woo
it’s been a pretty awesome christmas break, i’ve really enjoyed being back in ames and relaxing a bit. i think i’ve managed to hit up most of the ames staples (jessbar, chc (2x), gps&d, sg, and the cafe) and engage in all the usual activities (playing mario + watching foreign-language war epics at sam’s, drinking lots of coffee and generally overeating, and last but not least, hanging out with STEVE). we even had a white christmas and got to see a bit of snow. but it’s definitely time to head back to the great white north tomorrow, especially if i intend to graduate next semester.
one of the big acquisitions this christmas was a new roaster: a nesco ‘professional’ coffee roaster with a catalytic converter for ‘smokeless’ roasting. with the demise of my old roaster just a day before heading back to ames, santa’s timing was excellent; needless to say i’ve been roasting a lot this week, trying to get a feel for the new roaster. it’s definitely going to be harder to get a darker roast, as this one runs at a lower temperature over a longer duration than the old one, but this also provides more room for error and lowers the chance of nuking a roast (always a hazard with the old one). the lower temperature also makes the cracks less explosive and harder to hear, but i’ll get the hang of it. another nice thing is the auger maintains an incredibly even roast, even for unwashed beans or varieties with lots of chaff. so far i’ve been really impressed. gwncc is back in business!
