Monday, July 31, 2006

I'm getting There

This past month has been a whirlwind of learning.
I've gotten past the point of doing things just because I'm told to do them. I'm now doing them because I understand why they need to be done. I never knew roasters even kept track of weight loss percentages, and now, I see it as such a vital part of roasting. If we didn't keep track of it, we'd pretty much be roasting blind.

I'm still struggling a bit with profile control at the end of small batches. I tend to panic and over adjust the temperature, so I need to work on that for sure. But, I must be doing something right. Mike has had me roasting and blending almost all our espresso batches and he's even let me roast some our rarest and most precious coffees i.e. Ethiopian Bella Kara, Panama Finca Hartman, and even some of our new Yirgs., the Sidamo Hache(AMAZING), Addis Katema and a Wild Forest that we're really falling in love with.

Mike is leaving at the end of this week. He'll be gone for a week and a half. You know what that means. I'll be roasting everything!!! No safety net, no teacher looking over my shoulder, no one to ask, "Does this look right?” I'll be flying solo. I can't wait. I think.

On a side note. I've fallin in love with cycling. I know what most of you thinking, the tour just ended and all the hype has you in a cycling freenzy! No. You're wrong. I've been in love with cycling for the last three years, now I've decided I want to get involved. I want a bike. A bike that will help me climb mountains, get into better shape and enjoy the area I live in a bit more. I live in Redlands, a cycling meca of sorts. Home to the Redlands Bicycle Classic, its a great place to ride. Just wanted to share. I want a bike.