Here's an interesting one. Filter roast of Kenya Masai AA.

Dropped at 190 degrees, first crack at 11:00 exactly (195 degrees), then pulled at 12:30 at 200 degrees.

I hope the macro shot shows a bit more of the detail.

You can see the beans are just starting to expand and there are only a few small cracks in the bean surface.

Most of the chaff has gone (this is a washed coffee anyway) but some still clings on around the crease! Enjoy... click the thumbnail below to ENLARGIFY! Ok it's not that large.

This one roasted up really well.  Finished up at 15:30 at 212 degrees.

Green:

Roasted:

Roast Log:

It's been a while since i bothered to post a roast log. Primary reason being I've only just received a new batch of coffees.  For the next couple months i'll be drinking:

• Yemen Sanani (dry process i assume)
• Costa Rica Cafatelara Herbazu (washed)
• Costa Rica Finca De Licho (honey)
• Kenya Masai AA (washed)
• India Balmaadi Organic (not sure how this one is processed, some from this farm is washed, some is natural)

Here's some interesting info on the fertilizer used at India Balmaadi:

"We make our own compost, liquid manure and cow horn manure, silica et al. ‘Pachagavyam’, which is concotion of 5 products from the cow i.e .milk, curd, ghee, dung and urine are fermented in time honoured proportions and sprayed as a tonic. At sunrise, we salute the sun god and make a small offering invoking his blessings. This is called ‘agni hotra’. The ashes from this offering are sprinkled all over the estate as a pest repellent."

Can't wait to try that one! Apparently it is actually really good.

First roast of this new batch is the Yemen Sanani:

The flash on the camera really shows up the under-ripes.

I pulled out maybe 10 defect beans before roasting. I think with a Yemen you really can't go too light, it's a Yemen after all and is usually pretty uneven. I decided on a 15 min roast finishing up at 212 degrees. Here's the end result:

Splitting open the beans I can already smell that intense cherry flavour that Yemen is know for. Sometimes I just get sick of the clean, washed, rounded central americans and you just want something a bit more rustic. Yemen definately fits into that category.  Here's the roast log (that orange first crack zone should be moved to the right one column... oops):

I headed down to Melbourne again for a few nights in between xmas and new year, visiting the usual spots in the CBD but also venturing out to De Clieu at Fitzroy which was excellent (we had some great food and coffee there!), St Ali in South Melbourne and Market Lane at Prahran.  Unfortunately we missed a lot of places we wanted to go as they were closed for a (well deserved) holiday.  I think Brisbane is definitely giving Melbourne a run for its money, but you have to know where to go!  It's still a lot easier to get an acceptable cup of coffee in Melbourne, but some of Brisbane's newer cafes have really taken things to the next level. It's especially pleasing to see cafe owners with high standards, who are willing to chuck a shot or re-pour a coffee if they don't think something is spot on.

Some of the bars and restaurants in Melbourne were great too - Hutong Dumpling, Cookie, Section 8, Emerald Peacock were standouts.

Blog traffic seems to be growing slowly but steadily. BrewMethod has had just over 2,000 pageviews in the last six months. It's great to know there are a few people interested in my hobby coffee roasting adventures, but i do this mostly for my own record keeping and for a bit of fun.

Today's roast was an espresso blend comprised of some of the best origins i had in 2009:

• 37.5% Nicaragua cup of excellence lot #4 Santa Guadalupe
• 27.5% El Salvador cup of excellence lot #26 Santa Barbara
• 25% Kenya Gethumbwini AB
• 10% Kenya Kaguyu

The Nicaragua will give the blend a ton of leathery body but also contribute heaps of sweetness at this roast level, while the El Sal is creamy and a bit more mild and the washed Kenyans will bring a clean sweetness with some blackcurrant flavours from the Gethumbwini.

Roast graph:

Green coffee:

Roasted coffee: