A Good Cuppa Joe

This morning I finished off the first batch of coffee I roasted over the weekend. It was Sumatra Gr.1 Mandheling from Sweet Maria's. I started with this coffee because it is supposed to have a full body. We have been drinking Starbucks French Roast for so long, I didn't want to jump too far off that trail with the first roast. Since I roasted the beans to "Full City" instead of French Roast, the flavor was not as dark as we were used to, but it was full-bodied and very good. So, the roaster is a hit so far.

Yesterday afternoon I roasted some Ethiopia Kembata Grade 4 Dry-Process beans. The roaster can handle 150 grams of coffee at a time -- enough for about two 32oz pots. I went for a Full City+ roast this time; just a little bit darker. Here is a picture of the beans:



I like the "garden grown" aspect of this coffee. I can just imagine the small plots that these beans must come from -- 20 trees here, 15 trees there, 150 trees over here. Sounds like a recipe for "character" to me. I hope it is good character. Tom at Sweet Maria's sure sounds like he knows a lot, and he gives the coffee high, though uneven marks. Tomorrow will tell the story I guess. I am looking forward to it.


One thing about roasting your own coffee: It's pretty smokey. Yesterday I set off the smoke detector on the other side of the house going for my darker roast. That was with the doors open. I think I will have start ducting the smoke outside with the optional hose attachment. That will probably cut down on the "Should I call the fire department yet?" comments I get from the coffee bean gallery too. (That Cookie doesn't mind telling you what is on her mind!)

It is cold and foggy here this evening. No OKFree training today. Instead, I ran a bit. The fog and cold kept it to a short 4.75 miles on the mountain. I also started late and didn't want to finish on a rough trail after dark even with my headlamp. The fog makes visibility too difficult even with my very bright Petzl headlamp.

Night night!