roasting daterra reserve

[mnemonix]

Well this is an odd one isn't it ?

Green beans: very uniform in their small size and clean appearance, you'd be forgiven for thinking it wasn't a blend (albeit from several varieties from a single estate) !

Roasting: and this is the odd thing, I heard no first crack ! I'm pretty adept at hearing even the slightest indication of first in 'quiet' beans but in this instance... nada. I was slightly concerned as I pushed on to second and increasingly concerned as 2nd seemingly failed to materialise, until some 7ºc later than normal it started. As the temperature was higher than I tend to go I stopped it about 15 seconds after the first signs of 2nd.

Roasted beans: Despite the odd turn of events during roasting I was very pleased with their roasted appearance, while still relatively small, the roast was as even as some of the easily roasted single origins. No sign of mottling, uneveness or tipping, a deep, dark brown with no oil.

Cupping: I don't do 'dark' dark roasts, but i like some roasted character in espressos and cappucinos, and this comes through in the Daterra Reserve but without bitterness and tempered by a natural sweetness with an almost chocolate-orange character and a roasted nutty finish. I'm certainly looking forward to an espresso.

I suspect the unusual roasting characteristics I experienced are due to an unusually dense (high altitude grown ?) bean, but I'd be interested in hearing of other peoples experiences on this. I wonder whether peoples experiences of acidity in this blend stem from a need to roast it harder than most beans ?

I didn't mean these to be extensive cupping notes (as Stephane has already provided) more a description of my roasting experience with it and an appeal for others experiences and tips !

For the record, I roasted using my laptop/popper setup, with a straight line profile from 150ºc and roast time of 16 minutes to 15 seconds into 2nd crack.

Chris.

[zix]

oooooh, this sounds almost to good to be true. I want!

[MKSwing]

I love this bean and find it pretty easy to hear first and second cracks. I roast it a little bit into second and it makes a great espresso.

[Steve]

As above really a little into second, a bit darker than I would take brazilian perfetio, but not too much a great blend.

[simonp]

I find 1st crack hard to hear too, it is not the usual loud splitting sound, it is similar to 2nd crack I think. I think the fan of an air roaster rather masks it, much more so than others.
It is very chcolatey, and nutty. I agree with Steve, a little darker than the Perfeito or it can be too acidic. I also found I prefer it after 4 days rest, earlier and it can make a cappa taste metallic.

[Steve]

Good point there simon let it rest to get the best from it, forgot about that