I agree. This is an awesome thread. Very informative.
new to roasting
- Thread starter mdwest
- Start date
Can't believe I missed out on this. I am a coffee fiend....I want in next time around...PLEASE!!! Although I would like to get into the whole roasting thing, I may have to ease into it. My wife is just now getting used to all the boxes with cigars from people she has never heard of showing up in the mail.
Tobacco Giant
Conn. Broadleaf Slayer
Lol, my wife thinks I'm a weirdo as well.
xFreebirdx
Patriot Guard Rider
Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to this, Last week was crazy here. But it's been awhile so that was nice too. 
Now on to the coffee.
First Thank You mdwest for letting me play and thank you Kevin for the fine roasting.
Now as far as a fancy break down on what flavors I could detect by cupping 8ozs of black coffee. Sorry but I couldn't pull it off.
BUT
I did drink 8ozs black. And what I found was a very mild coffee. It is the first coffee I have ever drank that I found myself thinking, "hey, I could drink this black". It was so mild and mellow I started to wonder if I made a weak cup. Then when I finished it I had a cup with milk and sugar. The way I always drink coffee. Again I thought I made a weak cup. But 20 minutes later I had a fantastic caffeine buzz. And now I have been drinking a cup at 1pm to help keep my day going. I am amazed at the amount of caffeine I'm getting from one cup of coffee that is so smooth with no bitterness. I think I'm in love. I usually have to make coffee so strong for the caffeine that it isn't smooth or enjoyable at all.
So for my take:
This coffee is for people who are not connoisseurs , it's for people who drink coffee out of necessity for the caffeine.
The same person that hates energy drinks. So if you're looking for a early afternoon cup of coffee (5hour energy) to help you finish your day and work load. This coffee is for you.
PS: I also don't get a caffeine crash either.
Again I want to thank y'all for letting me join in.
.
Now on to the coffee.
First Thank You mdwest for letting me play and thank you Kevin for the fine roasting.
Now as far as a fancy break down on what flavors I could detect by cupping 8ozs of black coffee. Sorry but I couldn't pull it off.
BUT
I did drink 8ozs black. And what I found was a very mild coffee. It is the first coffee I have ever drank that I found myself thinking, "hey, I could drink this black". It was so mild and mellow I started to wonder if I made a weak cup. Then when I finished it I had a cup with milk and sugar. The way I always drink coffee. Again I thought I made a weak cup. But 20 minutes later I had a fantastic caffeine buzz. And now I have been drinking a cup at 1pm to help keep my day going. I am amazed at the amount of caffeine I'm getting from one cup of coffee that is so smooth with no bitterness. I think I'm in love. I usually have to make coffee so strong for the caffeine that it isn't smooth or enjoyable at all.
So for my take:
This coffee is for people who are not connoisseurs , it's for people who drink coffee out of necessity for the caffeine.
The same person that hates energy drinks. So if you're looking for a early afternoon cup of coffee (5hour energy) to help you finish your day and work load. This coffee is for you.
PS: I also don't get a caffeine crash either.
Again I want to thank y'all for letting me join in.
.
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glad you enjoyed it freebird.... I got a bit more of a caff rush than I think I normally do as well when I sampled it (guzzled it is probably a better description).. although I still think it was only slightly above "medium" in horsepower after I drank about 12 cups over the course of 3 days..
my wife actually really enjoyed it for the same reason you did.. she normally makes coffee super strong.. probably puts double what most other people do in a drip pot to try to get coffee to the strength she likes..
I made her cups a little stronger than I did mine.. but didnt go overboard.. she liked the flavor (although it wasnt her "favorite".. I brought back some ethiopian bean that was already roasted in addition to these green beans that she is pretty attached to/impressed with).. but really liked the strength..
thanks for the write up!
my wife actually really enjoyed it for the same reason you did.. she normally makes coffee super strong.. probably puts double what most other people do in a drip pot to try to get coffee to the strength she likes..
I made her cups a little stronger than I did mine.. but didnt go overboard.. she liked the flavor (although it wasnt her "favorite".. I brought back some ethiopian bean that was already roasted in addition to these green beans that she is pretty attached to/impressed with).. but really liked the strength..
thanks for the write up!
Dont know if you guys are doing this or not... but thought I would ask that any of you that have recieved a sample, please make sure you leave kev a TR... he put some work into this.. and is the only person I know on this board that has enough experience/knowledge to get the beans roasted correctly, help us evaluate the quality of the beans before roasting, etc...
we couldnt have had our experiment without him..
another shout out to thejavaman... all of your effort is/was appreciated..
we couldnt have had our experiment without him..
another shout out to thejavaman... all of your effort is/was appreciated..
thejavaman
BoM December 2012
You're the behind the scenes guy, Dave. All the credit to you, bro. Fun little experiment.
