Upon hearing that a buddy of mine, whom I turned onto home roasting, went out and bought  himself a fancy schmancy Hot top coffee roaster, I just could not wait any longer. I went ahead and cashed in a few hundred thousand shares of GM stock that I had laying around and bought me a 300 dollar Behmor Roaster from Sweet Marias. Now, my girlfriend does not  have to hear me yammering on about how much I want one. While, Behmor is not as fancy (or schmancy) as the Hot Top, it seems to have quite a following in the homeroasting community. Also, this highly regarded machine is capable of cooking up a to a full pound of coffee beans, which is almost double that of Hot Tops 9 oz capacity.This gives me the ability to produce more than three times the roasted coffee in one sitting than I can with my Nesco.

And Perhaps I went a little overboard during my first two days. Just a little.

Within two days, I was up to my elbows in beans having roasted three 8oz batches within that span. The first two were from the eight  pounds that SM included with the machine and turned out pretty good, but then I went got and too bold. I decided it was time to try some of my precious Tanzanian in this baby.  I set it to 8 oz and the P3 setting.  They started cracking 12 minutes and 20 seconds into the 14 minute roast and were still going as the count down began prompting me to add 30 seconds to the time.

Something told me that they were not finished, and I had not heard them hit the second crack  when the cooling cycle kicked in, but being a little weary of starting a fire in my new machine, I hesitated on adding more time. The beans came out too light and the resulting coffee ended up being too bright and lacking any of the delicious caramel like undertones of slightly darker roast of the bean.

After I gave him the money and he counted it, he nonchalantley tossed me the baggy filled with prized beans.

“Here ya go pal, I full half pound of the  finest Limoncillo in the Bay Area,” he said in his dry baritone. “Check out the size of those bad boys, they are practically canoes,” He added.

“Yeah these beans are pretty darn big” I agreed, as I glanced down at the bag, trying to act as casual as the dealer, but really want to just stash my beans  safely  away, and examine them further inmy nice little lair, away from any prying eyes.  I felt the beans through the dirty, saggy,  plastic baggy feeling the large canoe shaped beans within.  I  would not be needing that extra screen on my converted roaster, that was for sure. Curiosity got the better of me and I held them up for a better look, these beans were absolute monsters. Made me wonder if they were grown in a laboratory somewhere, and not some hidden  plantatation deep in the Panamanian rain Forest.  I had heard that Limoncillo was big, but these were ridiculous.

A cacophony  erupted in the dark recesses of the alley, A door slammed, a cat screeched. I panic and and hurriedly shoved the baggy into the crotch of my pants. The cat who screeched flew by and then the dealer broke out into  a hearty laugh.

“Hey man, chillax.” He said to me, then started laughing even harder.

“Man, you shoved  those nuggets under your own nuggets faster than you can say two can sam.” He slapped his knee. “Don’t worry man, the cops around here got better things to worry about than some measly half pound of beans.”

He was right, Oakland’s dirt epidemic, made my little coffee club small potatoes.  Besides, know one around here really took the President’s ban seriously. What the hell were we going to do? Drink Tea?

I Extracted the beans from my pants, shoved them in my satchel, said adios, got on my smartbike and rode off into the night. Back to my lair.

I  had people counting on me.

Here is a pick of my new set up in the corner of my kitchen. As you can see my lab comes fully equiped with all the necessary tools. The found the littlewatchumallkit that my Nesco is resting on in my buildings garage. People like to toss out the nicest things. The door on this little piece of furniture (I guess its a bureau or something) had fallen off and somebody decided that they did not want it anymore. All it needed was a little gorilla glue and now its a great place to store all my coffee related accessories along with a roasting pan and a wok I never happen to use.It is kind of nice having all my stuff in one tidy little corner instead of spread out all over the kitchen like they once were.

