Espresso blend for home roasting

Post by **RGoldman** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:50 pm

Hello. Does anyone here have a favorite blend for home roasting. I have been roasting for the last two years and certainly have my favorite so's and blends for regular coffee but have never even attempted an espresso blend or tried any of my others as espresso.
I roast in a hottop and have a LOT of green coffee at the moment. With the VII coming (hopefully) in the next couple of weeks, I'd like to start thinking about what to roast so I can order anything I don't have at the moment.

Thanks!

Ron

Post by **bbqnut** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:57 pm

I like a good Brazil 100%. I am using Daterra Yellow Bourbon at the moment. Very mellow and sweet. Or to get something more intense...

50-50 with Brazil and any DP Ethiopian. So far these have been excellent:

Ethiopian Yirg IMV
Ethiopian Sidamo

I have even tried the two above at 100%, and they were both very nice, but definitely intense.

Ethiopian Lekempti and Harrar are both good as well, but can be a little harsh if not roasted dark enough (even in a 50-50 blend).

Post by **RGoldman** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 4:49 pm

Thanks bbqnut. Great screen name too! I am a bit of a bbq fanatic myself. I have a nice pork loin roast smoking out on the grill as I type.

I have about 8lbs. of the Brazil yellow bourbon left and it looks like SM's just got more in. I thought last years was better but this is still good. Seems a bit milder cup this year. It does blend well though.
I have a lot of the Yemen Mocha Sana'ani and some of the harar lot 30 left in there right now.
This years Yemen doesn't seem to be able to dake the darker roast quite as well as last years, same with the Java. I over roasted the first batch of each this year following last years profile. Oh well.... live and learn!
My favorites right now for SO coffee is the Guatemala HueHue and the Fraijanes. Both excellent on their own and blended with the Java or Brazil.

I was thinking I might pick up a couple of 1/2lbs of some pre roasted espresso blends from some of the more popular roasters to start with before I use my own just so I can eliminate one possible problem. Once I have everything else figured out, I will work my on my own roast.

Ron

Post by **Niko** » Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:40 pm

Sidamo and Idido Misty Valley are from the same region, yet different enough to blend I guess. The IMV is such a tremendous cup that it's a sin for me to blend it with anything. The floral notes and beautiful flavor just makes the cup sing in your mouth, it's truly a one of a kind bean from the Yirg region. The Lekempti is such a mouthfull by itself that I'd like to try it with a monsooned malabar and a robusta for some zing, maybe 45/45 and 10% robusta. I'd love to smell the dry fragrance of this one...hmm, I think I'll try this soon.

Post by **RGoldman** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 10:17 am

Thanks Niko. I guess I need to try the IMV. Everyone keeps raving about it! I have never been a big fan of Yirgs, but it's worth a shot. I have never added any robusta since I haven't made espresso yet. I will have to try adding it to a blend at some point.
Roasting for espresso should open up a whole new world for me since I have been roasting everything based on drip or FP up to now.
A really nice recent bean is the Rwanda bourbon. I had some this morning, roasted to FC, and it's delicious!

Ron

Post by **Niko** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:27 am

I have 10lbs of the Rwanda, it's a really, really nice bean! Love it.