Diedrich IR5 Analysis by Doris Garrido
A coffee we were all waiting for at Crown, one of our favorites, and definitely one of my favorite origins to roast: Kenya. This time, a washed Kenya Peaberry.
Being a dense coffee, it can handle a lot of heat, and that's something I love to work with. My main goal is usually to push the roast into Maillard development, and with a coffee like this, it's easier to do because I'm not afraid to use all the energy the machine can give me to get there.
To start the roast, I warmed up the machine to 464°F, loaded the beans, and began with 100% gas. I was using almost all the energy the machine was capable of while roasting at 50% of its load capacity. I built up energy for about four minutes, and once I reached 300°F, I dropped everything by turning off the burners and bringing the gas to zero. Just a few seconds later, I called the color change. From that point on, I simply watched the roast move through yellowing and into caramelization, gradually lowering the rate of rise and allowing myself 2 minutes and 53 seconds in this phase.
At 381°F, I opened the airflow and brought the burners back on just before first crack. The development time was decided based on how the coffee behaved through yellowing. I wanted to continue building caramelization, and with my rate of rise sitting around 10 degrees per minute, I had room to keep pushing without reaching excessively high temperatures. Because of that, I stretched development to 1 minute and 48 seconds and dropped the coffee at 389°F.
I was more than delighted with the results. The bright qualities of this coffee were exactly what I was looking for. On the cupping table, it showed great juiciness, lively acidity, and plenty of sweetness. We definitely found those classic savory Kenyan notes, reminding me of cherry tomatoes, along with stone fruit, plum, and cranberry.
The caramelization did its job as well. The extra time in development brought softer and creamier notes of carrot cake, chocolate, dates, and orange marmalade. I would say this coffee has a lot of complexity that can be explored through roasting. My goal with this profile was to showcase the acidity and subtle sweetness, but the potential to push the sweetness even further feels almost endless. So, cheers for more Kenya's like this!
