back to the drawing board

well... I haven't been roasting as much as I'd like to recently mostly due to work commitments, so it comes as no surprise to me then to learn that some of my recent roasts have been, well, less-than-perfect

as a mater of fact I've been pulling my roasts early recently in an effort to avoid burning them, when in fact most needed a good couple of minutes longer to reach rolling second crack

this is what happens when you roast sporadically - you take your eye off the ball, then it takes some practice to get it all happening good again

I think I got it right with some Datera beans last night, though - I roasted these for 18mins at 235C, and they looked and smelled great when I pulled the roast

In fact, the whole house smelt amazing, and going to sleep with the alluring aroma of freshly roasted coffee lingering in the air is a fantasy dream come true for a died-in-the-wool barista / roaster like me!

I also popped my roasting temperature up marginally from the usual 230C to 235C about half way through the roast, as I noticed that the Gene Cafe was struggling a bit to maintain optimum temperature, probably due to the chilly 15C temp in my freezing kitchen!

So it's onward and upward with my roasts from here on in!

At least I've got a backlog of about 5kg of green beans to work through - being equal amounts of Columbian Peaberry, and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe; so that should keep me busy for awhile, and I should have plenty of time to get the roast profiles right for each of these, as i have plenty of product to work with

Will keep you posted on my progress...

On a bright and cheerful note: new store is going great guns and it was our busiest coffee day today and we kicked some serious butt! I suppose it helps that it was only about 12C outside - which means that everyone was drinking coffee or hot chocolate - and for some strange reason we are selling heaps more 16oz coffees here than any store that I have ever operated or worked in: I mean 7 or 8 large coffees in a row at a time?

What's going on with that?

I put it down to all those industrious education (teaching) students located in the adjacent building - what with their teaching rounds and classes all crammed together and all

We also got our large (1.5m diameter?) signage outside today, which I'm sure helps to attract some passing interest

I'm certain that the uni will say something about 'not approved signage' and 'not going through the proper channels' to put it up - which is why its up high and on hooks so we can bring it in at night!

Still... with the commercial rent that we're paying - you can't really blame a guy for advertising, can you?

Pat