Roasting Peaberry

[eldub]

Hey, kids.

We have some dry processed Yirgacheffe peaberry on order and I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions on roasting technique for this one.

 

[peterjschmidt]

For me, peaberry has always had a much more muted 1C. And I need to remind myself that the beans being smaller, the heat will reach the center of the bean faster so the coffee will roast more quickly. But you already knew that.

 

[namballe]

hey eldub,
i remember "expat" bringing up this topic a while back. here is a link to that old post. however, you may also get new opinions on this.
http://www.coffeeforums.com/forum/coffee-roasters/11263-roasting-peaberry-coffee.html

 

[JumpinJakJava]

Hey, kids.

We have some dry processed Yirgacheffe peaberry on order and I'm curious if anyone has any suggestions on roasting technique for this one.

Although I have never roasted Eth. peaberry, I have roasted enough Yirg., so that I would treat the peaberry
in the same manner as typical arabica beans so not to lose the nuances and characteristics of Yirgacheffe coffee.
The citrus and fruit notes. In the peaberry coffees I have roasted, and hearing the same consensus from many other roasters,
the peaberry should have very good body and a little more acidity. It is SHB, so even though the smaller size, the density with be hard.
I agree wholeheartedly with Peter regarding the muted state of 1st crack(also my hearing is not what it used to be!).
The transfer of heat was not as noticeable to me even with the smaller beans. But 2nd crack really takes off and you will need quick
responses, to drop the beans at desired stoppage of roast. I would recommend bringing the Eth. peaberry to end of 1st crack(get that 3 min.
time), then dump. 2nd roast I would try 15-20 sec into second roast, 3rd maybe a little longer. Cup the coffees, then go from there.
I do not have a commercial sample roaster, just a couple of small electric ones. So I do small batches on my 10k and then cup to get the best profile
or profiles, if I would like to know if the coffee will take a dark roast.

 

[eldub]

Thanks, guys.

 

[peterjschmidt]

eldub, if you'd permit a thread-jack, I'd be curious about others' finding on peaberry's flavor characteristics. I've been of the opinion for a long time that the idea of PB's being desirable for their favorable flavor profile is pretty much a myth. It's hard to say because I don't know of too many instances where a person can get a hold of the same crop, same harvest, where you have both the flat-bean and the PB. I just don't think the PB will have any substantial differences.