Whats in my coffee roaster this week

[Dimal]

Thanks mate...

Down to the gentle profile I use these days.
To think, when I first started out roasting in a Corretto, the average batch time reaching 2nd-Crack was more like 12 minutes.
Results in the cup were much more inconsistent and when I got as far as examining the internal structure of a few roasted beans, found that quite a few were barely roasted at all in the middle.

Learning, learning...

Mal.

[Janus]

Hope the Yemen pops up in beanbay at some stage

[DesigningByCoffee]

A batch of the latest Biftu Sundried. 800g batch, dropped at 217.5° which was a fraction earlier than I expected for this bean and 6° before my usual drop zone, but I was starting to hear the first outlying snaps of 2C.
In hindsight I could have gone a little further – in the cup it is very fruity, rich and zingy, but I think next time I would sacrifice a tiny bit more of the acidity for some additional body and smoothness. But the early snaps were most likely caused by how gronky and uneven the beans are - bit of a wild bunch! But well worth it in the cup - these are lovely beans.
I even ran these through the aeropress straight out of the roaster, and it was a lovely smooth cup at this roast depth, with no hint of toasty bitterness. So good all rounder profile I guess…

[LeroyC]

This is my second attempt with the PNG Unen Choit that I’ve got. The first lot looked like it might’ve been ok, but the results were very underwhelming. I’m not 100% sure what went wrong, but it was very gassy for a good couple of weeks so maybe it was under developed? Or under developed and baked maybe as the roast time was longer than expected.
Today seemed to go better. Even though it was probably 15deg colder in my garage I hit 1C over a minute early, but still got some good development time in so I’m hoping for a better outcome. Moisture loss was exactly the same so that’s interesting. We’ll see.

[Dimal]

Yep...

Unfortunately, the vagaries of ambient temperature variation introduces several unknowns into the outcome of the end results, in the cup.
Effects all roasting systems that draw air in from the outside and with my Corretto, I have to work this variation into the profile I use in order to keep things more or less the same.

Makes for an interesting experience though, if not always an optimum one...

Mal.

[Agrajag]

To think, when I first started out roasting in a Corretto, the average batch time reaching 2nd-Crack was more like 12 minutes.
Results in the cup were much more inconsistent and when I got as far as examining the internal structure of a few roasted beans, found that quite a few were barely roasted at all in the middle.

I find this interesting, do you think getting more out of a longer roast something that is unique to your setup, or can be applied to roasting in general? I roast using a huky, most of my roasts are around the 12-13 minute mark (400 or 500g batches). I've tried a couple of longer roasts (~16 minute, nowhere near 20 though) and I've found them to not be much different - but all I did was slow down the whole roast, using lower heat throughout, generally a fast start/slow finish. I'm not sure if perhaps there's more airflow in my setup which might explain a difference. I will have to try cutting the beans to see how they are roasted, but I find the 12-13 minute ones work well - but maybe I'm missing something!

I generally aim for a gradual decline of RoR throughout, I see you ramp up the RoR again at around 160° - is this because you slow it down quite a bit for the maillard phase and want to hit 1st crack with some oomph, or something else? Bit hard to tell what the RoR actually is from your graphs so I am interested.

[Dimal]

I see you ramp up the RoR again at around 160° - is this because you slow it down quite a bit for the maillard phase and want to hit 1st crack with some oomph, or something else? Bit hard to tell what the RoR actually is from your graphs so I am interested.

I really doubt that much of what I do with my particular setup would be transferable to your Huky 'Aj'...
It is definitely worthwhile though, to section a random selection of beans from different roast batches in order to determine if they're roasted properly. I just use a piece of sandpaper on a small sheet of scrap glass for this.

And yes, I like to hit 1st-Crack with plenty of oomph, as you say, in an effort to ensure that all the beans hit 1st-Crack simultaneously, vigorously and complete within 90-120 seconds, depending on the beans used, where I intend to stop the roast in the post 1st-Crack gradient and the actual gradient itself. Have found that doing it this way ensures really enjoyable and consistent results in the cup

I can attach a chart data file for you if you want, to compare with your own. Let me know...

Mal.

[LeroyC]

I find this interesting, do you think getting more out of a longer roast something that is unique to your setup, or can be applied to roasting in general? I roast using a huky, most of my roasts are around the 12-13 minute mark (400 or 500g batches). I've tried a couple of longer roasts (~16 minute, nowhere near 20 though) and I've found them to not be much different - but all I did was slow down the whole roast, using lower heat throughout, generally a fast start/slow finish. I'm not sure if perhaps there's more airflow in my setup which might explain a difference. I will have to try cutting the beans to see how they are roasted, but I find the 12-13 minute ones work well - but maybe I'm missing something!

