Ok while we're waiting for Ola to receive #2, I'll post my notes on the roasting blending of #1 - Bamboo Blend. These are the notes I sent to both judges regarding this blend. These notes were compiled prior to my dialing in the beans and realising that a certain component (as mentioned above) had thrown the blend.
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Bamboo Blend is a blend of 4 beans intended for espresso preparation. In espresso I prefer a blend with depth and richness, favouring sweetness, chocolate, darker flavours. I do like acidity to be present, though not dominant.
I chose two American beans for the base, each of these comprised 35% of the blend (70% in total).
Cuban Turquino Lavardo is a very sweet, chocolatey bean, with little acidity, and plenty of body. I chose El Bosque Amatitlan Bourbon to partner the Cuban, and bring in some brightness, more sweetness, and a little more complexity.
These beans form the base. The remaining 30% was chosen to modify the characteristics of these beans, to bring different qualities. For brightness, and some floral touches, 20% Ethipiopian Yirgacheffe was chosen. For spice, and a little bit of earthiness, like talking dirty in bed, 10% Monsoon Malabar completes the blend. The Malabar in particular is quite a pungent bean, so the percentage was kept low to prevent it from dominating the blend.
All 4 beans were roasted separately on the Behmor 1600 home roaster. There are various built in roast profiles in the Behmor that can be tweaked a little. More information about the profiles can be found on page 12 of the Behmor users manual
http://www.behmor.com/pdf/Behmor_Manual_full_v3.5.pdf