Mystery Coffee Bean Swap

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Too late to join??? LoL!! Sounds like it could be fun!

Next round bud! [emoji6]
Although we can swap some beans and avoid the shipping too if you want. Although i can’t roast more beans till this weekend at the earliest. You have my number and can message me if you want to do this.
Maybe I’ll set up another round next month and I’ll tag you in it. [emoji1417]
 
Looks like my package from @Kealia has arrived! I won't get to it until tomorrow though (had it sent to my office and dang I picked the wrong day not to go into work). I'll give it a nice chopping in the office blade grinder and running through the V60 tomorrow before bringing it home and giving it a proper tasting on Saturday. Can't wait!
 
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@HarborTownBrewing thank you sir! :mug:
 
Ran home at lunch and grabbed my coffee from the mail box. Came back and used my trusty pour over that I keep in my desk. The roast is excellent! The flavor is high in acidity, and has a fruitiness to it. Maybe apple? It smells very savory. I am going with Kenya.....final answer.
 
As it cools down I get more sweetness mixed with the acidity and the fruit is maybe more cherry/cranberry which makes me think more towards Ethiopian so my Kenya guess is probably wrong. Hell Ethiopian is probably wrong too, what do I know LOL. It is excellent coffee though. I would buy this.
 
Close, but no cigar! Sorry but this was a tough one: Tanzania Tarime Town. This is consistently one of my favorites because you get the fruit flavors of an Eastern African bean but with the body of a South American bean.

Glad you enjoyed it! Would be happy to hear any other feedback you may have.
 
Close, but no cigar! Sorry but this was a tough one: Tanzania Tarime Town. This is consistently one of my favorites because you get the fruit flavors of an Eastern African bean but with the body of a South American bean.

Glad you enjoyed it! Would be happy to hear any other feedback you may have.

what did the roast curve look like? ill have to keep my eye for some of that coffee in the future
 
Close, but no cigar! Sorry but this was a tough one: Tanzania Tarime Town. This is consistently one of my favorites because you get the fruit flavors of an Eastern African bean but with the body of a South American bean.

Glad you enjoyed it! Would be happy to hear any other feedback you may have.
Interesting. I haven’t tried a Tanzanian bean until now. Very good! My wife said it’s perfect and she said it’s the best home roasted coffee she’s had yet.....she’s only had mine so.....
 
This morning my wife and I tried the beans from @jammin.

And since pictures are worth a thousand words, I snapped a few pics to add here but doubt they will appear inline with the timeline.

After grinding, and heating the water to 200, I scooped into our Aeropress for a 2:30 soak (inverted).

Then, the press into the awaiting cup.

Aroma notes:
Me - coffee [emoji3]. It smelled "bright" but I couldn't get much more than that. Note: I am aware that my sense of smell and aroma are not very good in terms of specifics.
Wife - Maybe a bit nutty or woody?

Taste:
Me - Smooth and "bright", very light acidic presence and I expected more given the light roast (she normally prefers a darker roast).
Wife - Slight acidic presence, somewhat chocolatey. As it cooled a bit she says chocolate and maybe caramel notes?

Based on that, our guess is Central American. If we're in the right part of the world we can try to narrow down more. If not, I'll limit the embarrassment to that region [emoji16]
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@Kealia - it’s a dry process Papa New Guinea. Kind of an off beat coffee but I enjoy a PNG from time to time due to its generally heavy body & sweetness. This bean hits close to mark but it’s doesnt have as much gravity as the better ones I’ve tried. I get a bit of a hickory/Smokey note along with hint of spice with a lingering molasses sweetness. I’m glad I checked your preferences first or your would have got a pretty citrusy Kenyan.
 
Haha, we weren't even on the right side of the frickin' planet!

It's cool to hear what you get from it. I'll keep those notes in mind when we taste again. Sometimes knowing what I am looking for helps me determine what I'm tasting. Looking forward to playing with this, thanks!
 