Slidzero
Belicoso Brother
Here is my take on the coffee.
Dry Aroma: Powerful aroma out of the bag. Cocoa and some floral notes on the ground bean. Nothing outstanding about the dry aroma. 5
Wet Aroma: fairly light aroma here. Floral notes and a bitterness that is a little off putting. 3
Acidity: not much in the way of acidity. Was expecting it to be a little brighter. 5
Body: Mild bodied. Does not coat palate very much. Not my cup of tea. 7
Flavor: Floral notes are the most prevalent. Not as citrusy as I was expecting, as a lot of Ethiopian coffees I have had tend to be. Unpleasant bitterness is the first flavor to register on the palate but it Dissipates quickly. It is a clean coffee though. 4
Aftertaste: clean aftertaste with a hint of cocoa on the finish. 8
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Dry Aroma: Powerful aroma out of the bag. Cocoa and some floral notes on the ground bean. Nothing outstanding about the dry aroma. 5
Wet Aroma: fairly light aroma here. Floral notes and a bitterness that is a little off putting. 3
Acidity: not much in the way of acidity. Was expecting it to be a little brighter. 5
Body: Mild bodied. Does not coat palate very much. Not my cup of tea. 7
Flavor: Floral notes are the most prevalent. Not as citrusy as I was expecting, as a lot of Ethiopian coffees I have had tend to be. Unpleasant bitterness is the first flavor to register on the palate but it Dissipates quickly. It is a clean coffee though. 4
Aftertaste: clean aftertaste with a hint of cocoa on the finish. 8
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Rupe
Suburban robot that monitors reality -BOM Feb.'13
BIG thanks again to Dave and Kevin for putting this review panel together. :thumbsup: I feel honored and humbled to be able to participate. Without further ado here is my review of the Mdwest Ethiopian sample........
Country - Ethiopia
Year: 2012
Roast: Light/medium
Grind: Medium
Preparation: Drip method
Sample provided: Mdwest
Roaster: Thejavaman
Cupper: Bdrupe
Date Cupped: 1/14/2013
Dry Aroma: A very pleasant aroma greeted me when opening the bag. I am just getting over a cold but was still able to pick up cocoa as well as some other pleasant smells. Not quite able to put my finger on them though what it did evoke for me was an image of my Grandmas kitchen. Since my Grandma passed away almost 30 years ago it was a very sentimental experience. Once I ground the beans this pleasant aroma exploded into the room
Wet Aroma: Not able to pick up much here. I was a little bit disappointed since I love the aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Once again it is hard to identify the specific smells. Some of this may be from the aforementioned cold however since I was able to get a good sniff of the dry aroma I am going to speculate that the wet aroma is simply weak.
Acidity: Its hard for me to make a determination here because quite frankly this is not a trait that I have ever considered in coffee before. Based upon the description of acidity that I read online I would have to place it above average. It does have a pleasant bright taste to it that appeals to my palate.
Body: I would have to characterize this as light. I typically enjoy something more in the mild to medium range so this was a little bit weak for my liking but still quite pleasant. Some of this may also be due to the grind that I used (medium). Next go around I am going to use a finer grind and see if this gives me a little stronger body.
Flavor: The word that comes to mind here is mellow I am not a big fan of the dark roasts and flavor bombs that seem to pass for premium coffee nowadays so I did find the taste to be quite pleasant (at least for my palate). I would have to say that the term floral is probably the best descriptor that I could assign
Aftertaste: For some reason I got a brief metallic note initially on the aftertaste. This faded very quickly however and did not detract from the overall experience.
Notes:
- I drink my coffee black without any cream or sugar unless it is a very strong or a dark roast in which case I will add some milk or half and half. IMHO this coffee would definitely have been ruined by adding anything.
- I am just getting over a bout of sickness and am also currently on prednisone (steroid) for bronchitis so this may have affected my taste and smell to some degree.
- My normal coffee consumption is Folgers day to day (gasp), an occasional cup from McDonalds or a Café Americano at Starbucks a couple times per year. This means that my point of comparison may be somewhat limited due to my lack of range. I would say that this is akin to trying to do a cigar review having only ever smoked Swishers, Gurkhas and an occasional Macanudo.
