Blending El Salvador

[Big_Steve]

Hi Folks,

I have a couple of Kgs of green El Salvador beans and it is not the best tasting on its own, in fact its pretty plain

Has anyone blended El Salvador with other beans to come up with something worth drinking? I am pretty keen to get any ideas from CSers as I am sure there is a wealth of knowledge out there.

I have a fair amount of other beans in my stash to play around with, so please suggest any crazy blends you can think of! ;D

Happy Sipping!

Steve

[Thundergod]

Re: Blending El Salvador

WHy not just blend it with something you really like and end up with middle of the road?

[Dimal]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Which El Salvador beans are they Steve, what was the roast profile you used and how many days post-roast did you start cupping? Might help us a bit in determining what to go for and how to get the best from this particular bean,

Cheers ,
Mal.

[Big_Steve]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Thanks for the tip TG, I might give that a go and see if it works... Although ending up with something middle of the road would be disappointing I think.

Alrighty, I left this info out on purpose but you are right Mal, thats a bit too general.

The Bean: El Salvador HG Organic "Santa Elena" Estate (Maybe I was expected too much from this bean as I normally drink Estate beans as a SO)

I roasted these in my i-roast2, and the profile is 160c for 5 1/2 mins then ramped up 20c every 2 minutes afterwards.
>Do you think I need to increase the temps for this one? they seem to take a lot longer to roast than most other beans.
>Is it possible that I baked them (given they took nearly 15mins to roast) rather than roasted them?

I pulled these just shy of second crack (or at the first snaps of second crack - not rolling).

I usually wait at least 4-5 days before cupping, as I mentioned they tasted really plain so I blended them with a bunch of "left overs" and never tried them again on there own after that.

Steve

[NewToEspresso]

Re: Blending El Salvador

I got some of the El Salv Santa Elana beans as well and I wasnt too impressed with them as an SO. Mind you, I only take milk drinks so Im not exactly a good authority on espressos (by a long mile). I blended (post roast) the Santa Elana with Brazil Monte Carmelo and Ethiopian Harar, 1/3 of each and they came up quite nice in a latte.

[Dimal]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Gday Steve,

Im not familiar with the I-Roast2 at all so cant contribute any specific profiles for it as such, but in the Corretto, Ive found that the following profile works pretty well and ensures that all of the beans complexity remains after a rest of 4-5 days.

I only dehumidify the beans at a temperature of about 120C for 3 minutes or so (for all bean types as a matter of fact) and have found this to be plenty.
After that, the HG is switched to full power and adjusted so that 1st-Crack starts in an 8-9 minute window and after it is well and truly rolling along, the heat is reduced so that the beans reach CS9-10 at close to the 15 minute mark but avoid the onset of 2nd-Crack.

This results in nice plump beans that have a slight satin sheen to them but no signs at all of free oil on any surface. This is just my preference but have found that the really nice flavours dont become truly pronounced until about the day 5 so tend to leave them rest for that long. After opening, they seem to retain most of this flavour for a further 7-10 days with a slight increase in bitter-sweet chocolate after-taste as time moves along.

Hope this helps out a bit mate. All the best ,

Mal.

[Big_Steve]

Re: Blending El Salvador

I got some of the El Salv Santa Elana beans as well and I wasnt too impressed with them as an SO. Mind you, I only take milk drinks so Im not exactly a good authority on espressos (by a long mile). I blended (post roast) the Santa Elana with Brazil Monte Carmelo and Ethiopian Harar, 1/3 of each and they came up quite nice in a latte.

Thanks for that suggestion, I might try something similar. I think that blend would be perfect with maybe some Sumatran.

Nice work!

[marcstolk]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Steve,

I have a El Sal that is great as an SO - And Im sure its very similar to the Santa Elana. I pulled a double Ristretto for my flat white this morning - came up quite nice.

Try roasting it to before the onset of 2C

[Dimal]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Try roasting it to before the onset of 2C

Agree mate 8-),

Thought thats what I suggested in a bit more detail above :-?,

Mal.

[Big_Steve]

Re: Blending El Salvador

I see your point Mal, I just had to read your post twice as my mind was stuck on blending this one.

Maybe it is my roasting style that is to blame here for a bland coffee. I did notice that these beans did take way longer to roast than most others. I will try changing the profile to something close as you use and see how I go.

As for stopping before 2nd crack, that is gonna take a bit of practice (I usually go too light when trying to do this) especially with a noisy I-Roast.

Thanks for the help.

[Dimal]

Re: Blending El Salvador

No Worries Steve,

Like I mentioned earlier, I have no knowledge or experience with the I-Roast but maybe you can try roasting small batches of new beans you acquire in order to get a handle on the roast progression of the bean, before committing to full batches. This may be of some help to you, especially if you record the outcomes with cupping notes, etc for future reference?

Cheers mate,
Mal.

[marcstolk]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Steve, when pulling beans before the onset of 2C, I usually go by visual and temp. When I know the beans have done the time and the colour looks good and the temp is Up - the beans get pulled!

[Big_Steve]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Will keep trying to perfect this one as a SO before I blend it. This is why I love roasting my own coffee, so much to learn 8-)

Happy Sipping!

[decafsux]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Ive been drinking Big Steves el salvador that i thought he gave to me as a nice gesture ( after reading this i think he was just trying to get rid of them!) But i forgot about them and didnt start drinking till around 7 days post roast, my machine was out on loan so had to resort to my plunger and thought it was one of the nicest s/os if had in my plunger for a quite a while so dont give up on it yet mate! and if you do give it to me.

[Big_Steve]

Re: Blending El Salvador

Ive been drinking Big Steves el salvador that i thought he gave to me as a nice gesture ( after reading this i think he was just trying to get rid of them!)

Nice gesture? that doesnt sound like me... I do however appreciate your vaste experience in coffee tasting... 8-)

I am more than happy to roast you up some decaf blend as a "nice gesture" mr decafsux???

Happy Sipping!