New roaster makes syrupy coffee.

Opportunity

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Feb 24, 2005
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I'm new to roasting and just got a Hearthware iRoast that seem to work fine.

I've tried a number of different green coffee samples from SweetMaria's, around 5 different coffees, some roasted to a City, some to a Full City, and some roasted to a Vienna (mostly telling by color), but everything I've roasted and brewed comes out with a sweet syrupy bitter aftertaste.

I've tried varying the amount of grounds in the brewer way down to see if
it was a too much coffee problem, but then I just end up with very weak coffee with a syrupy aftertaste.

Anyone have any advice? Am I roasting too fast so that the beans aren't cooked all the way through (I hear first crack, but not sure about second) or too slow? Is the coffee not sitting long enough after roasting? Is it a roast problem where it's too slow or too fast at first? Am I roasting too much or not enough?

The Hearthware roast profile I'm using is:
350 for 2:30
400 for 3:00
460 for 5:00, but usually stopping before the cycle finishes to get the roast I want.

Thanks for any advice or pointers anyone might have!
 

LiftOff

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Nov 3, 2004
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I'm not a homeroaster but from what I've seen, your time (10.5 min) seems about right for an iRoast. As you know beans need to rest awhile after roasting to de-gas, depending on the variety and personal taste/opinions, anywhere from hours to days.

What type of grinder are you using and at what grind setting? To fine a grind can and will result in bitter, syrupy taste due to overextraction.

Some of your other questions are a little to broad for me to zero in on anything.
 

Opportunity

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Feb 24, 2005
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Thanks! I've got a Caprezzo burr grinder that I've got set pretty low (3.5 out of 10), which has always been fine before for my cone drip brewer, BUT I forgot that I pulled the burr wheels out and cleaned it for the first time in a year right when I got the iRoast, so I suspect it's grinding finer than it was before. I'm going to try cranking it up to 4.5 and see if there is any difference.

That, and after some more study, it seems that I'm actually roasting closer
to a French Roast than I thought and what I thought was first crack is
actually the start of second...
 
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