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  • First Roast!!

    Hey everyone

    Well I got my new Imex CR100 delivered today, woo!! Opened it up and had a bit of a look, then in the car to my local roaster where I got 2.5kg of assorted greens (also got 6x100g greens with the roaster). Fired up the roaster tonite and did my first roasts! Very very happy with the outcome, the Imex was a delight to use and my beans look great... very even in colour ect. Ill leave them rest until tomorrow nite and then the big taste! Heres the blend I tried:

    50% Brazilian Santos Roasted a little into 2nd crack
    20% Ethiopian Yirgacheff Roasted somewhere between 1st and 2nd crack
    30% PNG Sigri A Roasted a little more into 2nd than the brazilian


    Cant wait to see how my creation tastes! Thanks for the motivation to give this a try myself :-)

    Ben

  • #2
    Re: First Roast!!

    you know you dont HAVE to wait.... sometime it wont pour properly but generally it is AOK to make the espresso when they have cooled down (just)...

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    • #3
      Re: First Roast!!

      Hi Clarexican

      Thanks for your reply :-) I guess I didnt have to wait... but I had some week-old beans to use up anyways, so I didnt mind waiting a bit to try my roast.

      Tried some tonite just before, was excellent!! Heaps of crema and tasted excellent, Im well chuffed! I think Im going to get rather addicted to this whole coffee roasting thing

      Ben

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      • #4
        Re: First Roast!!

        Yes! Another one hooked!! [smiley=evil.gif]

        Java "Weve got you now!" phile
        Toys! I must have new toys!!!

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        • #5
          Re: First Roast!!

          You gotta love the term "my first roast". It reads like some notion of coming of age, or ritual passage like puberty or induction into a secret society.

          I think my "first roast" as a pre-pubescent was punching a few nail holes in an old frying pan, tossing some corn in there and sticking the lot over a fire to make psuedo pop-corn.

          My, how Ive come virtually full-circle to doing the same to coffee beans.

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          • #6
            Re: First Roast!!

            ;D Very true Robusto! I kinda feel like ive become a member of a select group of underground coffee fanatics or something! I must say it certianly scored points with my local roaster. He seemed very excited by the idea of me roasting at home and I tihnk was pleased to have someone that he could relate to with regards to roasting.

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            • #7
              Re: First Roast!!

              Mearesy, all you need to do now is to learn the secret handshake and your training will be complete. ;D
              Steve.

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              • #8
                Re: First Roast!!

                robusto,

                Yes, pray tell us the story of when you had your Indian Cherry Robusta popped.

                Grant

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                • #9
                  Re: First Roast!!

                  Yes, pray tell us the story of when you had your Indian Cherry Robusta popped.

                  Grant


                  Ah, Grant, I remember it well. It was a cold night, and in my anxiety to get to first crack, I ramped up the heat. What a mess. Chaff everywhere.  

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                  • #10
                    Re: First Roast!!

                    Ah, Grant, I remember it well. It was a cold night, and in my anxiety to get to first crack, I ramped up the heat. What a mess. Chaff everywhere.  
                    Not the dreaded premature echaffulation again! ;D
                    Steve.

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                    • #11
                      Re: First Roast!!

                      You can be saved the mess with my patented Popperdom. Doesnt save you from the guilt associated with "Sorry, I blew it."


                      Congratulations Mearesy on your first roast. With the Imex, other than going by timing (which is inaccurate depending on ambient temperature), or just by sight, how do you know how far along the cracks are? I find it a more fulfilling experience if you can see, hear, and smell whats going on. But you cant beat a purpose-built coffee roaster for $110, excluding shipping.

                      Reminds me...I spotted one of those Aldi rotisserie ovens, and I thought "This has been done before," and the wife said, "Get away from that! Youre not getting one."

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                      • #12
                        Re: First Roast!!

                        Hey there Nunu

                        Bearing in mind that I have only done 3 roasts so far.... this is how I gauge how far along my roast is. Firstly, with the Imexs glass lid, ive got a great view of the beans, so by sight is certianly a big part of how im monitoring things! Secondly, the roaster is fairly loud... but I can easily hear first crack, but realllly struggle to hear 2nd at all :-/ Also, I can easily smell whats going on with the roast, so that helps as well. All in all, I think I will be able to get fairly consistant results. The 3 baches I have done so far were very similar in roast level etc, and the beans lo0oks really nice and very even in colour. It would be nice if the roaster was quieter so hearing wats happening was easier, but all things considered, I am VERY happy with my IMEX and am having a blast so far!

                        And yes... at $110... very very tempting offer for sure.

                        Ben

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                        • #13
                          Re: First Roast!!

                          Trying to hear rice bubbles popping in milk is dificult, when theres a vaccuum cleaner going on in the same room. Even with my loud popper going, I still can hear 2nd crack. The Imex could do with a bit of sound deadening imho.

                          Hmm...If you get a starter pack from CS, youll have so many choices of beans you wont know what to do with yourself. It is a good experience to get not only a variety of tastes, but also depths of roast, as well as beans that are easier/more difficult to roast.

                          Might be a good idea if we had a "mixed bag" coffee poll. Youd get three kilos of beans (1kg each lots), and it would be like a lucky dip. Details of the beans would be included with the bag.

                          Just a thought ofc.

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                          • #14
                            Re: First Roast!!

                            Mearesy wrote:

                            I can easily hear first crack, but realllly struggle to hear 2nd at all  

                            Yes, second crack is not as sharp and loud as first, but  for many beans the roast is best stopped before that point.  The question though arises, "how do I know I havent got there already?".  

                            Again, go by the grade of darkness.  Or, time the roast. See how long it takes to get to first crack.  Then, time how long to the ideal colour where you stop the roast, irrespective of whether second crack as been reached.

                            The second time, expressed as a percentage of the first, should be a practical measure  which takes into account variable ambient temperature.

                            For instance, 5 minutes to first crack,  then another 1 minute to ideal roast.  That is 20 per cent.    From then on, keep the roast going by 20 per cent more time from first crack.

                            Hope this makes sense.

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                            • #15
                              Re: First Roast!!

                              Thanks for the tips guys! I do certianly wish the IMEX was a bit quieter so I dont have to "guess" second crack, however I am hopeful that one I get more and more experience with the roaster, i should be able to be fairly accurate based on sight, timing, and smell etc.

                              Nunu: Yes I am definatly planning on getting a starter pack when it is available! I already have a fair range of beans here so I have a nice selection of beans which require different roast levels ( just counted - I have eight different greens so far).

                              Ben

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