Home Roaster Camp July 2009…next Camp is September 26!

On Saturday July 25th, 2009, Josh Housh facilitated a “home roasters dream camp” at our warehouse in Oakland. Each participant was asked to roast two different coffees to a City+City+ roast is an ideal roast level that occurs roughly between 425 and 435 degrees Fahrenheit in many coffee roasters with a responsive bean probe where First Crack... ...more level so we could compare and contrast cup quality from different roasting methods. Each sample was logged and assigned a random number so we could do a “blind” cuppingCupping is a method of tasting coffee by steeping grounds in separate cups for discrete amounts of ground coffee, to reveal good flavors and defects to their fullest.... ...more. The results were very intriguing and we’ve compiled a detailed list of photos and notes about the results. It was a fun-filled day of roasters sharing stories and profile ideas with each participant getting a chance to try different machines and the group roasting two batches on the 12 kilo Probat. A list of all participants are below. Thanks so much to the wonderful folks who attended the first camp, you really did a great job and hopefully this data will be useful to many other home roasters out there.

For this first camp we instructed the participants to roast light, to a City + roast, so we could reveal the coffee flavors without a strong overlay of roast tasteThe set of flavors that result from the degree-of-roast.: Roast Taste is a term we started to distinguish it from "Origin Flavor". We use the "roast taste" term... ...more. In retrospect, we should have asked for a darker roast, because I found that most people slightly underroasted the coffee and got to City, not City + (the Roast Level column below is what people felt they had roasted to). So the low cupping scores and comments have as much to do with the under-developedUnder-developed refers to roast problems, usually too-light roasts. If a coffee is not roasted until the reactions responsible for the audible First Crack are completed, there will be... ...more roast flavor as with the roast machine itself. That said, I was really impressed with the fact that no coffees (aside from 2 batches) were mis-roasted, meaning they were not scorched or tipped. A couple are heavily roasted, and one lot was actually NOT roasted, because it did not really reach first crackFirst crack in one of two distinct heat-induced pyrolytic reactions in coffee. It is distinguished by a cracking or popping sound in the coffee, and occurs between 390... ...more. And some of the best roasts came from a Poppery! I photographed each batch on the copy stand with a macro lens and cupped every coffee. The photographs and comments are below. Please note that under a strong light, the roasted coffee looks very contrasty and patchy. Under normal room lighting, these coffees would look more even and darker. So here are the images and comments. Click on the thumbnail for the larger image.
– Tom

We are planning to have another camp on September 26th (it is already full – sorry!) and are planning to get the widest possible cross-section of different roaster types – folks who using a Freshroast, modified Popcorn Popper, Nesco, Gene Cafe, and stovetop methods. These camps are helping Sweet Maria’s critically examine the different results from the home roasting machines we sell or that people create themselves. This page has images from the camp and a roster of participants.

