Diedrich IR5 Analysis by Doris Garrido
Occasionally, I taste coffees that mimic the crisp sophistication of a fine white wine, but our newest arrival from JNP coffee not only does exactly that but combines its inherent fruity sweetness, resulting in a well-balanced cup.
As expected, this coffee showed its elegance at the cupping table during its arrival tasting. Between all the notes we collected that day, I vividly remember - among many others- Brut sparkling wine, probably because of its dry, acidic and mineral notes.
For this roast, I approached the first phase -Drying- by starting with a slightly higher charge temperature combined with 70% of the gas power in order to shorten the drying time to around 4 minutes. I chose this method because it allows me to taper the heat more easily during yellowing. Since this coffee is Natural process Bourbon, I was looking to avoid reaching excessively high temperatures, aiming instead to smooth out this phase and reach development as evenly as possible.
At 3:44 minutes into the roast, I dropped the gas to 45%, so the rate of change started to drop. I marked the color change at 302⁰F, and just past 5 minutes, I dropped the gas again to 30%. I noticed at this point that I needed to pull the brakes again, so I dropped the burners to 0% for close to 2 minutes before bringing them back and immediately opening the airflow. I marked the First Crack at 389⁰F and developed the coffee for 1:29 minutes. This resulted in an overall duration of 9:18 minutes; this Burundi Natural hit the cooling tray with sweet intense aromatics. The final cup retains the vibrant, sparkling acidity we loved at the arrival tasting, now balanced by the deep sweetness of maple syrup, honey, and blood orange, while maintaining those mineral notes that evolve into some rhubarb, orange wine, and mangosteen.
