The BourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,... ...more cultivarCultivar is a term used interchangeably with Varietal in the coffee trade to indicate plant material, although there are distinctions.: The naming of a cultivar should conform to... ...more is widely planted in BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... ...more, touted as an inherently sweet cultivar type. It also thrives when planted in high altitude zones. This leads to slower maturation for the plant and a denser coffee bean as a result that’s forgiving in the roaster. These two factors make Burundi coffee a fantastic bean to turn to when starting your foray into roasting.
But to pass Burundi coffees off as simply “easy to roast” would be doing them a disservice. They’re also some of the more complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as "balanced" or "structured" ...more coffees we offer, with flavor profiles that are delicate and tout a multitude of top notes and acidityAcidity is a positive flavor attribute in coffee, also referred to as brightness or liveliness. It adds a brilliance to the cup, whereas low acid coffees can seem... ...more. When roasted dark, they yield immense bodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... ...more and bittersweetness, both ideal for chocolatey espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... ...more. And it’s for these reasons that they tend to be a “go-to” green bean for me when looking for a versatile coffee that I plan to have around for a while.
With this in mind, I attempted to roast our coffee, Burundi Kayanza Dusangirijambo Coop, to opposite ends of the roast spectrum. I hoped to capture the spiced sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly... ...more and acidity we know Dusangirijambo is capable of producing when roasted light, and also balanced bittersweetBittersweet is from the language of chocolate, and describes the co-presence of positive bittering compounds balanced by sweetness. It is directly related to caramelization, but has inputs from... ...more sweetness and roast tone at darker roast levels.
Roast #1 City+
For my light roast I stuck to what is my general approach in the BehmorA popular electric drum roaster designed for home use, with variable batch sizes (from 1/4 pound to 1 pound) and a smoke-reduction system. It has been modified and... ...more; manual mode, 100% power (P5), fast drum speed (if you don’t know what I mean by “manual mode”, you can read more about it here) On my machine, 325F is where I hit the dreaded over temp error stopping the roast prematurely. If I don’t change my heat input, a 150 gram roast will hit 325 well before the start of 1st CrackAn audible popping sound heard during roasting. In coffee, one refers to "first crack" and "second crack," which come from two different classes of chemical reactions.: An audible... ...more (about 7 min in), so it’s imperative that I fluctuate heat settings to avoid this. For me, this means dropping the heat setting to P3 (50%) when the chamber temperature reaches 315F.
From there, I basically toggle the heat input between P4 (75%) and P5 trying to stay above 300F but not hitting 325F! It can be a delicate dance, but you get pretty good at keeping roast progression steady with a little practice.
This roast hit 1st Crack at 8:40 seconds in, hitting the cool button 1:40 seconds after the the first audible snaps. I open the door while cooling to aid in stopping the roast process and cool the batch faster. Weight loss was 14%, a little darker than I’d hoped for but a solid City+.
The cup showed a nice tangyAn adjective modifying a flavor descriptor, describing a sharp effect; tangy citrus, tangy bittersweet flavor, tangy green apple. ...more acidic impression that cut through dark sugary sweetness. The initial hot coffee has toffee and caramelCaramel is a desirable form of sweetness found in the flavor and aroma of coffee, and is an extension of roast taste. Extremely light or dark coffees will... ...more sweetness that cools to a nice butteryA mouthfeel description indicating thickness and creaminess, and can also be a flavor description.: Buttery is primarily a mouthfeel description indicating thickness and creaminess. It indicates a high... ...more caramel popcorn flavor. A high level of sweetness from front to back, and accented by cinnamon and clove spices. I’m impressed by the level of acidity despite the Behmor’s slightly long cooling times. It takes the form of sweet lemonLemon notes, as well as other related citrusy flavors or acidities, are prized in coffee. These usually express themselves as a bright accent in the cup, or aromatic... ...more once the coffee is a drinkable temperature and really structures the cup flavors.
This is a good starting point for this coffee, adjusting for +/- bittersweetness and chocolatey roast tones(of which this coffee can produce plenty!). For those who prefer to use the pre-program modes, try starting with the 1 LB setting for 1/2 LB of coffee or less, and P1 (full power). There should be a noticeable decline in snaps with this coffee marking the end of 1st crack, at which time you can cool the roast (roughly 1 – 1:20 after the beginning of 1st crack)
Roast #2 Full City
I planned to slow the roast down sooner for my darker roast by dialing back the heat when reaching a temp much closer to 300F, extending the latter leg of the roast profileRoast Profile refers to the relationship between time and temperature in coffee roasting, with the endpoint being the "degree of roast". Roast profiling is the active manipulation of... ...more. Seemed like the Behmor knew my plan and did it for me! I’m not exactly sure why, but my 2nd pass was about 20F behind roast #1 most of the way through, even though I employed the same roast parameters out of the gate.
However, it’s worth noting that the rate of rise was faster. I did pre-heat the roaster before each batch for 40 seconds on P5 before loading the grid drum with coffee, so there’s a chance this inconsistency comes from lag time on loading the drum and starting the actual roast.
In the end, 1st crack occurred at 9:50 seconds into the roast and I let it coast for 3 full minutes before cooling. There were a couple of 2nd crack snaps in the drum at the beginning of the cooling phase, but opening the front door did a pretty good job of cutting the roast short.
This is one of those coffees that shows much bigger fruitedIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... ...more flavors when roasted dark. A juicy blueberryBlueberry flavors in coffee take different forms. Dried blueberry was something we first encountered in natural Harar coffee from Ethiopia. It seemed to be most potent in fresh... ...more flavor comes through at this roast level, a nice fruited contrast to dominant bittersweetness. It’s a chocolateA general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of... ...more bomb for sure, roast tones playing off a sweet undercurrent of raw sugar-type flavors, teasing out notes of dark cacao bar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and nibs.
Makes a killer espresso too. The fruited tones are more than just a ‘hint’ in this context, berry juice and high % cacao bar notes are distilled down to a thick shot packed full of flavor.
*check out Burundi Kayanza Dusangirijambo Coop
*check out the Behmor 1600AB Plus