Received coffee from @Kealia which I made in the v60 at work.

I opened the bag and the coffee and was hit by a strong smell. I had a couple coworkers smell it and they were loving the scent. I had to use a blade grinder but it ground nicely. The roast looks even. Had a 3 min pour over but no temp control.

In the cup it tastes very good. Bold but good flavors. Getting caramel and sugar as it cools.

Ive got a good hunch I know what this is BUT I'm going to wait until tomorrow to submit my answer. I want to make this in the Chemex where I can bring out all the flavors because I think something is hiding.

Don't tell me what it is yet... I need just one more day. Tastes great though!
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Received coffee from @Kealia which I made in the v60 at work.

I opened the bag and the coffee and was hit by a strong smell. I had a couple coworkers smell it and they were loving the scent. I had to use a blade grinder but it ground nicely. The roast looks even. Had a 3 min pour over but no temp control.

In the cup it tastes very good. Bold but good flavors. Getting caramel and sugar as it cools.

Ive got a good hunch I know what this is BUT I'm going to wait until tomorrow to submit my answer. I want to make this in the Chemex where I can bring out all the flavors because I think something is hiding.

Don't tell me what it is yet... I need just one more day. Tastes great though! View attachment 616379
You have the exact same office coffee set up that I have except for my pour over is black.
 
@Br3w4u

Upon opening the bag I smelled cherries, flowers and spices. Upon grinding the bean the aroma was cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa and tobacco. I brewed on the Aeropress using their basic instructions. The hot coffee was fruity with a pomegranate foreground and light grapefruit in the background with some spiciness and cocoa . As the cup cooled the citrus became more orange or lemon and the fruit ran towards cherry as a taste of tea begin to dominate then chocolate. A well roasted bean and a delicious cup of coffee! Thank you!

Overall the spice character and acidity seemed similar to that I taste in Yirgacheffe. Therefore, my guess is that this bean is Ethiopian.
 
I gave @Kealia coffee a proper brewing today in the Chemex with a paper filter. 201 degree water, 55grams, 4:45 brew time at a 1/16 ratio.

I had a feeling there was a flavor hiding and today I found it: spiced apple. So I'm getting spiced apple as it's hot, caramel and sugar as it cools. There's a plum flavor that lingers as well. It's a very balanced coffee; it's a darker roast than I normally would do but I am really enjoying; it's exceptional. My wife likes it a lot as well.

My guess is it's either Colombia, Guatemala, or Peru. I'm going with Colombia - final answer!
 
I gave @Kealia coffee a proper brewing today in the Chemex with a paper filter. 201 degree water, 55grams, 4:45 brew time at a 1/16 ratio.

I had a feeling there was a flavor hiding and today I found it: spiced apple. So I'm getting spiced apple as it's hot, caramel and sugar as it cools. There's a plum flavor that lingers as well. It's a very balanced coffee; it's a darker roast than I normally would do but I am really enjoying; it's exceptional. My wife likes it a lot as well.

My guess is it's either Colombia, Guatemala, or Peru. I'm going with Colombia - final answer!

Sorry, yesterday was a busy day.

The answer is.......Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Honey Processed.

Here's the roast profile (on a Behmor 1600+):
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I'll be curious to see what you get from it when you roast it in the manner in which you normally roast.
 
@Br3w4u

Upon opening the bag I smelled cherries, flowers and spices. Upon grinding the bean the aroma was cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa and tobacco. I brewed on the Aeropress using their basic instructions. The hot coffee was fruity with a pomegranate foreground and light grapefruit in the background with some spiciness and cocoa . As the cup cooled the citrus became more orange or lemon and the fruit ran towards cherry as a taste of tea begin to dominate then chocolate. A well roasted bean and a delicious cup of coffee! Thank you!

Overall the spice character and acidity seemed similar to that I taste in Yirgacheffe. Therefore, my guess is that this bean is Ethiopian.
Spot on! I get the cherry tobacco very strong in that one and I love it.
 
