First Test of My Mexican Chiapas on the Behmor

This is going to be a bid of a short blog post, because I am working on a little video of my taste test. I think what I will focus on here is the biggest lesson I learned. That is regarding the Millard reaction.

The Millard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars (not going to get super scientifical here). In roasting, the green coffee beans change from green, to a white'ish, to a yellow. Once you hit that yellow phase, the Millard reaction is taking place.

During this reaction, lots of things are being created within the bean. All of those compounds come out in the brewed coffee, giving lots of flavor and body. One thing that I noticed with all of these coffees is that the body was so heavy that it just sat like a brick on the tongue. Looking at the graphs and thinking back on my roasts, the yellow phase is super long. In the above picture, the long flat section in the middle is my yellow phase (most of the roast time).

My goal in my next round of tests is to reduce that yellow phase and get just a touch higher on the final heat. I would like my roast to drop closer to the 12-14 min mark.

I plan to do my roasting this weekend, so keep an eye out for the next graph. I hope to be ready for sale after this next round. Also, keep an eye out for the video!

As a quick side note...I hope that my journey helps demonstrate that it isn't always perfect, and that it takes a lot of work to make your dreams happen. But it is worth it. Don't let fear keep you from living the life you want.

Kill the Fear. #LifeFueledByMuertos

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