Good morning everyone: With the snow approaching, I'm hoping it doesn't hold up my SM order. That would give me the sweats for sure knowing it'll be late. I've not been a 100% thrilled with my past few roasts. I currently am trying to finish up a city roast from Costa Rica. The taste is somewhat on the bitter side or possibly a heavy citrus taste. My palate my be out of whack with this roast. I roasted 1/2lb on P1 and tried to get it close to 2:20 once I heard 1C start, but I was only able to get it to 1:30 once I heard 1C thereby turning out a light roast. Based on SM pictorial chart of bean roasts, I'm pretty much a City or just shy of a City + roast. Would the roast cause the somewhat bitter taste or is this flavor due to the bean origin? In thoughts of it possibly being my brewer, I have a 2 week old Brew Central by Cuisinart; its a really nice looking brewer with a black brushed metal casing. I always add one extra scoop per cup of water for some umph. Thoughts? Mark Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
CR's 'tend' to be light bodied and dancingly bright on the palate lighter roasts. That said your roast sounds way too fast start of 1st to end of roast. You need to adjust the ramp approaching and through first so you can get a minimum 3min (I usually target more like 3:30 non-espresso targeted roasts) start of 1st to end or roast, regardless the degree of roast. Yeah can be difficult light roasts and I can't tell you how to do it with your roaster. You just gotta learn how to control your roaster. If you can't control your roaster results are a crap shoot. Slave to the Bean Kona Konnaisseur miKe mcKoffeehttp://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must">http://www.NorwestCoffee.comURL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
You might try giving lighter roasts a two day longer rest period
between roasting and brewing than darker roasts.
pecan
On Feb 25, 2010, at 10:36 AM, Mark Jones wrote:
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Is there a standard rest period for roasts? |
No.... rest and taste, rest then taste, way too many variables for anyone to say there is. JoeR On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 8:55 AM, Mark Jones wrote: <Snip> -- Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform. Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Making sure for a given bean/roast rest and taste rest and taste scenario you go out at least 10 to 12 days. No Really. You may be surprised what flavors emerge (sometimes explode) a week and half or so out. Not usually, but sometimes. Especially if dealing with espresso. While there are indeed a plethora of flavors to be had directly starting post roast, personally I find most coffees don't fully develop really coming into there own until 4 or 5 days rest. And agree generally speaking the darker the roast the less rest required. Slave to the Bean Kona Konnaisseur miKe mcKoffeehttp://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must">http://www.NorwestCoffee.comURL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
miKe, Thank you for some specifics. I am such a spro' padawan. My spro' question of the day to you miKe is this. When we rest spro beans do with do in paper bags? What kind of containers are appropriate for this "rest" period? I emailed my roasting master/instructor and he was not clear on this. Only to tell me that foil bags will retard the development and he usually goes 5 to 7 days on his spro orders. I failed to ask him what the coffee in stored in during this rest/development period. Thank you miKe, Joe On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 7:13 PM, miKe mcKoffee wrote: <Snip> -- Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform. Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Which particular coffee was it? Also, remember that ambient
temperature and humidity can effect those drum roasts a lot. maybe
the characteristics of the finish were affected by these factors (?)
-Tom
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-Tom
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I try to rest the beans for a week at least in my ceramic counter canisters, you know the Coffee, Flour, Sugar, Tea? What I run into is that I run low on what I'm drinking and have to open the canisters a day or two after the roast. I roast the beans downstairs in my basement, which is about 62 degrees F. From what you're saying, all these factors are affecting the roast. Yes/ No? Thanks, Mark |
The fruity acids, among other things, are prominent in lighter roasts. These include malic acid (think apple), ascorbic acid (citrus), and acetic acid (vinegar). The more you roast the beans, the less citrusy, green grassy, astringent taste you will have. There is a sweet spot where the degradation of the fruity acids and the optimum caramelization of the sugars occur, but typically, the tasty caramel, and sometimes nutty or chocolaty flavors are not seen at the city roast stage. If you like bright, tart flavors, roast lighter. If you like the more mellow, sweeter, caramel/nutty/chocolate flavors, roast a bit darker. Think balance. A dark roast past second crack will degrade the fruity acids to almost nothing as well as turning caramel to carbon. The roasty flavors then take over and completely destroy the varietal flavors. Finding that sweet spot is the magic of roasting for me. I like a lively cup with some of the fruity acids and clean finishing flavors, but I also really like to balance that with the slurpy caramels and nutty chocolates of a near second crack or beginning second crack roast. ********************* Ed Needham "to absurdity and beyond!"http://www.homeroaster.com********************* |
