QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

[pie_in_ear]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

It was very hard to pick a winner on the day. All the roasted samples were very different in terms of roast degree and alot of snobs were not a huge fan of the bean used. At the cupping we all enjoyed different beans based on the roast degree as the lightest roast was the most popular due to the sweetness factor, but when we brewed it in the vac pot it wasnt as popular.

From a technical cupping viewpoint focussed mainly on roasting faults, I would have to say (no bias at all) that the top 4 would have been like this:

1) Pioneer Roaster
2) Gazz
3) Grind on Demand
3) Sparky

the biggest faults to emerge were some slight baking and some under developement on most beans.
The fact that we could all taste each others roasts and compare profiles will make the next roast off very interesting. I think alot of the snobs left with a lot of ideas for their future roasts.

The comment that caused the roast off had some merit, but snobs proved that if you take real world factors into account it isnt the be all and end all. I have had worse commercial coffees than all of the roasted samples we cupped. The fact that the samples varied soo much in colour really reiterated the point that roasting yourself will produce the roast that you will like. I would not have dared to roast as light as one particular sample, but if the roaster enjoyed it, than thats great. all the samples were around the same age from roasting, which proves that you can get fresher coffee at home than many commercial roasters.

We all agreed it was a good exercise and day out, and we will hold another in August some time.

[Dimal]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

Out of interest,

Has someone tabulated the final results so that we can all get an idea of the outcome.... Lots of interested CSers here . No need for real names, CS nicks would be good....

Mal.

[cuppacoffee]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

I just wanted to add my congratulations and well wishes to everyone who participated. This, as well as the other State Roast Offs, surely have to go down in the CS annals as another landmark event.

What a great opportunity to make new friends and learn from each other!

[Dimal]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

Sounds like a terrifically good experience for all who participated and most of all, a lot of fun. Kudos to all who gave it a go and to Jason of Pioneer Coffee who so generously donated his time and premises for the occasion.

Excellent stuff CSers.... [smiley=tekst-toppie.gif]

Mal.

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

... I must apologise for my lack of barista skills on the day, my body must know it doesnt do barista work on Sundays ...

I hope you werent daunted by me standing next to you pulling some dodgy awesome shots, Jason! ;D

[pie_in_ear]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

I think we are all in agreement that it was a great day. I was pleasantly surprised by the roasts produced on the correttos (sp?). Although most had some minor roasting faults the overall standard was very high. It was also interesting to see how csers roasted to various degrees showing the wide variety of roast level preferences out there.

We are going to make this a regular event, every 2 or 3 months. The changes I think are needed for future meets are things like the amount of time to play with beans. I might send greens out a month before so everyone gets a chance to have a few goes at it. Also maybe bring along 100 grams of fresh (2-3) days and 200grams of 10 day old coffee so we can run some through the espresso machine.

Ive had a few PMs about roast profiles etc, Ill try to answer as I get time.

I must apologies for my lack of barista skills on the day, my body must know it doesnt do barista work on Sundays, I was pulling perfect shots this morning with very little grinder tweaking.

Thanks all for making it along as these days are made successful by the csers who attend.

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

What I most appreciated is how forthcoming Jason was with hints, suggestions and just sharing his skill.

Id agree wholeheartedly with Marks sentiments - Jason was indeed a welcoming, enthusiastic, & very informative host.

I think Mark has pretty well covered the lengthy discussions we all had with each other vis-a-vis roasting methods/temp ramping/consequent bean tone, be it consistent or inconsistent, through to the core.  I walked away with some valuable lessons to implement with future roasts.

I think were all in agreement that the Cuban Turquino is neither a roasting favourite (but certainly a challenge! ), nor a cupping winner.

What truly intrigued me, personally, during comparative cuppings of all 9 roasts, was that the taste profile I expected from Jasons dark roast (I expected deep roasty tobacco) was far different in reality.  It was the one roast that I had to taste several times to truly appreciate nuances.  It was surprisingly a lot sweeter, with a mild caramel aftertaste - no overwhelming ashy tobacco, which I expected from bean appearance.  One of my pre-day trial roasts neared the dark tones of Jasons bean, but I outrightly rejected it to be cupped on the day because it was way too ashy in the cup - basically disgusting.

