As I mentioned in the thread on Yemen Bani Ismali, on receiving these beans I was struck by the noticeable variation in size so decided to grade one 2.5 Kilo bag into 3 different batches, small, large and as they came straight out of the bag.
Small beans.
Roasted very evenly.
Three days post roast, ristretto, loads of crema chocolaty, nice mouth feel.
Large beans.
Roasted very evenly.
2 hours post roast, ristretto, poured slightly faster than the three day old, loads of crema, good but nowhere near as smooth as the three day beans, chocolate flavour not as intense and a little harsher.
Three days post roast very similar to the small beans at this stage.
Ungraded.
Uneven roast, quite a few light coloured smaller beans.
Three days post roast, ristretto, compared to both the graded batches this was a little disappointing, nice but nothing like the previous two .
Less crema, chocolate flavour not as pronounced and the mouth feel was nowhere near as viscous.

Graded beans.

Chaff removed before roasting.

Stuff removed (couple of stones and bad looking beans) prior to roasting, the evil looking mottled green bean (top right) is interesting.

Sieves used in grading showing 2 separate sizes.
There is no question in my mind that grading these beans produced two separate roast results, the large and small beans both roasted very similarly, even, and very much the same in the cup.
The ungraded beans roasted unevenly and to my taste the result after 3 days was nowhere near as good.
Was it worth the effort? depends whether you have the time and inclination, its a fair bit of stuffing around but I will certainly grade the remaining 2.5 kilos I have.
PS the pics came out poorly, not sure why, photo bucket is normally pretty good. :-/
PPS Have changed my host site, now using Forum image codes, much better and is easier to use.
Small beans.
Roasted very evenly.
Three days post roast, ristretto, loads of crema chocolaty, nice mouth feel.
Large beans.
Roasted very evenly.
2 hours post roast, ristretto, poured slightly faster than the three day old, loads of crema, good but nowhere near as smooth as the three day beans, chocolate flavour not as intense and a little harsher.
Three days post roast very similar to the small beans at this stage.
Ungraded.
Uneven roast, quite a few light coloured smaller beans.
Three days post roast, ristretto, compared to both the graded batches this was a little disappointing, nice but nothing like the previous two .
Less crema, chocolate flavour not as pronounced and the mouth feel was nowhere near as viscous.

Graded beans.

Chaff removed before roasting.

Stuff removed (couple of stones and bad looking beans) prior to roasting, the evil looking mottled green bean (top right) is interesting.

Sieves used in grading showing 2 separate sizes.
There is no question in my mind that grading these beans produced two separate roast results, the large and small beans both roasted very similarly, even, and very much the same in the cup.
The ungraded beans roasted unevenly and to my taste the result after 3 days was nowhere near as good.
Was it worth the effort? depends whether you have the time and inclination, its a fair bit of stuffing around but I will certainly grade the remaining 2.5 kilos I have.
PS the pics came out poorly, not sure why, photo bucket is normally pretty good. :-/
PPS Have changed my host site, now using Forum image codes, much better and is easier to use.

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