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Just thought I would report my experience...
I roasted a pound of this one I received recently. Interested to try out
a Gesha, see what all the fuss is about. The descriptions usually don't
entice me, I tend to not be pulled in by flower and citrus flavors that
much. Occasionally I run across one I like, but I'm more partial to
chocolate, nuts, and fruited flavors.
Anyway, this one had enough descriptions of fruit that I thought it
would be a good one to try, and within budget. :)
I roasted it in the Behmor, 1# of beans on the 1#, P3, C, setting. It
went along fine, but something unexpected happened.
First crack really popped up a storm! Normally, that wouldn't be such a
big deal. Except, that the usual time on that setting for most beans to
hit first crack is around 4-3 minutes left. This one went until 2
minutes left before it hit a solid first crack rhythm. I was going to
shoot for a C+, that way if I over shot it, I would still likely be in
the FC range which is listed as good for this bean.
But first crack started popping so fast, rapidly. Normally that doesn't
happen in my drum roaster, it is usually a much more leisurely pace. But
this was going to town in rapid fire succession.
Well, when it started popping so fast, I panicked. After all, the cracks
started late in the roasting cycle, closer to when I would normally get
a second crack, I've had beans that had no first crack and I find myself
in second crack before I know it, and I've rarely had a first crack
popping as fast as a second crack does. The only thing that told me it
was first crack is the pops sounded like first crack pops, even though
they popped at the speed of second crack.
End result is, I could just see these beans going into Vienna, pretty
much ruining them. I tried to judge color, but that is near impossible
with this machine. They looked like they might be turning dark. So, in
the midst of the rapid popping, I hit cool.
What I believe I ended up with is a city roast. Brewed it this morning
in my vacpot. It is a tad on the bright side, but not so sour as to ruin
it, as a matter of fact, it actually has just the right amount of twang
to accent the cherry flavor. I'm sure the mango is in there, but I can
definitely taste the cherry, and it is a sweet coffee. Good, vibrant
flavors.
While I would have liked to have roasted it a tad darker into +, I'm
very happy I didn't end up with a Vienna roast. And if I ever get more
of this bean (not likely being it is a small lot) I'll know to let it go
on through that first crack. I'm here to tell you, it hits a very solid
first crack. It doesn't skip it. :)
--
Rick Copplehttp://www.rlcopple.com/Homeroast mailing list
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