What It Was? Do it by Profile, Which One?
"What it was", says il Professore at Scuola di Espresso, "is the idea that you ought to change the way, the profile, at which you are roasting, depending on what? What idea to pursue, say? Look at Williem Boot's 'Ready to Roast' in September, October issue of 'Roast Magazine', a roast set for hard, for soft, for large." A new approach, right? Not by roast outcome or cup but by green bean. So we are gonna try what he's up to: roasting a profile to match beans by hardness, by size; we oughta see results.
Hard:
What we got is Bolivia, Cenaproc D'Montana FTO, a beautiful hard bean, altitude of above 5000 ft for hard; and, we go at it, though as you will see we beat by wide margin Boot's ideal time, with high initial temp and a keep-it-rolling profile, into 7 minutes total.
This profile is high initial heat, to first crack (suggested 6 minutes);
reduce heat for two minutes;
increase for set finish temp (end time 14.20); ideal time from start of first crack to end of roast is 3 minutes (Boot recommending overall times for all roasts: 12-15 for drum with air, 10-12 for solid drum, faster for pure convection, Gimme's type).
Medium hard:
A Brazil, a Minas Gerais Santa Clara pulped natural at 3,000 ft, is a good choice here, and because of lower temp, the roast time is extended by 30% plus to 10 minutes. Second, we choose to go dark, and by keeping the temp in extension mode, but still at exothermic, eliminating lots of blue smoke, which otherwise might have contributed to toasty outcome, and beyond, to treacherous blackness.
Charge at 30 degrees lower than hard bean temp;
moderate heat to first crack;
1 minute after first crack, reduce heat to extend first crack;
in most roasts, temp kept the same to end, except for exothermic spike.
Large:
Here you take a lovely Kenya AA, an Embu Karindundu, blue-green and super-sized. Roast time very extended into 12 minutes, long and with an almost aggravating slowness, since at mid-point and after, there is a huge escape of aromatics in the roasted air column. You want to ask if this is all good, likely just paint-stripping the volatiles? Or is it a sign of what might show up in the cup?
(avoid roasting into second crack)
Charge at 30 to 50 degrees lower than hard bean;
maintain low heat to first crack;
sample constantly, establish bean temp increase of 6 degrees/minute, 1 degree/second, heat down 15-40 percent accordingly, gradual development observable to the eye.
From the il Professore's panel of cuppers, we get this tasting review of results:
Bolivia-hard, fast
It's the Professor at the E 61 for shots: less fine grind consistent with a lighter and faster roast; oodles of cream, round cup, fairly full body, sweet to chocolate, but very mild overall, without edginess.
The traditional cup: aroma and crema are rich, woody, beefy, taste is chocolate-sweet, honey, minty in middle, then soy and baker's chocolate, lacks body, slight creaminess, and slight buttery aftertaste too.
Brazil-soft, medium, lower atmosphere
The espresso grind changes to fine +, some spice in the demitasse, heavy oak aroma, going from sharp to mildly sweet. On second try, the finish surprises with velvet-cream.
The cup: panel finds the aroma is green pea, radish, beet root, just mildly vegetable throughout, taste is earthy, dry as freshly turned summer fields, green, vegetable again,
urging that the roast did not magnify but left an uncovered heartland.
Kenya-large, prolonged at first crack
What it was was a fine grind for intense jasmine to butter aroma in the demitasse, very nice, then nutmeg, vanilla, pepper layered on top of cucumber final. The crema dissipates and taste finishes clean, dry, pleasantly sharp.
The cup: the aroma is light with caramel, butter, faint melon, taste repeats melon, greenish, dry-dry and finishes as light citrus, not powerful, just a door opener on which you seek for more.
What to say, Professore? "Nice way to consider profile changes for circumstance and to consider bean characteristics as well, yet the Brazil did not demonstrate valor, while the more standard Gimme profile with Bolivia had a good, round performance in shot and cup. The Kenya espresso may lead to some further work, yes? But the traditional cup was less responsive, underdeveloped?"
