Kenyan coffee

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Kenyan coffee

Postby simonp » Mon Aug 22, 2005 6:45 pm

After the complaints that my bean stash had no Kenyan I got some Gethumbwini Peaberry from the usual source, unfortunately I made a mistake and ordered 1 bad instaed of 2, so only 1 roast's worth. :roll:

I roasted it on Saturday, I went about 45 seconds after the end of 1st crack, which was curiously sedate.
I've just tried my first cup (2 dyas rest, a bit soon really, wow even the dry grounds smelled of berries. The taste (brewed in a caffetiere) was quite a shock, the red berry flavours are amazingly strong, and the acidity was also really up front, I've certainly not had anything like this before. I tend to use lower acidity coffees in espresso, with only small ammounts of highlight beans, so this was something new.
After the initial shock, I started to get into it, it was not unlike drinking a red wine. I also got some crisp apple too. This is certainly much bolder than the La Minta I tried last week, and I think I prefer this, being a lover of strong flavours. I wonder if after a little more rest the acidity will tone down just a little, as it is a little brash at the moment. As I sit and write the taste is still in my mouth and growing on me more and more.
I think my grind was a bit coarse, as the cup was a little thin, and I use a shortish brew time of 3.5 minutes, so I'm hoping for even more from this.
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Postby phil » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:02 pm

Ah, another convert, eh Steve?
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Postby stevenzaat » Mon Aug 22, 2005 8:52 pm

The taste (brewed in a caffetiere) was quite a shock, the red berry flavours are amazingly strong, and the acidity was also really up front, I've certainly not had anything like this before.


Simon I do agree with you this coffee is amazing good. Unfortunately I am at this moment out of stock :cry:

Wish you the best with the rest of it and next time do not forget to order 2 kilogram!

Best regards,

Steven
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Postby simonp » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:43 pm

It sounds like Steve is nearly out of stock too, so get in quick!
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Postby Steve » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:20 pm

:twisted: This is good stuff, my Fav of the year, even better than the egarrds estate from last year.


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Postby mattmills » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:53 am

Very glad to hear that there is another convert.
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Postby tobias » Wed Aug 24, 2005 10:11 am

I myself roasted some Kenyans yesterday but took them 30 sec into second crack. That might be just a tad to dark since I didn´t really get that nice fruitflavour. It is there, but not so intence. I will now try to make a lighter roast, just like you.
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Postby simonp » Wed Aug 24, 2005 5:48 pm

Yeah, too dark for sure. I believe in general you want to stop before 2nd crack.
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Postby mattmills » Thu Aug 25, 2005 6:37 am

It is important to note that Kenyans, and East Africans tend to be quite delicate coffees. In order to get the best out of them you need to roast them quite light, just enough to allow the sugars to develop, if you push them too hard to burn the acids and flavours and lose their benifits.
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Postby phil » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:46 am

What Matt said is very true, but be wary of the exceptions.

Marcie (bean_believer) was kind enough to send me a sample of Zambica (a Zambian coffee) a while ago. I roasted it as I would have roasted a Kenyan (i.e. as stated above, just past 1st crack and way shy of 2nd) and realised it was in fact too light - I should have taken it to the edge of second, I think, in order to balance the flavours a little more. I shared some with Steve, and we both felt that (at that roast) we didn't like it very much. On the other hand, Marcie and Steven Zaat both rave about this coffee, so I obviously roasted it wrongly. :oops:
Last edited by phil on Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby simonp » Thu Aug 25, 2005 10:32 am

Interestingly the Kenyan I roasted, which is quite light actually has quite a roast taste, although not quite the bitter edge you actually get with a dark roast. I read about this somewhere with another coffee that at a light roast had quite a roast taste which diminished with a longer roast :?
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Postby stevenzaat » Thu Aug 25, 2005 7:15 pm

Interesting, I didn't roasted it very dark, just in the middle between the first and second crack. But maybe tastes differ or my taste buds are not in the Major League of all tasters (just kidding!).

To come back on the Kenyan, I normally roast it 1 minute after the end of the last 1st crack audible, do you think this is too dark for Kenyan, as Phil states that he stops just passing the first crack.
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Postby Beanie » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:41 pm

The Zambica was at the beginning of my short roasting experience. I roasted to what I believed to be the beginning of 2nd crack.... couldn't distinguish it so well back then. So maybe I only did it to the end of 1st. But I doubt it, cause it was med-dark brown, the wrinkles were getting smooth, but no drops oil, and maybe the beginnings of a satin sheen.

The Kenyans, Gethumbwini more so than Wathenge (probably because of my roasting), have been a hit in this neighbourhood :) I got the Gethumbwini to 3 minutes from the very 1st pops without reaching 2nd crack (by lifting the cover off the bean chute to cool it). It was a medium brown, still very dry, and a little wrinkly but beginning to smooth. I was afraid I might have stalled it, but was very pleased with it. It was alive in the Eva, neighbours liked it in their filter. It was super winey, kinda fruity, and we could've sworn there was some black cherry skin or something like that.

Did I roast it too dark, too long? I went for a bit longer because my coffees are mostly brewed as espresso.... and maybe, our tastebuds are crap, but we liked it as espresso too (sorry, Steve).
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Postby Steve » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:51 pm

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR :(
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Postby stevenzaat » Sat Aug 27, 2005 12:08 pm

I just looked in my roast logs and saw that I was wrong in my previous post. Indeed I roasted it to the verge of the second crack and I heard even one 2nd snap. So maybe indeed the darker roast level of the Zambia beans had a great impact.

best regards ,

Steven
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