I had been very excited for the arrival of a particular El Salvador based on the assessment of a pre-shipping sample sent almost 2 months ago. Unfortunately when the coffee arrived it was not spectacular at all.  Most likely, it had been sitting in port, possibly under hot and humid conditions (the worst).

Another coffee lost to oversight and poor logistics.

I spent a full day roasting up 9 batches of espresso this weekend.  The coffee is all from one farm (Santa Elena in El Salvador); however, each batch has its own story and personality.  Stop in throughout the day and experience the many faces.

Too often we put something is our mouths and judge it according to what we’re expecting. This weekend will be an experiment in tasting what’s in our mouths and listening to the story it’s telling.

See you there.

The acidity is subtle and the caramel and chocolate notes balance so great.  It’s sweet, which I’m realizing is the real goal of every roast.

Hope I can keep repeating this.  Enjoy!

Roast Date: May 9th, 2011

While all were about the same roast level, one was too short, the other too long, and the middle was just right.  I know what to do with the just right, and if you came in you were drinking it. However, what about the other two? Neither had any roasting errors of scorching, baking, or over roast.   They simply fell on the extreme sides of the spectrum and so weren’t as delightfully balanced.

Sometimes the answer comes in friends simple suggestion, such as, “Why not mix them?” Seems almost too simple, but we did so and sure enough the result was a coffee with great body and caramelization along with crisp, wonderful acidity.

Come on by and try the Single-Origin Blend.

Roast Date: April 28th, 2011

For those who have not been in the shop to experience our Brew Bar, check out my explanation.

On the brew bar we experience wide variations in steep times between coffees (from 2:45 minutes up to 3:45 minutes), which was not all together unexpected. However, I had thought the variations would exist between origins and varietals, but what seems to be more the case is that it’s the roaster that determines the steep time. As you most like know we use a variety of roasters at the shop, and it seems that coffees extraction rates really cluster around who roasted it.

This got me thinking that while I may have found a method that works for me, there must be a plethora of roast models that all roast the coffee well, but leave the sugars and volatiles more or less accessible. On in a very theoretical way I could not change my brew method (e.g. only steep for 3 minutes) and then roast my coffee to meet that spec. (I say theoretical, because I have no idea how to do that).

To some extent this makes sense. Most roaster will roast differently for espresso, which is really just a different brew method. However, it also means that coffees are most likely being roasted to optimize how the roaster brews the coffee, much the wine wines are made to go with the local food.

All this make me want a more collaborative roaster environment where we could share roast profiles and ideas and test our coffees for extraction rates. It also makes me want to get in the roastery and try something totally different, just for the heck of it.

If you haven’t actually watched what we do on our weekend brew bar, below is a more detailed description (pictures are forthcoming).

It’s a two step process, and in the first step we use a press pot. However, the press pot has one major flaw we seek to overcome… heat loss. In your basic press pot recipe you would grind coarse and steep long, which is great in theory but in practice the water is not able to keep enough heat to extract the coffee fully for the the 4-6 minutes. In light of this we grind finer (like a paper filter grind) and steep shorter. In addition we cover our press pot in a tea cozy. This leads to an extraction time of around 3 min depending on the coffee.

The second step is really just a natural byproduct of the first. Since we used a finer grind, there are much more fines and grit in the brew so we pour it through a rinsed paper filter (in our case a HarioV60).  At the end what you is a delicious, balanced perfect extraction.

We use simple home equipment to create the best slow brew I’ve had, so you can try it at home.

Also,I’m not always sure what I’m trying to do to the bean.  I know that I prefer espresso that leans toward sugar browning flavors rather than excessive acidity; this would seem to push for a slightly darker and longer roast.

I have three roasts that will be put out this weekend. Although each of the batches are similar in roast level, each batches took a different amount of time. I’ll be starting with the longest roast and progressing towards the shortest.  My guess is that the acidity will become more noticable as the roast time shortens.

Stop by this weekend and find out.

Roast Date: April 18th, 2011

Roast Date: April 18th, 2011

As a roast, it followed build up of energy which slowed to a nice finishing pace (just like you always want… no tantrums).

In the cup, it’s sweet and balanced with nuanced acidity and a clean finish.

Roast Date: April 3, 2011