Ed, Great post, description. Mike (just plain) Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Ed, I totally agree! It does seem like magic sometimes. My roasts lately have been less than perfect. No, I'm being kind to myself - I've had a few disasters. What was very frustrating - and embarrassing - is I had someone over to show them how I roast stovetop. In my opinion, the roast came out AWFUL. I sent them home with some roasted coffee (in retrospect, I should have given her some unroasted greens, but I knew my roasting *and* the pizza I was baking just wasn't turning out right, so I wasn't thinking straight...) This continued for awhile (solved my pizza problem faster, though). Then yesterday I roasted some Papua New Guinea Peaberry WP Decaf and some New Classic Espresso Blend (long story - my last order to SM's was for an espresso based sampler - I was using a mokapot, so it was my genius idea to order that since I felt the resulting brew was close to espresso. Then I melted my mokapot (actually, the handles - and it was the second one). Anyway - I knew right after (and during) roasting that these two roasts yesterday morning were going to be a hit. I'm drinking a mix of the two right now, and couldn't be happier! I hit it for both these roasts... *finally!! *(my previous roasts were turning out so bad that I started drinking them w/skim milk). I decided to do just what you described here. I used to roast too dark when I first started a few yrs ago - now I think I've been stopping the roast too soon. This cup is fantastic! Smooth, black - delicious. To the OP - Mark, keep at it. Ed is right - and the brewer can also cause the bitter taste, too. Lacking an espresso machine, I have found that I prefer a mokapot (as long as I don't forget to add the water and end up melting the handle and gasket, lol) and french press. My fp also broke awhile ago, so right now I'm roughing it - I make my own french press version in the pot I heat the water - after it's finished brewing, I just filter it w/a strainer. Hey, it works... Lynne On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 12:20 AM, Ed Needham wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
What do you think is going wrong in your roasts? You are using a stovetop method, a whirly pop? skillet? Have you ever checked the color of your ground beans with the color of the beans themselves? Do it in sunlight, so you get good color balance. Sometimes, especially with direct heat methods, you can get a darkened outside and a much lighter roast on the inside, leading to a bad roast. Just a thought. ********************* Ed Needham "to absurdity and beyond!"http://www.homeroaster.com********************* |
I agree with Ed's points, but I would like to add a few. I've roasted
over fires for years and I find that scorching, that is cooking the
outside too quickly, is largely due to too high a heat, too thin a
barrier between beans and heat, and a failure to CONSTANTLY stir the
beans. I found a heavy wok worked best and I would stir by a four
count rhythm. On the first count I would move the far end of the
beans to the upper left, I am right handed so lefties can scoop the
other direction, on the second I would move the near end beans in the
same direction, on the third move the center section of the beans over
in the same direction and on the longer forth count I would push the
bottom of all of them back to the right. Also, if you are roasting in
a pan in less that fourteen or fifteen minutes, your pan is too hot
and you are trying to go too fast for the limited heat contact the
beans have in a pan.
pecan jim
On Mar 1, 2010, at 9:38 AM, Ed Needham wrote:
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Hi Lynn, Thanks for an honest account of the ups and downs of your roasting. I go through cycles myself. I roast HG/DB, and I suspect that pan roasting must suffer many of the same advantages and disadvantages. I have a problem with consistency. The heat gun method gives, as they say, total control but zero repeatability. I suppose that if you wanted to say that 'total control' included enough control to gain consistency, then 'total control' is the wrong term, but never mind all that. I do find myself occasionally in patches where the results aren't that great. And it's during those times that I often wonder why I'm taking the trouble to do this week-in and week-out. But then, like you, I'll stumble on the right combination, and the results are perfect. And that's when I know what it is that keeps me roasting coffee. Glad you found your groove again! Doug On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 3:54 AM, Lynne wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I began my journey with homeroasting 33 years ago with oven and skillet roasting until I found references in a (pre-internet) library book on roasting coffee where you could use various popcorn poppers to roast beans. It has been so long since I roasted in a pan of any kind I have no skill to add to the technique. Jim, you are the man for wok and wood fire roasting for sure. ********************* Ed Needham "to absurdity and beyond!"http://www.homeroaster.com********************* |
Typo alert. Sorry, it's Lynne, not Lynn. I knew that. Doug Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Lynne's no meanie- Not to worry, Dug. I was Rey in the Philippines. On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 6:28 PM, Doug Hoople wrote: <Snip> -- Persist in old ways; expect new results - suborn Insanity... Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://host.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |