Guatemalan Laurina varietal from Finca El Socorro being offered by Roastmasters. Laurina has half to a third the amount of caffeine so you can drink more. "Cup Characteristics: Aromas of licorice, bittersweet chocolate, roasted almonds. Flavors Macadamia nut, pignoli, sugar cane, cinnamon toast. Lemony crisp acidity mixedu with red apple. Silky texture. An unusual taste profile."

Let's roast some and talk about it or about other Laurina.

Thanks Geoffrey!

I'm looking forward to trying this one. The cupping notes interested me. Genetics always interests me and I could not resist.

The beans are like rocks and an occasional one retains a fragment of skin that is like one outside a Brazil nut. I got mine a couple of days ago and roasted up a pound yesterday. I'm transitioning my roasts to larger charge (for me) in the bullet. This one reacted pretty much as I wanted on a cold day in the garage with a space heater. I wanted something between first and second crack and it seems to be right there. I dispensed with any soak and hit the heat right off the drop as they suggested. I will try it in a couple of days to see if this strategy brings out desired flavors. I don't detect any licorice in the whole beans but there is a nutty aroma.

I tried my first roast today at lunchtime as a clever dripper. 15 gm coffee to 240 gm H2O (16:1). I will usually stop my coffee intake before lunch but I though I would see what happens with this low caffeine varietal. No buzz!

The cup 2 days after roast is quite pleasant and simple. While hot, it was mildly acetic, medium body and distinct notes of nuts and chocolate. To my unrefined palate without a positive control to compare, I would guess almonds. The cup remains the same until cooler when a spice element clearly comes into play. Notes say cinnamon and I would agree. I had no licorice aroma or flavor nor malic acidity like apple or any fruit so far. Perhaps as the coffee ages.

I am thinking this would blend beautifully with a fruity light roast Ethiopian for a lower caffeine blend.

My first roast was a 200 g sample with 10 deg C rise after 1C start.

Today about a week post roast as a pourover I get walnut and sweetness but the cooling cup shows that I need to extend or adjust development.

Roastmaster has such worthy selections but it seems the roast suggestions go quite deeper than the roast level I prefer. "Roasting Notes: This coffee is dense and needs a throttle of heat in the couple of minutes heading toward first crack. Then apply the brakes and let extend development time to about 90 seconds, pulling the roast before or no later than the first whisper of second crack." (90sec whisper of 2C - wow that's fast). But my next roast I'll try to shoot for closer to the suggestion on the description. I'll taste for those spice notes too.

I took another take on the Laurina. After one pourover of the first roast that I though turned out okay, light, subsequent coffees were underdeveloped.

I'll get to tasting this longer, deeper roast soon.



Cupping this roast: grounds - coffee, toasted savory notes (no licorice - until I shook the closed cup, then sniffed, then maybe); break nothing stands out; hot cup - sweetness maybe nut direction of flavor, muted, no ferment notes - cup is clean; cool cup - remains simple in flavor profile, some sweetness, drinkable.

I'll do more tasting of this roast, but I need to go back to the profile board.

Last year, I had a Laurina from Frinj (California grown coffee) that was really unique-lots of sweetness, a nice strawberry note. The varietal impressed me, so I've been on the lookout. El Socorro is uniformly fantastic, so this one seems like a good option. May have to grab some.

Also FWIW Roastmaster's El Socorro Java is really wonderful. Tastes like Caramel Corn and Tootsie Rolls.

This lot is a washed coffee and maybe that's why I'm challenged to get the appeal. I like a strongly tasty, aromatic natural. Or maybe one just has to go to auction ready to $$$pend to acquire super tasty Laurina. And of course, I may improve my impression of it as I roast through my small purchase. To get to know the variety with this Roastmasters selection would be more economical than going straight for the La Esperanza lot, but it is available in small quantity from Forward Coffee.

I had my afternoon espresso of the more developed roast below, and it gave up some aromatic herbal character, maybe like the licorice, bittersweet chocolate roastmasters describes.



Drop temp 218C, I would expect that to read out on a color meter to city, close to full city, but I got 124. The beans and grounds color don't look very much darker than coffees getting above 130 with my tonino unit. So I have to take some more tests about whether it is accurate.

It's like a light roast with the flavors of medium roasted coffee.

I just finished my second roast of the Guatemala El Socorro y Anexos Laurina from Roastmasters.

The first roast (light city) was very delicate with almond, hazelnut, biscotti, sugar cane, hints of coco . I drank it too quickly and without taking proper notes. Roasting with a modified West Bend Poppery I, my roast batches are small so it takes a few roasts to get acquainted with a new coffee.

The second roast I decided to delay first crack by 30 seconds and add 30 seconds afterwards to allow the roast to develope. While I enjoyed my first roast, I did not get the herbal nuances and overall I felt the coffee chad more to offer. The profiles shared here seem to confirm this concept and my second roast had much more depth as well as additional flavors including a more developed chocolate note (dark chocolate meets tootsie roll) and faint herbals (maybe anise, liquorice?). I much preffered the second roast to the first in terms of flavor and complexity. The coffee went from being 'just nice' to 'wow' just by adding a little time to the roast.

I appreciate members sharing their roast profiles posted on this thread. While I am using a different roaster -and no data collection system (aside from my handwritten notes) - I appreciate seeing how people approach this particular varietal. It is easy for me to be at times, underwhelmed by the more delicate subtle coffees so I appreciated having some examples with which to try coazing more depth and complexiity out of this coffee.

Hope more people share their impressions and roasts of this varietal. In my middle age I have become much more sensitive to caffeine, so I appreciate having a lower caffeine coffee without any sacrafice in taste

After several day's rest, I re-tasted the Laurina, combining both my light city roast wiht the darker city ++ roast since I liked both flavor profiles. I over ground the coffee a tad resulting in a much slower and stronger brew. The resulting cup was fabelous with the coffee gaining a depth and strength without sacraficing the delicate naunces and flavors. There were the almond biscotti brighter notes of the lighter roast, combined with the dark chocolate unsweetened coco and creamy qualities of the darker. This makes me think that this coffee would make a fabelous espresso shot...but being limited to only a moka pot, I have no opportunity to put this theory to test. Since the Laurina has less caffeine I am even more tempted (and justified) in making future plans to get a lever espresso machine... like a vintage Arrarex Caravel which has been something of a bucket item list for me.

Hope more people share their impressions of this coffee