New Roasts... Gumatra is born!

I got a chance yesterday to do a few more roasts. 4 actually. Here is the breakdown:

1/4 cup Guatemala 1/4 cup Sumatra code name Gumatra
Roasted for app 7:30. I lost my notes because I didn't save the file. Argh!

1/2 cup Choco espresso
Roasted for 8 - 9 minutes

1/2 cup Sumatra
Roasted for 7:30

1/2 cup Sumatra
Roasted for 8:30

I was paying less attention to actual time and really listening for the cracks and paying attention to the smell. I have a feeling most of my earlier roasts have been medium - city roasts. I was getting distinct 2nd cracks on these 4 roasts so I know they are roasted darker.

I only had a 1/4 cup of the Guataemalan coffee left so I had to do something with it. I threw it together with a 1/4 cup of Sumatra and roasted it. When I brewed the Gumatra and it turned out to be a really awesome cup of coffee. It was strong and had really nice flavor. It was a little tangy, a little earthy. It had tones of darkness but also some of the characteristics of a lighter flavorful coffee such as Costa Rican Tarrazu. Overall I am very impressed with it. I will be trying more 'blends' in the future. Thank God for leftovers huh?

When I got to work I ground some of the Choco. Last time it wasn't dark enough but I saw the potential in it. Today it was much darker. It smelled much stronger when I ground it. It looked much darker. I am not 100% sure if its dark enough yet but it produced a good espresso. Even got the thumbs up from Mumin, my expert guinea pig. It kept the good flavor but it was enriched by the darker roast. I am a little pissed that I lost my notes because I am not sure exactly how long I roasted it last time. I think another 30-45 seconds may produce the roast I need for this to be at its peak quality. I'll try this again on the weekend and see how it goes. I'm somewhat disappointed in my espresso machine though. Again no crema. I read the faq on the DeLonghi website and they say that this can happen when the beans are not fresh... how about 18 hour old beans fellas? Are those fresh enough? I think I will buy the stove top espreso machine this weekend and give it a shot. I saw a nice one the other day but it was just too big. I need a small one for making enough just for myself.

Anyways, all in all I am pleased. I think its safe to call this batch a :