What bean to try first? Any tips for these beans?

[Igneous88]

I got my first 13 lbs of coffee from Sweet Maria's today and I am super excited.  My Huky was supposed to be delivered today, but unfortunately I wasn't home, so I'll get it tomorrow!  I'd like to ask what you would roast first if you had the opportunity to try the following:

Central American
Costa Rica Helsar Carlos Alpizar
Guatemala La Libertad - Bojonalito
Guatemala Xinabajul Producers

South America
Brazil Fazenda do Sertao Yellow Bourbon

African
Ethiopia Agaro - Nano Challa Cooperative
Rwanda Rulindo - Tumba Station
Burundi Rubanda Station

Indonesian
Java Gunung Kencana

AND a decaf for my lady 
Costa Rica Tarrazu SWP Decaf

I know a lot of people get a large amount of one bean and practice on that one bean, but sweet maria's suggested I do the sampler so this is where I am.

I have heard that a Central American bean might be the easiest to start with.  Is this true?

I'll definitely be checking out sweet maria's, home-barista, and the huky forum for anyone who has previously posted about these beans, but I'd also love to hear if anyone has any suggestions or tips.

Thanks!
Michael

[SusanJoM]

How many pounds of each bean did you get?
which leads into my next question:
How many grams are you intending to charge for your roasts?

[Igneous88]

I only have 1lb of each bean, except for the decaf, which I have 5 lbs.  I'm not sure what charge I'll try, but I assumed I would just go for the 454g charge.  Do you have a recommendation?

[SusanJoM]

Given the circumstances that makes sense. 

I don't think you'll learn as much as you would have if you'd bought 2# each of a smaller number of beans and then divided it into three loads.  But, with 454 grams, you don't have any reasonable increments to divide it into, so....13+ full pound roasts will get you into the game.

Lots of people roast full pounds in the solid drum;  I'm not as sure about the perforated.



. 

[edtbjon]

I do recommend beginners to start with larger batches when starting out with any roaster in general and (of course) in this forum the Huky in particular. Roasting full pounds will give you a good feeling for the limits of the roaster, as the mass of the beans takes a considerable part of the total mass you have to work with when it comes to adjusting heat and air. (This is more tricky when you roast smaller batches, needing some experience to get it right.)
The recommendation for washed Central Americans is because they often are very uniform in size, quality etc. making them easy to roast. This is bercause they (probably) will roast as expected, with a "concentrated" first crack and so on. You will find that the Brazil and the Java will be more spread out in how they take on the heat, which is why they are not the best beans to start up with. Once you start wanting to know how to fine-tune a roast, you will probably have a 10# bag to work with.
There are very good recommendations on the SweetMarias site (and on the labels too?) for how to roast the beans so you do have starting points there. There are also lots of recommendations on this site for how to get started.

Last, I can recognize your excitement. Have fun!

[Igneous88]

Thanks for your responses.  If it were you, would you go ahead and buy a 10 lb bag and learn on that bean first, then give it a go with the sampler 1 lb packages?  Or would you just start with the sampler and if the batches mess up then so be it.  I guess I can't even really dial in a roast on the 1 lb samples anyway... 

Susan,  do people not use a perforated drum with 454g charges?  Is it not enough heat for the development of the bean? I'll be using natural gas, as you probably already know from my other posts, so it will very much be trial and error. 

[edtbjon]

First, you do have some beans to roast, so don't hesitate, thinking you are doing it wrong. This is about having fun too. Do start with your samples and if you fail for a few roasts, which you probably will, that's experience which will support you later.

But yes, in a perfect world I'd recommend buying e.g. a 10# bag of good but nicely priced beans. (Preferably washed Central Americans, as they are easy and predictable to roast.) This is a good way of getting started, as you can experiment and compare roasts. I personally never buy less than 5kg (about 11#), so that I can do some profiling and once I get something I like, I can repeat that roast.

I've used a perforated drum for about a year and found nothing that would say it cannot cope with a full pound (comparing it to a solid drum). It's possible that you cannot get enough uumph from your natural gas setup, but be are eagerly expecting your reports on that subject.

[Igneous88]

Thanks again for the comments.  I'll start with the samples and go from there.

My Huky is supposed to be delivered today, so I'll be trying to hook up to the natural gas lines and seeing how much pressure I have behind the lines.  I'll definitely keep you posted on that since I rarely see anyone talk about it.  Mr. Li doesn't have much experience with natural gas as far as I can tell, so I'm just going to see how well it does and see if it can sustain the heat for large batches. 

[omfgkaleidoscope]

All good suggestions.

I haven't tried the Costa Rica Tarrazu SWP Decaf, but I found the Congo Kivu SWP Decaf (https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/congo-kivu-swp-decaf-5298) to be exceptionally good and also very forgiving in the roaster.