Roast 11 - cafemasy - Guatamala Antiguia & Ethiopia Limu

 Some roasting for a Guatamala Antiguia bean.

I'm using the Cafe Masy sample roaster

This is a air roaster

I'm slowly getting to know this roaster.

The temps displayed are not the internal bean temp

but still useful 

Guatemala Antigua coffee is a world-renowned, high-altitude Arabica (Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai) grown in mineral-rich volcanic soil between three volcanoes. 

It is characterized by a full body, velvety texture, and distinct flavor notes of chocolate, caramel, spices, and citrus.

Often classified as Strictly Hard Bean (SHB), this premium, shade-grown coffee is ideal for medium to dark roasts, making it excellent for espresso and pour-over.

Altitude: 4,600 – 5,600+ feet (1,400 - 1,700+ meters), classifying it as Strictly Hard Bean (SHB).

flavor Profile: Complex and rich, featuring chocolate, spices, caramel, and a refined citrus or floral acidity.

Growing Conditions: Volcanic soil, high altitude, and a distinct, dry climate, which helps produce consistent, high-quality cherries.

Roast Profile: Best suited for medium to dark roasts, which highlight its chocolate and smokey, spicy notes.

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Roast 11a - Guatemala Antigua coffee

I roasted in 3 stages

1. 197C for 3.5 mins

2. 202C for 6.5 mins

3. 227C for 2 min

The total roast time (drop) = 12 min

Preheat @195C for 2 mins

Start: 100g

end : 87.1g 

water loss = 12.9g.  thus medium roast

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Roast 11b - Guatemala Antigua coffee

I roasted in 4 stages

1. 197C for 3.5 mins

2. 202C for 4 mins

3. 210C for 1.5 mins

4. 227C for 1.5 min

The total roast time (drop) = 10.30 min

Preheat @195C for 2 mins

Start: 100g

end : 89.5g 

water loss = 10.5 %  thus light-medium roast

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Ethiopia Limu is a premium, high-grown washed Arabica coffee from southwestern Ethiopia, widely regarded for its balanced, winey, and fruity profile. It features bright, citrusy acidity, floral overtones, and a smooth, full body. Often featuring notes of berry or chocolate, Limu coffee is highly consistent, making it excellent for single-origin espresso or pour-over. 

Key Characteristics of Limu Coffee

Flavor Profile: Typically presents a complex mix of fruit (berry, apricot), spice, and floral notes with a pleasant, sweet acidity.

Processing: Primarily wet-processed (washed), which results in a cleaner, brighter cup compared to natural-processed Ethiopian coffees.

Growing Region: Grown in the Western/Southern part of Ethiopia at high altitudes (1,500–1,800+ meters above sea level).

Body & Roast: Known for a balanced, full body that stands up well to medium or light roasting.

Limu is often compared to neighboring Yirgacheffe and Sidamo coffees but is distinguished by a slightly fuller, more robust body

ROR rate of rise - intro

Coffee roasting is about exposing green coffee beans to an increasing temperature for a specific amount of time.

The graphical representation of the beam temperature at any given time during the roast is what we call a roasting profile.

Most roasting profiles look very similar, ... sometimes even identical.

This is a consequence of how all green coffee beans behave during a roast.

As soon as we drop green coffee beans inside of our roaster's drum, which is set to a preset temperature, we notice the temperature drops drastically as the beans absorb heat.

After this, the beans will start reaching an equilibrium represented by a steadily growing temperature.

During this  period we usually raise the gas & decrease airflow

After the first crack the beans will start radiating their own heat. So the airflow should be maxed out and the gas set to a minimum.

This is normal behavior and there is little we could do to change it.

The only thing we can control is a profile slope.

The slope represents the roast speed and is expressed in degrees per min. 

It is widely known as the Rate of Rise. 

A steep slope as a consequence of a high Rate Of Rise.

This is known to grant bright acidity to the beans.

Medium slope triggers sweetness, Aroma and fragrance.

