The more you learn, the more you learn there is more to learn. First, know that as a coffee roaster I wholeheartedly believe that I will never stop learning, aiming higher and always seek the perfect cup/roast.

In this case we have the Harrar Horse from Africa. The blueberry from this cup of coffee is simply mind boggling. The problem is that I seemingly have to compromise my principles to accomplish this blueberry flavor captured in a cup of coffee.

As frequenters of Cafe Corazon have learned, I do not roast my coffee heavily. My aim each and every time I roast a batch of coffee is to seek out that peak in flavor, often far from anything resembling a dark roast. (I'll refrain from repeating myself, here's a link, but trust me-I do want to go on) As fate would have it, the blueberry peak does not come out at the usual degrees of roast as peak flavors usually do in most central and south american coffees. For some reason, this is a tough bean to crack, literally.

The term "crack" is used to describe certain points in the roast. First crack sounds a bit like popcorn, and second crack sounds a bit like when you pour milk on rice crispies. So in the case of Harrar it likes the heat, it likes nearly a whole 15 degrees more heat in fact (read here on how even a few degrees makes a difference), for the blueberry fruited cup to come out, usually upon rolling second crack. This is a problem for me...just a little

Along with that heat, comes dark roast characters, something that makes me wince at the thought of. It seems the catch 22 here is that without the darker roast there is little blueberry flavor to be had. However, cupping today revealed something not expected. Chocolate! It seems that in my experiment to resist dark roast I found a character in the Harrar Horse that is not often sought after, chocolate. A good degree of chocolate too. The depth of Conundrumity grows deeper. Now I have two great characters to bring out of one bean, at different degrees of roast. How on earth to catch 22...?

As to the compromise of principle of not roasting dark in the effort to maintain bean flavor and quality. In all reality there is none. Although I am roasting darker to a degree that would compromise the flavor of probably 98% of coffees from around the world, it is in the quest for that peak in flavor, and above all else to maintain the highest of quality with that flavor. In that there has been no compromise in principles. A benefit to myself, a continuing depth of knowledge. A benefit to Fresno, certainly something they can be proud of for having access to and more still, Home to the best freshest coffee in the valley at Cafe Corazon.

Humbly,
Diablo

p.s.
Note that with all I share with the readers of Fresno here, I am cutting against the grain of what is generally accepted as a high quality coffee. In that spirit, refusing to accept working within the confines of what is generally accepted as a standard of quality, I found that chocolate flavor. I was rewarded.

In that same spirit again, I ask you this. The next time you are "enjoying" that cup of coffee from a mass chain, I request that you ask yourself what you are tasting. What are you tasting? Then bring us that cup, and we'll replace it with a cup of ours free. We really want to show you something better, and it's from this city you where live, from the heart of the city you live in in fact. Downtown, something you can be proud of.

Doubly humble,
Leo