MikeSD Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2013 Posts: 43 Location: Florida Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Jan 30, 2013, 8:34am Subject: Opinion on different types of roasts
I am very new to roasting. On my first try I believe I under roasted. The coffee was a bit grassy and sour. The next couple of batches were darker, well into second crack. My brother-in-law was visiting and said I burnt my coffee. He is from Louisville where there are several good roasters and coffee shops apparently. I am in a place where there are no good coffee shops that I know of, so I tend to trust his opinion. I am coming out of being a Starbucks fan, and I know they tend to over roast, so I think this is affecting my roast.
My question is what differences can I expect from lighter roasting, and what are your opinions about what I ought to try. I know that this is highly subjective and it take a bit of trial and error to dial in something I really like, but I'm just looking for ideas and suggestions of what you all have done, what successes you've had, and what I might want to try.
I have a sampler pack from Sweet Maria's that has Etheopian, Sumatran, Nicaraguan, and Colombian. I am roasting with an air popper modified so that the on/off switch only turns off the heating element.
Posted Wed Jan 30, 2013, 12:43pm Subject: Re: Opinion on different types of roasts
Here is the problem with poppers.. If your roasting hard beans (high altitude growing coffee) a popcorn popper will roast the bean too quickly leaving the inside of the bean under roasted. A popper usually can roast a 1/4 lb. within 6 minutes into second crack. Basic time frame for just the drying phase is 4min. I wound try a softer bean or to add a dimmer of some type to the popper. Another great DIY roasting method is using a thick skillet with a lid on it. I recommend the Tfal's they are great!
Bottom line is your over roasting your coffee on the outside and under roasting inside. That's why it looks burned and tastes grassy. To answer paragraph 2, roasting lighter if done properly will really bring out the brightness in the bean as well as all of the flavors it has to offer. I only roast City - Full City. American/ Cinnamon roasts are too light and French/ Vienna roasts burn away the tastes of the bean. I used to roast Vienna all the time and I noticed I couldn't taste much difference between origins.
MikeSD Senior Member Joined: 10 Jan 2013 Posts: 43 Location: Florida Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Wed Jan 30, 2013, 1:44pm Subject: Re: Opinion on different types of roasts
Burner0000 Said:
Bottom line is your over roasting your coffee on the outside and under roasting inside. That's why it looks burned and tastes grassy. To answer paragraph 2, roasting lighter if done properly will really bring out the brightness in the bean as well as all of the flavors it has to offer. I only roast City - Full City. American/ Cinnamon roasts are too light and French/ Vienna roasts burn away the tastes of the bean. I used to roast Vienna all the time and I noticed I couldn't taste much difference between origins.
I rewired the switch on the popper to turn off the heating element. If I do it correctly, I'm thinking I can shut the heat off for just a bit to extend the time between first and second crack. I've experimented with that a bit. I'll try that some more, and see if there is a difference.
I kind of noticed the same thing with not being able to tell the difference between origins with the darker roasts. Thanks for the reply.
Breeze Senior Member Joined: 3 Dec 2006 Posts: 733 Location: St. Croix, V.I. Expertise: Pro Roaster
Espresso: Pasquini Livia S Grinder: Mazzer Mini/Rocky Drip: TechniVorm/Krups MB Roaster: Toper 1 kilo
Posted Sat Feb 2, 2013, 4:41am Subject: Re: Opinion on different types of roasts
Something to shoot for:
First crack at +/- nine minutes and a total roast time of fifteen minutes +/- without going too far into second crack.
Even more simply stated, try to extend your roast to around fifteen minutes without burning the coffee. Once you get to that point you can think about fine tuning.
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