A low slope is characterized by chocolate and nutty flavor notes .

Sometimes the differences on a roasting profile are so small they are hard to see or they overlap

with each other. 

For this reason there isn't a specific curve for the Rate of Rise.

It is expressed in degrees per minute.

During the beginning of the roast the ROR line usually disappears indicating the values are

negative or the temperature is lowering instead of rising.

After the Turning Point the rate of race becomes visible in the chart.

The normal tendency of the rate of rice is to be high at the beginning of the roast

and get lower as the roast progresses.

As a rule of thumb... a rate of rice lower than 10 is slow .

Between 10 and 15, its medium.

About 15 is a high rate of rise.

DRYING PHASE Targets

Start with a high ROR during the drying phase.... average of 15 or 16/min.

The aim is to dry the beans efficiently. Be cautious, don't go too fast as too much heat can scorch the bean surface and not dry the inside of the bean completely.

The ROR will commonly get into the mid 20's as it approaches the turning point.

It often peaks at the TP, (24-25/min) then starts to drop till it reaches dry-end.

I try to get to a ROR of about 15 at dry-end.

MAILLARD Targets

I like to start this phase at around 15/min and aim to drop it around to 5/min at 1st crack.

Aim for a ROR-level around 10°C per minute in the middle Maillard phase of the roast and around 5°C/min from when First Crack starts.

The ROR slope should get less steep during this phase.

DEVELOPMENT PHASE 

It is common to aim for a lower ROR at First Crack and during the development phase. 

Plan for the Exothermic Shift after yellowing (~160°C).

Remember that beans release their own heat. Reduce burner settings early to avoid ROR spikes.

Keeping a close eye on the rate of rise is important because it doesn't only

measure the quality of the rocks. It also measures your consistency and dexterity

as a roaster.

A smooth descending line indicates an uneventful roast and skillful roaster.

A choppy line indicates a dirty or maybe a defective temperature sensor, heat leakage or an

insecure operator.

Sudden changes in rate of Rise going upwards are called "flicks" and going downwards "crashes"

Flicks may result in Burnt, scorched, Rubbery and Toast notes while 

Crashes may cause flat & dull notes .

Keep in mind: ambient humidity, green bean density, and roaster type (drum vs. fluid bed) all influence how ROR behaves. Eg: air roasters generally don't have a turning point.

The La Marzocco Linea — a short visual + historical overview

 The La Marzocco Linea is one of the most influential espresso machine designs ever made—especially in specialty coffee. Its history is tied closely to the evolution of modern café culture and espresso technology.

🏛️ Origins: built on decades of innovation (1927–1980s)

Before the Linea existed, La Marzocco (founded in Florence in 1927) had already shaped espresso machine design:

+ 1939: patented the horizontal boiler, which allowed baristas to work face-to-face with customers—still standard today.

+ 1970: introduced the GS (Gruppo Saturo) system with dual boilers and saturated group heads, dramatically improving temperature stability and shot consistency.

These technologies became the technical foundation for the Linea.

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🚀 1990: The birth of the Linea

+ Around 1990, Piero Bambi designed the Linea (later called the Linea Classic).

+ It was built to be:

    = Simple to service (technician-friendly)

    = Extremely durable

    = Thermally stable thanks to dual boilers

👉 This combination made it ideal for busy cafés—especially as specialty coffee began to grow globally.

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☕ 1990s–2000s: global café standard

+ The Linea quickly became a workhorse machine in coffee shops worldwide.

+ It was widely used by chains and specialty cafés (including early Starbucks locations).

By the mid-1990s:

+ Thousands of units were produced

+ It became the machine that defined the La Marzocco brand identity

Why it mattered:

+ Reliable under heavy use

+ Consistent shot quality

+ Straightforward mechanical design (easy repairs)

This is why you still see 20–30-year-old Lineas running today.

