Costa Rican Tres Rios - SHB

[hyper_dermic]

I ordered 3lbs of this bean from Coffee Bean Corral in order to get the hang of my IRoast2.

I have made my way through about 3/4 of the 3lb bag and it has improved my roasting ability greatly. I have also found my "perfect" roast level for this specific costa rican coffee.

For anyone just starting off, i think this is a nice bean to cut your teeth on for reasons i will discuss below.

The best roast ive had with this bean was a milk chocolate color, slightly mottled, with no oil on the surface. A city or city+
when roasted to this level the taste was just amazing. Bright (almost citrusy), Crisp, and a fantastic Sweet finish are the 3 major flavors that come to mind.


This was brewed in either an aeropress or a french press. Both brew methods allow all the flavors to come through, although ive been favoring the Aeropress lately for several reasons. 1st, no sludge thanks to the filter. 2nd quicker brew time about 60 seconds from start to finish. 3rd easy clean up, just eject puck, quick rinse and your good to go. cleanest tasting cup of coffee ive had so far.

heres what is strange about the Tres Rios...
when one progresses to FC or FC+, the taste just goes flat. No more acidity, no crisp clean flavor, very little sweet finish. It actually tastes pretty crummy when roasted to this level.

At first i thought i may have brewed it at the wrong temp or something, but then i stumbed across "sweet maria's" websight. they had a review of the Tres Rios, and it matched my notes EXACTLY.
I wish i would have seen this earlier, as it would have saved me from 2 batches of less than stellar Costa Rican Coffee.

Now i think this is good for a beginner because it helps you figure out exactly where "city and "full city" are
The picture guides on the internet just dont help at all. small differences in color due to moniters or cameras or lighting change everything. But with this coffee, the taste changes SO MUCH from city to Full city.
It goes from wonderful to crap. :)
Theres no mistaking it.

Anyhow, if you enjoy Bright coffees, this is probably the best i have had so far (in the brightness department). I like to let the cup cool down a bit so i can really taste the flavors. And the sweet finish is just excellent.
I highly reccomend it.

-hyp

[Fumioso]

Thanks for the review. I'm with you on the pictures -- not particularly helpful. I've been using the IR2 for a few months now and I still haven't got the hang of it. Ambient temperatures really affect this roaster, I'm finding, and it's hard to achieve any consistency. Still getting great coffee though, and it's been a great learning tool.

What "recipe" did you use for the Tres Rios, if I may ask?

:cf

[hyper_dermic]

I used to different profiles with the tres rois.. after i was able to achive repeatable results with the 1st profile, i tinkered/found a new profile that extended the initial "warm-up" period, and extended the period between 1st and 2nd crack.

The theory behind the 1st part is with a slower period leading up to 1st crack, the beans have more time to expel moisture, and more evenly roast.

the 1st profile i learned on was
320F for 4:00
355F for 3:00
415F for 7:00

So a 14:00 total roast time, and i use a scale and 140g batches. (the scale helps ALOT in getting consistant roasts)
looking back at my notes i would get 1st crack with about 8:30 left on the clock.
If i stopped with 7:00 left on the clock, it ended up around city or city+ and was VERY tasty.
If i stopped with 6:20 left on the clock, it ended up at full city+ and taste went flat.
40 seconds between city+ and fullcity+ seemed a bit short to me, so i wanted to slow it down a bit

the next profile i used was (this is the profile i use now for all my beans)
320F - 6:00
375F - 3:00
385F - 4:00
390F - 1:00
400F - 1:00
15min total
with this profile i get 1st crack with 9:00-8:15 left on the clock.
the 1st time i stopped with 4:30 left on the clock and it was around full city. flat taste :(

the 2nd time i stopped 1 min past 1st crack with 8:00 left on the clock.
this time i was way too light (probably a shade or 2 lighter than city)

now i stop between 7:00 to 5:45. in this area i get a nice city or city+.

Of course your roaster will roast differently, but these times will give you a ballpark figure. look for 1st crack at around 9-8, then around 7-5 start looking for the color you are shooting for (city+ tastes the best for me, but its better to err on the light side with this bean)

taking notes really does help, and so does the scale.. if weight is no longer a variable, its one step closer to consistant roasts :)

Let me know how the profile works out for ya!

-hyp


Thanks for the review. I'm with you on the pictures -- not particularly helpful. I've been using the IR2 for a few months now and I still haven't got the hang of it. Ambient temperatures really affect this roaster, I'm finding, and it's hard to achieve any consistency. Still getting great coffee though, and it's been a great learning tool.

What "recipe" did you use for the Tres Rios, if I may ask?

:cf

[Fumioso]

Based on this I think my roasting temps are way too high. I've been using profiles like 400 - 3 min, 425 - 3 min, 450 - 3 min and usually have to stop the roast about 6-7 minutes in depending on what roast I'm shooting for. I think I need to cool it down a little!

I'm gonna give your second profile a shot and see if I can make this Yirg freshen up a little.

Thanks, hyp!

[hyper_dermic]

it could be your machine runs a bit cool, or mine runs a bit hot...
but those do sound high to me.

the slower i can get the beans to roast, the easier it is to stop and not over/undershoot my target...

Plus, some say the taste is different, and you will have a more even roast.

about how far in do you get 1st crack? and how much time inbetween 1st crack and 2nd crack?
Or if your like me, and cant hear 2nd crack over the IROAR,
how much time inbetween 1st crack and when you push COOL?

i find most bean usually hit 1st crack at around 375F on the internal temp.
now i know this varys from machine to machine... its its been pretty much consistant no matter what profile i use...

with the 2nd profile, look for 1st crack during the 2nd or 3rd stage....

(oh and i always set my profiles LONG, and manually stop... if you let this profile go the whole way your kitchen may catch on fire ;))

BTW, which yirg are you roasting?
I just picked up a 5lb bag of that misty valley Yirg, it got pretty good cupping ratings from sweet marias, im looking foward to trying it out.

-hyp

[Fumioso]

I've been roasting the 2007 MAO from Unclebeanz for the "Man Or Mouse" Yirg Pass. I like it better than the Late Harvest from Sweet Marias, but maybe that's because I'm not roasting it right. :D

The last profile I set up was 415 - 3 min / 385 - 2 min / 400 - 3 min, getting first crack with 3:55 on the clock. I stopped it at 2:00 on the clock to avoid getting into second crack. I've used different profiles (hotter, faster ones) but this one seems to work the best. I get a lull between first and second crack with this profile (sometimes, depending on the bean.) I have a couple of MAO test batches to go and I'm going to use one of your lower temp profiles to see what I get.

I roast in the garage, so the ambient temp is different for each batch. When I started roasting in January I had to use the high temps to get to second crack. Now that it's warmed up I'm getting to a French roast in 5 or 6 min using those same profiles.... gotta cool it down, I think. It doesn't help that a couple weeks ago it was getting into the 90's and now it's about 65 degrees. Damn climate change! Changing every day!! I smell a conspiracy...