My roasting journey from 1st roast on!

[texh]

hello
so i finally did my first roast...
method: stovetop wok with whisk
Beans: colombian superemo
weight: around 50g
duration: 19mins 30sec
roast level: idk maybe some beans city plus some beans vienna..
1st Crack: 14m 25sec
2nd Crack: 18mins 58secs (i think)
Lesson Learnt: Never to roast coffee in bad lightening

ok so today i tried to roast my beans for the first time.. was wayy too excited.. had all the things needed in one place and preheated the wok... i used low heat so that i dont burn my beans.. and after watching alotttt of stovetop roasting videos i had an estimate of having 2nd crack by 9~mins since my quantity was v.less
but after 12.5mins i dint hear any crack i cranked the heat abit to about medium and in 2 mins i hear 1st crack.. from there it was confusing as there were big aps between cracks so couldnt say when exactly was my 2nd crack...
by 17 min mark i turned on my stove head light for better view and to my amaze they are abit moree darker than i was thinking they were in low light.. but i kept roasting as i needed to hit 2nd crack..when i was sure this is defo a 2nd crack i waited about 20 secs and rapidly cooled the beans...
just to be clear.. i was agitating beans non stop for the whole process...
so let me know your thought on this and what level roast is this exactly and if any advice please share.. im posting my roast pics

[Yelta]

To put it bluntly Texh, very ordinary, uneven, some verging on charcoal, others look about right, must have been a lot of smoke in the area.

Have never tried roasting in a pan on the stove so cant offer advice.

I would suggest what you should be aiming for is an even roast, a touch darker than your lighter beans look, the very dark/black beans would be undrinkable to most of us.

At least roasting 50 grams at a time will enable you to practice until you get a reasonable result.

[Dimal]

Great first time effort mate...

We've all got to start somewhere and then learn from our mistakes. It's the best way to get ahead...
Probably one of the most important things you can do, is to keep good records of every roast. Lots of info on here about what sorts of things to record. You can refer to these notes as you progress along to ensure you not only avoid past mistakes, but to highlight what worked out really well in the cup. That's pretty well what most of us started out doing and the info is never redundant - I still refer to notes I've made many years ago for beans/blends, etc that I haven't roasted in a while; the memory isn't what it used to be...

I know it probably sounds odd, but I reckon if you increased the batch size to at least double what you've started out with, you'll probably find the roast batch easier to manage. And yes, you absolutely must have good and consistent lighting conditions to help with consistent outcomes.

It's all great fun and I'm sure you'll get a handle on things in fairly short order and there are plenty of us here on CS who enjoy helping out along the way...

Have fun...
Mal.

[texh]

Great first time effort mate...

I know it probably sounds odd, but I reckon if you increased the batch size to at least double what you've started out with, you'll probably find the roast batch easier to manage. And yes, you absolutely must have good and consistent lighting conditions to help with consistent outcomes.

Mal.

thanks for the reply mate..
so your saying that by increasing batch size ill get better outcome? dont you think it will lead to a more uneven roast... ?

[texh]

My 2nd Roast!

hey all
so its my 2nd roast.. and from what i learnt from my 1st roast was to use better ligthening so i made this batch in the morning and also last time i used a wok that made this really hot on the surface even on a low flame so this time i used a deep unstick pan with a whisk..


Method: Stovetop unstick Pan with a Whisk
Beans: Ethopia Sidamo
Weight: 50g~
flame: low
Duration: 36mins~
Roast level: not sure.. please you guys tell me? full city?
1st Crack: i heard one on 18mins than heard a few at 33mins
My 1st Roast Thread: http://coffeesnobs.com.au/home-roast...1st-roast.html


so i decided to try to roast these on low flame and use something besides a wok..
i knew as i read somewhere that ethopian origins get late 1st crack but i was really confused why i havnt reached 1st crack by 33min... i thut maybe i have skiped 1C but i couldnt as i was roasting in a quite envirnment and was keep close eye on the process and the bean colour was also not dark..
by 29min mark i think i raised the flames and cont constant stirring...
at 33min mark i got a crack and it was very few of them and with soem distancce till 35mins and some secs.. i kept on flame for 30more secs and cooled it rightaway..
the bean size isnt as big as i have seem on youtube but there was no burns or anything..
please check the pic below and comment/advice





thanks

[Vinitasse]

thanks for the reply mate..
so your saying that by increasing batch size ill get better outcome? dont you think it will lead to a more uneven roast... ?

Nope... Mal is 100% spot on... try a larger batch and you'll find the heat absorption far easier to control... just make sure to keep agitating the beans until the desired colour is achieved and then to remove them immediately from the heat and to cool them down as soon as possible

[texh]

try a larger batch and you'll find the heat absorption far easier to control

ok what if i keep the same batch size but i use a much smaller pan/wok ?

[l0u0k0e]

Hi texh, good to see you giving it a go!

Firstly my stovetop roasting experience is limited to one roast several years ago, and in general my roasting experience is limited so don't take my word as gospel.

I'd be aiming for a much shorter roast time though if I were you, try about 15 min, and as for the roast level, something between this and your 1st roast would be my target roast level. Just at the start of second crack or a minute or two after first crack is a good starting point, obviously depending on how you like your coffee. To achieve this I'd start with a higher flame, and then taper off as required during the roast. As others have stated, more beans might make it easier to achieve a more even and controlled roast, and if nothing else yield more coffee for effort spent.

Enjoy!

[texh]

Hi texh, good to see you giving it a go!

Firstly my stovetop roasting experience is limited to one roast several years ago, and in general my roasting experience is limited so don't take my word as gospel.

I'd be aiming for a much shorter roast time though if I were you, try about 15 min, and as for the roast level

something between this and your 1st roast would be my target roast level.

yes i was aiming for shorter time but it dint happen.. ill try to start of with high flames next time..
as for lighter roast i aimed on lighter roast as ethopian origins should be on lighter roast (thats what they say...)

[Dimal]

Would probably work out to be even more difficult Tex....

Heat application, by necessity, would be even more concentrated and make it more difficult to achieve a balanced result. 50g is a very, very small batch of beans to try and control. If this is the sort of batch size you want to stick with, then I would advise moving into a Popcorn Popper as they handle smaller batches better but even then, you may have to increase batch size to 80g plus...

Mal.

[artman]

Pretty good second effort. Do you have a heat gun? Using that as a heat source should make it easier to control?

Cheers

[texh]

nah.. just stove top method is the only way i can do.. i do havea small portable grill.. do u think it will make better results with charcoal grill?

[texh]

My 3rd Roast!

Method: stovvetop silver fry pan with whisk
beans: Nicoragua
weight: 50gm~
Duration: 15mins30secs
1C: 5:30mins
2C: 10:20min
flame: started with preheated pan and high flame.. turn down during roasting


this roast seems much more even to me and still have that golden crust in most of the beans..
check the pic and comment/advice





thanks

[patrizio]

Hi Texh
Good on you for starting out on your new hobby
This is a good way to understand how roasting is preformed and it is the original way it all stated
keep it up, it is all about making mistakes and learning from them then you have succeeded

my advice looking at the photo
- some beans look over roasted or look burnt
- hard to see on the photo but i think I see Tipping

With your profile
- seem too long of a roast especially between first crack and second crack

After all that some suggestion to consider
- keep the beans moving don't let them sit on the pan for too long
- That is why I believe some beans are over roasted or burnt
- split the bean in half and see how the inside looks
- chew on a few coffee beans and see how it taste
- does it taste burnt, ashy flavour

[shortblackman]

Each roast's looking better.
have you tried your second batch.... Or, (God forbid ) your first yet?