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🔧 Evolution of the Linea platform

The original design stayed remarkably consistent, but it evolved into several key models:

1. Linea Classic (1990s–present)

+ The original design, still produced today

+ Minimal electronics, very robust

+ Considered a “lifetime” café machine

2. Linea PB (2013)

+ Named after Piero Bambi

+ He Added:

           + Digital controls

           + Brew volume programming

           + Modernized internals

3. Linea Mini (2015)

   This  is a home version of the commercial Linea

   It Features:

         + A Dual boiler system

         + Same design language in a smaller footprint

4. Linea Micra (2022)

   + Even smaller, more accessible home machine

   + App connectivity and compact design

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🌍 So Why the Linea is so important? 

The Linea isn’t just another espresso machine—it helped define modern espresso culture:

+ Standardized café workflow (horizontal layout + multiple group heads)

+ Set expectations for consistency in specialty coffee

+ Became the default machine for high-end cafés for decades

+ Known for longevity—many units last decades with maintenance

In short, it’s often compared to something like a “Land Cruiser” of espresso machines: not flashy, but incredibly dependable.

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🧠 Bottom line

The La Marzocco Linea, introduced in 1990, took decades of Italian espresso engineering and distilled it into a simple, durable, and precise machine. Its success wasn’t about radical new features—it was about getting everything right.

That’s why:

+ It’s still in production

+ Still widely used

+ And still considered a benchmark in coffee

NST Balance sheet - example

This is the Balance Sheet using real data for the Gold Miner, Northern Star. 

ASX : NST

I've taken the info from Commsec & some data from StockAnalysis

📊 Northern Star (NST) — Balance Sheet Snapshot (FY2025-ish)

(Rounded from real data so it’s easier to understand)

🟢 Assets

+ Current assets: ~$3.0B

+ Non-current assets: ~$17.4B

✅ Total assets: ~ $20.4B

🔴 Liabilities

+ Current liabilities: ~$1.6B

+ Non-current liabilities: ~$3.9B

❗ Total liabilities: ~ $5.5B

🟠 Equity

+ Shareholders’ equity: ~$14.9B

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🧠 Step-by-step: How to read THIS balance sheet

🔍 1. Short-term safety (very important)

👉 Compare:

+Current assets: $3.0B

+Current liabilities: $1.6B

That’s roughly:

👉 ~1.8x coverage

✅ Interpretation:

+ NST can comfortably pay short-term bills

+ No immediate liquidity stress

✔️ This is a strong sign

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🔍 2. Debt level (risk check)

👉 Total:

+ Liabilities: $5.5B

+ Equity: $14.9B

👉 Debt vs equity is low-ish

✅ Interpretation:

+Balance sheet is conservative

+ Not heavily leveraged

👉 For a mining company, this is actually quite healthy

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🔍 3. What kind of assets does NST have?

Here’s the key insight:

~$16B+ in property, plant & equipment (from stockAnalysis)

👉 That’s mines, equipment, infrastructure

🧠 Translation:

This is a capital-intensive business

Most value is tied up in physical assets (gold mines)

⚠️ Important:

These aren’t easily turned into cash quickly

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🔍 4. Cash position (important nuance)

Cash: ~$1.6B (FY2025)

Net debt: roughly neutral to slightly negative

👉 Meaning:

They’re not drowning in debt

But they’re not sitting on huge excess cash either

🟡 Interpretation:

Balanced, but not ultra-defensive

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🔍 5. Is the company building value?

👉 Equity growth:

~$8.8B (2024) → ~$14.9B (2025)

That’s a big jump

🧠 Why?

Likely combination of:

+Profits --- jump in gold price

+Asset revaluations

+Capital raising

⚠️ Important nuance:

Shares outstanding increased ~16% YoY

👉 So:

Some growth comes from issuing new shares (dilution)

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⚖️ The core equation (always holds)

Assets=Liabilities+Equity

For NST:

~$20.4B = ~$5.5B + ~$14.9B ✔️

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🚨 VERY IMPORTANT: Context 

NST’s balance sheet looks solid…

BUT recent news shows:

Production issues

Downgrades in output guidance

Operational problems at key mines

👉 This matters because:

A strong balance sheet = can survive problems

But it doesn’t guarantee strong returns

🧭 So… is NST financially strong?