The little dustbuster that you see is a godsend when you happen to own a roasting machine like the Nesco . Chaff gets everywhere and its nice to have something to suck it all up. I have even gotten into the habit of dustbusting my roast before I pour it into the waiting cooling jar. This  came in especially handy the other day when I roasted up some Burundi Kayanza Bwayi No:7. This batch  of beans is really chaffelicious. This baby throws out so much chaff , that if it were president it would be called Chafferham Lincoln. If it were a Rapper it would go by MC chaffychaff (before it gets big and starts going by “Chaffy”). If it were a supermodel…

Ok I will stop . I think you get that it produces a whole buttload of chaff. It got all over the damn place the last time I roasted it, so this time I made sure to have my trusty little chaff sucker handy to clean up the mess and keep my new lab nice and tidy once again.

I went and bought myself a foodsaver in hopes that I might use it to extend the life of the beans that I roast and send away to others. It works pretty good, but I am hoping to find some pre-made bags so I do not feel like a dressmaker when I construct a bag of a proper size from the roll that came with the machine.

I have also been experimenting on how fresh I can keep roasted coffee by keeping in an an airtight package. Right now, I have some of that  Rwandan coffee from Sweet Marias hanging out in a bag to be enjoyed later. The only problem, is that the vacuum part of the bag did not work on the bag and it contains a pocket of air. This will not doubt speed up the process of deterioration but I am too lazy to make another bag. I think the failure of the vacuum pump has something to do with how I made the bag (its a tad bit uneven).

Anyways, my ultimate plan is, is to to try to sell freshly roasted coffee on e-bay to people who want fresh roasted delicious coffee, but do not have the time or resources to do it themselves ( we all cannot be coffee nerds now can we?) Hopefully, I will get some good feedback from the peeps who got a complimentary bag from me. Who knows, maybe ol BS will make enough to support his own habit.

There is something about Africa…

Every season, I seem to find a brand new favorite from the continent. One that I just cannot get enough of, an do my best to share with others.  First there was that Tanzanian Blackburn Estate, which just blew me away, and now I have found its counterpart in the Rwanda Gkongoro Nyarusiza, a great little coffee from a place thats doing its best to recover from a decade of Genocide. According to Tom from Sweet Maria’s, getting your hands on great coffee from this troubled nieghbor of Tanzia is a task indeed. The unstable area makes it hard to ship any goods out of the country and the farmers are hard pressed into growing something that might not even make it to a market.

Well I am sure glad, that someone went through all the trouble to get this coffee put. While it does not necessarily jump out at you and grap you by the throat like some more distinct Ethipoians or Kenyans might this Rwanda hooks you with its simplistic complexity that draws you in and leaves you wanting more. It initially somes across like a strong tea, with a flowery lemon undertone, then leaves bold coffee after taste. This a great coffee for lazy morning, something that you can sip on as you laze around and read the Sunday paper that you just “borrowed” from your nieghbor.  And its pretty cheap too. I would rate this coffee above any overpriced Kona and I got it for less than one third of the price.

Hmmm…

That reminds me,

I have a feeling that I should hurry up and buy more before others get wind of it.

Aint she perty?

My sweety pie decided to surprise me by ordering a coffee plant from some company in Indiana called Gurney. She was so excited about it that she could not wait the 6 or so weeks that it took to deliver it and blurted it out to me the same night she placed an order. I spent the next month “nesting” preparing a  good place to keep my new child.  I decided to keep it inside on my little indoor garden table that I set up to keep my plants happy during the winter months. It is still a bit fragile and under a bit of shock from traveling across the continent to arrive at out apartment in the Bay Area, but I am sure I will get it to thrive in no time.  I did a bit of research on maintaining coffee plants and know that I need to be careful with temperature and light and that it needs ample amounts of nitrogen in order to thrive. I am ready for the challenge and I am more than ready to reap the rewards that will come in three to four years.

