What coffees do you roast for espresso? - Page 2

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

drgary wrote:Matt: My thinking might go toward getting the Home version and seeing if you're satisfied. If not, you can sell it in Buy/Sell and upgrade to a Pro, already being familiar with an Ikawa. It also highlights that home roasting to anything close to consistent, professional results is a journey that may take some time and expense, just like our coffee hobby overall. You experiment, and the less than stellar results go into milk drinks. And, you can choose to experiment with something like a Cormorant that won't be automated but you take your time and know that it isn't the gear that's holding you back while you improve your chops.
Gary,

Thank you for the advice. Because of my living situation, smoke-free is mandatory. This is why I'm able to get back into roasting at all. As beautiful as the Cormorant looks, I couldn't use it. Is the Ikawa Pro as smokeless as the Home, I wonder.

Matt

(This thread is about coffee and I keep talking about gear. I'll stop. Promise.)

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drgary (original poster)
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#12: Post by drgary (original poster) »

The title I suggested is that the thread is about coffee, but I was trying to keep things short. But I was thinking more broadly to include equipment as in this part of my opening post:

"Choice of coffee, roasting style, equipment, brew methods and taste all contribute to what's possible as well as how much you're willing to spend on gear that extends the envelope."
Gary
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What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

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CarefreeBuzzBuzz
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#13: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz »

My approach is fairly simple:

1: Try everything SO at a medium roast.

If I don't love it, blend it. I always have 4-5 coffees to choose from.

Here is my simple blending rule. Take a coffee with high body (from the bean - I don't believe you can roast to add body) and some cocoa notes and blend it with a fruitier one.

YMMV but this works in our household. @Chert and I used to enjoy to the SM Brazil Pedra Banca as a blender. I just picked up 26.5 lbs of Daterra Sweet Blue since my wife loved that with a fruity Ethiopian.

Hope that helps.
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drgary (original poster)
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#14: Post by drgary (original poster) »

CarefreeBuzzBuzz wrote:Take a coffee with high body (from the bean - I don't believe you can roast to add body) and some cocoa notes and blend it with a fruitier one.
This is a bit off topic, but...

Michael:

Rob Hoos writes in his book that extending time in the drying and ramp (aka maillard) increase body. Have you experimented with shorter or longer ramps?
Gary
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CarefreeBuzzBuzz
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#15: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz »

@drgary this more recent research challenges that modulation can impact the outcome. You can jump to then Results and Conclusions for a short summary.

Also another prominent forum member has reminded me that -Body and mouthfeel are related but distinct phenomena. Body is associated with dissolved solids (TDS), mouthfeel with emulsified oils and proteins (crema?).

That all said could one make a small difference with longer or shorter ramps? - I don't rule that out, yet it is way easier to start with a bean that nice body in it. So with respect to Sweet Maria's I love their flavor wheel for picking coffees with body and cocoa.

Since we don't want really dark espresso, as I mentioned we try all our beans and then blend on the fly to experiment. This is why I strongly recommend that those looking to experiment with espresso have a dosing rack. I am having a new one made now that will give me an extra row.
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#16: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz »

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