Finca Momoto Gesha - A coffee that nearly broke the roaster

FINCA MOMOTO GESHA - A COFFEE THAT NEARLY BROKE THE ROASTER

By Danny Nguyen

One of the core values behind the specialty coffee industry is the respect we give to the origin of each coffee, perceivable through its flavors. It also implies that the quality of the final product - roasted coffee - significantly depends on the quality of the main ingredient - green coffee, and as roasters, we believe that our role is making those desirable flavors extractable, without introducing any unwanted roast defects. Roasters do so by applying roasting knowledge and experience acquired from dealing with multiple different coffees, from different regions with different attributes.

This storehouse of experience is applied to new coffees as they come into the Roastery. First the new coffee is profiled: A process of building an appropriate heat application for the coffee. By using a profile that historically worked with a similar coffee we can establish a basic understanding, which is later followed by a refinement process. However, sometimes we come across a coffee that breaks the status quo and exhausts our roasting knowledge to realize its potential. The naturally-processed Gesha coffee from Finca Momoto’s very first harvest is one of them. 

Finca Momoto was founded in Santa Clara, Panama in 2015 by two passionate producers, Luis Miranda and Aliss Hartman, who thrive to push the boundaries of coffee through innovative farming and processing techniques. Aliss has coffee in her blood, having grown up on the Finca Hartmann estate, she was exposed to the most special Geshas, and the most progressive farming and processing techniques. It’s no surprise that her first harvest from Finca Momoto stopped us in our tracks at the cupping table!

Nevertheless, awesome green coffee, doesn’t always translate to easy roasting. In the case of Finca Momoto, it made for a combined effort of the roasting department, utilizing all the tricks we have up our sleeve.

Aliss and Luis processed this geisha using an innovative natural process. They dried the coffee cherries for 6 weeks under controlled conditions, followed by another 6 weeks of storage before the coffee cherries were milled to extract the green beans. This innovative adaption of the natural process produced a coffee that portrays the traits known for both natural and washed coffee. On the cupping table, It has both the sugary and tropical fruit notes from the contact with cherry flesh during the fermentation process, and the very delicate florals and clean acidity representative of the high-grade washed Gesha variety. 

However, that complexity comes with a cost. This coffee has the traits of both opposing attributes typically found in traditional natural and washed coffee. Generally, conventional natural processed coffee has a low moisture content of 9-10%, and a higher sugar content due to extra fermentation. They favor gentler heat application through longer roast time with lower finishing temperature. On the other hand, conventionally washed coffees contain higher moisture content around 10-12%, higher acidity, and lower sugar content. For these coffees, a shorter roast time, with more initial heat and higher drop temperature is usually more suitable.

The Finca Momoto Gesha has traits of both! Even though it is processed naturally, it’s moisture content is 11%, whilst having a relatively lower sugar content, which leans towards the attributes of a washed coffee. 

Does it sound like a short roast is more suitable for this coffee? 

Wait, there’s more.

Coffee density and screen size are also significant factors in building a heat curve. This Gesha currently holds the record for the densest coffee we have ever roasted. In addition to this, As a Gesha variety, it has a bigger screen size than most coffees. Greater surface area calls for a longer roast with a more gentle heat application. 

For the first time in the Roastery, we have a coffee that has conflicting qualities that can both benefit or hinder from a particular roasting approach.

In an attempt to solve the riddle, we first approached it using a long roast, with a low finish temperature profile that we generally use for natural processed coffee. The result was very disappointing! It was heavily under-roasted, flat, and tasted almost like water. This implied the need for a higher finishing temperature.

So we tried the washed coffee approach. However, the shorter roast time and higher drop temperature burnt off all the delicate notes, leaving it with bland and heavy flavors. Ironically it also exhibited traits of grassiness. 

The lack of a clear roasting direction puzzled us, but as we strongly believe in the coffee, we pushed on. Knowledge of prior trials suggested that the coffee liked a decent roast length, slow drying phase (boil), a high finishing temperature, but also a short time post first crack.

As many of you may already know, we roast our high grade coffees on the Ikawa sample roaster. The Ikawa is an air roaster, with a distinct advantage over a classic drum roaster, as it lacks a heatsink, it grants us the liberty to break traditional coffee roasting philosophies.

So, we devised a new curve with inspiration from an old school approach, the S curve. S curves are often frowned upon in the current roasting climate, as they don’t conform to the widely adopted declining rate of rise (RoR). This approach can often result in baked flavors - this is a term used to describe coffee that tastes flat or hollow through the mid palate, often accompanied by a unpleasant mouthfeel. The resulting curve was as follows. 

Those with a keen eye will notice this curve is not actually a traditional “S” shape. The way the Ikawa transfers its heat prevents a traditional S curve, so the above would be an adaption of such using the Ikawa’s unique heat transfer

Whilst developing the S-curve profile, we had some success with other trial coffees. However, the Momoto had other ideas. Our S-curve produced baked notes, so we went back to the drawing board

Eventually with all of the failure, came success. We managed to cut and paste a roast philosophy to approach the Momoto. With a little more argy bargy, the final profile resulted.

This profile is 9-minutes long, falling in between our typical washed coffee and natural coffee roasts. It has a 60% drying phase to effectively initiate the moisture and transfer heat to the inner core of the bean. The RoR is relatively flat to get it to a desirable temperature of about 3 degrees higher than a typical natural coffee profile. All the while retaining the short development time of 25 seconds, a staple development time of our natural processed coffees.

This Gesha, being so extreme in all attributes, highlighted not only the strengths of the Ikawa but also its limitations. On the one hand, with the lack of a heatsink, you can use the Ikawa to draw whatever heat curve you desire. However, this highly efficient form of heat transfer must be used with restraint in order to build a gentle boil of moisture inside the bean. This is in contrast to a radiant drum roaster (i.e. our Diedrich), which with a heatsink, can be a more efficient transfer of heat in the initial stages of the roast. It penetrates the inner core of the bean more efficiently in a shorter roast time.

This Gesha took us a fair number of roasts and multiple sleepless nights, yet the result is now very satisfying. It has notes of sweet melon, guava, orange, rose, and florals with a long caramel finish. 

In short, it pushes us to our limits as roasters, and also suggests a very promising but challenging roasting adventure ahead.

I think it's safe to say with more producers experimenting with new processing techniques, as roasters we need to develop our skills, in order to keep up. Coffees like the Finca Momoto Gesha are not only great coffees, but also great opportunities to push the industry to new heights.

Enjoy!