I confess... Im a bean chewer!

[Andy]

(not wanting to post this in the Kenya A thread, Ill post here)

I confess... Im a bean chewer.

I cannot remember the last roast that I did without popping a bean into my my mouth at the end (as soon as they are cool enough to touch). Sure, I know that the coffee will change greatly given some time to degas but I find that you can really get an idea of how the roast went and pickup some unique flavour traits instantly.

Think of it as no mess cupping.
;D

So, do you chew beans?

[Thundergod]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Occasionally but Im not addicted.
Yet.

[greenman]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Guilty, I usually try one out of the cooling rack for the taste test, usually tastes good initially and then a bitter sensation follows.

[Wine_of_the_Bean]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Occasionally, but not regularly.

[ajay]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Not always, but sometimes. I am operating on the assumption that the better the roast, the better the bean tastes.

[Sparky]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!


I guess Ive already tipped my hat. Although not habitually, I may change this from here on in. The Kenyan A had such a wonderful spectrum of flavours, as did a prior mountain top bin 549 roast. As Andy has suggested, its cupping made easy...

Ironically the Jamaican Blue Mtn bean was rather... average. It did make a very nice mellow espresso that had a rather "generic" flavour that I would describe as a perfectly mild coffee. Definitely a cut above average and better as an espresso than in milk, but probably not worth the price.

[gazman_56]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

I usually roast at least two bean types at once, so I would have to chew 4, 9, or 16 of them, which could get unhealthy! Might this start a maths/statistics thread?

[christopher]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

I was thinking about this the other night as i tested the new batch of coffee i got from beanbay this week wondering if other people chewed beans

[mbg963]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Plus one vote for my 3yr old son :P. I have to stand watch after roasting to make sure he doesnt steal hand fulls.

I can handle a few freshly roasted, he would munch on them all day if I didnt stash them away.

[speleomike]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

I would like to chew my beans but I think there must be something different in the processing of beans destined for chocolate coating.

Mostly the choc coated ones are just over roasted peaberry beans.

[Viviane]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

I dont chew them very often, but my dog does. He will eat any bean that jumps out during the roasting process, tapping at them with his paw until he knows theyre cool enough to eat. Then he crunches them.

[Dimal]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Im with you Andy,

Always pop a couple into the gob after each roast and even during .... Just to get a feel for the roast progression. Makes it very easy to nail a roast by taste to exactly where you want it. As has already been observed by others, the taste in the cup after resting is different but you certainly get a great idea of the primary flavours and besides, I quite enjoy chewing on a few beans

Mal.

[JavaB]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

Yep, me too....

Always pop a couple in the mouth just post roast..... I find it gives me an "indication" how well the roast went - not the exact flavour.... but certainly helps!

[Sparky]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!


I roasted up the Kenyan A and the new Harrar Longberry OFT. The contrast between the two was amasing and has also translated into the cup. Longerry is intense dark chocolate/ rich dark fruit cake flavour, which is rather intense for my taste. Whereas the Kenyan A had a much lighter flavour with strong citric notes, which presented as a smooth creamy espresso with a strong acidity that didnt detract from the experience too much. I could easily see it mixed with a lower acidity bean to give a very nice brew indeed.

Ill have a go at blending the Harrar with the Kenyan A. Im thinking a 1:3 ratio to prevent the Harrar overwhelming the subtle Kenyan.

Ill certainly be chewing from here on in.

Im really loving this process of discovery with my own roasting and cant see myself going back to commercial roasts (aside from the occasional CS brown - just to see how Andy does things).

Cheers,

Mark.

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: I confess... Im a bean chewer!

(not wanting to post this in the Kenya A thread, Ill post here)

I confess ... Im a bean chewer.
So, do you chew beans?

Yep, after every roast I take a few & ava chomp, let the fragments lie on the palate, swirl a bit of saliva, savour ... then spit it all out.

Cant really equate it to a cupping moment, but it does satisfy that impatient curiosity factor that comes with roasting your own - i.e. how does it taste

Ill leave the majority of my roasted beans to the mercy of the burrs of my Anfim grinder ... not my teeth.