This page is updated and published by me, Dennis Rogers. You will find here my musings on coffee (I'm a home-roaster in training), philosophy (especially epistimological musings), and legal related
stuff. And, of course, any and all opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.
Yes, still alive here at The Legal Bean. I've taken a self-imposed hiatus from working on the computer in the evening since the 8 hrs. a day at work + 3 or 4 more at home in the evening was a bit much. But I've roasted many coffees in the downtime and done some interesting experimentation with some blends. My most experimental was a 25% Yemen Mokha Ismaili, 25% Sulawesi Toraja (roasted together to a rolling 2nd crack [Tasting Terms]), 25% Brazil, and 25% Uganda Budadiri (also roasted together to a rolling 2nd). This was my attempt at a Mokha Java blend, which I am apparently still far from perfecting, as the Uganda and Yemen dominated the blend and there were no chocolate overtones whatsoever.
The term "Mokha" in a "Mokha Java" (also spelled Mocha and Moka), by the way, does not itself refer to any intended chocolate flavor. Rather, the term refers to coffee that is shipped from a port called "Mokha" on the Red Sea coast of the Yemeni Tihama where most Yemeni coffees ship from (or used to ship from). Somewhere in the pages of history, the term Mokha was attached to some Ethiopian coffees, probably as a signifier that a particular coffee shared some flavor profile with its Yemen cousins.
Thus, the Mokha portion of a Mokha Java blend can be a wide range of coffees that are grown in this and the surrounding region, including many Ethiopian coffees. I do believe, however, that Yemen Mokha was the original component in the original blend.
Likewise, the "Java" portion was originally from estate Java coffee from the Indonesian island of Java. But nowadays, Mokha Java blends include a number of Indonesians, including Sulawesi and Sumatra. I think it is much more of an art form now ~ with myself as an aspiring artist (although a trustworty one :)
In my experimental blend above, the Ugandan was supposed to add yet another chocolaty element to the blend, as other home-roaster have been raving about the chocolate flavors of the Ugandan when dark roasted. Somehow mine tasted more like musty earth than chocolate, and I'm about to send the rest of my Ugandan to unsuspecting friends who appreciate the novelty of any home-roasted coffee. For now I will chalk it up to some unknown mistake on my part and keep experimenting. Suggestions are welcome! (And if you'd like some home-roasted Ugandan, let me know . . .)
