Grinding too fresh.

[ArabBeaker]

Had a spate of visitors over the last couple of days and been getting through my small amount of freshly roasted beans. I noticed yesterday that I was going to run out by today. Not a good thing to have happen around here.
So I had to pop out to the garage and get the corn popper a'roasting some more beans.

This meant a dilemma. Because as all you coffee officionardos will be aware, we don't like to use our beans for at least a day or two and preferrably three or four. I have in fact used same day and 24 hr old beans before and tasted the acidy/carbonic bite so I know what its like. :twisted:
This morning I had run out of beans except for the ones I had roasted yesterday, but desperation drives a man to discovery ... I just ground em up and left the dose to sit in the group for about a minute before tamping, which in theory, should allow at least some of the CO2 to go away, and hey presto .... no carbonic bite. :grin: Mmmmmmmmmmmm
( just had to use that coffee bean emoticon ... just once ... )

 

[BV]

As a new quasi-home roaster myself, I've been doing quite a bit of experimenting. One of the pieces of advice I was given recently was to let my roast sit for two days before I start grinding it up. It's made a big difference in the flavor/taste. YMMV

 

[shadow745]

If beans are being roasted for espresso then the minimum wait is 4-5 days in most cases. I guess to each his/her own, but anything super fresh is really hard to dial in and the shot quality/texture just isn't there. Now you'll get buttloads of crema but there is a such thing as being too fresh. Later!

 

[jlyon10]

Home Roasters rule. How long you degas depends on the origin and your own taste of course.

 

[ElPugDiablo]

This meant a dilemma. Because as all you coffee officionardos will be aware, we don't like to use our beans for at least a day or two and preferrably three or four.

You may want to try much longer resting time. For me, 6 - 8 days. I was told by my customers if stored properly up to 3 weeks without noticeable fading.

 

[ArabBeaker]

This meant a dilemma. Because as all you coffee officionardos will be aware, we don't like to use our beans for at least a day or two and preferrably three or four.

You may want to try much longer resting time. For me, 6 - 8 days. I was told by my customers if stored properly up to 3 weeks without noticeable fading.

My own home roasted beans are at their best 2-5 days after roasting. After 5-7 days they are still great and I would not hesitate to serve them up to friends who drop by.
At this stage they are streets ahead of anything you buy ina supermarket :twisted: and stay this way for several more days and up to maybe a couple of weeks. Although as every home roaster knows, our beans don't get to hang around for anywhere near that long ( otherwise whats the point of home roasting ?)
My point being that I notice the difference when drinking it after only a couple of days. Just my preference.
jlyon10 is right !

 

[truebean1]

Degassing can be rushed and breaking the cell structure up to increase that rate is possible but still not recommended. Stick to the 24-48 that the SCAA recommends. Just watch one of your darker roasts progress and you will see the whole bean change and the oils relase to the surface in those two days if you have not brought them to the surface completely in the roasting process. I have tried this myself, although never with a popcorn roaster as I have the luxury of using an IR7. The results are always far superior with the traditional amount of time for me. I have found a cool dark room in a large cambro bucket with the lid loosely affixed is giving me the results I like. The ambient temp of 63-70 degrees seem to be liked by all the beans especially ones that I am trying to capture some of the blueberry notes or lighter more elegant flavors. Just my opinion and I still have much to learn. I do love to experiment though so any cool methods any of you find would be fun to try.

 

[ArabBeaker]

thanks truebean1. I agree wholeheartedly.
Since my last post here I've started gettinga nicer roast. Taking 9 minutes to 9'30 seems to improve, with secdond crack just starting. Gotta get those husks out though.

 

[JohnB]

Correct aging time can vary dramatically depending on the bean/beans. I've been using a
Terruño Nayarita Mexican Natural roasted for espresso by Great Northern in Mich. for the last few months. You don't even open the bag until 18 days past roast & 21 days is better. It starts to drop off 30 days past roast but is amazing in it's prime. Sweet berry up front with a milk chocolate finish. Great straight or in milk.

