Ok...Here is the report!
I went in for roasting training about a week and a half ago. It couldn't have been a more perfect day! Firstly I was able to spend the whole day with my wife and leave our two lovely daughters at home (I love them too but time with Jennifer is short these days!)
Secondly...we got to see our new 20 kg roaster that is ALMOST finished. Just needs a few controls and a 110 volt motor. So since we were not able to roast on our machine we were able to roast on a 25 kg roaster that the guy has in his shop. The roaster is phenomenal! We were able to even roast a one kg sample that turned out great!
The roasters use hot air as well as drum heat...he says about 80% hot air and 20% from the drum.
So I had my first training and roasted 2 kg of Toraja as well as about 1 kg each of Flores and Timor Arabicas. Both of these, however were rather poor samples that had not been sorted or graded. They did not impress so we'll pass on those this year.
The following week he received a sample of Sumatra Mandheling that we have been waiting for. I wasn't able to go in for that roast but he brought me the sample and it is quite nice. Definitely not as full bodied as the Toraja but a nice cup and cleaner than the Toraja. The Toraja is still my favorite by far! It is amazing how much oil comes out of those beans on the day after roast.
Finally...I got my iPhone! The iPhone has been delayed coming to Indonesia and they had the launching on Friday so we stood in line for a while to get one.
Now we just need to get everything exported! So much red tape in this country!
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...