Atomac.net

Green (unroasted) Panama Guyami India Robusta

There are two main species of coffee that we drink: Arabica, and Robusta. Arabica being the most common and tastier species. All of the coffees I’ve talked about have been Arabica (except for a blend or two that might have contained Robusta beans), until now.

I’ve heard that Robusta coffee is pretty much undrinkable except for lending itself to blends mostly used for espresso which enhance crema and bring a certain musty flavor. I’ve been asked if I’ll ever do my own blending and I honestly can’t bring myself to doing blends until I have tried a vast majority of coffees that might be suitable. So, I had to try Robusta coffee by itself to truly understand what it is this coffee brings.

There are people all over the coffee forums and home roasting sites saying to only use Robusta coffees in a very small percentage of your blends, meaning 15% or less. The coffee by itself has a burnt tire taste and while the crema in espresso is thick, it dissipates fast. What I found at first shocked me. I roasted the Robusta to a Full CIty+. Right off I noticed this coffee roasts rather light and thought perhaps some people got a burnt tire taste from over roasting. It would be easy to do seeing how light a Full City+ was. The first shot I tried was really interesting. Very thick and rich. The notes were primarily tobacco and a baker’s chocolate finish. I actually really liked it. The non-existant acidity and richness really impressed me. The next day was not so enchanting. The longer this coffee seemed to rest the more medicinal and rubbery it tasted. Even the texture changed to something….kind of pudding skin like.

I’ll go ahead and say I didn’t finish the 1/2 lb. batch I roasted and I’ve left the rest on a shelf for when my stomach can handle a possible blend experiment.