I'm well into the 2 kg bag of green Jailbreak Blend, I received from HasBean.
The blend contains
(40%) Guatemala Finca Cuidad Vieja Los Jocotales Red Honey Bourbon
(40%) Nicaragua Finca Los Miligros Washed Caturra
(20%) Guatemala San Patricio El Limon Washed Caturra
This is the mk6 blend
I have had some difficulties at the beginning, in how much heat to add. My first two roast got pretty uneven, because of the different sized beans of the three bean sorts. But when I found the right settings to my coretto I could go for the start of 2nd that Has Bean recommends.
I also got a small bag of roasted beans, which I used as reference to my own roast.
At my third try of 300 gr batches I got close to the color of the pre roast, but it didn't get in to second.
At this color I got to 199 c temperature
With this temperature I get a espresso roast very suitable for capucinno. Just a tad darker and stronger than the pre roast. That's why I love roasting at home. The possibilities to change a great blend to my own preferences.
The blend is round and very mild, with a hint of fruit and bright acid.
The taste is balanced, rich chocolate, bright plum and the feel of almonds in the very end. Gives a full cream feel with steamed milk, especially when cooled down.
I have done brighter and darker than my favorite 211c.
The brighter 200-204c is also great, but not with milk. Many of the bright flavors are more powerful, the body is lighter and the acidity kicks in way more.
Going darker than 211 isn't good for this blend. Getting half way in to 2nd is too much, almost all flavor is burned away.
It's a great blend of high quality beans. When roasting at home you have the possibility of doing light and dark. That gives you an opening of roasting a batch for milk based drinks and one for stand alone espresso. The blend is great for both things when roasted for the purpose. The pre roasted beans are very tasty as well, but mainly for straight espresso. I liked my own roast better than the pre roasted though.
