Coffee-Selecting Green Beans

[maunahaole]

That’s not the good good stuff, this is from a different spot. You got the ok good stuff. Still cost more than shipping.

[Cookietruck]

Lemme know how that goes. I've got this crazy idea that we could also do exchanges of blends. I'm sitting on 20 lbs of that Costa Rican (very high altitude) Bonilla that's really good just into second crack and makes very good espresso on it's own....what if I added something spicy???

i needed to roast some coffee last night and...
1. i have alot of the brazil yellow bourbon NP
2. i think it's a little boring
3. i have a big bag of ethiopia dumerso NP
4. i didn't want to drink more straight brazil, nor did i want to use a full pound of the ethiopia as i like to have a stash of that...
5. i'm also only drinking french press coz kitchen remodel

solution.

5oz of ethiopia and 11 oz. of brazil into the roaster drum.
no worries about one bean roasting more than the other, just roasted 'til the brazil looked like it was FC.

had some this morning and i thought i was quite nice.

usually when i blend i just throw a handful of this and handful of that in a bowl, mix it and dump it in the hopper. all depending on what i have roasted on the coffee shelf.

[Too Tall]

You've inspired me to wing it. I'll try mixing a couple different things together.

I'm roasting Hawaiian beans Paul sent. They are massive in size. Rich soil and perfect growing conditions or nuclear fallout?

[maunahaole]

Taste the Fukushima.

[Too Tall]

Soooo I've ordered some small quantities of various beans from Sweet Maria's and this: Sweet Maria's Ethiopiques Blend is very promising. They did one heck of a job blending beans which all roast at the same rate. Espresso is gorgeous, not the best crema I've had from Middle America beans but nothing to sneeze at. I'm waiting another couple days for the beans to settle down before declaring victory but it is looking good.

[Shoogs]

I've been using New as of late. I'll likely pickup some of the Burundi and Columbia that just arrived.

At coffee con George Howell did a tasting of beans that were both roasted prior to the event, one batch fresh from origin and another batch of beans that were older yet just roasted. Take away: you can tell the difference, between beans that have recently arrived from origin and those that have been housed stateside for a while.

Also, if you can, take a George Howell tasting course and bring a note book, honestly I couldn't take notes fast enough.

[Too Tall]

That is neat Shoogs.

What's the deal with Geisha? That's way too much to pay for beans, just sayin'.

[Too Tall]

Source: Coffee Bean Corral > CBC Blend "True Mocca Java" Mocha Java Green Coffee Beans - Coffee Bean Corral

Thought I'd take a chance and give this a shot. This is the real deal or I'm just that dumb. I'm roasting almost to second crack, perhaps a few light crackles into second crack and done. Resting the beans 3 or 4 (better) days.

This is a blend of Yemen Mocha and Indonesian Java Arabica which is apparently the primordial "blend". I'm having this in the afternoon when I'm in the mood for something that's less in your face. Barely a hint of bitterness, nice bittersweet chocolate taste.

What's new in the world of green beans?

[mzilliox]

from sweet marias, ive been happy with the altiplano blend for espresso. good crema, not too acidic, but not too traditional italian either.

for my latest surprisingly good coffee:
Columbia Municipo San Lorenzo. this one shocked me. i was gonna use it as an espresso base, but its too good as coffee. really chocolatey with a good amount of fruit, and not too much acid for how fruity it is.

geishas are nice but rarely worth the extra coin unless you like subtle tea like notes in your coffee. i prefer more fruity and bold notes and tons of body, so the few geishas ive had while interesting, did nothing to overly impress my sensibilities.

[Too Tall]

Thanks Matt, I'll pass on the Geisha beans. I too prefer a cup of coffee that fights back.

The Columbia Municipo San Lorenzo beans, do you roast them City+?

[mzilliox]

Thanks Matt, I'll pass on the Geisha beans. I too prefer a cup of coffee that fights back.

The Columbia Municipo San Lorenzo beans, do you roast them City+?

Ive been working through a range of roasts on it, city to city plus is great, they can take a bit more heat if you are into that sort of thing. i roasted some up to right before second crack for espresso and they were great as coffee too (i guess city plus more or less). i tend to roast pretty light, and this time of year, the cold garage makes getting a darker roast a bit tougher.

its a great bean, i am really happy with it. a nice change from my usual african choices of kenya, rwanda and ethiopia.

[Too Tall]

Ive been working through a range of roasts on it, city to city plus is great, they can take a bit more heat if you are into that sort of thing. i roasted some up to right before second crack for espresso and they were great as coffee too (i guess city plus more or less). i tend to roast pretty light, and this time of year, the cold garage makes getting a darker roast a bit tougher.

its a great bean, i am really happy with it. a nice change from my usual african choices of kenya, rwanda and ethiopia.

Sold me. After I finish this next round of beans I'll give it a shot.

[tanghy]

remember to buy fresh crop greens! past crop ain't so tasty

[Mark Kelly]

There's a fellow in Japan who disagrees with you, he runs a cult shop called Cafe de l'Ambre where he deliberately ages beans for many years.

[Mark Kelly]

In the spirit of the founders of this thread, since I'm here now I'll give you a heads up on the greens I'm using.

I buy mine from a local supplier, Coffee Snobs, he has a good range of beans at reasonable prices : $AUD 12.50 / kg for quality single origin beans, that's about $USD 4 / lb for those who haven't caught up yet. Some of the money goes back to the communities from which the coffees come, a scheme the owner calls "Fair Crack" (which title is exceedingly clever if you are familiar with Oz colloquialisms).

I've tried most of the African coffees including all the Ethiopian regionals and his descriptions of how they go for espresso are so far pretty accurate. One astonishing thing with the Limmu (one of the Ethiopian regionals): it is the only coffee I've ever seen that is good from the get go. I've made a cup of coffee ten minutes after pulling it off the cooler and it was lovely (and it kept getting better for a week, it would probably have gone further but we drank it).

Since I don't like weak coffee* nor milkydrinks I can't comment on those applications. I've tried a few other things too but they've just confirmed that I find most central / south american coffee a bit meh.


*Anything under 10 Brix is suspect.

[Too Tall]

Good stuff Mark. Same same, I despise weak coffee.

[mzilliox]

Sweet maria has some fantastic sumatras right now if you are into that sort of thing

[Liam]

Thanks for the video, it was interesting for me :)