Bali Organic Kintamani Kintamani Highlands

by Todd on September 5, 2022

Cupping flavors: Very Solid body with Fruit very present. This bean has a lot of different fruit flavors present, and quite frankly they are hard to separate unless you let the coffee slowly roll down your tongue from the tip, to the base. The first impression was a confusing mix of several fruits in a coctail for this reason. Statistics: Roast level midway between City to City+, Moisture loss 14.09 percent, Development 19.2% Green Bean description:Fairly consistent in size, with a few more quakers than what would be normally seen in a Kenya or Ethiopia coffee. This is a low altitude bean, the first attempts to roast this bean were too aggressive, and not tolerated well by the beans. I really had to tweek my curves a bit (both length of temperature steps and actual temperature) to squeeze the best out of this bean. Previous roasts had a problem with run-away at the end, as well as second crack beginning as first crack was ending. Roasting challenges: Lower than expected ideal roasting temperature (similar to, but a bit more gentle than a typical lower-altitude Kona Roast). Roaster Gene Cafe CBR101 2016 model. Roast description: (uniquely for Gene Cafe CBR 101 models). *Preheat the empty drum to 392 F (200 C) for 5 minutes. *Rapidly stop and remove the drum. Quickly fill with 8 ounces (227g) of green beans. Re-insert the drum, start the roast at 392 F (200 C), start kitchen timer. *At 4 minutes on the timer, raise the temperature to 450 F (232 C). *It is worth noting I normally have the first (dehydration) phase run 5 minutes, but I was wanting to progress from dehydration to roasting phase a bit quicker to preserve the fruity esters this bean has.* Continue at this temperature until the first pops of First crack PLUS 60 seconds. (Normally, this temperature change happens more quickly after first crack starts, but due to the lower roasting temperature, a longer period of higher heat was needed to ensure enough heat was in the beans to complete first crack quickly). *On this roast, first pops of crack began at 10 minutes 30 seconds, temperature was lowered at 11 minutes and 30 seconds (on the kitchen timer) to 440 F (227 C). *Continue to roast at 440 (227 C) until roast is complete. *The goal on this roast was midway between City and City+, this was reached 13 minutes 00 seconds into the roast. Virtually all of the beans had light cracks at the tips. *The beans were dumped and force cooled. This was before Second crack began by a clear margin. Post Roast Notation: Sometimes I sample the raw beans after a roast, just to get a preview of where the roast ended up. I don't make coffee with them until they have "rested". I did pop a bean in my mouth, and taste the flavor, as well as the bite-through of them to get a feel for how dense and brittle/firm the beans ended up. These beans definately have a lighter density. For espresso drinkers, this will mean your usual Grams of grounds may be excessive with this bean. For Gene CBR 101 users, the best results with this bean is a light roast, as given above. I attempted darker roasts with this bean (into second crack), and they were a bit too savory and tannic for my liking. Fruit flavors were very diminished by darker roasts. But, your milage may vary.

by Mike on May 26, 2022

Probably my favorite so far. Roasted to a medium dark. Excellent balance, very fruity. Would also be good at a straight medium, I bet.

by Brian on March 16, 2022

This wet hulled Bali Kintamani is one of those rare coffees that can tolerate a darker roast, while still maintaining a lot of sweetness. At a full city or full city+ roast, you’ll taste chocolate covered cherry - more so than any other coffee I’ve tried. Im glad I picked up a few pounds. This also is a difficult coffee to find. Buy some and you’ll be pleased.

by FullBodyBrew on February 5, 2022

Delightful flavor rich cup after 3 days rest. Definitely a good coffee! Roasted it medium dark but like the previous reviewer said, it can quickly get away from you. The reason I found is because my first crack seems to never end but I knew I had to end the roast based on temperature which quickly shot up to 454F momentarily then I quickly pulled. So I was surprised this roast was so good. Very forgiving bean.

by NEO on March 24, 2021

I have roasted coffee professionally and at home for several years now and I have never found anything that comes close to this coffee bean. Either first or second crack profiles result in something for everyone. You just can't go wrong with beans from the Kintamani highlands period. These beans are also consistent in that they showed a higher content of total antioxidant phenolic content. It is most apparent that this is grown in a organic environment and washed with high altitude water that is ph balanced that leaves no residues like so many growers deal with in other areas of the world. I recommend this if the attributes posted are to your liking.

by Nathan Johnson on July 30, 2020

This is a clean-tasting washed coffee with good body. There are no greatly distinguishing features to its flavor, which is great if you’re wanting coffee that tastes like the general idea of what coffee should taste like; it does that exceptionally. It works well as a medium roast. If it seems like I’m mincing words, it’s because I prefer honey- or natural process. For those who like a washed coffee, this truly is a great option.

by Anonymous on July 24, 2014

Roast this to a rich, oily finish. When the roast is right, there is what some call a wine or brandy flavor to it. I think it's a lot like a chocolate covered cherry, and it even smells like a new opening of a box of cherry cordials. My favorite coffee of them all.