Number Nine runs cool when it rains

Number Nine is the roaster, a drum old enough to have a name and a temperament to match. She runs hot before noon and cool when it rains, and there is nothing in any manual about either, because there is no manual. There is Della, a notebook, and a great many mornings.

A cool drum roasts slow, and a slow roast on a wet morning lands a shade lighter than we planned for. We used to fight it. We would chase the heat, overshoot, and waste good beans being stubborn. Now we let her. The Yirgacheffe comes out brighter on rainy days and not one person has ever sent it back.

You learn a machine the way you learn weather. You watch it long enough to stop being surprised, and one morning you notice you reached for the rain setting before you looked outside. Bram is not there yet. He still argues with her. She still wins. He will get there, or he will not, and either way the coffee is good.