✅ Strengths

Good liquidity (can pay short-term obligations)

Reasonable debt levels

Large asset base

Strong equity position

⚠️ Watch-outs

Heavy reliance on physical mining assets

Cash not massive relative to size

Share dilution recently

Operational issues (this is big)

OMO vs QE vs EL vs RMP (different ways to manage money supply = money printing)

OMO

Open market operations (OMOs) are a primary monetary policy tool where a central bank (e.g., the Federal Reserve) buys or sells government securities in the open market to regulate the money supply and influence interest rates. 

Buying securities injects liquidity (money) into the banking system to lower interest rates and boost economic activity. 

Selling securities absorbs liquidity to raise interest rates and curb inflation. 

Key Aspects of Open Market Operations:

Purpose: To manage liquidity, influence the cost of credit, and achieve monetary policy targets like inflation and employment.

Mechanism: When the central bank buys securities from commercial banks, it increases the reserves banks have, encouraging lending. Conversely, selling securities reduces bank reserves, tightening credit.

Target Rates: These operations are used to keep short-term interest rates (such as the Federal Reserve Board's federal funds rate or the Reserve Bank of Australia's cash rate) near a specific target.

Types:

Permanent (POMO): Long-term purchases/sales to manage structural liquidity.

Temporary: Often in the form of repurchase agreements (repos) to handle short-term fluctuations.

Evolution: Since the 2008 financial crisis, many central banks have used large-scale, long-term asset purchases (quantitative easing) rather than just small, daily operations. 

Quantitative Easing (QE)

Open Market Operations (OMO) and Quantitative Easing (QE) are both central bank tools to manage the money supply, but differ significantly in scale and intent. OMOs are routine, small-scale purchases of short-term bonds to target interest rates. QE is an emergency, large-scale, pre-announced buying of long-term, riskier assets (e.g., mortgage-backed securities) used when interest rates are near zero.

OMOs manage liquidity and short-term interest rates. QE aims to lower long-term interest rates, boost asset prices, and spur lending when conventional policy is exhausted.

Asset Type: OMOs typically involve short-term government securities. QE involves long-term government debt and, in some cases, private assets or corporate bonds.QE is an unconventional, non-traditional tool typically utilized during severe economic crises (e.g., 2008 financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic)

Mechanism:

Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional monetary policy where central banks (e.g., The Federal Reserve, Bank of England) create new digital money to purchase long-term securities, such as government bonds, from commercial banks. This injects liquidity into the financial system, lowers long-term interest rates, and encourages lending and investment to stimulate economic activity.

It's really the modern version of printing money...… it has the negative effect of debasing the value of the currency.

Modern implications.

The devaluing of the USD. Debasement.

Rise of crypto

Movement to other "safer currencies"

Movement into hard assets.... Gold, silver, property, equities.

The BRICS have launched a gold backed currency … the "UNIT" and central banks around the world are buying gold.

EL

Emergency liquidity

Emergency liquidity refers to the discretionary, last-resort funding provided by a central bank (e.g., RBA or ECB) to solvent but illiquid financial institutions experiencing acute, short-term funding shortages. It acts as a safety net during crises to maintain financial system stability. Examples include Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) repo., covid, 

RMP

Reserve Management Purchases

Reserve management purchases (RMPs) are technical, secondary market Treasury bill acquisitions by the Federal Reserve designed to maintain "ample" reserve balances in the banking system, rather than to alter monetary policy. Starting in December 2025, these operations, sometimes called "not QE" help manage seasonal demand for reserves and ensure smooth market functioning.

WTF ??

What does this all mean?

