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Date: 13 Sep 2006 08:26:40
From: nosnhojn
Subject: roasting and repeatability
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I'm new to roasting and have a question about 2 batches that I just
roasted. I did everything the same and am looking for hints as to why
they have turned out a little differently.
I have a 50/50 (by volume) blend of monsoon malabar and sulawesi
kolassi. I roast them separately. My terminology isn't stellar but I'll
describe the roasting the best I can... the malabar I roast well into
second crack, what I think I've heard people describe as a rolling 2nd
crack. The sulawesi I roast just barely into second crack. I do my
roasting in a popper.
Batch number 1 was the best I've done so far. I was getting good
extraction time, crema, taste, etc. From having tasted the coffees
separately, I *think* I could pick them out of the blend which I was
quite happy with. Batch number 2, prepared the same way doesn't quite
taste the same. It's hard for me to descrive taste yet but the biggest
noticeable difference is that the extraction time is much faster and
there is much more crema for batch 2. More crema isn't bad but the
flavour wasn't the same.
Is more crema/faster extraction a symptom of something I inadvertantly
did when I roasted the beans (all other things being equal - grind,
extraction method, age of roasted beans, etc.)? Maybe I roasted either
bean more/less without realizing it?
thanks
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Date: 13 Sep 2006 12:00:56
From: nosnhojn
Subject: Re: roasting and repeatability
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jim schulman wrote:
> If you're using a popper and roasting by the sound opf the crack, you
> won't get consistency. Consistency means thermometers, scales,
> controls on the heat, etc. so that the exact roasts are repeated over
> a nd over again.
Agreed... and that's in the works. I'm just looking for some tips until
we're up and running with all the bells and whistles. Maybe having the
roast sit a little longer could be part of it. It was at almost 3 days
so I'll see how it looks today.
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Date: 13 Sep 2006 13:44:55
From: jim schulman
Subject: Re: roasting and repeatability
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On 13 Sep 2006 08:26:40 -0700, "nosnhojn" <neil.johnson@vmmuser.org >
wrote:
> Maybe I roasted either
>bean more/less without realizing it?
If you're using a popper and roasting by the sound opf the crack, you
won't get consistency. Consistency means thermometers, scales,
controls on the heat, etc. so that the exact roasts are repeated over
a nd over again.
Given the expense of getting it; you could quote Emerson instead.
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Date: 13 Sep 2006 17:21:57
From: I->Ian
Subject: Re: roasting and repeatability
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On 13 Sep 2006 08:26:40 -0700, "nosnhojn" <neil.johnson@vmmuser.org >
wrote:
>that I just roasted.
If you are making espresso from freshly roasted, as in less than 48
hours old, you will have lots of 'crema' but it is caused by the gas
in the beans. Try letting the coffee sit for 2 or 3 days before
brewing.
Roast variations creep in due to line voltage, ambient temperature,
air conditioning, initial temperature of the roaster.
Slight variations is the roast can change the bean 'performance'
dramatically.
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Date: 13 Sep 2006 09:53:40
From: DavidMLewis
Subject: Re: roasting and repeatability
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nosnhojn wrote:
> I'm new to roasting and have a question about 2 batches that I just
> roasted. I did everything the same and am looking for hints as to why
> they have turned out a little differently.
>
>
> Is more crema/faster extraction a symptom of something I inadvertantly
> did when I roasted the beans (all other things being equal - grind,
> extraction method, age of roasted beans, etc.)? Maybe I roasted either
> bean more/less without realizing it?
>
First of all, there are many pleasures to be had from homeroasting, but
absent a fair investment in equipment and time, absolute repeatability
isn't among them. Particularly with a popper, whose roast is quite
fast, it's easy for small differences to creep in due to changes in
things like wall voltage and ambient temperature. You might try
lowering the batch size, which will slow the roast a bit, especially
with the monsooned beans, since they're larger and less dense. Also, if
you haven't done it yet you should invest in a scale that is repeatable
to the gram, and weigh your batches rather than doing them by volume.
You don't need anything fancy: I worked for years with a food scale I'd
gotten for US$12 new at the drugstore. Hope this helps.
Best,
David
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