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Graphing Columbia Coffee - Air Popper


I got a new coffee in and wanted to see what the best roast for it was. This time when we graphed it, we did 15 second increments and made sure to check the temperature of the beans once they were dumped.



Out of the 5 batches we compared 1, 2 and 5. Batches 3 and 4 seemed a little weird in that they spiked in temp and pulled much earlier than the rest. I'm not sure why that happened.

I chose to go with batch 1 because it was the lightest roast (lower temp and shorter time). It had a nice body and a really tangy acidity, which is good because that is the defining characteristic listed on the bag. (We brew everything in the V60.) After discussing it, I thought the tangy acidity was a little too much.

I then sampled batch 5, thinking it was the darkest roast. I wanted to establish a very serious contrast between the two. My pallet is not that refined so I wanted to make sure I tasted a difference. There was definitely a difference. The first difference was in the grinder. Batch 1 was tough to grind. Batch 5 was super easy. The flavor mostly consisted of roast flavor. The tangy acidity fell to the very end and mostly when it cooled. I also noticed the body was pretty empty. It was right between good diner coffee and Starbucks.

Today we sampled batch 2, right in the middle. I was hoping it would round out the acidity and not be so empty as the darker roast. I found that missed the distinctive punch of the acidity in batch 1.

I also concluded that the air popper is not going to get me an artisan roast. It is going to give a pretty consistent roast though. There is not a huge variance in the lines. It may not be artisan, but it is better than 90% of what I can buy out here on the market. It has also turned into a family affair on Sundays. My wife and I roast the coffee, we nerd out on the science and then enjoy the labor of our hands.

My conclusion: get an air popper and roast your own coffee!
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