Hey guys, armed with a $10 B&D 1200W popper, the CS starter pack, and a PID I use as a thermometer I was all set to use a "home alone" Christmas day to launch my home roasting empire. Oh yes my friends armed with this I intend to take over the world ... or at least stink my house out!!
Now I must confess I feel like a complete idiot because Ive been involved in the "coffee scene" for a few years now and know my way around machines ok, grinders a bit, and certainly the techniques quite well. But home roasting I know NOTHING about other than what I can gather from the net.
So Ive chosen the "Uganda Sipi Falls" as my first victim from the pack, poor little fellas if only they knew what they were in for! Popper goes on and I start pouring them in until they basically stop turning and I have to give them a wriggle on (I measured the amount later, I began with 85 g and it would have been about 40 g). It all went terribly quick, blow by blow (ie 1 min intervals) temps were 168/204/216 FC/232 SC and I stopped there so 4 minutes and the show was over! Well ok, roasted a little darker than I prefer but I thought Id just try brewing a shot to see roughly what the taste may be like once theyve had a rest. Holy Crap! It was HORRIBLE, 30 minutes later and Im still trying to get the taste off my tongue!! Ergh! Ok it was an absolute gusher but even then I wouldnt expect it to be THAT bad.
Right, well maybe I had too few beans in there so Ill try again with 85g. This time it was 137/196/ F snaps (about 2:30)/ FC 212/225/243 stopped at 5 mins. The first and second crack just seemed to pretty much run together. Im pretty sure Im listening to the correct things as the finished roast is just a tad darker than I would normally buy. I can only emphasise again that I know NOTHING about roasting, but if I was to have a crack (excuse the pun) at the problem here I might be inclined to say its roasting too quickly? Typically I would buy roasted beans that have just gone into second crack, Id suggest this was pretty much Vienna and I was getting a LOT of the roast in the cup.
Now my questions. Firstly, this doesnt smell at all like "coffee" as I know it, even the roasted coffee doesnt really smell like coffee. Whats the go with that??
With 85g in the popper I had to stir them for quite a while (I think almost a minute) before they could keep going by themselves. My probe sits dead centre so shouldnt affect them rotating. Is this normal? Im suspecting the whole shebang is getting too hot too quickly but I also wonder if more beans could be kept going or if I would need to stir the pot for a while. Ive read people typically use 100g and I can give this a go but dont want to just waste them.
Finally, yes I know the beans need to rest for a few days, but should they at least be "drinkable" immediately? I mean Im wondering if the first batch didnt do permanent damage to my taste buds ;D
Thanks for the help. Oh, and Merry Christmas
Now I must confess I feel like a complete idiot because Ive been involved in the "coffee scene" for a few years now and know my way around machines ok, grinders a bit, and certainly the techniques quite well. But home roasting I know NOTHING about other than what I can gather from the net.
So Ive chosen the "Uganda Sipi Falls" as my first victim from the pack, poor little fellas if only they knew what they were in for! Popper goes on and I start pouring them in until they basically stop turning and I have to give them a wriggle on (I measured the amount later, I began with 85 g and it would have been about 40 g). It all went terribly quick, blow by blow (ie 1 min intervals) temps were 168/204/216 FC/232 SC and I stopped there so 4 minutes and the show was over! Well ok, roasted a little darker than I prefer but I thought Id just try brewing a shot to see roughly what the taste may be like once theyve had a rest. Holy Crap! It was HORRIBLE, 30 minutes later and Im still trying to get the taste off my tongue!! Ergh! Ok it was an absolute gusher but even then I wouldnt expect it to be THAT bad.
Right, well maybe I had too few beans in there so Ill try again with 85g. This time it was 137/196/ F snaps (about 2:30)/ FC 212/225/243 stopped at 5 mins. The first and second crack just seemed to pretty much run together. Im pretty sure Im listening to the correct things as the finished roast is just a tad darker than I would normally buy. I can only emphasise again that I know NOTHING about roasting, but if I was to have a crack (excuse the pun) at the problem here I might be inclined to say its roasting too quickly? Typically I would buy roasted beans that have just gone into second crack, Id suggest this was pretty much Vienna and I was getting a LOT of the roast in the cup.
Now my questions. Firstly, this doesnt smell at all like "coffee" as I know it, even the roasted coffee doesnt really smell like coffee. Whats the go with that??
With 85g in the popper I had to stir them for quite a while (I think almost a minute) before they could keep going by themselves. My probe sits dead centre so shouldnt affect them rotating. Is this normal? Im suspecting the whole shebang is getting too hot too quickly but I also wonder if more beans could be kept going or if I would need to stir the pot for a while. Ive read people typically use 100g and I can give this a go but dont want to just waste them.
Finally, yes I know the beans need to rest for a few days, but should they at least be "drinkable" immediately? I mean Im wondering if the first batch didnt do permanent damage to my taste buds ;D
Thanks for the help. Oh, and Merry Christmas


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