Over the time I've been roasting, I've had some favorites and some duds . . . It struck me that I'm probably not alone, and that this forum could use a thread (possibly meriting a sticky) where people can write about their favorite and not-so-favorite coffees, the ones they're glad they bought and the ones they wish they hadn't, the ones they'll seek out in the next crop and the ones they'll avoid. It might even turn out that by posting one's experiences someone else here will give feedback that might enable someone to get better results out of coffee already given up for dead, or possibly confirm the worst.
Here are my recent candidates in these categories:
(1) In my "Most Satisfying" category, the hands-down winner is "Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Adado Coop," purchased from both Miguel at Paradise Roasters and from Klatch Coffee Roasters. I believe this is ultimately from the identical source. This coffee, roasted to the onset of 2nd crack or a bit lighter, has never failed to produce an interesting, multidimensional cup. It was not exactly cheap, but not exactly expensive, either. I still have about 20 lbs of it left and continue to enjoy the results I'm getting from it, more than 6 months after the first batch of green that I received.
(2) My Best Value Coffees are a tie, which is convenient because I've been serving them as a 75%-25% blend, as suggested originally to me by Jim Schulman. They are Yemen Ismaili and Aged Sumatra Lintong, both purchased from the Green Bean Coop. I have roasted them more or less as I roast most everything right now, to just before the onset of 2nd crack, with the Lintong roasted a hair lighter (2-3 degrees F). These coffees were cheap (both under $4/lb, green) and in this blend produce a very complex cup that doesn't seem to come into its own until the coffee has aged 4 or more days post roast. Interestingly, it seems to last longer than most coffees I roast for espresso, up to as long as 2 weeks post roast, still producing a very complex and satisfying cup of espresso. This blend works well both in milk and for straight shots.
(3) My Most Disappointing Coffee this year has been the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Select Biloya, much heralded in the press and purchased from both Paradise and the Coop, and ultimately sourced through Novo. This coffee gets bottom honors from me in part because it never could possibly live up to its hype (or cost). To me, it is the "incredible shrinking coffee." I have had 3 or 4 of the best espressos of my life from this coffee, mostly from the first batch I roasted, and tons of good but not great shots that would have been more enjoyable had I paid $4 for the green instead of $13 including the postage
I've tried several different profiles and the results are always similar. There are 1 or 2 very good (perhaps great) shots hiding in the pound, but the rest are merely good or average. I've never experienced a coffee like this, and can't really explain its behavior. My leading theory at this point is that it has simply gone "over the hill" at a record pace, enjoying a very brief moment in the sun with a very precipitous decline. But I'm not really sure, maybe it is something I'm doing wrong with this coffee.ken
