Homeroast Coffee Sample Feedback

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brntorng

2,500+ Posts
Several weeks ago I offered free samples of homeroast coffee, and several brave fellow HornFans took me up on it. Well, I finally got around to roasting and shipping the samples which should reach their destinations soon. Here are the descriptions of the samples:

Guatemala Huehuetenango - Finca San Vicente

Ethiopia Organic Idido Misty Valley DP

Sumatra Lintong Special Preparation

You may need to scroll down each of the pages to find these specific coffee bean descriptions.

These were all roasted to a City+ or Full City roast in a home built 1 pound roaster. This roast level is considered a medium roast which has completed first crack, but stopped before second crack starts. This is intended to emphasize the origin characteristics of the beans rather than the roast level which is the case with darker roasts.

I saved a sample of each for myself so I can brew them up this week and see how they turned out. I haven't roasted these specific beans previously, so I don't have any idea how good they'll be other than by reading the reviews on Sweet Maria's so this should be interesting. Looking forward to hearing what all the recipients think...
 
1) Starbucks just hit Buenos Aires last Wednesday (May 28th, 2008) and was reportedly packed at 1:00am on Saturday night/ Sunday morning.

2) This past weekend and today I drank some coffee that I bought from White Rock Coffee in Dallas.

These two things got me to thinking... Whatever happened to that FREE COFFEE that we were talking about last month?
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Now I know. I'll be interested in hearing the feedback.

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Thanks a lot. Very cool. I got mine in the mail two days ago. They are still vacu-sealed. I plan to give them the official trial on Saturday.

I plan to brew the coffee in a French Press at the recommended strength. Anybody had a chance to try theirs yet? Do you want the feedback here or on the original thread?
 
Thanks for the samples brnt. I'm out of town for a week and then moving the following week. It'll be a couple of weeks before I get a chance to grind and brew but I'm looking forward to spending a Saturday or Sunday morning enjoying your coffee samples. Will provide feedback.
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DCL, no problem. Just keep them in the freezer when possible and they'll still be fresh in a couple of weeks.
 
Thanks! Received mine this week.
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Tried the Guatemalan this morning. Excellent! Can't wait to try the other two. I'll report back.

Thanks again.
 
OK, I'm on my first cup of coffee from the sample pack. I decided to start with the Sumatra Lintong Special Preparation. This is a nice cup of coffee that seems to get better with every sip. Quite a unique flavor with a really nice long after taste. This is certainly more complex than my daily Starbucks Cafe Verona.

From Sweet Maria's:
In reply to:
Click to expand...
 
I finished up the Sumatra today with some homemade scones for Father's day. Really tasty. I was telling my wife that I need to go ahead and start home roasting since it was better than anything I could get at HEB (and probably a fraction of the price). I've been debating getting into it for years. I'm thinking about buying this:
i-Roast
 
The iRoast 2 seems to be fairly popular and, as you probably read, is recommended as a good starter unit by Tom at Sweet Maria's. It roasts 1/3 pound of green so you'll end up with about 1/4 pound of roasted coffee. If you're not a heavy coffee drinker that should be fine. The Behmor seems to have a lot of users primarily because it can roast a pound at a time. For advice from lots of experienced home roasters you may want to subscribe to the email reflector at Sweet Maria's.

I started with an air popper from a resale shop and it worked great for 1/4 pound. I used a thermocouple digital thermometer with it and it did a great job for years. I eventually built a 1 pound PID-controlled roaster that I primarily use now since it's faster and the roast profiles are more easily controlled. I just vacuum pack and freeze whatever I can't use within a week or so.
 
Back from traveling so I've been able to try the other two. First, the 'Sumatra Lintong Special Preparation'. For my tastes, it was OK, but not my favorite. Maybe the "hints of tobacco and fresh leather" that Sweet Maria's mentions. Too much of an aftertaste for my liking.

Finally, I had the 'Ethiopia Organic Idido Misty Valley DP'. One of the best coffees I've tasted. Full of flavor, but a nice finish. Liked the fruit aroma.

If I had to rank the three:
1. Ethiopia Organic Idido Misty Valley DP
2. Guatemala Huehuetenango - Finca San Vicente
3. Sumatra Lintong Special Preparation

Thanks again for sharing your hobby with us.
 
brntorng, where do you get your "green" coffee beans, and how much do they typically cost? I've always wanted to try roasting my own, but I'd like to get a feel for the costs before jumping in on a roaster.
 
Sweet Maria's is the best place I've found. Excellent beans, great descriptions, and fair prices. Most beans are about $5 or $6 a pound plus shipping which averages about $1 a pound in larger orders. They keep for 6 months to years depending on the bean, so ordering a large amount isn't an issue. Beans lose weight during roasting so you'll end up with about 13-14 oz of roasted coffee from a pound of green. If you're in Austin, Mozart's on Lake Austin also sells green beans for $4.50 a pound, but it's more of a blind purchase. Other than the origin you won't know much about the beans. Their beans are usually pretty good, but usually not as good as Sweet Maria's.
 
TxEx84, I tend to agree with you. Generally speaking, I'm not as fond of the SE Asian coffees as I am of the Central Americans and Africans, but I included one from each major region for variety's sake.

Still waiting to hear feedback from the other 5 tasters...
 
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