The Professore turns back to the E 61, in saying: "Why not experiment with the same profiles of temperature using the same bean, say Bolivia, rather than 3 kinds. What role does bean characteristic really play, huh?"
Okay, maybe next time, ciao Professore.
e. r.
What we got is Bolivia, Cenaproc D'Montana FTO, a beautiful hard bean, altitude of above 5000 ft for hard; and, we go at it, though as you will see we beat by wide margin Boot's ideal time, with high initial temp and a keep-it-rolling profile, into 7 minutes total.
This profile is high initial heat, to first crack (suggested 6 minutes);
reduce heat for two minutes;
increase for set finish temp (end time 14.20); ideal time from start of first crack to end of roast is 3 minutes (Boot recommending overall times for all roasts: 12-15 for drum with air, 10-12 for solid drum, faster for pure convection, Gimme's type).
Medium hard:
A Brazil, a Minas Gerais Santa Clara pulped natural at 3,000 ft, is a good choice here, and because of lower temp, the roast time is extended by 30% plus to 10 minutes. Second, we choose to go dark, and by keeping the temp in extension mode, but still at exothermic, eliminating lots of blue smoke, which otherwise might have contributed to toasty outcome, and beyond, to treacherous blackness.
Charge at 30 degrees lower than hard bean temp;
moderate heat to first crack;
1 minute after first crack, reduce heat to extend first crack;
in most roasts, temp kept the same to end, except for exothermic spike.
Large:
Here you take a lovely Kenya AA, an Embu Karindundu, blue-green and super-sized. Roast time very extended into 12 minutes, long and with an almost aggravating slowness, since at mid-point and after, there is a huge escape of aromatics in the roasted air column. You want to ask if this is all good, likely just paint-stripping the volatiles? Or is it a sign of what might show up in the cup?
(avoid roasting into second crack)
Charge at 30 to 50 degrees lower than hard bean;
maintain low heat to first crack;
sample constantly, establish bean temp increase of 6 degrees/minute, 1 degree/second, heat down 15-40 percent accordingly, gradual development observable to the eye.
From the il Professore's panel of cuppers, we get this tasting review of results:
Bolivia-hard, fast
It's the Professor at the E 61 for shots: less fine grind consistent with a lighter and faster roast; oodles of cream, round cup, fairly full body, sweet to chocolate, but very mild overall, without edginess.
The traditional cup: aroma and crema are rich, woody, beefy, taste is chocolate-sweet, honey, minty in middle, then soy and baker's chocolate, lacks body, slight creaminess, and slight buttery aftertaste too.
Brazil-soft, medium, lower atmosphere
The espresso grind changes to fine +, some spice in the demitasse, heavy oak aroma, going from sharp to mildly sweet. On second try, the finish surprises with velvet-cream.
The cup: panel finds the aroma is green pea, radish, beet root, just mildly vegetable throughout, taste is earthy, dry as freshly turned summer fields, green, vegetable again,
urging that the roast did not magnify but left an uncovered heartland.
Kenya-large, prolonged at first crack
What it was was a fine grind for intense jasmine to butter aroma in the demitasse, very nice, then nutmeg, vanilla, pepper layered on top of cucumber final. The crema dissipates and taste finishes clean, dry, pleasantly sharp.
The cup: the aroma is light with caramel, butter, faint melon, taste repeats melon, greenish, dry-dry and finishes as light citrus, not powerful, just a door opener on which you seek for more.
What to say, Professore? "Nice way to consider profile changes for circumstance and to consider bean characteristics as well, yet the Brazil did not demonstrate valor, while the more standard Gimme profile with Bolivia had a good, round performance in shot and cup. The Kenya espresso may lead to some further work, yes? But the traditional cup was less responsive, underdeveloped?"
The Professore turns back to the E 61, in saying: "Why not experiment with the same profiles of temperature using the same bean, say Bolivia, rather than 3 kinds. What role does bean characteristic really play, huh?"
Okay, maybe next time, ciao Professore.
e. r.
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