Hi Guys,
I've done a couple of dozen roasts with my Behmor and have generally been pretty happy - although I always felt my resultant espressos were a little on the sour side (I don't have a particularly refined palate at this stage - although I am working on it - drank supermarket pre-ground coffee for years without complaining :-)
I recently bought an Atago refractometer and it's been quite revelatory. I am under-extracting in a big way (12 - 15%). I have fiddled with dose, yield and time - but mainly have tried going for a finer grind to increase TDS and extraction. This has improved things but not as much as I would like.
To cut a long story a little shorter, I then thought that maybe it was the beans. I bought a bag of commercial roasted beans from a nearby roaster and they are giving better extractions and results in the cup. Definitely less sour. Results for the Atago suggest extraction closer to the desired zone ~ 17 - 19%.
I usually roast about 300g in the Behmor. Put it on P5 manual until about 30 seconds after 1C (~ 9 mins), then P2 manual and increase drum speed. Normally turning off (~ 11 mins) just before or at 2C. Then rapidly cool.
I reckon I'm at about CS 8 in terms of colour. The pro-roasted beans look CS 11-12.
My question is, is going darker a simple way to ensure better development? Or is there something else I should be doing?
Thanks,
Paul
I've done a couple of dozen roasts with my Behmor and have generally been pretty happy - although I always felt my resultant espressos were a little on the sour side (I don't have a particularly refined palate at this stage - although I am working on it - drank supermarket pre-ground coffee for years without complaining :-)
I recently bought an Atago refractometer and it's been quite revelatory. I am under-extracting in a big way (12 - 15%). I have fiddled with dose, yield and time - but mainly have tried going for a finer grind to increase TDS and extraction. This has improved things but not as much as I would like.
To cut a long story a little shorter, I then thought that maybe it was the beans. I bought a bag of commercial roasted beans from a nearby roaster and they are giving better extractions and results in the cup. Definitely less sour. Results for the Atago suggest extraction closer to the desired zone ~ 17 - 19%.
I usually roast about 300g in the Behmor. Put it on P5 manual until about 30 seconds after 1C (~ 9 mins), then P2 manual and increase drum speed. Normally turning off (~ 11 mins) just before or at 2C. Then rapidly cool.
I reckon I'm at about CS 8 in terms of colour. The pro-roasted beans look CS 11-12.
My question is, is going darker a simple way to ensure better development? Or is there something else I should be doing?
Thanks,
Paul

Comment