In short, a great day with Jason & fellow inquisitive CSers ... looking forward to the next one.

Cheers,
Tony

[Ray_C]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

There was an unexpected pearl I came away with, most people when doseing scrape their basket flat before tamping I have found that this is too much coffee for my E61 screwless shower screens in my La Scala Carmen therefore not knowing how to consistently guage this. Jason has the same scenario with his espresso machine and uses curved scrapers for doseing and then tamping, hence a controlled amount of coffee in the basket. I have since made myself one and it works perfectly.

As I said in a previous post "Jason you are a legend", once again thanks heaps....

Ray.

[JavaB]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

Mark,

I wonder if the darker colour of Jasons roast is due to drum roasting?

I have found that for the same bean roasted to a very similar profile (and to the same roast level) in a Corretto and in the HT (now that I have usable control over the HT profile ) that the HT roasts are quite noticeably darker......

Must be something to do with the nature of the heat transfer..... hot, fast moving air to bean compared to a mixture of radiant and heat conducted from the drum and internal surfaces.

Just had another thought re the darker inner..... and yes - it was painful

I wonder...... in a drum roaster the outer of the beans are always hotter than the inner (with a constant differential)..... heat travelling in towards the core..... where in a Corretto the beans on the surface will have this same thermal gradient but as they rotate towards the bottom of the bowl the outer may cool slightly where the inner (more insulated) will tend to retain more of the heat..... so the inner could continue to roast more than the outer..... giving you a darker inner and a lighter outer for the same overall roast level....

Plausible????????

[ozscott]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

It really does sound fantastic Sparky - great to see someone with passion who is prepared to share his knowledge.

Cheers

[Sparky]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

I found it an odd bean to roast also...and its not a fav of mine after a decent rest either.

Cheers

Agreed. I seemed to get decent results at around day 3 but its lost most of its flavour now, just a tobacco dry flavour.

Next roast-off may be something like a Kenyan or Indonesian. But I think next time well let Jason choose the bean based on his expertise.

I was really amased how dark Jasons roast was, given that it was roasted to a level similar to a few other people, including me.

What I most appreciated is how forthcoming Jason was with hints, suggestions and just sharing his skill.

[ozscott]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

I found it an odd bean to roast also...and its not a fav of mine after a decent rest either.

Cheers

[Sparky]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

Mark,

Just did a post mortem on a couple of Ethiopian Sidamo beans I roasted today.....

There is definitely signs of an inner "kernel" but although you could see a split.... it had to be pulled apart.... (Is this what you mean?)

And the inside on mine (FC 12 minutes, SC 19 minutes) seems to be the same colour as the outside.....

I can see a lot more research into this!!

Just guessing here. I recall noting a lot of smoke from the beans once the heat was removed, which seemed odd compared to the external roast level. The internal examination explained this smoke as the roast level was really further than I suspected. I suspect this is a characteristic of this bean, which is a low altitude low density bean. The internal separation seems to be the surface that becomes visible after divots are ejected from the bean beyond second crack.

EDIT: Just looked at my lightest roast and it has very even internal colour and little internal separation. I pulled that one before SC though (FC 12 min and 202oC, stop 17.5 min at 220oC). In contrast my darkest roast that was quite dark inside was FC 11 min at 202oC and SC 18.5 min at 223.5oC, stopped at 19 min and 224.5oC.

[Billi]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

Hi All,
I would like to add my thanks to Jason, not only for being a wonderful host, and unselfishly sharing his knowledge, but for giving up his Sunday, and having the courage to take on the amateurs (or should that be “assessed by amateurs”).
Congratulations Gavin for having produced the “favourite” roast, and to everyone else for making the day possible.
Sorry I had to push off early, and missed the tour, but it was a wonderful learning experience just the same.
Bruce

[Gazz]

Re: QLD CoffeeSnobs "Roast-Off"...

On the day there were 7 Correttos, 1 Thermo oven roaster and Jasons commercial.

It does seem that home roasting can and does surpass (not always) the commercial roast but as always consistency is the key and with the large volumes produced commercially this in itself provides a consistent end product.

Of the offering there were no absolute failures.

The results on the day have shown that home roasting produces a more than acceptable coffee, but as always one mans delight is another mans poison.

Cheers Gazz