Another long hiatus for me since the last post. I haven’t been roasting nor pulling either. I did a good roast half an hour before midnight on Feb 23rd. Ethiopian Sidamo roasted to Viennese in 5:28 minutes as recorded on my iPhone. Did a pull this morning as I couldn’t wait any longer. BRING BACK THE 45 SECOND RISTRETTO! I tried to take pictures, but my iPhone resetted itself after… Continue reading
I’ve had a long hiatus since my last post, what with handling a chaotic comic book shop, and trying to move the whole shenanigan to a new place (more on this later), I haven’t even the time to do a roast. But I managed to find some time, what with my poor time management skills, to allocate for Roast Day Sunday last. Today is Day 3 of SM Italian Espresso… Continue reading
I pulled a 45 sec double ristretto of ecafe Shilcho Sidamo just now. It tastes so creamy I’m going for my third today. Together with the crema, it hits just under the 1 oz mark. Heavily speckled with dark chocolate bits, it had a very creamy mouthfeel. I can definitely get used to these ristretto shots. My first shot of the day was Kenya Gethumbwini, which I roasted 2 days… Continue reading
I should change the title.I was jinxed yesterday.I thought I had a good day ahead of me. I roasted a real nice batch of SM Italian Espresso blend 4 days ago. Yesterday would be peaking at 3 days. The roast was stopped at the start of 2nd crack, giving the bean a nice dark chocolate brown, with very slight hints of oil. Perfect day, right? My bro requested an americano… Continue reading
This Ethiopian beauty was roasted to a rolling 2nd crack. This particular bean has a long 1st crack, starting from 2:00 to 4:30 minutes. And 2nd crack comes only 30 seconds later. I wasn’t listening out for a 2nd crack, I was still waiting for 1st crack to stop, which was my mistake. The roast came out with oily patches, which I feel is a bit overroasted. After resting for… Continue reading
Rituals. You have your japanese tea ceremonies. I have my daily morning coffee ritual.First thing when I wake up, 1) Turn on the Gaggia Espresso machine. 2) Set my Bodum Pavina glass under the portafilter. 3) Wash up.4) 20 minutes pass and my machine’s all heated up. I run through 3 shots of water. This takes approximately 5 minutes. Both portafilter and glass are heated up this way.5) After the… Continue reading
I’m roasting the world’s best coffee beans and I was so excited I forgot to time the roast. I stopped the roast at the verge of 2nd crack. I should’ve stopped it before hitting 2nd crack. You know, after roasting espresso roasts most of the time, you just have a knack of stopping it at or after 2nd crack. I’m not used to roasting medium roasts.As I opened the bag… Continue reading
Bean: Bolivian Peaberry
Degree: Northern Italian Roast
Age: 2 days old
This is the bean I roasted on the verge of 2nd crack. I expect lemony brightness?? Here’s the pour. Good slow one, good tiger striping, 23 seconds pull. A lot of crema as expected. The pull was guinness-like. The full glass of crema slowly subsided to just 1.5 cm worth of crema. Some hazelnut cloured spots peppered on the surface. Smells great… Continue reading
I am on a roll! My 2nd triple espresso is nearer to a godshot. Perfect tamping by NSEW method, very even, small slow funnel, good tiger striping, It smells and tastes as it did in bean form, crema that outlasts the drink. What a great way to start a new day. Darn! I should be signing up for espresso rehab. I’m addicted to beautiful pours!… Continue reading
Bean: Mexico Oaxaca
Degree: Central Italian Roast
Roast Age: 5 days old
What a great pour today! Gaggia MDF grinder set at 3, Gaggia Espresso machine given a thorough 5 cycle warmup. With my naked portafilter, I can see the beautiful tiger-striping, a slow funnel forming, the tamp was almost perfect, a good slow pour of about 22 seconds, I stopped short because I didn’t want to be too greedy and ruin this… Continue reading
