Roaster is up!

Its here, its installed.

Thundercats are GO!


So when you install a new roaster, you have to run many batches of Arabica coffee through it to "season" the drum.

This process essentially over-roasts the coffee to coat the drum with coffee oil. The rich scent of burning coffee fills the surrounding blocks. It only lasted an hour, but I thought, what worse way to introduce any given -new coffee roaster- than by filling the neighborhood with quite probably the worst smells it will ever produce?
Hmm.

Anyhow.

Roasting is in progress!

So far we're keeping track of:
Coffee
Harvest, origin information, etc. Cupping notes from Cafe Imports, cupping notes each time we roast that coffee.
Coffee Density- measured against a standard acrylic box 5 cm x 5 cm x 5 cm.
The weight is taken of the amount of coffee which will fit into this box- and a relative density is achieved.
Moisture content
All profiles tested for any given coffee.

Eric Faust and Luke Mills have been participating/apprenticing as we all learn together.
We conduct experiments with each coffee to find the natural absorption curve of each coffee roasted with very steady burner settings, then try to approximate a standard s curve, then lastly we modify that curve a series of times to find the ideal finish time past first crack and drop temperature.

The results so far:
Start with great coffee- and the window for very high quality is very high.
Roast crap samples, you get crap.
It is possible to mute some of the crap with good roasting, but not all. Defective beans do not roast evenly.
Brazil: Such a wonderful coffee to roast. Natural processed coffees produce more chaff, of course.
Mexico Nayarita: Aromatic, acidic, mild. Beans are compact and rounded- first crack is a bit more spread out.

El Salvador: Another mild coffee- well balanced, which I can appreciate more and more after serving such extraordinarily bold and single-minded coffees for two years. Please understand I hold great respect for Paradise Roasters.
It was me, as a new cafe owner- that tried to find the boldest, sweetest, the 'est' coffees available.
Americans cup this way, I am told. Looking for superstars, instead of nuance.
the El Salvador is like passing a bowl of freshly roasted/toasted cashews. Aromatic, redolent with raspberry.
Hawaii: A wonderful coffee, the green is aromatic and floral, and unbelievably pristine compared to any other coffee I have seen. Delicately roasted, gingered through first crack and taken up bit by bit until it gives off sugary floral notes.
Sumatra Tawar: Superstar- just through first crack and a bit past with a gentle drop and a ramp up to first crack.
Sumatra Danau Toba: Superstar cousin, gentler, sweeter, more nuanced. Less vegetable-like.