The trier enables the coffee roaster to see and smell what's happening in the roast chamber...
I hope you all had a lovely holiday season!
The trier allows me to pull a sample of beans from the roasting drum. I can see what's happening to the beans both in terms of colour and size and, more importantly, I can sniff the beans to check on olfactory roasting milestones... gotta love it when you can use "olfactory" in a sentence!
Early in the roast, the beans smell like freshly cut grass. At about the time the colour of the beans turns to a full yellow (losing any hint of green), they start to smell like hay and this is when the Maillard reaction starts to have its impact on the flavours in the coffee bean. During first crack, when water vapour starts to fracture the bean structure, the beans take on a distinctly vinegary smell. Waiting for that smell to dissipate allows me to optimise the sweetness of the roast. Finally, for medium roasts, you can start to smell caramel and nutty notes... a really delicious stage!
EXOTIC ESPRESSO
This week the Exotic Espresso is a magnificent Ethiopia Yirgacheffe "Worka" Grade 1 Anaerobic Natural. It's super complex with dark chocolate, nuts, and intriguing notes of ripe tropical fruit - pawpaw, pineapple and orange.
Buy Exotic Espresso
ROASTERY CLOSURE REMINDER
Our family is taking two weeks of holiday between January 10 and January 24... so there will be no roasting during that period. Last orders prior to the holiday will be taken Friday January 5, 2024 for roasting Saturday/Sunday January 6/7, 2024 and dispatch Monday January 8, 2024. Roasting will recommence on the weekend of January 27/28.
To read about flat whites and extract chilling click here
To read about the Hario Skerton Pro hand grinder click here