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Coffee, that is...

Did I mention speedlights/flash are great, they open up such a new world of photography, give you more opportunity to burn more time doing stuff with cameras

I really love the way you can amp up the aperture to get that dof that field required for macros when using a proper flash.

Anyway enough of me banging on, i was playing with two flashes here, a sb600 and a sb50 (this is as about as useful as tits on a bull for a D80 but makes a neat extra off camera flash) I also had a softbox to boot.

For those who enjoy their coffee, this was a batch from this afternoons roast, Indian Monsoon Malabar AA has great crema and a real coffee kick. The roast was a bit on the over-done side but hey...

quite challenge here on the roasted beans side, trying to get that rich brown colour of the beans but maintaining the detail of the whites. Comments, suggestions, rework etc.. always welcome

The second shot is a (1st) cracker. Light & DOF are spot on.

The last close up shot lacks DOF I think. The lighting on the last two is also really good although I think the first has somewhat flat lighting.

More importantly, this looks particularly over-roasted. I haven't tried the IMM, but that looks like it is getting close to the dreaded 3rd crack.

Coincidentally, I roasted about 1kg of Kenyan/Tanzanian/Brazilian/Somatran/Guatemalan. Unfortunately, I have to let it rest 5 or so days before I can try it and the smell wafting through the kitchen is too tempting!

What is your roasting technique?

The last close up shot lacks DOF I think.

fair call I think the flatness in the first comes from the dark background, flatness is an excellent way to describe it now that you have pointed it out!

More importantly, this looks particularly over-roasted

well I am glad someone is on the ball! yeah this batch went ove rthe edge a bit, that said, its tastes just like gloria jeans coffee I typically only roast small batches, but this time tried a larger batch which i suspect helped in the over-roast, with the onset of the second crack there was just too much heat in there and it just kept cooking...

Kenyan/Tanzanian/Brazilian/Somatran/Guatemalan. Unfortunately, I have to let it rest 5 or so days before I can try it and the smell wafting through the kitchen is too tempting!

thats a serious blend there! I actually try the coffee right thruogh from the day of roasting through to the finish, typically 10 days, I find it very interesting how the beans settle over time, plus I am damn impatient

What is your roasting technique?

well its actually a very sophisticated, professional and precision process - involves a heat gun, a bread maker and cursing from the neighbours......ok you can stop laughing now

biggerry wrote:well its actually a very sophisticated, professional and precision process - involves a heat gun, a bread maker and cursing from the neighbours......ok you can stop laughing now

Just a quick response for now: my setup is a Black & Decker popcorn popper that now must have done between 500-1,000 roasts and hasn't missed a beat (touch wood). Sure, it is fast and creates a 'bright' roast, but it is effective.

It has been explained to me, many years ago, that coffee beans turn exothermic, meaning they give off heat. Hence, larger batches can actually roast quicker than smaller batches. I am able to roast individual batches of up to 100grams in winter - in summer, the ambient temp gets too high and the roasting time is way too short.

I'm not a big coffee fan, but these look yummy. Really yummy!
My favourite is the last one.

I can almost smell those beans over here! the first lot look like they have a bit of a blue cast but I could be fooled here!

that coffee beans turn exothermic

correcto - thats taking me back to the theromdynamic days, a place where i do not want to be

am able to roast individual batches of up to 100grams in winter

yeah i typically go for 100-150 grams with the breadmaker and HG which i have found has made some absolute rippers and some undrinkable ones! This particular one i thought I would try a larger batch to see how far I could push it, I was over 200 grams on this one, this is particularly evident (besides the overly dark roast) by the inconsistent roasting of the beans, some beans are spot on and others crispy...

Black & Decker popcorn popper that now must have done between 500-1,000 roasts

thats a sizeable sum of roasts I started roasting this year and have only managed a dozen or so roasts.

Very interesting point about roasting in summer or winter!

blue cast but I could be fooled here!

flat and blue yeah, the more i look at that one the more i want to go back and have another crack.

but these look yummy. Really yummy!

thats not what the neighbours say about the roasting smell (smells like burning wet grass when roasting)

ta for the comments....and Reschsmooth, look out, cause I am gonna pick your brain about roasting when i see you

biggerry wrote:flat and blue yeah, the more i look at that one the more i want to go back and have another crack.

Would that be the third crack?

....and Reschsmooth, look out, cause I am gonna pick your brain about roasting when i see you

Just go sparingly, there isn't a lot there.