Thoughts on Stash Management

[luca]

Hi all,

Prompted by this thread, I thought I would ask what everyones thoughts on managing their stash are.

Are there particular types of beans that you like to keep on hand?

How do you go about making sure that you have enough of the stuff that you really like, whilst avoiding ending up with too much of the stuff that you dont?

How long do you let your green sit around before you turf it?

From the thread linked above, it looks to me like all CSers enjoy having lots of small lots of things to experiment with, but the seasoned campaigners definitely strike bigger on some beans than others.

Cheers,

Luca

[martybean]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

Hi Luca. I have only been roasting since late last year but have already got a good stash of greens,the way I manage mine is when I get some new greens I will do a roast, write down some notes say PNG kinjibi peaberry "chocolate notes, quite sweet" . I now have only 600gms left so Im just sitting on them untill I get some more.
I got some boomerang peaberry which supprised me for an Aussie coffee masive crema.So it might fill in the hole when I run out.
So any tips would be welcomed.

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

Luca,

I have 3 personal favourites that come up for offer on a regular basis.
Peru Grace Estate
Indian tiger Mountain (and Mysore nuggets)
Sumatran Mandheling (and others from the area)

and a host of others as per the referred thread.

Ive been pretty happy with pretty much all coffees Ive had, but do tend to return to to the above 3 quite often. As I have found I like them over the years, I tend to buy 2 or 3 times the amount of them as compared to any other bean on offer.

There are a couple of others I would dive in for some higher amounts of, but mostly, Ill grab 2.5 or 5kg at a time.

I havent turfed any green as yet, but I think Im getting rather close with some of my stash. Ive had a couple of my coffees for nearing 3 years and I dont know how old they were when I got them, so some might have to go soon.

[Remy]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

For me,..being a newbie home roaster and coffee snob,.. my original plan was to buy small quantities (was hoping 500g, but 1kg tops phrrrt!!!) of a good variety initially, so that I could work out what I like and narrow it down eventually to having a regular larger stash of just 2 or 3 favourites on hand all the time,...while buying in 500g here and there of new varieties for fun and possibly bump a favourite of the list.

My plan went to the dogs when I discovered I cannot buy greens in small amounts from GreenBay (tho I understand why this is not possible) and I have ended up instead with large (for me) 2.5kg quantities of a few varieties. :

So as far as managing my stash,.. its a no brainer...10kg is as big as it is ever going to get, and I will be whittling this waay down before I buy more. Ideally, I would only really want to have up to 5kg on hand at any one time, because Im pretty much the only coffee drinker in the house for most of the time..tis a rare moment when my husband (tea drinker)will have a coffee,.my 15yr old daughter is more likely to partake in a nice coffee now and then.  

Its obviously not possible for me to try small amounts of many varieties as I would have preferred, so Ill just be content to enjoy just a few varieties over and over and over and...erm yeah you know what I mean.

[KenS]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

I have much the same problem as Remy. I live alone, (apart from two dogs, two chooks, two horses & eight cows) so 2.5 kgs of any one variety is going to last some time. Also, living in an isolated agricultural area, I dont have "Blow ins". At the moment I have close to 5kgs of two different varieties. It would be really nice to try many different SOs, but its just not possible. Maybe twice a year , my two children and their families spend some time here, and they love my coffees, but it doesnt make much difference to my overall consumption. I still love my Popper roasts and yen for a Hottop. Maybe sometime in the future?

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

... I still love my Popper roasts and yen for a Hottop. Maybe sometime in the future?

Tried the Corretto method yet mate?

Give it a whirl ... master it, & fantastic results

http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1154442377

Tony

[Dimal]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

Hmmm,

My favourite varietal/regions and current stash comprises as follows....

C.A. - Costa Rica Tarrazu, El Salvador Himalaya Estate
Colombia - Pennsilvania and Caracolito Peaberry varietals
Peru - Villa Grace Estate, Kontiki Chamana
PNG Estate Coffees - such as Sigri, Sihereni, Kinjibi..... All great beans
Indonesia - Mandheling, Sulawesi Kalosi Toroja, High Grade Lintong, Bali Gunung Batur
India - Tiger Mountain, Mysore Nuggets, Monsooned Malabar/Peaberry
Africa - Yemen Mocha Ismaili, Yemen Mocha Bani Mattar, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Harrar, Limu,
Kenya AA, Rwanda Cyangugu A, Uganda Organic Bugisu

I do have a few others not listed here but in such small quantities and not part of my overall preference, so I wouldnt buy em again.

A couple of varieties are coming up to 3 years old but the last batch I roasted of these still tasted pretty darn fine in the cup, so theyre not kaput just yet. Im still in the throws of whittling my stash down a bit so not really actively looking to buy any more, but if something I really like came along..... well, you know how it is :.

All the best,
Mal.

[redzone121]

Re: Thoughts on Stash Management

Im just experimenting and trying as many different beans as I can, as this is all new to me.
I will take Mals advice and run out the not so good beans (well the ones my wife and I are not so keen on) and stock up up what we enjoy the most.

A blend that we are enjoying is:

50% PNG Sigri
35% Kenya PB
15% Indian Robusta

Rolling SC, few spots of oil after a couple of days.

This is based on 2 single origins my wife really enjoyed in ristrettos and just trialing a little robusta for fun. No science to it just personal tastes I guess.

Working on a Heat Gun (or 2) set up to Roast 1-2 kgs in a stockpot with an overhead paddle stirrer thingy, I will keep you all posted.

Cheers,

CB.