- I did not experience the extra caffeine kick that was reported by some of the others that reviewed this sample. This may be due to the fact that a normal day for me is ½ pot of coffee in the morning (6 cups / 48 oz.) and 40-60 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew in the afternoon. I went to bed at 9PM last night and fell asleep without any issues
Country - Ethiopia
Year: 2012
Roast: Light/medium
Grind: Medium
Preparation: Drip method
Sample provided: Mdwest
Roaster: Thejavaman
Cupper: Bdrupe
Date Cupped: 1/14/2013
Dry Aroma: A very pleasant aroma greeted me when opening the bag. I am just getting over a cold but was still able to pick up cocoa as well as some other pleasant smells. Not quite able to put my finger on them though what it did evoke for me was an image of my Grandmas kitchen. Since my Grandma passed away almost 30 years ago it was a very sentimental experience. Once I ground the beans this pleasant aroma exploded into the room
Wet Aroma: Not able to pick up much here. I was a little bit disappointed since I love the aroma of a freshly brewed pot of coffee. Once again it is hard to identify the specific smells. Some of this may be from the aforementioned cold however since I was able to get a good sniff of the dry aroma I am going to speculate that the wet aroma is simply weak.
Acidity: Its hard for me to make a determination here because quite frankly this is not a trait that I have ever considered in coffee before. Based upon the description of acidity that I read online I would have to place it above average. It does have a pleasant bright taste to it that appeals to my palate.
Body: I would have to characterize this as light. I typically enjoy something more in the mild to medium range so this was a little bit weak for my liking but still quite pleasant. Some of this may also be due to the grind that I used (medium). Next go around I am going to use a finer grind and see if this gives me a little stronger body.
Flavor: The word that comes to mind here is mellow I am not a big fan of the dark roasts and flavor bombs that seem to pass for premium coffee nowadays so I did find the taste to be quite pleasant (at least for my palate). I would have to say that the term floral is probably the best descriptor that I could assign
Aftertaste: For some reason I got a brief metallic note initially on the aftertaste. This faded very quickly however and did not detract from the overall experience.
Notes:
- I drink my coffee black without any cream or sugar unless it is a very strong or a dark roast in which case I will add some milk or half and half. IMHO this coffee would definitely have been ruined by adding anything.
- I am just getting over a bout of sickness and am also currently on prednisone (steroid) for bronchitis so this may have affected my taste and smell to some degree.
- My normal coffee consumption is Folgers day to day (gasp), an occasional cup from McDonalds or a Café Americano at Starbucks a couple times per year. This means that my point of comparison may be somewhat limited due to my lack of range. I would say that this is akin to trying to do a cigar review having only ever smoked Swishers, Gurkhas and an occasional Macanudo.
- I did not experience the extra caffeine kick that was reported by some of the others that reviewed this sample. This may be due to the fact that a normal day for me is ½ pot of coffee in the morning (6 cups / 48 oz.) and 40-60 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew in the afternoon. I went to bed at 9PM last night and fell asleep without any issues
thejavaman
BoM December 2012
Good job guys. So, do either of you want to assign an final score or a thumbs-up/thumbs down to the coffee ?
I have my notes for this coffee at home, so I'll get them up later tonight. Overall, I thought it was a decent coffee that I'd be on the fence about recommending to the group I buy with (which really surprised me considering where Dave got it from). Some off flavors on the break and in the aftertaste (probably processing related), but not enough to knock it off the table. Nice floral hints with a refined brightness. I assigned it a score of 83.5. I'll try to get my full notes up later tonight when I get home from work. Fun experiment! :ccowboy:
I have my notes for this coffee at home, so I'll get them up later tonight. Overall, I thought it was a decent coffee that I'd be on the fence about recommending to the group I buy with (which really surprised me considering where Dave got it from). Some off flavors on the break and in the aftertaste (probably processing related), but not enough to knock it off the table. Nice floral hints with a refined brightness. I assigned it a score of 83.5. I'll try to get my full notes up later tonight when I get home from work. Fun experiment! :ccowboy:
Slidzero
Belicoso Brother
Sorry, I guess my final score didn't paste over from Evernote. My final was an 82. It was a little mild for my taste but something that my friends that enjoy lighter bodied stuff would enjoy thoroughly I think.
