DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

[marcstolk]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

I have a blended decaf which is a fantastic coffee in its own right..

Its a Blend of Colombian, Guantamanlan and Brazil, Swiss Water Process. It is best roasted just on the start of 2nd crack.. any further and you lose the sweetness and bitterness comes into play.

Marc

[bolb]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Hi Robusto / Lizzie

I roast 450gm batches each week of Colombian SW Decaf for a friend (he drinks unleaded) and i find that if i roast to just on 2nd crack then the beans are alway dry and a chocolate colour but not overly dark.
It generally takes 2 - 3 days for any oils to be released from the bean.

I did take the beans about 1 min into 2nd crack but found that the result was exremely dark and oily. I find that roasting decaf requires more visual skill as the beans are darker to start with and depending on the quality of light in the garage / time of day etc. you can dont notice too much of a change in bean colour from between 1st crack and just into 2nd crack.

I dont drink the stuff but am told it is very nice and a much nicer flavour than what can be bought from coffee supplies around the traps. I grind it up for my friend in both a espresso and plunger grind.
He has commented that he finds it difficult to find decaf coffee types of different flavours, you can by flavoured coffees in full strengh but when it comes to decaf its generally a colombian bean.

Mal

[Lizzie]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Robusto, i checked yesterdays beans again, and they are dry, mid to dark brown and smell nut/chocolate coffee. they are definitely smaller post-roast than last weeks batch so i assume that fc was not as effective becaue of the longer ramp up time but...

i also checked last weeks batch "under the light": they are now much less "puffed up" than straight after they were roasted (see pic in roast profile for comparison), and there is some oil on most of the beans.
their aroma is richly chocolate/sweet spice/coffee.

for comparison i put both roasts on one plate: yesterdays on the left, last weeks on the right.

and how is this : my husband, who doesnt drink a lot of "real" coffee, commented last night,
when i was grinding the de-caf for my nightly treat:" wow, you can really smell the chocolate in that one!!".... ;D ;D

[robusto]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Lizzie, thats very interesting -- one minute from second crack for the decaf colombians. I find that just on second crack is too much -- they are already very dark and exhibiting an oily surface.

For that reason Ive done just one batch. I might give it another go.

--Robusto

[Fulcrum]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Lizzie

It is their decaf from the specialty range. They dont say what beans or process was used but it doesnt look like a swp

Gavin

[Lizzie]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

yay!!! another convert  ;D ;D ;D

from which de-caf was the roasted sample, Gavin?


L

PS i did another "Colombian" roast; hmmmm... see here:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1177511060/6#6

[Fulcrum]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

I too have been looking out for more variety in my decaf. Everyone seems to have Colombian SWP and not much else. I ordered the 2 decafs 5 senses sell in green beans and they sent me a roasted sample of their decaf for comparison.
I havent had a chance to roast yet but I tried the sample they sent and I am thrilled! I have just finished a ristretto and the lingering flavour is just magic. None of the acrid aftertaste I usually get from other decaf; I am actually delaying having breakfast so that I can savour the aftertaste a bit longer.
The roast is quite dark and oily so I will try taking my decaf a bit further ( and slow it down as Lizzie has suggested)

Gavin

[Thundergod]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

I raised the slow cooling issue quite a while back after advice from Hazel.
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1152343660/131#131

[richy_4000]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Yeah Ive also heard that fast cooling can be bad for the beans. Theres a cafe chain in Brisbane who roast their own beans and keep them in a humidity-controlled, cool room. But they said they never put the beans straight in there because it is bad for the beans to be put directly into cool conditions.

Looks like youve found the Holy Grail Lizzie - great beans minus the caffeine.

[Lizzie]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

heres the link to the roast-post-with-pic....

http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1177511060/0#0


being  fairly new at the "home roasting" game i expected  the roast to be more difficult, and my previous experience with shop bought de-caf were not scintillating, so i was resigned to having a fairly  average, flat tasting, cup of coffee at night.
but, really, these beans have been a revelation, and they are getting better by the day (now 7 days post roast).
do i sound "over the top"? :-[   well, i am excited.... :P
because of caffeine-effects my coffee intake was limited to "mornings only"... this bean makes the afternoon coffee possible again, and allows me to round off the day in style, with wonderful aroma, flavour and body, espresso,short black or mach, or a choice of milkies.  that is just soooo good!
we will make sure there is a few kg in a stash around the place...

Dailybean: 5 Senses sell them at a great  price, PM/email  them for details. perhaps worth considering,  even with freight ?? ....

Ricky: i was surprised at how long and gentle the "cracks" were... that is why it kept  going for longer than initially planned.
also, we slowed the cooling down; when we had our tour of 5 Senses, Dean mentioned that in fast cooling can, in some  cases damage the structure of the sugars in the beans. so, just for the heck of trying it out, i cooled in 5-6 minutes to  hand-warm.  
the slow cooling let the 2nd crack continue for about 10-15 seconds after the beans were poured out of the roasting bin.

Whatever i did, it worked... now cross everything that it is repeatable!!

L

[richy_4000]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

HAHA, yeah we can get some sleep now that the World Cups over .

Ill play around with the roast profile like u suggested Dailybean. Maybe I misread the occurence of the 2nd crack and stopped the roast too early. Decaf roasting is a different beast to normal beans Ive read.

Hi Lizzie, good to hear from u. Thats remarkable that simply by increasing the roast time a bit and slowing down the roast made such a massive difference to your beans. When did your first batch hit 2nd crack? Your description of "complex and sweet with a cinnamon note in deep chocolate" certainly sounds enticing :.

[dailybean]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

richy, ahh ic. perhaps give them another go with a different roasting profile. correction to previous post, i did my roast in a convection oven for that one - nice and slow. i recently did one in the popper which im getting confused with.

i think ive had a similar experience to you with a SWP decaf peru - bought roasted. nasty tasting and that nearly made me give up on decafs... this was before i tried roasting the bean myself...

lizzie, ive been meaning to try something similar, though have not managed to get my hands on any. sounds like youre enjoying it very much !

p.s. im glad the cricket world cup is finally over...

[Lizzie]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Hi Ricky...
i bought some  de-caf Colombian beans from 5 Senses the other week, they are the citric acid de-caf which is, i think, not the SW method.
did a small roast of just into 2nd rack, was nice but not exciting...
but, did a big batch  the other day and am tickled purple with the results.
the slow roast did wonders  
I posted the roast profile in "home roasting", with a pic.
contrary to most people, i took the roast more than a minute into 2nd crack, after stalling it just after 1st...
the result is a wondrously smooth, chocolatey, lingeringly flavoured coffee, that i have either as espresso, or as lunga, or as a milk based one (sometimes with a bit of Carnation milk, how European...).
I coarsen the grind just a touch compared to other espresso grinds, and tamp hard, particularly around the edges; the crema is great.
I really am a de-caf convert!

good luck,
L

[richy_4000]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

Hey Daily Bean. (OZI OZI OZI - World Cup champions  ;D)

Yeah I home roast everything. Took it to about 2nd crack, but it had a strange, acrid flavour - not acrid as in acidic flavours, but... almost chemical that I never get with caffinated beans. Either its a dud bean batch or Swiss Water Process imbues beans with a peculiar "funny flavour" that one just has to get used to. Its fine with a splash of with milk tho. But, even the most botched of shots taste ok with milk :P.

[dailybean]

Re: DECAF - any decaf lovers/experts out there?

i roasted up a SWP columbian a few weeks ago in my popper, rested it for 7 days and had it as an espresso. to my surprise, it was great! nice and smooth, medium bodied and had a decent head of crema.

are you roasting yourself richy?