My friend Charlie Oan (name dropping as he's placed in previous Golden Bean comps), lent me his Hottop model B. I bought 2.5 kg of Bolivian Caranavi and Ethiopia Bifu Gesha.
The Bolivian is a simple bean to roast, I had success with every batch, taking it from around a CS 4-7 over 4 batches. I'm drinking it now and my initial gut feeling was correct, this bean suits a "full city plus" roast - beautiful nutty backbone and subtle acid make it perfect with milk as a "long mac" (for want of a better label).
The Ethiopia Gesha I found difficult to get a consistent roast, I was aiming for about a CS 5. Quite a few green beans slipped by and jammed my grinder... So I hand picked them out of the batch, and brewed as espresso, drank as a long black and a long mac. Both really nice, soft grass and floral notes on the black, sour creamy head and ending with a flush of acid. Many of the subtle flavors were muted by the milk but still very good.
I also did a post roast blend of the two beans, which I found quite nice, but they're probably a bit more enjoyable as singles.
I roasted everything on the 15th to 17th, when I was interrupted by the birth of my first child (a week early cheeky girl). I'm hooked to roasting, I've been brainstorming bbq roasting drums, also have a bread maker and little toaster oven lying around, I like to tinker so unlikely to buy my own Hottop.
Can anyone recommend a "fundamentals" type text book? I feel like I could save myself some failed experiments by learning from others.
Cheers for reading, Joseph.
The Bolivian is a simple bean to roast, I had success with every batch, taking it from around a CS 4-7 over 4 batches. I'm drinking it now and my initial gut feeling was correct, this bean suits a "full city plus" roast - beautiful nutty backbone and subtle acid make it perfect with milk as a "long mac" (for want of a better label).
The Ethiopia Gesha I found difficult to get a consistent roast, I was aiming for about a CS 5. Quite a few green beans slipped by and jammed my grinder... So I hand picked them out of the batch, and brewed as espresso, drank as a long black and a long mac. Both really nice, soft grass and floral notes on the black, sour creamy head and ending with a flush of acid. Many of the subtle flavors were muted by the milk but still very good.
I also did a post roast blend of the two beans, which I found quite nice, but they're probably a bit more enjoyable as singles.
I roasted everything on the 15th to 17th, when I was interrupted by the birth of my first child (a week early cheeky girl). I'm hooked to roasting, I've been brainstorming bbq roasting drums, also have a bread maker and little toaster oven lying around, I like to tinker so unlikely to buy my own Hottop.
Can anyone recommend a "fundamentals" type text book? I feel like I could save myself some failed experiments by learning from others.
Cheers for reading, Joseph.

I certainly don't have a developed palette nor a developed coffee dialect, but I think I enjoy a balanced amount of acid, sour and grassy/floral/fruit tones. That is of course providing there is ample sweetness, earthiness etc to balance it out. But I think the essence of what you're saying is correct I am under roasting. I will take a test batch past second crack next time just so I have an ear for the whole process.
) 
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