Got a note from Sweet Maria's on this ^ subject, passing it along for general interest:
Info Sweet Maria's Customer Service
2:11 PM (26 minutes ago)
to me
Hey Edward, thanks for the note.
We actually don't have much information on this topic. Most of our supply channels for 2021 are already in place and they don't anticipate any locust-related issues.
In general, Specialty Coffee of the arabica variety (what we sell on sweetmarias.com) comes from smallish traditional farms. A lot of coffee farmers in Ethiopia and Yemen are essentially organic simply because the farmers are too poor to afford pesticides, but on the other hand, they also can't afford the official organic certification. Kenya is a different story - while still not mega-agri-business style farms, they do use pesticides and other more western methods of pest and weed control and so it is rare to find an organic Kenyan. Most Central and South American coffee farms will use some fungicides due to Roya, the coffee rust disease, but such use is targeted and occurs long before fruit begins to grow on the tree.
In terms of how much pesticide reaches the cup - I think roasting, grinding and brewing could eliminate almost all traces of pesticide. It's much more likely you would get pesticides from fresh produce like beans or tomatoes if those are not organic. But it is a real concern for the health of the farmworkers and the environment of the farms. Specialty coffee, in general, is traditionally grown - so sparse use of pesticides if any. It is the robusta variety of coffee grown in the mega-agri-business coffee areas like Brazil, Vietnam, and China that are more worrisome.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions!
My Wife drank a second cup of coffee today. Queue Mrs. Olson. No, it wasn't Folgers Crystals, it was Uganda Sipi Falls Natural. She said she both needed it and wanted it. Sadly, this meant my normal second cup from the pot wasn't all there, just a little bit left.
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I don't remember the last time that Kim made coffee. I'd make a bigger pot except there's days when someone else doesn't drink coffee or two someone's and I'd like to minimize waste.
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I have not heard much word about the next Kenya crop but it should be picked by now, most of the container ship dates I am seeing are early Feb, which means the coffee was picked Nov/Dec/Jan.
Everything on the market is getting a little older so its always a questions on stocking up on how well will they age, in general if availability becomes an issue, I would shop similar cups coming out of Rwanda or Tanz, possibly Congo, Zambia etc.. Depends on how much you love Kenya coffee though.
We will definitely get some new lots into March/April/May but unfortunately with their aggregate production model, hard for us to know if they have increased pesticide usage. In general, we see very little organics out of Kenya but single estate coffees are becoming more popular which allows for organic production.
Got my new Behmor 2000AB roaster. I've ordered upgrade parts for my old 1600+ and will keep it, for now, as a backup. It has served me well but is tired after 354 roasts.
Got a good roast of the Legacy Farms Honduras Cerro Bueno Lempira last night on the Bullet. Took it darker than ever, still well before second crack, but it's tasting pretty good this morning.
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The first video talks about water activity in green coffee. Rob Hoos gives a talk on airflow in roasting and Anne Cooper talks about a wide range of topics in roasting emphasizing knowing your green coffee. I missed most of the Chemistry talk in the live stream so I'll have to catch up on it later.
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I'm trying to find a descriptive for a flavor in the Haiti coffee I roasted. Any suggestions? It is not an unpleasant bean, has good body, not too acid, decent flavor, except for this overtone. Best I can come up with is 'mildly acrid' or 'slightly harsh', like a scratchy sweater or something abrasive.
Sounds like it might be a sensation rather than a flavor; something you feel more than taste?
probably, two more days of development time (8 days rest in total) and it turned the corner and is really good now. Guess different beans have different peak flavor ramps. Roasted the rest of it today, some into French roast territory, some city+.
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Comments
Or at least how to properly serve it?? 👴🏻👍
This video may vindicate Peter's love of French Press.
Geeky article: https://coffeeadastra.com/2019/07/16/why-do-percolation-and-immersion-coffee-taste-so-different/
time to stock up or just avoid these coffees due to the intense spraying of insecticides?
Last spring they foraged on coffee plants:
https://citizentv.co.ke/news/locusts-camp-in-kirinyaga-sending-coffee-farmers-into-panic-325133/
and a second swarm is happening now:
Across the Horn of Africa locust invasions have reached dangerous levels in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, according to the FAO.
npr.org/2021/01/19/958543535/locust-swarms-threaten-parts-of-east-africa
Got a note from Sweet Maria's on this ^ subject, passing it along for general interest:
Info Sweet Maria's Customer Service
2:11 PM (26 minutes ago)
to me
Hey Edward, thanks for the note.
We actually don't have much information on this topic. Most of our supply channels for 2021 are already in place and they don't anticipate any locust-related issues.
In general, Specialty Coffee of the arabica variety (what we sell on sweetmarias.com) comes from smallish traditional farms. A lot of coffee farmers in Ethiopia and Yemen are essentially organic simply because the farmers are too poor to afford pesticides, but on the other hand, they also can't afford the official organic certification. Kenya is a different story - while still not mega-agri-business style farms, they do use pesticides and other more western methods of pest and weed control and so it is rare to find an organic Kenyan. Most Central and South American coffee farms will use some fungicides due to Roya, the coffee rust disease, but such use is targeted and occurs long before fruit begins to grow on the tree.
