Roastersaurus

I spent the last roasting session manually tracking my bean temp, and then calculating ROR. From there, I hand drew the curves and cupped all the batches to search for correlations. Some of the roasts were same drop temp, different shapes. Some of them were different drop temp, same shape. And some were….well… experimental. I’d like to say that I totally knew what I was doing when I roasted them, but ill confess I didn’t. I mean… sure… general predictions from my time spent in QC/looking at roast curves. But it’s very different when you are the one trying to control that roaster. Especially when it’s completely manual.

When I cupped the coffees, I was actually quite surprised how different they all were. How one little adjustment to shape, first crack, development, and end temp affect so much. As much as I would like to say I suddenly was some genius who understood everything about roasting…I’m afraid not. In some ways I was more confused than ever, just hunting for any sort of correlation.  But then.  on the other hand, I knew which curves definitely didn’t work and why. Which meant at least I’d learned something.

Jamie told me to pick three of the curves I liked the most, and try to replicate it. I was busy trying to redesign everything and break everything down in my head, but he assured me that I am a few steps ahead of myself and need to ‘just try and follow my own curve’. He said ‘you will see what I mean’. And of course I thought ‘well I mean I’m just gonna do what I did last time’. HA!

I got in front of that roaster, and literally laughed out loud when I saw that my first three roast had gone all wrong. I suddenly got what he meant. It all suddenly clicked. And I began analysing where my gas and airflow changes were and where they were hitting, and how that was affecting the whole progression. I started trying to figure out what temperature was crucial for each gas change in order to ensure consistency. And by roast six…I had a plan!

That’s where the fun began. Jamie gave me some fresh crop (id been practising on old coffee) Brazil and Colombia and told me to do three different roasts of each. I decided I’d use the same drop temp, first crack point, and end temp. I decided I would use the development time as the variable I would adjust. And above all…I decided I would FOLLOW THE BLOODY CURVE.

I’ve got to say…I feel pretty lucky.  While I am embarking on quite the crazy adventure…I definitely feel the support. Both Andrew and Jamie have been so positive about this whole crazy project. And what’s more, Jamie has actually agreed to coach me through it all. What a group of rockstars!

Today with day one of roasting championship training with Jamie. I rocked up to Deptford Bridge thinking …well actually I don’t know what I was thinking. I suppose that I was going to have some sort of classically structured ‘how to roast’ lecture. But why in the world did I even allow that thought to cross my mind? Have you met the guy? This is Jamie we are talking about. The main as a mean handlebar moustache and knows more about random things than I can shake a stick it. He’s the guy with all the crazy ideas…that just might actually work. So of course, with that comes a less structured, but equally more effective way to learn how to roast.

Essentially…he told me… to take the coffee that is sitting next to the sample roaster…and turn it brown. ‘just go burn some stuff…and it’ll will all start to make sense’.  And as much as I wanted to continue asking questions and creating theoretical predictions, he assured me that I needed to go ‘play’ in order to get my head around anything in the first place. He wanted me to just focus on roasting the coffee and smelling the stages. He wanted me to trust the sensory and experience the stages of roasting…old school. No cropster, no fancy machine, no reliance on technology. Observe, record, and correlate.

So that’s what I did. I focussed on turning it brown and noticing the visual and orthonasal signals of change that the coffee was experiencing. I recorded data. I smelled some beans. I turned some green stuff brown.

Training for Latte Art…with cubism as the result.

Today I had my first freakout.

I stood in front of the bar, like ive done for twelve years , and tried to pour a rosetta. Tried.

And Failed.

Sometimes I really wonder if I know anything. And how is it that some 50 Baristas even listen to what I am saying. And why in the world do they believe me? I am just another one of them…trying to hone a skill that will never be good enough in my eyes.

My hands. They didn’t do what I told them. They did the opposite.

I said ‘pour rosetta’ and they said no. Disobedient muscle mechanisms that tell me I’ve been off bar for too long. How does this happen?

What do I feel? A sense of insecurity. An anger that I allowed my mind to drift into the cup and not into the sensation that runs free with a great pour. Trying to be an architect when I need to just be an artist. Trying to write numbers when all I should do is allow myself to hear sound.

The sound of the way it swirls in my jug. The sound of the way the espresso pours into the cup. The sound of waves being formed by the white textured paint that floats itself on top of a brown surface.

Today I tried to control the uncontrollable. I didn’t surrender myself to the skill that is inside of me. Today I didn’t surrender. I controlled. And in the most ridiculous way.

If you want to surf on a wave, you must learn how to surrender yourself to the wave. To the power that is behind it. To the natural physics that give it the beauty of its nature. You musn’t try to control it, or you will find yourself tumbling under its roar. Instead…you must feel it and become a part of it. And from there you can carve any shape imaginable. I had learned that lesson long ago. And now I learn it again.

The only control I have is of the mind. Not in formulas or calculations. Rather in facing fear and tackling distraction. The connection that lives beyond a barista on a bar. Beyond a ten leaf tulip. The one that just feels, senses, connects and stops trying to control. The one that understands that it is the hand, the speed, the pour, and the image that want to come together without distortion. The sensing of the body and the miniature movements it can create…to become one with another object wanting to be created.

The world will be full of distractions, but the mindspace can be worked like a muscle. And tonight it rang so true. If I want to be great…then I must first let go and trust that my body understands what it needs to do. I have never really trained my latter art beyond a clean design. Tonight I finally find the value in training it. It will teach me the mind space for all other competitions.

Im now sitting at St Pauls Taylor St. And I know I have to push myself to try again.

I don’t like training in front of people…and there are four people here. Of which three I train on various topics in coffee. It scares me to try again in front of them.  But now I realise its something I must do.

The Mindspace.