The Golden Bean 2013 - Coffee Roaster Competition

[Mendax]

Is the Golden Bean an AASCA event or a private competion?

[tiddler2]

My Sulawesi Blue and Rwanda Nyungwe have arrived and the first roasts are resting. The Proud Mary Ghost Rider is here but it won't be ready for another week or so. I'll just have to settle for my non award winning home stuff for the coming week. ;-) This Golden Bean is costing me a fortune!!

[tiddler2]

My attempts at reproducing Sarah and Tiana's entries have produced some very nice coffee indeed, thank you for posting such a detailed 'recipe' Andy.

As for the Proud Mary Ghost Rider, it seems to be a very light roast - but I can see why it won.

Seems like my uneducated taste buds recognise good coffee after all.

[trickydicky2]

My attempts at reproducing Sarah and Tiana's entries have produced some very nice coffee indeed, thank you for posting such a detailed 'recipe' Andy.

As for the Proud Mary Ghost Rider, it seems to be a very light roast - but I can see why it won.

I've tried to reproduce the same coffees, but as I'm using a Gene not a Behmor, it's hard to say how close the roast profile really is. However, really pleased with results. The Sulawesi Blue as a SO has a great cut through in milk and I like the winey/plum flavour. Will use this one a lot. Of the few Indonesian coffees I've tried so far, this is my favourite. It's not overly earthy or fermented tasting, like some

I also got some Ghost Rider. It's a very light roast and is intensely fruity. Technically it's an amazing coffee, though not my favourite - I'm personally not a huge fan of the over-ripe fruit style as it can taste a bit too fermented for me. Website says it's a Brazil Ethiopia blend. I would guess it's got a pretty special natural Ethiopian in it to give that squishy blueberry banana strawberry taste. Anyone know more about the origins?

Trying it has prompted some experimentation with light-roasted Brazil/Ethiopia blends of my own, leading to some lovely sweet chocolate/fruit driven results. It seems a great way to get maximum aromatic character out of the Ethiopian component while having the body, lower acidity and oomph from the Brazilian to perform well in milk. (Apologies if is stating the obvious to more experienced roasters). Nothing I've tried has come close to the Ghost Rider, however, but so far I've only tried Sidamo and Yirgacheffe origins. Could the Ghost Rider be using something like a Djimma or Harrar, maybe?

[tiddler2]

Could the Ghost Rider be using something like a Djimma or Harrar, maybe?

Dusting off my Harrar to give it a go.

I got a hint of spice from the Ghostrider along with the fruit already mentioned.

[fatboy_1999]

Got a package today. Medals have arrived!

[trickydicky2]

Got a package today. Medals have arrived!

Me too

[dbd]

Nice haul.
How are you planning to beat that next year?

[trickydicky2]

Nice haul.
How are you planning to beat that next year?

Thanks!

If I'm around next year I will have another go for sure. 8 coffees was too many though. I should really spend some time to select just one or two and allow more time to get the roast right. This year, quite a few were just made up on the fly and (other than checking straight out of the roaster) tasted by me as rested blends for the first time after the comp results came in.

[malliemcg]

Anyone got judges feedback yet?

[sidewayss]

None so far malliemg.

The other place getter did not get his either. Am sure others would find the feedback useful.

Been a fun and confusing Golden Bean for these two years.

Last year we did not get feedback for quite some time til someone asked about it.

This year the comp bags did not arrive til a few days before closing date and some of us were getting concerned knowing we have to roast, ship and allow travel time.
Express post was a necessity.

Having said that, we are all human, and the Golden Bean will go from strength to strength and things as well as competition improving.

[fatboy_1999]

Just got my score sheets and judges notes via email. Also got PDF's of the certificates.
I'm tipping some people will have a larger zip file attached to their email than mine

[kwantfm]

Just got mine too... despite winning a bronze I found the feedback to be very confronting... surprised that I won anything at all given the general negativity of the comments!!!

[fatboy_1999]

Oh good. It's not just me then!
I suppose it should all be taken as constructive critisism.

[trickydicky2]

Got mine too. Similar level of criticism to those above. In my score sheets there were two ratings per coffee (i.e. 2 judges sampled each one). First page for each coffee shows total of both judges' scores (out of 80)

Average score of silver medals 50.7/80

Average for bronze medals 41.3/80

Best result was 53.5

It would be interesting to see GB publish the avearge scores of gold, silver & bronze for each class of the competition. How much of a gap is there between the home roasters and the comparable commercial classes?

With the feedback, I got a lot of comments specific to each coffee. Main areas for improvement for me overall - Eliminate "baked" taste, improve balance and flavour strength

Balance and flavour strength I think I understand well enough to act on, but does anyone know what causes a baked taste, how to recognise it and how to avoid it?

Cheers...