In terms of how much pesticide reaches the cup - I think roasting, grinding and brewing could eliminate almost all traces of pesticide. It's much more likely you would get pesticides from fresh produce like beans or tomatoes if those are not organic. But it is a real concern for the health of the farmworkers and the environment of the farms. Specialty coffee, in general, is traditionally grown - so sparse use of pesticides if any. It is the robusta variety of coffee grown in the mega-agri-business coffee areas like Brazil, Vietnam, and China that are more worrisome.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
Lana
My Wife drank a second cup of coffee today. Queue Mrs. Olson. No, it wasn't Folgers Crystals, it was Uganda Sipi Falls Natural. She said she both needed it and wanted it. Sadly, this meant my normal second cup from the pot wasn't all there, just a little bit left.
I generally lick each bean before roasting to get rid of any residual pesticides.
@Yakster I know Kim's hands didn't fall off. Be a man, tell her to make her own. ;-)
You need a bigger pot.
I don't remember the last time that Kim made coffee. I'd make a bigger pot except there's days when someone else doesn't drink coffee or two someone's and I'd like to minimize waste.
One last water activity post, this one all about coffee, so I'll post it here. This one seems to tie things together a bit for me.
https://royalcoffee.com/green-coffee-analytics-relevance-to-roasters-buyers-and-producers-part-i-moisture-content-and-total-water-activity/
and a response from Burmans:
Burman Coffee gburman@burmancoffee.com
11:15 AM (32 minutes ago)
to me
I have not heard much word about the next Kenya crop but it should be picked by now, most of the container ship dates I am seeing are early Feb, which means the coffee was picked Nov/Dec/Jan.
Everything on the market is getting a little older so its always a questions on stocking up on how well will they age, in general if availability becomes an issue, I would shop similar cups coming out of Rwanda or Tanz, possibly Congo, Zambia etc.. Depends on how much you love Kenya coffee though.
We will definitely get some new lots into March/April/May but unfortunately with their aggregate production model, hard for us to know if they have increased pesticide usage. In general, we see very little organics out of Kenya but single estate coffees are becoming more popular which allows for organic production.
Thanks,
Jon Burman
www.burmancoffee.com
gburman@burmancoffee.com
2140 W Greenview Dr Suite 2
Middleton, Wi. 53562
608-831-9247
Got my new Behmor 2000AB roaster. I've ordered upgrade parts for my old 1600+ and will keep it, for now, as a backup. It has served me well but is tired after 354 roasts.
Congrats, Edward. Keep the old one as a backup and to roast almonds. Just remember that there's no second crack with almonds.
https://towardsdatascience.com/coffee-bean-degassing-d747c8a9d4c9
Got a good roast of the Legacy Farms Honduras Cerro Bueno Lempira last night on the Bullet. Took it darker than ever, still well before second crack, but it's tasting pretty good this morning.
The videos from the Roast Magazine 2021 Summit are up: https://www.roastmagazine.com/roastsummit/
The first video talks about water activity in green coffee. Rob Hoos gives a talk on airflow in roasting and Anne Cooper talks about a wide range of topics in roasting emphasizing knowing your green coffee. I missed most of the Chemistry talk in the live stream so I'll have to catch up on it later.
I'm trying to find a descriptive for a flavor in the Haiti coffee I roasted. Any suggestions? It is not an unpleasant bean, has good body, not too acid, decent flavor, except for this overtone. Best I can come up with is 'mildly acrid' or 'slightly harsh', like a scratchy sweater or something abrasive.
Have looked at a flavor wheel?
Sounds like it might be a sensation rather than a flavor; something you feel more than taste?
Roasted some Sumatra Aceh Tengah Bies.
130g green - 111g roasted
5.5 minutes roasting time.
Next time I'll shorten the roasting time.
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
Looks good, John!
probably, two more days of development time (8 days rest in total) and it turned the corner and is really good now. Guess different beans have different peak flavor ramps. Roasted the rest of it today, some into French roast territory, some city+.
If coffee commercials were honest:
https://facebook.com/watch/?v=159609412598341
That was good, and definitely made me chuckle.
MOW badge received.
New coffee scale announced
acaiacoffee Introducing a brand new scale: the HAL 9000!
The HAL 9000 is our first completely autonomous, artificially intelligent scale. And it wants to help you.
This scale will not display weight or time but will guide you in a calm, conversational voice; easing you into your daily coffee journey. The assigned coffee recipe is of the utmost importance to HAL, so if you happen to diverge too far from the instructions, the scale will take over.
HAL 9000 can not let you jeopardize the brew mission. Available universally never. Results may vary.
The content of polyphenols in coffee beans as roasting, origin and storage effect
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/04/210429123340.htm
I'd like to read that, but seems to go to an article on fasting: Fasting lowers blood pressure by reshaping the gut microbiota.
oh, sorry about that, I'm all over the place this morning @Yakster
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00217-019-03388-9
Here's a video about avoiding coffee roasting defects that may be interesting for the home-roasters on this forum.
Thanks, I bookmarked it for later.