The primary goal is to maintain a sufficient level of reserves, 

ensuring that the federal funds rate remains within the FOMC's target range.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Open Market Trading Desk buys short-term Treasury securities in the secondary market, which increases the SOMA (System Open Market Account) portfolio.

Distinction from Quantitative Easing (QE): 

RMPs are technical adjustments to manage the liability side of the Fed's balance sheet (specifically bank reserves) to meet demand, whereas QE is intended to stimulate the economy by lowering long-term interest rates. Consequently, the Fed will likely be buying around $55 billion of T-bills per month through at least April. Cutting interest rates 

SO... the govt is printing money to buy govt debt (because no one else wants it).

Balance Sheet

 This is how the Balance sheet is shown on the Commsec site.

The entire thing comes down to one equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Equity

Think of it like:

🏠 “What the company owns” = “what it owes” + “what belongs to shareholders”

Compare Debt to Equity 

and

Assets to Liabilities

and 

Look at the Cash level

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How the Balance Sheet is structured (on CommSec)

1. Assets (what the company owns)

These are split into two main types:

🟢 Current assets (short-term)

+ Cash

+ Inventory

+ Receivables (money owed to the company)

👉 These turn into cash within ~12 months

🔵 Non-current assets (long-term)

+ Property, factories

+ Equipment

+ Investments

+ Intangible stuff (brands, goodwill)

👉 These are long-term resources

2. Liabilities (Debt - what the company owes)

These are also split into two types:

🔴 Current liabilities (short-term debts)

Bills

Supplier payments

Short-term loans

👉 Due within 1 year

🟠 Non-current liabilities (long-term debts)

Bank loans

Bonds

Lease obligations

👉 Due over many years

3. Equity (what shareholders “own”)

This is the leftover after debts:

Share capital (money investors put in)

Retained earnings (profits kept in the business)

👉 Basically: company’s net worth

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🧠 How to actually READ it (this is the key part)

When you look at a balance sheet on CommSec, don’t just read numbers — ask these:

1. Is the company financially safe?

👉 Look at:

       + Cash vs short-term debt

       + “Current assets vs current liabilities”

Rule of thumb:

If current assets > current liabilities → generally safer

This is called the current ratio

2. Is the company heavily in debt?

👉 Compare:

  + Total liabilities vs equity

  + High debt = higher risk

  + Low debt = safer but possibly slower growth

3. What kind of assets does it have?

👉 Important nuance:

   + Cash = strong

   + Inventory = less liquid

   + Intangibles (goodwill) = sometimes questionable

4. Is equity growing over time?

👉 Check:

  + Are retained earnings increasing?

That means:

The company is keeping profits and building value.

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📉 Example (super simplified)

Imagine a company on shows:

Assets: $1,000

Liabilities: $600

Equity: $400

That means:

It owns $1,000 worth of stuff

Owes $600

Shareholders “own” $400

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🧭 How to use this on CommSec (step-by-step)

Next time you open a stock:

1. Go to Financials → Balance Sheet

2. Look at:

    + Current assets vs current liabilities

    + Total debt vs equity

    + Cash level

And ask:

👉 “If things went bad today… is this company financially strong or fragile?”

Commsec Financials Page explanation

This is a description of a typical summary page (from commsec in this example) for 

education purposes only.

You ca apply these concepts to any end of year company summary

Under the  Financials tab, you’re usually seeing:

1. Company historicals

High-level summary (revenue, profit, EPS, etc.)

Earnings, dividends, 

ROE, ROC, gearing, NTA/share

Usually covers 3–10 years

Think: “Is this company growing?”

2. Historical financials

More detailed income statement (profit & loss)

Shows:

Revenue

Expenses

Net profit

👉 This is about performance over time

3. Balance sheet 

+ Snapshot at a single point in time (e.g. June 30)

+ Shows:

What the company owns

What it owes

What’s left for shareholders

👉 This is about financial position / health

4. Performance and Risk

+ Total Shareholder return

+ Risk - Beta, ratios, Debt/Equity

+ Segment Performance

+ Liquidity