Coffee

I’ll be using for espresso, I usually wait 5 or so days after roast date for the coffee I buy so I’ll start around there. I have appropriate paper valved bags

That's gonna take a lotta Sambvca.

I had forgotten another coffee I drink from time to time. Also from Sam's Club. Pablo's Pride, Guatamalan coffee. Whole bean. They haven't had it for about 6 months in these neck of the woods but I picked up a bag today.

Tom

Neither of the Sam’s I frequent has ever had the Pablo’s…or least I haven’t seen it. Will keep an eye out for it.

Do any of you guys ever drink instant?

We use Lavazza Gran Crema 7/10 intensity whole beans in our Jura E8. The Jura is a single cup, self-grinding machine. It has a milk system as well for lattes, cappuccinos, etc. My wife used a Jura while living and visiting in Europe, and got hooked on the brand. It's a Cadillac coffee maker for sure, and a definite splurge item.

Before that, we had a Nespresso, but got tired of dealing with the pods.

stangman67 wrote: »

I bet that Jura blows the Neapresso out of the water! We have a back up Nespresso when I’m not here so my wife can make her own coffee and I have one at work as well. They are very nice for the convenience

The Nespresso was quite good, and we enjoyed it for a couple of years, but the stocking/storing/recycling of the pods became a chore. As you know, the pods are aluminum, so we did the Earth a favor, and used the pre-paid plastic bags to send our spent pods back to Nespresso for re-use.

Those pods aren't cheap, either! Buying the whole beans for the Jura is much cheaper, so it will pay for itself...over a decade or so The Jura is very versatile, able to adjust the amount of water, beans, pressure, and milk (if needed) in order to make every variety of cup you can imagine - Espresso, Americana, Latte, Flat White, Cappuccino, etc.

Tom

The chemist in me has issue...water is a molecule, not an element...
But essential, for sure...beer, wine, coffee, all need it...

Just got my latest shipment from Sweet Maria’s. In addition to the usual 20 pounds of several different Ethiopian beans, I decided to try their sample of latest additions. Seven one-pound bags of widely varying beans. I hope to find something I like that will still be in stock.

Big fan of the Yemen's. Some of the most expensive beans from SM's but I've never been disappointed. The Haraz in your sampler is one I've purchased twice in previous years.

Just received SM's Friday offerings email and Mokha Matari is in stock. Hands down my favorite Yemen. Pulled up my records...I've gone through 24 lb's starting in 2018 and the most repeated bean I've purchased since I started roasting in 2009. My opinion, worth placing an additional order if you like the Haraz.

Checked out the "Green Coffee Outlook" and the remainder of this year's Yemen shipments should be released, soon.

Hopefully, I can maximize a large order and shipping costs. I'll probably give them a call on Monday to find out timelines.

Happy roasting!

stangman67 wrote: »

2 updates.


1. Brewed some espresso today with one of my first day roasts. It was drinkable and I’m happy about that, I wouldn’t say it was good compared to the coffee I tend to drink as I always use high quality fresh beans from small roasteries but drinkable is good enough

2. Did two roasts tonight with the goal of replicating them exactly to see how easy it is to control this Kaleido. As you can see from the graph below which has both roasts overlayed, it was incredibly easy to replicate. I’m shocked. The beans I used are Sweet Maria’s 10 speed blend

When you are roasting, does the house smell of coffee beans hard core, does it go away?

JayCee wrote: »

show previous quotes

stangman67 wrote: »

I bought a Kaleido M1.

How's the Kaleido? I purchased the M2 (last Dec) to up my game, moving from a Gene Cafe that I've used since 2009. Didn't get the Kaleido tablet...went Pro to use w/the Artisan software. Have done 2 seasoning roasts but, unfortunately, in the middle of house renovations, so the Sniper has been neglected. Will say, holy $hite...my first roast went nuclear really quick and caused the roaster to shut down. Not a fault of the roaster, rather, my lack of understanding the software/parameters. Looks to be a learning curve compared to my years of using the Gene Cafe.

Don't know when I'll get time to experiment w/the M2. Roasting a predictable and consistent batch is #1 priority ATM vs. getting the Kaleido going until I have time to dive in.

Kaleido patiently waiting to replace the Gene Cafe....

So far so good, I struggled on the first roast. ET dropped sharply at the beginning and then I cranked the heat and the ROR was all over the place.

On the subsequent roasts I’ve gotten the base method down pretty well, preheat at 190C for 20 minutes. When I drop the beans, drum to 80 percent, burner to 50 percent and exhaust to 20 percent. And that does very well as a base with only needing minor modifications as the roast goes.

I think I’ll regret not going straight to the M2 but the M1 was about as much as I was willing to spend on my first foray into roasting.

stangman67 wrote: »

I think I’ll regret not going straight to the M2 but the M1 was about as much as I was willing to spend on my first foray into roasting.

I roast back-to-back 1/2 lb's (1 lb per week) which, capacity wise, the Gene Cafe comfortably does. I contemplated the M1 but wanted the overhead the M2 provides. M1's not cheap compared to some of the entry level machines on the market but, I'd speculate, a huge jump from, say, a Freshroast. At a minimum...you have so much more control over the entire roast process w/the M1.

I've gifted 3 Freshroasts to family members and they're nice for casual/entry level use but the Kaleido is a much better build/design. Between the Freshroast and Gene Cafe there's a huge difference in the cup quality. I can see where you may outgrow the M1, however, assuming same build quality as the M2, a very solid choice as a first machine. Just a guess but I'd be surprised if you couldn't sell for a descent price to move to the M2....worth the hit since you're just getting into this.

stangman67 wrote: »

So far so good, I struggled on the first roast. ET dropped sharply at the beginning and then I cranked the heat and the ROR was all over the place.

On the subsequent roasts I’ve gotten the base method down pretty well, preheat at 190C for 20 minutes. When I drop the beans, drum to 80 percent, burner to 50 percent and exhaust to 20 percent. And that does very well as a base with only needing minor modifications as the roast goes.

Thanks for the details. Confirms what I'd found based on the vid's and little bit of reading I could find.

One of my goals is to coax out more of the flavors I enjoy. Particularly, berry/fruit. First crack is not hard to get to...it's the initial drying out after drop and development post first crack I hope to nail w/the M2. Also, being able to save profiles after successful roasts will be a game changer to repeat and/or refine.

stangman67 wrote: »

I really really like how their 10 speed blend turned out. I’m going to always keep some around and roast some every week,

I roasted SM's Ten Speed Blend but only ordered 1 lb. Not sure how much longer they'll have it around as it's one of their rotating releases based on current crops. If you've not tried it, Espresso Monkey Blend is really solid and each year they adjust to the same taste/goal/formula. Chocolate, fruit, sweet and killer crema are the hallmarks. It'll be my baseline for many multiples of learning roasts on the M2.

@JayCee i think you will love the M2 once you get used to it. For my first time roasting I have found the M1 to be very user friendly. I bought the dual version so has both Artisan capability as well as the Kaleido software.

I’ll take your advice on the Espresso Monkey blend when I put my next order in.

@msg Scott, i generally drink a single double shot of espresso a day, or a latte with the same double shot. My wife does the same, sometimes we will each have two a day on the weekend.

We go through about 10-12oz of whole bean coffee a week. And yes we exclusively grind right before each shot. Once I get through the other few bags of frozen coffee we have, I will get in a routine of roasting 12oz every Saturday so I will always have a new batch when needed. No need to stock up on anything.