Who know what the coffee beans that this baby produces will taste like. The Gurney Nursery was a little vague as to its exact heritage. They just label it as an arabica variety. I know I probably will not be starting a profitable indoor coffe plantation anytime soon, but perhaps I could have one for strictly personal use within a decade or so. Lets see, they say a average coffee plant produces about one pound  of beans a year, and since I drink about a pound a week (give or take), it will take about 60 full grown plants to keep me rolling in the beans.

Yeah, that could be workable.

I went and got myself some Organic Java Kajumas from sweet marias this week. Since it was a Java and I have been on a blending kick, I decided to also get me some of that Ethiopian Kembeta that went so coincidentally well with the other Java that did not happen to be organic. I roasted two 4oz.  batches of each of these puppies seperately in my trusty little Nesco (which i am hoping to replace some day with a bigger badder Behmor) for 24 minutes each, getting both to a nice and mild full city and let them sit seperately overnight.The next morning a did a sort of half assed job blending them and made up a pot before work. It tasted even better than the coincindentally perfect blend.The organic Java kujamas has a nice earthy undertone that blends well with the  wild Ethiopian kembata making for one great cup. This blend taste good, if not better as it starts to cool. I usually need go to a microwave to warm up my neglected coffee mug later in the morning, but not this time. The cooled blend tasted great, so I just sipped it a little chilled.  

First a word about the cup..

Hey there peeps, creeps, and cheeps. Happy Post President’s slash Valentines Day. me and my sweety pie took a drive down to Hearst castle to celebrate the psuedo holiday that means nothing to us working stiffs in the retail business. Anyway, the trip did provide me with another excuse to purchase yet another coffee mug. Its a nice one, almost too nice. I am a bit scared to drink out of it though because of the sticker telling it me that it contains stuff which the State of California finds to cause cancer.

Now to the coffee

I got some water boiling right now. I am planning to brew some more  El salavador Finca Kilimajaro, which I roasted  a couple of days ago.  It is the last batch of the two pound limit that  that I got from Sweet Maria’s  last month. I was going to try to let the rest sit but, feel the need for more brain juice. MMmmm sweet, sweet brain juice.Besides, I am about to drive down to the SM warehouse. and pick up another four pound baggy of their latest offerings.

When I see a limit on something, I assume it gotta be good so I generally get all that I can. I guess I am impulsive like that. Sometimes I get burnt and wind up with way too much of something I did not want in the first place.   This time however, it paid off.  The El Salavador Finca Kilimajaro was, by far, the best of the bunch of coffees that I had purchased in bulk last month.

El Salavador?Kilimajaro?….

Finca?

I know what you are thinking, Kilimajaro is that big ol mountain in Africa, while El Salvador is smack in the middle of Central America and that continental drift thing happened billions of years ago, so how the hell did this coffee get a name like this? Well apparently this is a Central America coffee, that has African Character, hence the name.  Whatever the reason, this coffee rocks and I wish I could have gotten more than the two pound limit.

Unlike most Central American offerings, this cup does not come across as overly bright, but it is rather subtle in its brightness. The  initial taste is very distinct and sharp, very akin to its Kenyan cousins, but not as wild in its acidity. It is wild, yet clean.

I got a little crazy with the last batch and roasted it a bit darker(FC+ as  opposed to FC). The lighter roast tasted a bit better, but the dark brew still does the job. Although, at a darker roast, it does not smell as lively, and you miss out on that first initial aroma that is given off when the hot (but not quite boiling) water hits the coarsely ground beans of the lighter roast setting off a blooming effect. The smell alone was enough to wake you up.

All hail Chemex

Finally,  I went and got myself some more filters for my Chemex. I cannot believe how fast I went throught that last batch of hundred. It seemed like it was just yesterday that I had ordered it. I ran out this weekend and was forced to go back to the good old French Press for the last couple of days.  Not that coffee from the Press is bad, mind you, but once you go Chemex, nothing else really seems to taste right. Thankfully I was almost out of beans after this last Month’s holiday bonanza and had a good excuse to place in a huge order at Sweet Maria’s and get myself another batch of hundred filters. Since they were finally in, I decided to give the unbleached ones a whirl. The unbleached ones are supposed to impart a truer taste to the coffee. Here’s to hoping.