 

[ArabBeaker]

Thats interesting, I had no idea that coffee could improve after that long. Will put some aside from my next roast and do a comparison. Going to have to drink two consecutive coffees though... that will be tough :-D
I'm trying a blend of Mendheling, Colombia, Kenya and Yurgacheffe right now, 25% of each.

Those interested in how I'm roasting... read on..... those who find silly little contraptions boring, stop here.... ! You have been warned !

Just so's I get a longer roasting time, I've started using an electric fan to push air into a box. The corn popper then sits on top of this box over a little hole through which the air is "forced". Very Low-Tech indeed, but seems to keep the popper from getting too hot too quickly, and extends the roast time from around 7 minutes to around 9' 30. Seems to taste better than a shorter, harsher roast time.
Also roasting first thing in the morning when the air is cooler helps too. I can't get past an 8 minute roast time during the afternoon when its about 28 C in my garage. I'm using a Breville Crazy Popper which cost NZ $49 about 4 months ago. I'm told it won't last long when subjected to this kind of treatment, but its already paid for itself twice, through home roasting vs ready roasted prices.

 

[JohnB]

Thats interesting, I had no idea that coffee could improve after that long. Will put some aside from my next roast and do a comparison. Going to have to drink two consecutive coffees though... that will be tough :-D
I'm trying a blend of Mendheling, Colombia, Kenya and Yurgacheffe right now, 25% of each.

I doubt you will have much luck. This is a very dense bean & I'm finding that what applies to it applies to few if any other types. If you don't let it age until 18-21 days the flavors you get are not appealing. Because of the density it is also affected differently by freezing then other coffees I've stored. The act of freezing will instantly age the roasted bean approx. 1 week. So if you get a batch roasted 18-20 days you can't freeze any of it as it will push it to the upper edge of its prime. Of course the good part is if you get some roasted 12-14 days ago you can freeze it & then start using that batch the next day.

Here is some info from Jack the roaster/co-owner of Great Northern:

""the Mexican Natural we're pouring as SO has been extremely different in terms of rest time needed after roasting. I was very excited to receive this lot of coffee after getting some experimental pulped naturals in the past, and this current lot has become the production process natural for our farmers in Mexico. After roasting a few samples, I poured some full city roasts as espresso and was shocked at how bad they were-mostly tasting of prednisone (if you've had it before you know...) & cough syrup. a total letdown. I skipped over the espresso development to focus on the brewed end of the spectrum, completely forgetting about the preliminary samples (about 2 lbs. remained).
Flash forward 3 weeks and I rediscovered the SO batches and decided to retry them in the Synesso and...stumbled upon the magic recipe. absolutely no medicine flavors in the cup, HUGE chocolate cherry body and ultra complex berry notes (blackberry, blueberry, raspberry). after some back & forth with newer batches we locked down an 18 day minimum rest time after roasting, the prime target being 21 days. after more in house R&D, we went live with the first commercial release at 28 days old and haven't looked back."

 

[Candy02]

Hi,

Use a medium grind (similar to the consistency of granulated sugar) for drip brewed coffee and time the entire brew cycle. If it takes longer than 6 minutes, the coffee will become over-extracted and release bitter tastes. Adjust the grind to be more coarse to speed up the brew cycle. If it takes less than 4 minutes, adjust the grind to be more fine.


Coffee

 

[ArabBeaker]

Hi,

Use a medium grind (similar to the consistency of granulated sugar) for drip brewed coffee and time the entire brew cycle. If it takes longer than 6 minutes, the coffee will become over-extracted and release bitter tastes. Adjust the grind to be more coarse to speed up the brew cycle. If it takes less than 4 minutes, adjust the grind to be more fine.


Coffee

Hi Candy,
purely espresso for me.

 

[Undergrind Roasters]

This meant a dilemma. Because as all you coffee officionardos will be aware, we don't like to use our beans for at least a day or two and preferrably three or four.

You may want to try much longer resting time. For me, 6 - 8 days. I was told by my customers if stored properly up to 3 weeks without noticeable fading.

Well... There is a flavor peak within the first week, and a pretty solid taper after that and then hits a low plateau. Try roasting a batch and tasting your origin at 36 and a pot for every following day. You may be missing out with different beans.