Iteration 3
For the third roast, I knew I wanted to go fast. The sample roasting I had done with this Maragogipe on the IKAWA was delightful and had some interesting floral characteristics. I wanted to emphasize those. I was concerned about a few things, though. First, I was concerned about causing the tipping defect or otherwise damaging the Maragogipe. Secondly, I was concerned about having enough heat energy in the roaster to push this coffee to first crack quickly.
As some who were part of the Galapagos set will recall, the way that I was able to avoid tipping and burnt flavors in the coffee was by roasting with high airflow; however, there seemed to be a speed limit where a 2-kilo batch would take around 9:00-9:30 to reach the first crack. So, it was time to lower my batch size. By reducing my batch size, I could keep my inlet temperature low enough to avoid tipping (by keeping my fan speed maxed out) and still have enough energy to reach an earlier first crack. I dropped my batch size by 500 grams to 1.5 kilograms. I was able to have my cake and eat it too.
This roast gets the first crack to happen a minute before Iteration #2, which helps bring out some of the more delicate notes in this coffee by reducing savory flavors.
This coffee was outstanding and represented much of what I was trying to do with this Maragogipe from the start. It was sweet, vibrant, fruity, interesting, and all-around outstanding. The aromatics seemed a little duller at my first experience of the coffee, with some subtle florals and tropical fruits. However, as I began tasting the coffee, it really showed up. Floral, tropical fruits, Hawaiian Punch, sweet, tangy, and juicy. The second time I tasted the coffee, I got: light, floral, apricot, green herbs (but in a delightful way), pineapple, and tropical fruits, and then I put a name to the herb I was tasting… sage.
Even yesterday, when I brewed a pot of this iteration, it was vibrant, Hawaiian Punch and sage, with lingering florals, tart sweetness, and effervescent acidity.
This coffee is remarkable. This ended up being my favorite of all of the iterations.