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thejavaman
BoM December 2012
Here are my notes:
Country/Region: Ethiopia
Farm/Estate Name: Unknown
Grade: 2
Year: 2012
Processing: Wet Processed
Varietal: Unknown
Screen Size: 16-17-18
Cupper: Kevin Flack, thejavaman
Roaster: Roasted On 01/03
2.5 Dry Aroma - muted floral note, grainy
2.4 Wet Aroma - lemon/lime, wheat bread
7.8 Acidity - medium/high, good brightness
7.1 Body - light, a bit lacking
7.2 Flavor - grainy/underdeveloped note, syrup, browning sugar, floral, lemon/lime
6.5 Aftertaste - short, clean, faint chocolate note
Subtotal +50 =
83.5 TOTAL
Notes: Not a "bad" cup by any means. The grainy/underdeveloped notes threw me off a little & hints at a processing error. However, this is a bright, light bodied cup that I would consider buying if the price was too good to pass up.
Country/Region: Ethiopia
Farm/Estate Name: Unknown
Grade: 2
Year: 2012
Processing: Wet Processed
Varietal: Unknown
Screen Size: 16-17-18
Cupper: Kevin Flack, thejavaman
Roaster: Roasted On 01/03
2.5 Dry Aroma - muted floral note, grainy
2.4 Wet Aroma - lemon/lime, wheat bread
7.8 Acidity - medium/high, good brightness
7.1 Body - light, a bit lacking
7.2 Flavor - grainy/underdeveloped note, syrup, browning sugar, floral, lemon/lime
6.5 Aftertaste - short, clean, faint chocolate note
Subtotal +50 =
83.5 TOTAL
Notes: Not a "bad" cup by any means. The grainy/underdeveloped notes threw me off a little & hints at a processing error. However, this is a bright, light bodied cup that I would consider buying if the price was too good to pass up.
does $2.65 a lb qualify?
I figure if nothing else at that price its a perfect bean for me to "practice" with and learn how to roast.... the fact that it doesnt taste like strained toe jam is just iceing on the cake
I should be able to get those kenyan beans mentioned earlier somewhere around the same price point..
Im thinking the next time I go over Ill try to pick up maybe 2-3 kilos of each and have a roastapalooza at the mdwest house for a weekend :bigeyes:
thejavaman
BoM December 2012
Absolutely, Dave. Using them to hone your roasting skills is a great idea. Experiment with light/dark roasts, etc. Looking forward to Round 2 with the Kenyan beans.
javajunkie
BoM July '12
so, i guess the consensus of this is, "hey, this ain't bad, i'd totally drink this again as long as it wasn't evil empire pricing"? personally, i would chalk this up as both a find and a win!
also, big ups to both OG dave for the party, and kev for the implementation! o)
also, big ups to both OG dave for the party, and kev for the implementation! o)
thejavaman
BoM December 2012
Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks to all of the participants as well.
just bumping this thread to say Im booking my flights on Monday for the next trip...
should be able to get a couple of kilos of Kenyan beans out of Nairobi.. and hopefully will find another couple of kilos of Ethiopian beans while I am in Juba (Ive got my guy putting feelers out now)..
be looking for round 2 to start in late March (will be going over the first of March)..
should be able to get a couple of kilos of Kenyan beans out of Nairobi.. and hopefully will find another couple of kilos of Ethiopian beans while I am in Juba (Ive got my guy putting feelers out now)..
be looking for round 2 to start in late March (will be going over the first of March)..
ok... time to revive this thread...
who wants in on round 2?
Ive got confirmation on the procurement of kenyan "street" beans at this point.. theyre already on hand and waiting for me.. I should be able to pick up some more Ethiopian beans this trip as well...
If Kev wants green beans (and assuming he wants back in).. Ill ship his that way...
the rest of you that want to participate get to be guinea pigs.. Im going to pick up a roaster in the next couple of weeks and try to figure this game out..
We've got room for a total of 6x people... (maybe more.. I wont know until I get OCONUS though and see just how much bean I can get my hands on)..
I leave in a little more than 2 weeks.. will be gone for a week.. then will probably take a week to get the beans roasted and shipped after I get back...
who wants in?
who wants in on round 2?
Ive got confirmation on the procurement of kenyan "street" beans at this point.. theyre already on hand and waiting for me.. I should be able to pick up some more Ethiopian beans this trip as well...
If Kev wants green beans (and assuming he wants back in).. Ill ship his that way...
the rest of you that want to participate get to be guinea pigs.. Im going to pick up a roaster in the next couple of weeks and try to figure this game out..
We've got room for a total of 6x people... (maybe more.. I wont know until I get OCONUS though and see just how much bean I can get my hands on)..
I leave in a little more than 2 weeks.. will be gone for a week.. then will probably take a week to get the beans roasted and shipped after I get back...
who wants in?