Blending

After monkeying around with the coincidentally perfect Moka Java blend and getting some good results, I decided to give a few more Moka Java type blends a try. I figured mixing the Java Kajumas Curah Tatal with the Yemen Mokha Sharesi seemed like a good idea. I mean the Mokha Sharesi  does hail from the area that has been traditionally been known as Moka (hence the similar name) and the Java Kujumas does come from, well Java. Sure, the Sharesi is not the wildest of the Mokha bunch, but it still might blend well the the subtle and clean Kajumas. Well, I guess there is only one real way to find out right?

First, I started out by roasting both batches seperately. I roasted the Yemen a day early since it does seem to taste better after a bit of a rest. I got them both to a nice full city blend, but of course, they were not exactly on the same level of roastiness. I guess that is the problem about trying to make blends, is trying to get the roasts to match. I am not really sure how the best way to go about blending. Roasting them together helps me obtain a nice even roast, yet it also fixes it so that I really cannot tweak with the balance after I start. When starting out with my experimentations, I usually do roast the beans separately and after I think I got the ratio figured out, I try roasting them together.

As for the Mokha Java blend (I was going to call it the YMSJKCT blend, but figured Mokha Java was catchier), it turned out pretty good, but nowhere near as perfect as the “concindentally perfect” blend of Kajumas and Ethiopian Kembata. The Sharesi was maybe a bit too tame to really lend it character, but still I consider it a pretty grand experiment.  

Hello there my coffee loving fans. This is another addition to my coffee cup family. I got this mug  at the giftshop in Scotty’s Castle as we were leaving Death Valley. The day before,I had already purchased a “Death Valley” cup at the Ranger Station, but when I saw this one with the cool looking skull, I just had to get it. One can never have enough coffee cups you know.

This morning, I plan to fill this cup with some newly obtained Kenyan AA Auction lot #407-giakanja, which I purchased from Sweet Maria’s along with five another pounds of coffee (most of which I plan to roast and send to family and friends this Christmas). This Kenyan  giakanja is described by Tom as having a “wild” flavor profile when compared to other Kenyan offerings,  which is what drew me to the bean. Well, that and the unusual moniker- Giakanja, which to me, sounds Japanese, but after a bit of Googling turns out to be the name of the Co-operative mill in the Nyeri Region in Kenya from which this bean comes from.

The Nyeri region in Kenyan is the highest altitude which coffee is grown there and the coffees from this area have a tendency to be overly acidic in their flavor.  This acidity is something that is not for everyone, but I kind of like it in relatively small doses ( like a pot or two).

I roasted this Kenyan Giakanja up in my trusty little Nesco roaster for the usual 24 minutes that I like to start off all my new roasts on, achieving a nice uniform browm city plus roast. After letting it sit a day, I brewed some up in my Chemex and then poured it into my Scotty’s Castle cup to enjoy.

At first sip, I really did not know how wild this coffee is, but then again, it is supposed to be “wild” when compared to other offerings from Kenya. It is definitely acidic as all hell, leaving my mouth cottony and dry after each swallow, with the bitter sweet flavors lingering about the sides of my mouth. As it cools in the cup, its initial taste morphs into something that is almost akin to lemon grass tea and the citrusy taste begins to linger around a bit longer.

Drinking this coffee, pushes me down the old memory lane, back to when I still resided in Lansing Michigan where I was a steady card carrying patron of a local coffee chain called Beaners (which recently changed thier name to Bigby’s). Unlike blend happy Starbucks, good old Beaner’s was much more about the single origin coffees, and one of the brews I remember quite fondly was their Kenyan AA, which tasted a lot like this, with its acidic overtones, and winey fruited undercurrents.

Ahh, those were the days.