Why does my roast taste green???

[ozscott]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

Yep - first crack was noticable. Second was subdued and sounded like only a couple of beans were taking the odd rice bubble type pop.

Cheers again

[nunu]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

There was also talk that the newer crazy poppers werent as strong as the older lot.

19 minutes is a marathon in a popper. Best get that chimney, so you wont keep losing beans, and also so you can partially cover it to race to 1st crack, then remove the cover and let it coast to 2nd.

[ozscott]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

Thanks for that help. I just put another batch on and did 19 mins - only heard the second crack towards the last minute of that. This time the beans were darker again and dark right through the bean. I extracted a single and the amount of crema was fully double on the last batch. It smelled and tasted a little green (couldnt drink the shot - just a sip) but much better than the last one. I will let both batches rest and re-test tomorrow same time. I will post results.

Again - thanks for the help.

S
PS. I think my crazy popper without the chimney does take a while to heat the beans through.

[Lovey]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

Gday Ozcott,
when you say you think you heard both cracks, what did they sound like?
First crack sounds a bit like snapping matchsticks or toothpicks. Second crack sounds a bit like crinkling cellophane or pouring milk onto rice bubbles, more subdued than first crack.
You mentioned that the colour of the beans was dark, is there any oil visible on the surface of the beans? If so, you can be assured that youre into second crack territory.
As the other chaps have rightly mentioned, let the beans rest before you use them in espresso.
All the best.

[grendel]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

Are they an even colour all the way through the bean?

From you description they should be fine, but yes, they do need to be left about 48 hours to degass. Have have drunk beans as little as 12 hours after roasting (it was an emergency!) but the difference is very noticeable. As an experiment perhaps you should try shots every 12 hours or so and see how the flavour changes.

[nunu]

Re: Why does my roast taste green???

Underroasted beans will taste grassy, as will unrested beans. When the bean is heated too fast, the inside will sometimes remain unroasted/roasted to a lesser degree than the outside.

Let them rest for at least 24-36 hours. Some coffees will be better after resting at least a week. Try the beans again after you let them rest. If they still taste a bit grassy, then you have to work on slowing the roast down a bit more. 10 minutes is quite long for a popper, and should have been more than sufficient in roasting the inner parts of the bean.

[ozscott]

Hi all.

Just getting back into roasting.

I have the starter pack and picked a mix of 3 beans. I used 150grams in total into the Crazy Popper. I started it and let it go 10 mins - it spat out 30 grams (I need the chimney - note to self to get a new set of tin snips). I thought I heard the 2 cracks and the coffee beans turned nice and dark, but not as black as say some of the really heavy coffees such as some of the (rubbish) Harris stuff if that makes sense. Its as dark however as the Merlo beans that I normally get. I have not let it sit for 24 hours, but rather just stirred them in a bowl to cool to warm and then ground and pulled a single shot. It looked good and extraced well - good crema, time and pressure. It smelled a bit green and tasted green. I am wondering if I need to go longer or whether that taste will go after gassing of the CO2 for a day or so.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers