Blending Indonesian coffee's

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Blending Indonesian coffee's

Postby michel » Sat Nov 29, 2003 11:27 pm

Oke. I have had a few drinks... and felt the urge to roast some beans after a really nice evening with my wife on the couch (first talking about the children - as always - then about ourselves, our relationship, the future, our whishes, our fears... aso...).
Petra (my wife - not my girlfriend Neku :wink: as I'm only 30 years old myselve - is at sleep right now (I know it's 12 o'clock... but the children will be up tomorrow at half past 6... and it's Petra's turn...) while I am roasting almost only Indonesian beans...
The blend I have in mind is: (remind btw that the hearthware Precision Roaster only roast 80 grams a roast...):
-80 grams Sumatra Aceh Gold Super Prep (www.sweetmarias.com)
-80 grams Indonesia Arabica Sumatra Mandheling Gayo Mountan, Grade 1
-40 grams Washed Indonesia Arabica Timor Maubesse Organic
-40 grams Unwashed Ethiopea Arabica Mocca Harrar Longberry, Grade 5
(the last three beans were purchased from (www.ongebrand.nl)

The Timor and Ethiopea were roasted in one batch... so I'm roasting three batches in total... and I can't wait for the results... And I know (as Giotto pointed out to me - in contrast with Elektra who loved fresh roasted beans not older than 40 hours.. - that I have to wait...

Two questions:
First one: Why is it that the beans purchased from ongebrand has a lot more chaf than the beans from SweetMaria..? (and believe me... the SM Sumatra has almost no chaf, while all the beans of Ivo (Ongebrand) have a lot of chaf... Is this because the Americans/Canadians like a 'cleaner' bean more (and there is some extra cleaning ritual which I'm not aware of..?) (On the other hand I'm aware of the fact that I have (unfortunately) only one sort of bean from SM... so a good comparison is probably not realistic...)

Second question:
The espresso from Giotto is verry/extremely different from spring-lever elektra... Giotto is much more convenient... but Elektra seems to get more out of the bean itselve... (except for crema...) I'm Philosophizing now about the difference between a vibe-pump and a spring-lever... and I have to admitt... the spring adds something sweet, something pure... So, at this moment in time and space with comparising these machines, I have to say that Giotto is my favourite for convenience... (more than two shots are possible, frothing is no problem either, much more crema on single and double shots - especially with the Marzocco-baskets - no more stress about waiting and timing...wanting, longing..., and failure...) But on the other hand: for the pure taste... nothing beats a spring-lever (or probably a skilled barista on a 'manual'-lever...).
I've put Elektra in her box again... but I think I'll take her out of the box tomorrow for a fair comparison... and for her frothing capability (as Giotto does froth well, but nothing seems to beat Elektra...). I think I'll write some sort of review of this comparison... so have patience... (if interested at all).
Then the question: As I'm using only Giotto now... I pull shots which take no more than 14 sec. (I've measured today again to be sure... being aware of the fact that these shots are a little short compared with the shots of most espresso-lovers...). I use beans roasted myselve and rested for no more than 12 hours and used before 3/4 day's old. I get better/more balanced espresso after resting the beans for 2 day's though (so my consumption of 'really' fresh roasted beans will be limited to elektra...).
What I get from a shot of a two day old Yrgacheffe or Sumatra Mandheling (not blended) is a crema laden cup, which seems to get better and better... till the fourth day. Then it's over and I have to use 'new' beans to get the same effect of crema, not sour or bitter (a bit fluffy sometimes...) cup of espresso...
So my question is (as we are on this site with a lot of home-roasters) if anybody else can put his experience in words concerning fresh-roast and how long to wait... and his liking or disapproval on the exciting taste of really (consumed within 16 hours after roasting - and the grinder set a lot coarser...-) fresh roasted beans..?
And part B, of this question is... how long does your pour/pull of espresso take..?
As I measured again today - with different types of beans and of different age too - I find a fascinating odd behavior on all my machines... as my pours are never longer (only with beans older than 5 day's) than 15 sec.
In fact I have the most marvellous shots on Giotto right now with a pour which only takes 9 sec. (beans are roasted two day's ago). The pour is 99 percent dark-coulored crema while filling the cup as it settles (not red-brown, although it has some sort of red in it, but mostly dark brown) on top of the beverage and remains about 3/4mm also after sturring the cup and putting sugar in it... The taste is sour nor bitter. It's perfect, some sort of sweet (but hey... I add sugar...) for me (but I am aware on the other hand, of the personal taste issue, as what I like another may disslike - for example: Petra finds my espresso too bitter most of the time -)
So your answer to the question: 'How long does your pour/pull take... and how long ago were your beans roasted' will maybe give me a clue... as I really like my own espresso's at the moment, I'm beginning to notice that some friends and relatives appreciate a more 'flatt' cup of espresso... and as I'm still in search of that perfect cup which is satisfactory too all (including me...) is my utmost goal; your 'routine' will be more than welcome...

Thanks,

Michel
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Postby HughF » Sun Nov 30, 2003 6:36 am

My pulls take anything from 30 to 45 seconds now I have 4 oz. shot glasses and can concentrate on watching the shot colour rather than a stopwatch and don't have to worry about overflowing the (previously 2 oz.) glass due to crema.

15 seconds would give me a shot which I couldn't drink straight and would add extra sugar into, even for a capuccino.

One reason I think I can sometimes let a shot go a bit longer may be that I use 19 grams of coffee per double shot. (Liquid coffee quantity is rarely more than 2 oz. once crema reduces after a while. I also flip the steam button for 20 seconds before brewing now after testing with a digital thermometer and a "styrofoam" cup.)

Cheers,

Hugh
Grinders : Macap MXK conical for espresso, Mahlkoenig Vario for Chemex, Macap MC6 (spare when our office was closed) for cafetiere, Zassenhaus Knee Mill for cafetiere when working away from home.
La Spaziale Vivaldi S1 espresso machine. HotTop KN8828P roaster. Chemex manual drip for most brewed coffee plus cafetieres and eSantos.
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