ANNOUNCING: We will now be carrying Rogue Chocolatier- Single Origin Chocolate Bars for sale as well as offering signature espresso beverages paired with Colin's amazing Chocolate.
Arriving: Thursday October 23rd.
Read more about Rogue Chocolatier HERE
Ok,
Well it's been a very exciting couple of weeks, but very hard and daunting as well.
The problem we were having:
Some of the roasts- were coming out dry, that is to say flavorless and a bit dull, and we were having to throw away otherwise perfect coffee- I say otherwise in the sense that the profile was true, the roast was 'correct' in that sense, and yet the result was flat, dull.
Eric ran into Marty Curtis in Atlanta and suggested that the only way to truly season a roaster is to set fire to coffee.
We thought hard about this for quite a while.
Then decided to go for it.
here's why:
Think about a good cast iron pan, a good wok. The metal is coated with oil- at very high temperature, so that the 'pores' of the metal expand in the presence of that oil, taking it in, and then protecting its surface with a layer of ash. Not soot, mind you, but very hard very fine ash, which, to a very small extent, also insulates, buffers against scorching, and most importantly, oil loss.
So here's what we did.
1. Call the fire department. :) let them know what is happening.
2. Call the alarm company.
3. Run through the fire safety procedures and project outcomes.
4. go.
The 'fire' went exactly as we had hoped. What we did not expect was exactly how long it took us (that is to say, ME) to clean out every part of the roaster and accompanying air system.
It took about 40 hours over three days. That's right. 40 hours of scrubbing with scour pads and towels and etc. You want that ultra fine coating on the drum, but not anywhere else. So I completely dismantled and reassembled all serviceable parts of the roaster- and the insulated fire venting to inspect the damage, if there was any.
The system held up perfectly, no damage of any kind! The pipes completely contained all smoke, heat, and gases involved and the alarm didn't even go off!
the problem I was having after the fire was that all of a sudden the airflow was TOO good!
Here's why.
I cleaned out and realigned the airflow system, as a result- the impeller was just too powerful for our very straightforward duct work. Our system just goes straight up about 10 feet. No bends. The impeller is powerful enough to pull air through a much larger system, half as efficient. We found that to preheat the drum was taking more energy- because that heat was being pulled away faster.
So I had to repeat the original seasoning process- which involves roasting coffee past second crack, something we almost never do except to season a roaster.
Once this was complete- VOILA! The Roaster is back to its original heat absorption and preheat settings!
I believe that the coffee is coming out cleaner, more true. We are tasting the oils in the coffee even more now because less of it is being absorbed in the drum and carried away by the airflow!
Upcoming Events:
This Thursday, October 23rd at 10:00 A.M. a public cupping will be held.
Including:
New Chocolates from:
Rogue Chocolatier!