I generally aim for a gradual decline of RoR throughout, I see you ramp up the RoR again at around 160° - is this because you slow it down quite a bit for the maillard phase and want to hit 1st crack with some oomph, or something else? Bit hard to tell what the RoR actually is from your graphs so I am interested.

I would think that if you go much longer than 15min in a Huky you’ll end up with a baked roast. Maybe Monsoon Malabar or Kona would need a longer roast, but for most other beans it’d be too long and slow. Do you have the solid or perforated drum?

[Yelta]

Yep...

Unfortunately, the vagaries of ambient temperature variation introduces several unknowns into the outcome of the end results, in the cup.
Effects all roasting systems that draw air in from the outside and with my Corretto, I have to work this variation into the profile I use in order to keep things more or less the same.

Makes for an interesting experience though, if not always an optimum one...

Mal.

When I built my Corretto I made a lid from fibre board that almost sealed the top of the pan, drilled a hole for the heat gun nozzle then gradually trimmed the exhaust opening until it was producing the result I was after,about 1/3 of the top of the pan is exposed as an exhaust.

This pic gives an idea of how it finished up, works well for me.

[DesigningByCoffee]

When I built my Corretto I made a lid from fibre board that almost sealed the top of the pan, drilled a hole for the heat gun nozzle then gradually trimmed the exhaust opening until it was producing the result I was after about 1/3 of the top of the pan is exposed as an exhaust.

I agree - there are certainly lots of things like lids/insulation you can do to improve the consistency of the roast. I found the biggest thing for me, like Mal mentioned, was dealing with drawing air from outside the system. My shed can range from -5° to 40° - that's going to have an impact on the efficiency of the heatgun.

Also keeping greens at a stable temp (in my office - not the shed) also helped. If greens are 'pre-heated' or 'pre-chilled' on a hot or cold day, that has a big impact on the final result. I've found that in both summer and winter I need to slow the roast profile down a little to counter this… it's why I envy Andy a little in his 24/7/365 climate controlled roastery!

[Yelta]

This mornings roast.
500 grams India Elephant Hills Monsoon
250 grams Uganda Kisoro AA

Lots of talk lately about the merits of lighter roasts so stopped the roast about 3 degrees earlier than usual, well short of SC.

As is my custom tried one hot off the press, a bit under developed for my taste, drinkable but at this stage nothing out of the ordinary, perhaps it will improve over the next week.

[Yelta]

I agree - there are certainly lots of things like lids/insulation you can do to improve the consistency of the roast. I found the biggest thing for me, like Mal mentioned, was dealing with drawing air from outside the system. My shed can range from -5° to 40° - that's going to have an impact on the efficiency of the heatgun.

I experience similar conditions, ambient temp certainly has a big affect on heat gun temps, bit of a juggling act at times.

The joys of shed roasting.

[DesigningByCoffee]

Brave, very brave Yelta!

The lighter roasts I've found really interesting. There are elements like the brightness & acidity that remain (and can be overpowering initially - like my current Biftu), but as they age they do also get deeper, richer – and dare I say it – darker flavours, especially through milk, while maintaining the nice acidity.

I find with my slightly darker roasts (just before/on 2C) that they are more balanced flavourwise straight out of the roaster, but as they age past 7 days they tend to soften into the cocoa end of things and loose that bounce.

Hence, at risk of putting the cat among the pigeons – how long should you rest? Depends how you roast!

[Yelta]

Brave, very brave Yelta!

Hence, at risk of putting the cat among the pigeons – how long should you rest? Depends how you roast!

Not sure about brave, just felt it was time to prove to myself that I'm still capable of moving out of my comfort zone.

"how long should you rest?" unsure, however because of my advancing years, and given it was quite a departure from my normal profiles (big shock to the system) I suspect at least until the next roasting session, or, were you referring to the coffee?

[Agrajag]

I would think that if you go much longer than 15min in a Huky you’ll end up with a baked roast. Maybe Monsoon Malabar or Kona would need a longer roast, but for most other beans it’d be too long and slow. Do you have the solid or perforated drum?

Yeah that's what I had thought after reading up on roasting with the huky when I initially got it, I've been roasting with it for a couple of years now and it had just never occurred to me to try stretching out a roast longer. I'm very happy with the results I get from it, just always wondering if there's something else to try. I have a solid drum.

This is a standard looking roast:



And the same beans (yirgacheffe + brazil yellow bourbon especial) with a longer roast:



I think LeroyC might be right, although still nice, I think the shorter roast gets more complex flavours and longer one is perhaps slightly baked - but not enough to stop me drinking it!

Thanks for the information/ideas. I think I might try a slow down for maillard phase and speed up for 1C on my next roast, see if that makes a difference. I think the trick with that will be being able to slow it back down after 1c though. Will see how I go.