findingzzero Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2013 Posts: 3 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: Pro Roaster
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 7:39am Subject: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
I've been home roasting on and off since 2004. I remember liking Starbuck's Sumatra blend (no longer served) for its nuttiness. I've never noticed this when I home roasted. Usually Sumatra M. I've also never tasted the blueberries in Ethiopian Harrar. I have noticed the citrus inKenyan coffee. Here's my question. Someone gave me roasted beans from a local roaster (Hubbard and Cravens) marked Sumatra. It has an intense strange smell and I can't drink it straight. I've started blending it with other bean varieties (1:1) and am getting the impression that in smaller proportions, I might be capturing the flavor I remember. Am I daydreaming here (drinking bad beans) or am I on the right track? Is Sumatra more for blending than drinking straight? I've never read this.
Iluvdabean Senior Member Joined: 7 Mar 2005 Posts: 1,057 Location: California Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra/Gaggia... Grinder: Baratza Preciso/K-A Pro... Drip: Capresso MT 500/Pour Over Roaster: Nesco 1010/Behmor 1600
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 10:12am Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
I cant imagine anyone saying Sumatran is just a blending bean! No, in fact emphatically no!!! It is a varietal fully recognized within its own right. :)
findingzzero Said:
I've been home roasting on and off since 2004. I remember liking Starbuck's Sumatra blend (no longer served) for its nuttiness. I've never noticed this when I home roasted. Usually Sumatra M. I've also never tasted the blueberries in Ethiopian Harrar. I have noticed the citrus inKenyan coffee. Here's my question. Someone gave me roasted beans from a local roaster (Hubbard and Cravens) marked Sumatra. It has an intense strange smell and I can't drink it straight. I've started blending it with other bean varieties (1:1) and am getting the impression that in smaller proportions, I might be capturing the flavor I remember. Am I daydreaming here (drinking bad beans) or am I on the right track? Is Sumatra more for blending than drinking straight? I've never read this.
DavecUK Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Posts: 916 Location: UK Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 1:45pm Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
Well I wouldn't describe a correctly roasted Sumatra as nutty, earthy, low acid full bodied perhaps, but not nutty. You mention not ever having tasted the blueberries in Ethiopian Harrar. I'm not sure if you mean never as in, your home roasts, or never as in shop bought roasts. If it's home roasts, then your not roasting things right, Sumatrans and Harrar, need a little bit of correct technique to get the best flavours out. If it's shop bought Harrar that doesn't taste of blueberry notes, then I'm not really surprised, many commercial roasters are quite formulaic and roast the bejesus out of a bean, some roasts will be 6 minutes air blasted 100kg and water quenched.
A good specialist roaster with good quality greens should be able to deliver both coffees with the right flavour profiles and roast levels......(which won't be Star***s or whoever roasts for them).
P.S. You can blend a Sumatra and an Ethiopian Harrar....but I normally wouldn't.....if I did it might be a Brazilian+Sumatran. Lots of places of course blend cheap coffees (filler) with expensive ones and name the expensive variatal, Blue Mountain Blend etc..So people think blending is good. The other reason to blend is to try and maintain a consistent product taste throughout the year and year on year. Good single varietals are often best drunk as good single variatels. If after roasting you feel the need to mix a few beans up and try it out, then that's a nice way without having a whole batch you find not great.
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 3:08pm Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
I have recently roasted 15 lbs of sumatra from 4 different estates.
It is on my list of good SO beans and I wouldn't think of blending.
I prefer roasting it to FC+ (almost Vienna). This seems to improve the coffee taste and aroma (although it might burn away some of the fruits, leather, creosote flavours).
I did pooch a couple of roasts in the beginning by roasting too light. I didn't notice any fruited or carmel flavours and missed the 'hit' of bitterness that I look forward to in a good coffee.
findingzzero Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2013 Posts: 3 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: Pro Roaster
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 5:36pm Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
I've never tasted bluberries in my home roasts. I've never bought commercial roasted Harrar. The aroma of the Sumatra I received as a gift could be described as earthy. The taste is similar. Don't like it. It may just be bad. Never had a roast I couldn't drink unless it was charcoal so what gives with this Sumatra? I may call the roaster and see what they say. No reason to mix Harrar and Sumatra. They were just mnetioned in the same post.
mbrowne999 Senior Member Joined: 1 Nov 2005 Posts: 53 Location: Down the street Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 7:26pm Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
findingzzero Said:
The aroma of the Sumatra I received as a gift could be described as earthy. The taste is similar. Don't like it. It may just be bad. Never had a roast I couldn't drink unless it was charcoal so what gives with this Sumatra? I may call the roaster and see what they say.
It could be that the roasting equipment you use does not allow for roasting the dry processed Ethiopian Harrar beans well, or the beans weren't quite right (some have much more blueberry notes than others).
As for blending, what I meant was; I don't usually blend Harrar with anything else and I don't usually blend a good Sumatran with anything else. I wouldn't blend a Sumatran+Harrar either, same as you, I just mentioned it in the same sentence ;-)
findingzzero Senior Member Joined: 13 Jan 2013 Posts: 3 Location: Indianapolis Expertise: Pro Roaster
Posted Sun Jan 13, 2013, 9:21pm Subject: Re: Tell me your experience with Sumatra
Is this true or tongue -in-cheek? I almost wondered if this could be (unwashed) Kopi Luwak transposed by mistake. That might explain the smell/flavor. Never tried it...... I'm going t look up 'aged ' Sumatra after i post this.
Is this true or tongue -in-cheek? I almost wondered if this could be (unwashed) Kopi Luwak transposed by mistake. That might explain the smell/flavor. Never tried it...... I'm going t look up 'aged ' Sumatra after i post this.
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