Image #	Image	Sample #	Roast Level	Roaster	Person	Coffee	Notes	Score
1		4	City+	BehmorP1	John	PeruPeruvian coffees have Central American brightness but in a South American coffee flavor package overall. The good organic lots do have more of a "rustic" coffee character.: Organic... ...more San Ignacio Cajamarca	Sweet, thin, grainyA roast-related flavor, sometimes used negatively, but it can also be a positive flavor attribute. Usually grain flavors indicate a too-light roast, stopped before 1st crack concluded, like... ...more pasty bready – not bad roast but too light.	84.5
2		6	City+	Poppery	Dustin	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	AcidsMany acids contribute to coffee flavor: acetic, malic, citric, quinic, tartaric, phosphoric, etc.: Many acids contribute to coffee flavor; malic, citric, quinic, tartaric, phosphoric, etc. See Acidity or... ...more are balanced, good roast level, 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, dry	85.5
3		8	FC	BehmorP4	John T.	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	AstringentAstringency is a harsh flavor sensation, acrid flavor, that provokes a physical reaction on the toungue, the tactile feeling of papery dryness. It can have saltiness, sourness and... ...more and dry, too light	83.5
4		11	City+	BehmorP1	Greg	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Mild cup, soft acids, sweet, nuts	84.5
5		12	Vienna	Iroast	Janice	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Very roasty, but still retains 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	83.5
6		14	FC+	Iroast	Janice	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Mild, tannicHaving the bitterness or astringency of Tannins. Tannins are plant polyphenols found across the flora kingdom. The term Tannins refers to the use of wood tannins from oak... ...more, sweet but a little odd in finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We... ...more – 1.06% TDS	84.5
7		20	City+	BehmorP3	Greg	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Baked roast taste, thin 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	83
8		22	City+	Poppery	Chuck	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Very drinkable, balanced, milk 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, good roast level	86.5
9		25	City+	Iroast	Mike	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Good roast level like sample 22, finish a bit thin	86
10		26	City+	BehmorP1	John T.	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Far too light, astringent	82.5
11		27	City+	BehmorP1	Bonie	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	An off bean? Some taint in the cup. Too light	81
12		28	City+	BehmorP2	Bonnie	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Sweet and dry, more rusticA general characterization of pleasantly "natural" flavors, less sophisticated and less refined, but appealing. : What is Rustic? This is a general term we came up with... Dried... ...more than others, not bad, light	84
13		31	City+	HottopA home drum roaster with a 9oz capacity, adjustable heat and airflow profiling, and an external cooling tray.: A home drum roaster with a 9oz capacity, adjustable heat... ...more 14 min	Steve	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Sweet and balanced, more floralFloral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible...we always default to “it tastes like it... ...more than others	86
14		32	City+	Probat	Josh	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Very balanced 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, soft acidity, round mouthfeelHow a coffee feels in the mouth or its apparent texture, a tactile sensation : A major component in the flavor profile of a coffee, it is a... ...more 1.33% TDS	86.5
15		35	City+	Poppery	Mark	Peru San Ignacio Cajamarca	Thin, but still sweet	83.5
Image #		Sample #	Roast Level	Roaster	Person	Coffee	Notes	Score
1		1	City+	Poppery	Chuck	IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was... ...more FloresFlores is an Indonesian island, and as a coffee bears more resemblance to the coffees of Timor-Leste, New Guinea and Java than to the wet-hulled coffees of Sumatra... ...more Manggarai	Sweet, very nice body, balanced, short finish	86.5
2		7	FC	BehmorP1	John T.	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	thin acidity, underdeveloped roast taste	84.5
3		9	City+	BehmorP3	Greg	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	Malty, grainy sweet, butter, wafer cookie	84.5
4		10	City+	BehmorP1	Bonnie	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	balanced, less sweet but nice body	85
5		13	City+	Poppery	Dustin	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	odd rustic, like baggyThe flavor of coffee that has been stored for too long, it has absorbed the flavor of whatever it has been stored in. : Coffees that are held... ...more, not seen in others, tight	84
6		15	City+	Poppery	Mark O.	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	average, mild, sweet	84
7		16	City+_	Hottop	Steve	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	sour-sweet, thing, too light	83
8		17	City+	BehmorP1	Greg	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	rustic, thin, sourSour is one of four basic sapid (in the mouth) tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter (and possibly a 5th called Umami which indicates savory flavors). In coffee, sourness... ...more, baked, too light	82
9		18	City+	Probat	Josh	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	darker roast than others, body, balanceSuggests a harmony and proportion of qualities, and implies mildness since no one quality dominates.: Balance is both an obvious and slippery taste term. It implies a harmony... ...more, mild	85.5
10		19	Vienna	Iroast	Janice	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	dark roast, burned, carbonyA roast-related flavor term, referring to burnt flavors from dark roast levels. For some this is a pleasant flavor if residual sweetness is present, but plain carbon flavor... ...more, uneven	79
11		21	City+	BehmorP4	John T.	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	vanillaVanilla notes in coffee are often related to caramelization notes, as butter and vanilla can be found in flavors and aromatics of roast reactions from reducing of sugars. ...more, cereal sweetness, light	84
12		23	City	Iroast	Mike	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	very cereal like and grainy, not roasted, really 1.52% TDS	79
13		24	City+	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	John	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	Vanilla and butter, light, sweet but too thin, light	84.5
14		33	City+	BehmorP2	Bonnie	Indonesia Flores Manggarai	Sweet butter, a bit thin, too light but nice also	85.5