethiopian fruit bomb coffee that is a natural, just fights us to hide its exotic salad bowl of fruit and instead wants to give you raspberry in dark chocolate.

I can ramble on and on, but I'll stop with this for now. We'd need to know more about the backgrounds of each roaster (human) and their roaster, and their experience with it so far, the positives, the negatives, etc. to get a good gauge on how they run. So a brief bio is in order. At some point tomorrow while its quiet for me, I'll make a numbered list of who's seriously committed to jumping into the fun side of the pool. Then maybe we can get some volunteers to jump on board and share their background.I really am eager to have Ed mind being open for picking, he's got some impressive well rigged gear. And Dave assesses more coffee in one quarter than I do in a year. I'm really hopping that Marshall Hance will chime in too, with his background as a professional daily roaster.

We should keep a consistent dose/charge weight for each bean for our experiments. Find the right weight your particular is best suited to making the roaster do what you want to do. I have a completely separate shared coffee cupping protocol idea that I will expound upon later that should be of interest.

October 18th, 2013, 7:22 am

Kabouter wrote:...but could it be possible that some of the same lots that SM sell might also be available from European vendors so that I could joing using identical coffee bought here?

No, you won't find identical lots on different continents. The logistics of coffee don't provide for that.

TomC wrote: I like Ed point that to really hammer this home and make it truly enjoyable for all involved, we should all take part in the bean sharing after the roast. Ed mentioned something like $2 to mail a small envelope...

I would encourage us to do that but not require that. We will lose our international members as well as those with time constraints. It will add to costs that might leave some out.

TomC wrote: I think that we should elect on topics we like to evaluate further.

Brilliant idea. See Paul's comment on tipping issues above. I believe that the person suggesting the bean to the group can pose the dilemma, challenge they face, clues they are seeking, if any.

TomC wrote: We'd need to know more about the backgrounds of each roaster (human) and their roaster, and their experience with it so far, the positives, the negatives, etc. to get a good gauge on how they run. So a brief bio is in order.

Another sound idea but suggest that the personal bio- is invited but not required. We might lose some folks who are reluctant to do that. We want all members, from complete novices to seasoned roasters participating and learning from one another.

TomC wrote:We should keep a consistent dose/charge weight bean for our experiments

Here I believe you mean in presentation, not in roasting. Our rigs differ in terms of their sweet spots.

If it makes sense, I can capture some general guidance once we have all had a chance to weigh in. I would encourage us to focus on mutual learning and not over-structure it to the point of losing that focus.

RE: Beans. If we use Sweetmarias, we are assured of quality. I would offer the option of shipping to international members to whom SM may not ship at cost of bean plus $.50 per pound, PayPal fees, and air shipment at cost, $23.95. Those padded envelopes will handle 3 pounds comfortably and get to Europe in 8 days, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia in 10 days, as illustration.

#27: Post by **UseIt4Toddy** » October 18th, 2013, 9:31 am

Getting to this a bit late, but I'm in if there is still room. I've been doing more sampling roasting at home for work lately, and I've found the comparison across machines to be quite educational. Very interested to see how this project develops in any case. Cheers, Alex

#28: Post by **JohnB.** » October 18th, 2013, 9:51 am

I haven't had time to roast lately due to some major home renovations I've undertaken but I'll participate as time allows.

#29: Post by **TomC** » October 18th, 2013, 10:09 am

Boldjava wrote:Here I believe you mean in presentation, not in roasting. Our rigs differ in terms of their sweet spots.

No, I meant in roasting. Meaning keeping the charge weight specific to your roaster consistent, unless that's the parameter were particularly examining and tweaking, discussing etc. A roaster should figure out where their unit's sweet spot is, and stick to that for consistency sake.

And the bio thing was just a suggestion so that we know what folks are using, how long, and their general experience/comfort level with that roaster, nothing more than that. It will help with communication.

#30: Post by **farmroast** » October 18th, 2013, 10:25 am

TomC wrote:No, I meant in roasting. Meaning keeping the charge weight specific to your roaster consistent, unless that's the parameter were particularly examining and tweaking, discussing etc. A roaster should figure out where their unit's sweet spot is, and stick to that for consistency sake.

I certainly don't consider my roaster to have one sweet spot. Though there will be a sweet spot depending on the beans used and my specific intentions of roast outcome. Adjusting the batch size will adjust the dynamics of heat application, another tool in the toolbox.