Costa Rica Vino de Arabia

I am still not sure that I am barking up the right tree on the latest set of experiments. I have roasted a few more coffees with similar profiles to the last (starting the roast out much slower); the results have been good, but something has been nagging at me.

Last Friday I roasted some Costa Rica Vino de Arabia. I followed a similar profile to the Tanzania Blackburn Estate, thoroughly drying the beans early, keeping the temperature low until the coffee turns yellow, and then ramping to the final temperature:



This coffee is layered, layered, layered. A very interesting beast. It has the typical Costa Rica chocolate, nuts, etc. At the same time there is a deep fruitiness, reminiscent of red wine and ripe plums, that comes in and out as the cup cools. Quite complex, but perhaps a bit too complex for my taste.

A few days out and I am getting a bit of sourness in this roast which is unexpected. Either I have been under-roasting a bit (I got something similar in a roast of Ethiopia Biloya I did a few days ago), or if this profile is flawed. My gut tells me something is up with this profile.

Interestingly, when I look back at my notes from the past several months, I am finding two basic profiles, both with roughly the same starting and ending points. The difference is the middle section of the roast at intermediate temperature. Origially, I was placing this closer to the finish temperature of the coffee, 440-450 degrees. The more recent profiles have dwelled at the 400 degree range. There is clearly a difference, and one that would benefit from some blind tasting.