Hey Joe,
We had a great time... We were highly overcaffeinated on our drive down and on the way back up... Thank you for setting up the tour of the warehouse and your suggestions of cafes in the area... If you're ever up in Chicago let me know and hopefully we can meet up... I'll let you know if I'm ever back down that way... Thanks again...

That pretty much hits it on the nose. I'll start adding an extra 1/4 cup to the latins and see what happens. I'm using Sweet Marias for all my sourcing. Guatemala Acatenango- Finca La Soledad is the most challenging. I've never been completely satisfied. I break it open and it's almost always light tan toward the middle. Ethiopia FTO Oromia YirgaCheffe and Rwanda Gkongoro Nyarusiza have both been decent at times, but I'll roast them using the same specs again and it'll be terrible. Brazil Cerrado DP Fazenda Aurea (sorry, long names) has been my favorite- low-quality coffee, but it has roasted very well. Sumatra (Grade 1) Madheling has been solid too- (what I use for my church). I'm just getting a bit tired of the same 'ol few selections. I don't have the money to invest in a sample roaster (1lb) like at your roaster, but I love doing it so much that I need solutions. Thanks for the advice.

So... I've been home roasting for a while now. I've figured out the general ins and outs. It does seem as though I "tip" a lot of the coffee, no to mention it always tastes a bit "green" still- the only ones I've been really pleased with were indonesian coffees. Latins are the worst and africans are hit or miss. Let me know if there is something common that beginners sometimes miss. (I understand the principle of roasting different levels for different coffees, but it's proving to be much more challenging that I had predicted) Thanks.

Hey Joe,
Just doin a follow up on being in St. Louis next Monday... We will be through there 1030ish... you had mentioned maybe being able to meet up for lunch? Hit me up and let me know... Cheers

Hey joe we are going to come back through st louis after bonnaroo... we'll be there on monday the 14th... are you available? id love to take you up on the st louis mini coffee tour... I figure we have a couple hours we can spend there and it will break up our trip nicely... Let me know... Cheers

Life post-Anaheim is coming together. I am gearing up for summer barista work in the Hamptons. Hope you are holding down the fort well!

Hey Joe
just wanted to remind you how excellent a job you did last weekend! If you ever need feedback once you get your score sheets back let me know.

Hey thanks for the tips on the Aurelia drip tray. Making a deeper one makes sense if the secondary pan under that will allow for more depth.. I'm guessing it was put there to catch any runover to keep it off the components underneath.

It is OK most of the time. But when we do events and are less than level it can be a pain because water will run to the edge of the tray and I have to keep a bartowel in those areas to absorb it. Might plan on changing it though. Thanks again!

Hey man! It was good seein' ya at the new location in CoMo the other day. I wanted to let you know my wife got me a popcorn popper for Valentine's. I love roasting! Truly, I's sure I'll be doing this the rest of my life, hopefully more professionally at some point. You've been a big influence thus far and I only want that to grow. I respect what you're doing and what you're about. Let me know if I can ever return the favor.