First roast: Ethiopia Late Harvest Yirgacheffe

The first roast I’ve ever done is a Ethiopia Late Harvest Yirgacheffe from Sweet Maria’s.

I roasted 1/2 cup (1.8 ounces) in the Chefmate air popper.

The first crack was at about 2:45 and instead of one big set of cracks there were lots of smaller cracks for a good thirty seconds. More like rustling cellophane than a popcorn sound. I stopped the popper at 5:15 and quickly cooled outside in a colander.

Everything I’ve read said to let the coffee rest for 4-12 hours after roasting, but I couldn’t wait. An hour after roasting I ground a little up and put it in my espresso machine. I didn’t expect that this would make a good espresso (wrong beans and too light a roast), but I didn’t really want to make a Chemex pot. Maybe I should get a small press for cupping my roasts.

The coffee was very bright, with berry and lemon flavors. It had a slightly creamy texture. It could probably stand a bit darker roast, but not much. I’ll roast for another 20 seconds or so next time.