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Bolivia San Ignacio, iced. sumptuous

Published
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Dave
on 6 August, 2008
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I had just a small amount of the that San Ignacio left (~18g, to be exact) and it is hot as a mutha here right now, so I set out to make a delicate, fully satisfying iced coffee. (Vietnamese stye)

Bolivia San Ignacio as it\'s brewing, icing

Bolivia San Ignacio as it's brewing, icing

Sweet isn’t quite enough of a word for it. The buttery body (mmm) that was in hot cup, completely turned inward, and became more of a perceived sense than actual flavor – like jabbing your finger in the stick of warm butter sitting on the butcher block, maybe even on a slab of Himalayan pink salt, and putting it in your mouth. Warmth. Oily. Yummy.

Then. And then… that delicate flower of sweetness takes off, floats lightly, and clearly above the cool ice and butter. Like finding lost berries and cream. Clear hints of cherry and super ripe raspberries (just like the amazingly juicy ones Christy just brought home from the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island the other day…) ‘Twas beauty. Total beauty. ‘Nother please… If only I had some more.

I still need to post the roast notes from this batch…

El Salvador Matalapa Estate. La Libertad

Published
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Dave
on 10 July, 2008
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Cupping and Roasting Notes:

Roasted 02 July, 2008
210g / 178g (15.3% loss)
1Cb = 9:21
1Cr = 10:10
D = 12:01

Cupping notes:
03 July 2008 (8hrs)
Nut / chocolate (65%ish) base – mild. Carries light fruit hints on it’s edges – seem a bit buried though. Some vibrancy / clarity – though feel a bit masked.

06 July 2008 (46hr)
Clarity seems to have come forward more since 12hrs rest. Fruit is much cleaner, more clearly discernible though lightly. Jasmine and grape mixed with green apple, maybe cherry (maraschino). Nut/chocolate base is more creamy – buttery, milder, less forward. Balance is better between fruit and earth. Though less intense as well.

Roast Notes:
There is more to this coffee than the roast is allowing. Needs definition, clarity, which would bring a better balance between mouthfeel, body, and acids. Even when cupped at 3 days, and the fruits were more distinguished, they weren’t particularly well defined between each other. The base chocolates and nut flavors could have been better defined as well.

This could be corrected in the roast, primarily in the duration of 1C and the dump point.

Applying more heat as the roast is leading into 1C should shorten the duration of 1C from 1:15+ to 0:45 – 0:50, pushing the development of complex acids (end of millard phase, and curtail the muddining effect of over caramelization.

If allowed to continue, I am estimating that the Cphace (1C – 2C+) would be about 4:30-5:00. With additional heat in system, this would also shorten the C phase to a about 3:00 – 3:15 maintaining acidity, diminishing caramelization, and therefore producing a more crisp, definitive cup.

latest sample roasts

Published
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Dave
on 19 June, 2008
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A few images of the last batches. Not totally consistant yet, but getting there.

I’m getting close to knowing what I’m doing. Last thing to do, really is to install a manometer so I know exactly what the gas is set at during each stage of the roast. I’m guessing too much for my liking at the moment…

I’ll post cuppings when I have a bit more time to written them out.. but the Harar (1c=9:15) was pretty amazing.

More of the Fazenda Esperanca. A tender cup.

Published
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Dave
on 12 June, 2008
in coffee, cupping notes and roasting notes
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My friend Mark has been asking me for a Brazilian coffee that will rekindle his interest in Brazils.. This is one for that… Satisfyingly sweet up front, delicate floral nose, and generally balanced, mild and interesting. More nutty and round in the body (mild)

Roast 2 has more vibrancy and a bit more body. In comparison, the longer development (in roast 1) after 1c muted it’s fruit and floral notes, and slightly muddies the body tones. Not that it’s awful, just not as good.

Sample roast of Fazenda Esperanca. (roast 1)

Sample roast of Fazenda Esperanca. (roast 2)

Not the best roast…

Published
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Dave
on 27 May, 2008
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Bolivia Cup of Excellence: San Ignacio Juana Mamani Huanca.

Not my best effort at the roast. Rushed the warm, and pushed 1rst crack up about 2+ minutes. Shit. And it shows in the cup. Green and tight on the tongue, florals and fruits aren’t well developed. It still has some real nice sweetness that comes out as it cools, but it should be more delicate, balanced than this.

Well, still tweaking the roaster, but damn, wish i’d done this with a coffee that I didn’t have so little of, or that cost so much ($25/lb). Oh well, at least it was only 125g. And I still some.

But, on the bright side of things, I fiddled with the air/fuel ratio on the pinhalense tonight and have a much better flame now, one that has a slight hiss and a good tightly formed flame – not the laziness that it was before. Seems it needed more air (O2). I hope that this means that I’ll be able to mve at least a full load through the times I’m expecting… till now, 300g has been somewhere about a slow 30min. ugh.

Brazil. Carmo de Minas. Fazenda Esperança.

Published
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Dave
on 26 May, 2008
in cupping notes, Featured and general coffee
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This is alertness beautifully balanced with elegant patience. Summery. Well structured. It’s clarity cuts through me like sitting in the sun porch on bright mornings. Bright warmth, eye squinty and attentive.

Beautiful, clean, light and floral sweetness. Grapefruit like undercurrent helps round out structure – especially in the mid range temperatures as the cup cools. It shows a lighter body than most other Brazils – even compared to the more citrusy, nutty sul de Minas region or certain Central American coffees – this tends toward the light side. But don’t take this for thin. It has depth and structure.

Brazil Carmo de Minas. Fazenda Esperança at a light roast. just about city plus

Said sample of Brazil Carmo de Minas at a light – city plus – roast in order to preserve the delicateness of the yellow bourbon varietal. You can see that the surface color is still mottled as it hasn’t progressed far enough past first crack to even the surface out… Not a bad thing at this stage of roast. The interior is very even and consistent with the surface color.. and by the way, this is the first roast that I am satisfied with since hooking up the Pinhalense…

Chaff Collection

Published
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Dave
on 26 May, 2008
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I found where the chaff has been going… just under the cooling vents, and before the entry to the impeller.. that is the hole in on the left side of the floor.”


The underbelly of the Pinhalense, chaff collector

Decaf Design, old journal scans

Published
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Dave
on 21 May, 2008
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Wanted to get this posted.. I have some things to write about this, but not the time at the moment, so will do that later…

(Use the zoom to be able to read them)

bean insides…

Published
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Dave
on 14 May, 2008
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I have a habit of pulling beans during the roast process, breaking them open to see how evenly it is progressing. Not an absolute indicator, by any means, but still better than glancing into the roaster and looking at the outsides only.

This one taken about 1rst crack… give or take 30sec. I don’t quite remember.
viewing the interior bean development around first crack.

some images of the new roaster

Published
by
Dave
on 14 May, 2008
in coffee and roaster
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Here’s a little slideshow of the new roaster. I’m planning to take some more details this weekend and will post those as well.

cheers