Woo Hoo coffee arrived along with some bonus tracks! Thanks @jimyson ! I plan to take some to work in the morning use the Behmor and share it with my coworker. It will be the weekend before I can do a proper pour over.
I’ll do my best to describe what I taste, but I’m no where near most of y’alls tasting league. I believe some of you can tell that it was picked from the north side of a south facing plant on a Tuesday.

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Woo Hoo coffee arrived along with some bonus tracks! Thanks @jimyson ! I plan to take some to work in the morning use the Behmor and share it with my coworker. It will be the weekend before I can do a proper pour over.
I’ll do my best to describe what I taste, but I’m no where near most of y’alls tasting league. I believe some of you can tell that it was picked from the north side of a south facing plant on a Tuesday.

View attachment 617025

That A bean is about to blow!! Unfortunately those bags didn’t have valves and I stuffed that A bag to the brim.
 
for those of you who haven't traded coffee or beer with @Inkleg, you might not know what a generous person he is. i've traded with him before and i wasn't surprised that he went above & beyond. the package included 2 roasts, 1 dark & one that i'd guess to be City++. to round it all out, there was a fine selection of local hoppy brews that i've been enjoying.
i haven't gotten to the dark roast, but i have been working on lighter one labeled "exhibit b". sensory analysis for this coffee is challenging because it's doesn't have anything that's dominant. the clear thing i can pick up from whole & ground dry aroma is a clean sweetness. this leads me believe its a washed coffee so you can knock 90% of my experience right off the table for IDing this bean. Pour overs in the V60 are simply pleasant - no detectable acidity but enough to ensure there isn't a cardboard foundation. The clean simple syrup sweetness extends though even as the coffee cools. I could not pick up any strong notes of spice, funk, fruit, nuts, ferment. It is apparent this roast is well developed and likely spent over 10 minutes, possibly over 12 in the roaster total. No strong roast/smokey/char characteristics so end temp is likely kept on the lower spectrum.
I put this coffee under the microscope and pulled some espresso shots. The ground coffee was quite fluffy but ran a little fast when dialing in. A definite hallmark of a decent amount of area under the roast curve. Once dialed in, the shots pour a nice Amber color; another indicator of end temp likely in the lower/middle range. Brightness in the cup shows up in normal style shot 18g in, 36 out over the course ~ 45 sec (2.5 p/i and 25sec of pump on & 2.5bar finish). I really liked the acidity for espresso shots on this coffee and it's at the level that even my wife doesn't mind. The clean simply syrup sweetness shows through here again & and i get faint notes of vanilla bean and possibly naval orange. Milk chocolate finish.

So if I have to take a stab at Origin, I am gonna guess Washed Costa Rican.


Edit: i thought for sure he'd send me a Sumatran since he's confessed funkmeister & lover of the dank beans haha
 
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I agree with @Inkleg's comment: The pallettes on y'all is downright amazing. And lest anybody think @jammin isn't just as generous....I received a number of local Idahoan beers with my beans, too. We tried the Havoc (a buddy and I) on Saturday night and it was.... different than what I normally drink. It poured almost like motor oil in terms of viscosity, but it wasn't flat. It was dark, rich, a bit hopppy and warming at 10% ABV, IIRC. It was great to try something out of my wheelhouse....and I have a hazy IPA or two with my name on it, too.
 
@jammin thanks for the in depth description of Exhibit B. You never cease to amaze me with what you can taste in a bean. Thanks for giving me a descriptor of the roast levels too. Exhibit A has been a hard bean to get a feel for.

Anyone else would have gotten Sumatran. :D

Exhibit B roast and coffee. Well done sir.

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@HarborTownBrewing
I roasted the bonus mystery beans last night to a medium roast. I feel like I know what these are but I want to wait to submit my answer until I try them tomorrow morning. I get a nutty chocolate aroma from the roasted beans in the bag and it is very familiar to me.
 

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