First Roast of 2010 was a second run of the Ethiopian Harrar Longberry and Colombian Volcan Galeras Supremo. Initial impressions of the Harrar Longberry were quite poor, nothing like the finished products I have tasted in the past from the likes of Campos. The first roast of the Harrar was, I believe, quite inadequate, the beans are quite small but vary in size, this results in alot of beans browning quickly which surprised me and probably resulted in the unroasting of this first batch.

The first roast of the Colombian was also rough as! high amibent temperatures (37 degrees) caused havoc with the DIY equipment, the beans were unroasted however produced very nice coffee nonetheless!

So, onto 2010, 2 batchs were done of each bean, the aim was to do a slower roast with a greater quantity (400gms) The Colombian bean took quite some time ot reach the first crack, at this point the bean was pretty close to the right colour in my opinion, so just beyond the first crack is a good area to aim for the future.

The Harrar bean started off very varied in colour, however when pushed past the first crack things seemed to settle down and there was a nice consistent colour developing, with a little extra intense heat set the very quiet 2nd crack off at which point all heat as removed and the it contined under its own steam for some time.

Blending these two together at 50/50 and grinding at about 7 on the rocky produced a very nice blend even without letting the bean settle. Individually the Colombian shines as a very smooth roast with alot of la creme that holds well.  It is a very nice mellow coffee great for after dinner! The jury is still out on the harrar, but initial tastes are good with a strong distinct flavour, I am thinking of blending 70/30 (Harrar/Colombian) once things have settled.

Grindwise, the Columbian is typically at the 5 mark whilst the Harrar needs a 8 with a tight pack.