# best beans for beginner roasting



## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

ok, If you were starting out roasting, what out of these would be the easiest ones to get good results from .. never having roasted a bean for, I am not bothered by taste as the only thing I dont much care for are the the naturals which have been removed from this list (I think), but more interested in the easiest beans to get good results from, if there is an easy bean ? ... thanks peeps !


Honduras SHG

Kenya Estate

Tanzania AAA

Sumatra Mandehling Grade 1

Costa Rica SHB

Nicaragua Jinotega

Papua New Guinea Grade A


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

what are you going to roast on


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

It will be a gene cafe 101


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

@DavecUK


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Looks like the list from CoffeeCompass 

Don't dismiss the brazillian as this may be the easiest one to roast and as your tag line states you prefer them slightly darker which will remove some of the "funk"

From memory the CC brazillian was not anywhere in the same league of natural taste as the one you had taste issue with recently.

Am sure DaveC will steer you right but if you want a bean you are not bothered too much about taste but just want to "nail a first roast" and have it look good then something like an old brown java or aged Aceh will give you a very clean looking bean ( most find OBJ a bit of a marmite bean as well  )

Best of luck and get the power mod done quickly buying yourself also a decent power / voltage measuring plug first though as you'll come across the issues of voltage real quick.

Post your results in the todays roast thread ( I think we all been a bit lax in posting there, at least I have)

John


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

h1udd said:


> ok, If you were starting out roasting, what out of these would be the easiest ones to get good results from .. never having roasted a bean for, I am not bothered by taste as the only thing I dont much care for are the the naturals which have been removed from this list (I think), but more interested in the easiest beans to get good results from, if there is an easy bean ? ... thanks peeps !
> 
> 
> Honduras SHG
> ...



Costa Rica SHB

Papua New Guinea Grade A


I would also recommend getting a good Brazilian as well.


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

Thanks for that ... Yes it's the CC list, looked like good deal to me


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

Cheers Dave .... And ok, I'll put the Brazilian back on the list


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## ShortShots (Oct 2, 2013)

I second the PNG, good size bean and density


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## "coffee 4/1" (Sep 1, 2014)

You must try Tunki-Mayo on the dark side, easy roast,full rich chocolate, low acidity, doe's well with blending, espresso, or with milk.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

johnealey said:


> Looks like the list from CoffeeCompass
> 
> Don't dismiss the brazillian as this may be the easiest one to roast and as your tag line states you prefer them slightly darker which will remove some of the "funk"
> 
> ...


How can you nail a roast if it doesn't taste good? The aim is to make a nice drink out it so would have thought taste would be king


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

When I say taste isn't important I don't mean I don't care if it tastes like arse, but I don't mind if it's a fruity citrus or a chocolate caramel bean ... The flavour isn't a priority. I want an easy to roast bean.


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

h1udd said:


> The flavour isn't a priority. I want an easy to roast bean.


So you're after a forgiving bean?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

Yes, a forgiving bean ... I only mentioned taste as I assumed the first question would be "what do you like the taste of" ... Of which the answer would be "probably all of them, only discovered 1 bean I don't like, and that's up for a second test this week, so want to know out of those listed which ones are the easiest to roast as I have heard done beans are harder than others"

so by mentioning that taste isn't a factor, I omitted any unnecessary posts ... As you can see this worked


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

h1udd said:


> When I say taste isn't important I don't mean I don't care if it tastes like arse, but I don't mind if it's a fruity citrus or a chocolate caramel bean ... The flavour isn't a priority. I want an easy to roast bean.


^ this was what was basing response on in case anyone thinking have lost my marbles or started drinking supermarket beans... 

John

edit: stand by my earlier comment about OBJ or Aceh for forgiving roasts as you can see far easier with these whatthe bean is doing at various stages of the roast. You will also get a thundering easy to hear first crack with OBJ and the resultant bean is fairly tolerant of roast level post med ( it will still taste of OBJ though, which you will either like or not). Monsooned Malabar would be another easy fogiving bean and like all "aged" beans will finish the roast with very little chaff attached, so will look pretty close to what you possibly perceive a raosted bean to look like, just watch the amounts in the drum as typically will be around the 230g green weight in rather than 250g in for others.

There's plenty of time to try much more complex beans ( from experience the harderst for me was a panamanian Geisha, real pig and wasted loads)or beans more akin to what you like hence maybe a Brazillian mentioned above which do tend to be reasonably easy to roast.

Roasting in a gene is about learning how it works for you and what you can get out of it, no point falling at the first hurdle.

DaveC's guide which comes with the roasters from BB is a cracking first guide but will only get you some of the way and even then will not be bean specific as beans change from season to season.

Genuinely like my gene and use it at least twice a week for multiple roasts and with power control mods a very consistent beast, just a little small for us for the amounts going through it, which I suppose is testament in a way as to its build quality for the price.

Hope of help

John


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## ronsil (Mar 8, 2012)

I'd go with PNG or a Brazilian for starters into roasting.

It's a good idea to buy some ready roasted & some green of the same variety. This will give you an idea as to how it should taste.

Coffee Compass, Rave or Hasbean will supply smallish quantities of both green & roasted of the same bean.


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