South American - a smooth, smooth brew......

[sidewayss]

Re: South American - a smooth, smooth brew......

Looking to try the blend soon once i get my hands on the beans i ordered through Beanbay.

I like the descriptions mentioned on this thread.

Looking forward to it.

[sidewayss]

Roasted this blend in equal proportions as per OT.

Cupped 5 days after resting.

Roasted the Pulped Natural to just before second crack, dark brown. The others to a medium brown, 3.5 minutes after first crack.

Drinking nicely in flat whites and caps. Does nicely in all milk based drinks with it's slightly nutty, but predominantly cocoa and chocolate with moderate acidity due to the level of roast profile i took it to.

As an espresso it's nothing special.

It won't change my mind about using other single origins as straight espresso.

Good safe blend for those who is trying blending for the first time.

[Mariner]

Roasted this blend in equal proportions as per OT.

Cupped 5 days after resting.

Roasted the Pulped Natural to just before second crack, dark brown. The others to a medium brown, 3.5 minutes after first crack.

Drinking nicely in flat whites and caps. Does nicely in all milk based drinks with it's slightly nutty, but predominantly cocoa and chocolate with moderate acidity due to the level of roast profile i took it to.

As an espresso it's nothing special.

It won't change my mind about using other single origins as straight espresso.

Good safe blend for those who is trying blending for the first time.

HI Sidewayss - if you would like to improve the espresso a bit do what BOSW has done and up the Brazilian content to 50% to make it a little more robust. I also roast the Colombian to a solid CS9 so as to take out as much acidity as possible.

Fun to play around with and drink - suits my palate as an espresso with the dark roast of the Brazilian... Will definately mix it up some more.
Regards, Mariner.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

HI Sidewayss - if you would like to improve the espresso a bit do what BOSW has done and up the Brazilian content to 50% to make it a little more robust. I also roast the Colombian to a solid CS9 so as to take out as much acidity as possible.

Fun to play around with and drink - suits my palate as an espresso with the dark roast of the Brazilian... Will definately mix it up some more.
Regards, Mariner.

Welcome back Frank. Ship break down or something? I'd also add that the Brazil Yellow Bourbon (new on Bean Bay), also works well in this blend (and as a base to Mocha/Java), but I tend to use this one at a 40% weighting (30/30 for the Peru/Colomb).
Cheers
BOSW

[Mariner]

Hi BOSW,
Been (thought about saying Bean) very busy, family had flu (Mrs Mariner is never allowed to get sick ever again), work and uni..... Anyway, what is the new Brazilian like? I will have to try some shortly. I certainly think that for my taste buds there is a magic ratio for a near perfect cup there somewhere for this blend. I tend to think a little heavier weighting on the Brazilian side like you have been doing seems pretty good - a little better for an espresso. Maybe I should try a ratio like the golden number of 1.618. This would make the coffee roughly 19% 31% and 50% or for the snobs with more discerning palates than mine 19.17632%, 30.93140% and 49.89235%.

Might just go and order some Brazilian for now.
Regards, Mariner.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

I'm profoundly unqualified as a coffee taster, but if pushed would say that the Brazil Yellow Bourbon is a touch sweeter than the Brazil Pulped Natural (both at about CS9.5). Both work well in this blend but I think the Bourbon suits my palate better when I use it as a base for Mocha/Java (Gambella/Sulawesi actually).

[Mariner]

THanks BOSW,
I will give it a go when I get home from work. Might have to do a side by side cupping session once I do.....the BPN is a very nice brew and will always keep a place in my cupboard until Andy doesn't sell it anymore. I too am profoundly unqualified as a coffee taster and have the palate discernment of a goat, so your description works perfectly for me.

I will let you know how I go.

[Mariner]

Brewed this up and was a little too ambitious with my maneuver..... Roasted the Brazilian to CS10.5 right into rolling 2C Flavor is still good, there was some light spotting on the Brazilian beans but, I noticed a slight bitterness in the after taste that was not the finish of the original blend. So, for my taste definitely no later than the start of second crack with the Brazilian.

