Too Much Coffee

A lot of times people list off all these flavours in coffee... Often times I don't quite get it, or if I do it seems to be less amazing than the description.

Well today I had a, "oh I get it" moment.

It was from beans from Café Grumpy in New York - Novo Roasted Aricha Espresso (SO) Yirgacheffe.

Made a double ristretto, had a taste, and then a flavour hit me that I don't think I'd had before. I couldn't place it initially, so I had to go back for another. What did it remind me of? You know those Belgian beers which are made with fruit mascerated into them - like Fruli (strawberry) or a Kriek (cherry) beer - it reminded me of the combination of the dry, bitter hops, with the sweet fruit.


It's also got me thinking, I buy these amazing green beans from Steve, but I'm not getting anywhere near the best out of them. Currently have an iRoast, which isn't great, but the real problem is I'm not an experienced roaster. I could carry on doing home roasts every week for years, and I'll still never learn to appreciate the nuances of "proper" coffee roasting.

I have no idea what you mean by "proper" coffee roasting. You are roasting at home, admitedly with basic equipment, but you do at least have fresh roasted coffee. The nuances are there in fresh roasted coffee, and your roasting should get better and more to your personal taste as you practice.

The nuances can be lost or changed at every step from green bean to 'cup of coffee'. Don't worry what other people claim to taste, just enjoy what you can taste.

Spot on Julie, it all boils down to whay YOU perceive. I have had some coffees that frankly just tasted of, well, coffee. Others such as Harrar are really Blueberry like.

As good idea is to get a flavour wheel. That helps no end with taste notes and what to look for. I didn't get the Alaska until a couple of days ago and had just one shot that was 'Oh yeah!'. Don't stress and enjoy the coffee you make, taste what you like.

It's not that I worry about what other people claim to taste and feel like I am missing out on something. I just feel that home roasting will always be inferior to that done by a "master". Not only the equipment, but the knowledge. We spend so much time fretting about grinders and machines, pressure, and temperature, but we readily accept beans roasted by amateurs.

Apologies if this sounds pompous, it's maybe only half thought through. I had been thinking of going for a hottop or a behmor (eventually), but now I don't know.

That was only an afterthought on the main bit of this post anyway. The main point was - "oh yeah - I get it".

It may be that just with commercial espresso machines v basic home types that you are not able to obtain the results you are looking for on what, as JulieJayne suggested, is a pretty basic roaster.

I agree with Matt that perception is everything, and with you to a degree that it is hard to replicate the best roasting that is professionally available. Having said that, there are plenty of professional/commercial roasts out there that I like less than our home-roasts (many, I totally dislike and don't rate) and at the end of the day it all comes back to practice and equipment.

I agree with Sys, too many people worry about the kit and not the coffee. Personally I couldn't give two chocolate figs whether or not I have decent kit, as long as I have good quality coffee, who cares about kit.

I love the 'I get it now' and the great thing is it keeps happening. Thats is one of the joys of coffee is getting it all over again many times.

Sys, when you get that 'I get it now' feeling, enjoy it. It is wonderful when it happens, and even better when you are able to share it around.

But the next roast/crop/grind may well be different, and then you start searching all over again. Just keep enjoying all the flavours in between until the next 'moment'.

I know what you mean syscrusher, I have a very basic roaster, but a faultless grinder/machine and I can think of roasters whose espresso blends I prefer over my own roasts. I find it quite natural though; there are people with tonnes of experience and better equipment behind those 'good' products and it's only natural that they'd make a better product than me, just like I'd expect a skilled barista to make a better capuccino than me, ceteris paribus. With time I'm sure your roasts will improve in relation to the top roasters, but I'd expect there to always be some gap, given equal freshness and green quality

Yeah, so much to learn about the humble little bean. Don't be discouraged, though, it's like a huge playground. If you pack away the iRoast, you'll probably come back to it one day (I did, although I use a heat gun so I'm really in the smoke and chaff). Thanks to a post somewhere round here I started thinking of my roasts as different, not worse.

What are you gonna do next? Do you want to spend time figuring out the subtle nuances of flavour? Or compare and contrast different coffees of the world? Or tinker with blending? Or experiment with different brewing techniques? Or fine tune your brewing (or shot pulling) technique? Or wrestle with roasting? Longer or shorter profiles? Just after FC or well into SC? Or, or, or... Ah, the fun that's to be had...

have had the same thing with yirg. all those fruits and flowers. from a 1kg roaster of a friend. drip coffee by the way. rather intense for dripcoffee. never had the same in yirg roasted myself. other beans may give hints of nuts or spices but nothing that clear.

there's plenty to enjoy on the way there...