coffee beans

No, I’m not actually roasting coffee beans for three days.

However, some beans take longer to reach their full potential.

When last we met with our intrepid explorer, she’d roasted some Columbian beans that were good. Even by the third day, though, they were still just merely good.

So the next batch of that Columbian bean, I roasted for an additional minute and a half.

The difference between a city roast and the darker, espresso roasts is whether the beans go through both the first and second crack. Once the beans reach the second crack, you’ll start to lose the flavor of the bean and pick up more of the flavor of the roast.

I prefer beans that are more lightly roasted. So this second batch, I pulled off just as they started the second crack.

This batch was much like the previous batch. The first day was good, the second day better.

However, the third day made all the difference in the world.

By the third day (yesterday) the beans had finally found their full potential. It was an amazingly good cup of coffee. Full body. Nice acid at the end. Rich and flavorful.

This was very, very close to my nirvana roast. I would happily drink this roast forever. (Of course, I only roast small amounts of beans, and I’ll be out today or tomorrow! eeek!)

What more would I like? A touch more of the bean taste.

I believe the way to achieve that is to lengthen the time between the first and second cracks. That’s where you get all the flavor with these beans.

So after the first crack, next time, I’ll lower not only the temperature, but the fan, try to bring out more flavor in the bean.

However, I won’t be trying that right away. I’m out of the Columbian beans. Next up: Tanzanian peaberry beans. Wish me luck!