[sidewayss]

Just to give some follow through feedback on this solid unobtrusive blend.

Has served up well in the restaurant with many happy customers.

Have always taken each of these beans to just before or first signs of second crack and never into rolling second. I just don't like oils on the surface of beans. Have always preferred the oils in the bean.

Normal roast is 700 grams each of the Peru, Pulped Naturals and Columbian to produce 3 x 500 gram bags and 250 odd grams for myself.

The KKTO (sweet spot is 700 grams) is great for roasting those size batches. Even though it can roast bigger loads, my bean cooler is the limiting factor.

Overall it's a great classic style blend without being exotic, and easy to roast. Nice chocolate and slight chocolate tones with mild acidity. Medium body. Satisfying sweetness.

Supplies running out soon, so will have to order some more.

Do try for the cusp of second crack Mariner, give them a good rest for 4-5 days and then enjoy. Thanks again for this thread.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

So.....on Sunday I roasted approx. 250g each of the Braz PN, Braz Yellow, Peru, Colombian, and Nicaragua Diamond....also a smaller roast of the Eth. ghimbi. Took the Brazils darker than the others (prob CS9.5-10). Previous Wednesday did a small batch of Sumatra Robusta (to let it age more). So next weekend I'm going to play around with subtle variations on the Sth American blend (have put 20% Centrals in before....a nice change). Going to start with adding 15% Robusta to the standard Braz/Colomb/Peru. I quite liked what the Robusta did to a Brazil/Central blend I made a couple of weeks back.

[sidewayss]

Will be interested to hear whether you prefer robusta in that blend or without it Barry, as i am a noob when it comes to robustas. I,ve never added it to my blends. Guess will have to try it at some stage.

[Mariner]

South American - a smooth, smooth brew......

Hi BOSW,
Also very interested to see what the robusta does to the brew. Please let us know.

On another note, still haven't tried this brew with the Brazil YB and should actually order some to see what it does to the mix. I just find it very hard to go past the PN for a great anchor for this brew.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Hi BOSW,
Also very interested to see what the robusta does to the brew. Please let us know.

On another note, still haven't tried this brew with the Brazil YB and should actually order some to see what it does to the mix. I just find it very hard to go past the PN for a great anchor for this brew.

Cheers guys. Over the past two days I've tried the following 2 blends:

24g Brazil Yellow, 22g Peru, 22g Colomb, 12g Sumatra robusta (80g in total) AND
28g Braz Yellow (CS9.5-10), 26g Peru (CS9), 26g Colomb (CS9)

Robusta 11 days post-roast. Other beans 8 days post-roast. 19g of ground beans in 14g Synesso basket, extracting 29-31g of brewed coffee (so b/w a ristretto and standard espresso), drunk as a latte.

Both very smooth. The one with the robusta just has a little more bite (particularly in aftertaste)....has a hint of what is often described as the 'traditional italian' blend, but more subtle. A toss-up as to which I prefer, and frankly probably comes down to my palate on a particular day. Haven't tried them as straight espresso (only have one every few days...and prefer africans for these). SWMBO prefers the one with robusta.

Next step is to substitute a central (the Nicaragua) for either the Peru or Colomb, but probably drop its weighting to 25%. Will try with and without robusta.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Further update:
Moved on to blends involving some of the Nicaragua (OK so it's not really a Sth American blend now...).
Day 1: 30% Braz PN, 30% Peru, 25% Nic, 15% Robusta
Day 2: 34% Braz PN, 33% Peru 33% Nic
Definitely preferred this one without the RObusta. So for me, the addition of Robusta/Nicaragua are either/or.

[Mariner]

South American - a smooth, smooth brew......

Hi BOSW,
Thanks for the update. Did the robusta add anything to the brew? Was the crema heavier and thicker? Did it pour any better - I know flavour is king but seeing a nice thick, syrupy shot ooze out of the machine is pretty awesome too.