Hi,
I am quite new to the roasting scene - I have only got a few roasts under my belt. I use a large stainless steel bowl and a GMC heat gun, which has been excellent so far.
My question relates to two roast batches I did today. I was aiming to roast both of them exactly the same way:
* start out with the heat gun on a stand at low/medium heat, maximum airflow (nozzle about 7 cm away from surface of beans);
* vigorously mix the beans for ten minutes while gradually ramping up the temperature;
* by the end of ten minutes, the heat gun is at its maximum temperature, and the beans are pretty uniform tan/beige colour;
* at this point, take the HG off the stand and hold it closer to the beans while still stirring in order to progress to the first crack.
* first crack occurrs at about 13/14 minutes (reasonably prolonged cracking - possibly leading into second crack, but I have not been able to tell the difference so far);
* after about 1 minute of cracking, I put the beans in a colander and tossed them repeatedly in the air to cool them down.
This method has resulted in a roast that looks fantastic - uniform chocolate colour with no oil spots. This is despite the green beans being a blend of four varieties. Both batches looked like this. I was also able to compare the colour of the result with a professionally roasted version of the exact blend I used, and they looked identical - perhaps with the professionally roasted beans having a few oil spots.
This is the thing which has confused me - despite the same technique for and identical appearance of both batches, they smell totally different. To quote my wife, the first batch now smells like cigarette butts, and the second one smells caramelly and beautiful. It is possible that the first batch was allowed to crack longer than the first, but I wouldnt bet my life on it.
Does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be? And a further question - if a roast smells like cigarette butts will it taste like cigarette butts?
I am quite new to the roasting scene - I have only got a few roasts under my belt. I use a large stainless steel bowl and a GMC heat gun, which has been excellent so far.
My question relates to two roast batches I did today. I was aiming to roast both of them exactly the same way:
* start out with the heat gun on a stand at low/medium heat, maximum airflow (nozzle about 7 cm away from surface of beans);
* vigorously mix the beans for ten minutes while gradually ramping up the temperature;
* by the end of ten minutes, the heat gun is at its maximum temperature, and the beans are pretty uniform tan/beige colour;
* at this point, take the HG off the stand and hold it closer to the beans while still stirring in order to progress to the first crack.
* first crack occurrs at about 13/14 minutes (reasonably prolonged cracking - possibly leading into second crack, but I have not been able to tell the difference so far);
* after about 1 minute of cracking, I put the beans in a colander and tossed them repeatedly in the air to cool them down.
This method has resulted in a roast that looks fantastic - uniform chocolate colour with no oil spots. This is despite the green beans being a blend of four varieties. Both batches looked like this. I was also able to compare the colour of the result with a professionally roasted version of the exact blend I used, and they looked identical - perhaps with the professionally roasted beans having a few oil spots.
This is the thing which has confused me - despite the same technique for and identical appearance of both batches, they smell totally different. To quote my wife, the first batch now smells like cigarette butts, and the second one smells caramelly and beautiful. It is possible that the first batch was allowed to crack longer than the first, but I wouldnt bet my life on it.
Does anyone have any ideas as to why this might be? And a further question - if a roast smells like cigarette butts will it taste like cigarette butts?


Welcome to the wonderful addiction of roasting your own coffee!

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