Coffee-Selecting Green Beans

[WadePatton]

The other thread just wouldn't go where i wanted it to, so here:

Just as a wine maker should understand cultivars and regions and the limitation of both wrt the grapes or juice he buys or grows; and the Brewer should know his malts and hops thoroughly in order to create the sort of brew he enjoys, I'm thinkin' that Beanheads might know a bit more about the differences and similarities of the worldwide supply of beans of coffee.

Just as we do not need to discuss fermentation to discuss how the "raw" ingredients impart their signature in a wine or beer, I don't see the point of discussing the mechanics of roasting of these beans. That _has_ been covered.

I do understand that the darker the roast, the less "origin" characteristics are found in the cup. Just like tequila-the longer it's aged, the less fresh goodness of the agave come through-and i now buy blanco's.

So, limiting myself to current stock at Sweet Maria's we have:
Central America: NINE beans from FOUR different countries
South America: FIVE beans from FOUR countries
Africa: EIGHT/ THREE
plus FIVE more...ignoring blends, decafs, etc.

So there are 27 different beans from around the world there for the taking-this is wonderful. But the "standard" descriptions and cupping scores really mean nothing to me as i don't have a frame of reference. If i buy the 4-bean sampler (Thom's choice), I'm not so sure I get a good cross-section.

I thought there'd be someone 'round here who had been doing this for a while who had personal experience with beans from all around. AND could talk about it in terms that a wine/beer/bbq bloke like me could loosely grasp and begin to make semi-informed decisions on his first few bean purchases.

I may be barking up the wrong tree, but the signal kept getting mixed in the other thread.

This is not a roasting thread, this is not a brewing thread. This is about selecting GREEN BEANS from one REGION of the world or another.

Please discuss the Regions/Countries from which you've roasted and brewed coffees that you like or don't like (or are indifferent to) in relation to other beans or normal things that the uninitiated (non cupmeisters) might understand.*

can this be done? or is it all a crap shoot?

also i do unnerstand that the level of roasting greatly affects the final product and that some beans are better at one end of that spectrum than the other, mentioning where you took the bean in roast may be necessary, but this still ain't a "how to roast" thread. that is covered everywhere else.

*just as one might help a newb select a wine or beer from a great many varieties of which he has no clue.

this is good, and recommended for others in my shoes:

[notoriousdjw]

Tom's framework for selecting coffee in that video is a great way to think about what to order. I would also add roast preference and bean size into consideration.

I have a hard time differentiating between different wet-processed central american coffees and consider them interchangeable. I find much more unique flavor in beans from places such as java and indonesia, ethiopia, tanzania, etc. These are obviously just my personal rules and may not transfer to another palate.

I'm a sucker for some of the oddball coffees at Sweet Maria and tried any number of dry-processed or semi-dry (tree dried, "miel" process, etc.) central american coffees. This was largely because I was hoping to find some blend of African rustic flavor and central american clean flavor. Also if a coffee was a weird cultivar for the region, I generally tried it. I got 2 lbs of the Jacku bird gastrically processed coffee just to try (it was $12/lb, not the crazy prices of kopi luwak).

Your preference for clean vs. rustic may be tied to roast preference because so may "clean" coffees are lightly roasted and many "rustic" coffees are thought best at relatively darker roasts. Tom has a pretty broad palate and can at least score and appreciate all different roasts. For me, all coffee is going to somewhere past Full City but not quite to Vienna. I spent lots of time trying to make a City roast or Vienna/ French Roast work but never succeeded. City roast coffees tend to be too acidic for my taste and have no roast flavor. Anything past Vienna tastes like charcoal. At Full City to Full City++ you get both origin and roast flavor together which is what I want to drink. So I search the reviews for beans that can survive at least a few seconds into 2nd crack. Any review that cautions about going beyond City is an automatic elimination.

The last consideration is bean size. Ethiopia and Yemen Mocha cultivar beans tend to be small (check the "screen sizie" in the review). If you drum roast the small beans you will need a drum with smaller holes and that tends to keep the chaff in the drum. Not sure the air popper will present any challenge other than quantity of chaff. I sometimes shy away from Ethiopias just because of the mess. Sumatra beans are very large and sometimes this can extend your roast times too much so you should make sure you can roast them effectively. Peaberry beans are long and shaped more like a football so you have some of the same problems keeping the beans from slipping through the holes in the drum. Mercifully peaberry coffees are usually wet processed so chaff is lessened.

That's a lot of stuff to think about but it's fun and your worst mistakes will (probably) still be drinkable. Just try not to set anything on fire...

[WadePatton]

how is it we say - winner winner!

thanks, just about as big a nugget as i can hold focus on. methinks i'll order now.

[notoriousdjw]

So what'd you order?

[WadePatton]

So what'd you order?

I'm at the mercy of Maria's Thom. Probably the least expensive, yet regionally diverse 4-pack they can muster. It'll learn me some. I'll try to share if i learn to talk the talk. i might just walk the walk. with no talk. incommunicado ricardo yo yo ho.



don't say i never posted under an influence.

you shouldn't

really

i

mean

it and if you've

read this far that is

probably very good evid-

ence for your conviction of be-

ing under the influence of something

you couldn't just say no to anymore no more.

[WadePatton]

Scored a poppery II for 10 bucks on CL. So when the beans get here. I'll be a roastin' and reportin'. R/R eh.

[WadePatton]

So what'd you order?

The sampler arrived yestiddy. I've now roasted three batches and tasted two.

Thom/Maria sent:

Bolivia Beneficio Buenaventura Lot 45
Costa Rica Los Nacientes
Ethiopia Limu Jimma - Alaga Sekala
India Poabs Organic Seethargundu Estate

Initial reports in the "Coffee-Home Roasting" thread i started-the experience not the selections.

I nearly burned up the first round. I started with Costa Rica. Roasted it twice so far--just lovely. Roasted the Ethiopian this morning, will try later today. Still working on my roast timing.

AS TO the OP wrt SELECTING your first GREEN BEANS...just do it. If, like me, you've never had _really_ fresh-roasted coffee before, then you're stepping off into another world and it won't make sense until you've gained a bit of experience.

For selection, I couldn't be more pleased with what i was sent (they choose for you). Four one-pound selections for 20 bucks--it's the shipping that makes it pricey, but once i learn more about what i like, i'll buy larger quantities with less frequency. They tells me that green beans keep for many months without degradation.

The bland, flat, oxidized beans from the supermarket nearly stink compared to my fresh roasts. them there days is over...

weirdest thing: the green beans smell a bit like a couple of bore-cleaning products. JB Bore paste and Sweets 7.62 to name names.

SELECTION...bah just get some.

[Too Tall]

I've managed to only have 5 lbs of green coffee beans left GASP!

The two different varietals from Columbia were amazing and might just re-order from Sweet Maria: Columbia La Plata Veredas Vecinos.

Open for suggestions as long as it is not Ethiopian Peaberry...still stinging from that experience or lack of ability.

PS - HIghly likely I'll pop for some of this stuff grown by a good friend's family: https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/...milia-bonillia I've had it when visiting and it blew me away. Admittedly they selected the best of the best for the beans they used to serve us but I'll bet this is killer.