Help with Roasting

[Coffeeholic32783]

Hello everyone. I started roasting my own coffee beans a little over a month ago with a popcorn popper . Anyhoo, as I have tested different batches, my beans end up smelling like fresh coffee and look like good roasted beans (with a black spot here and there). But when I grind and brew them, there isn't much of a coffee taste, and this is after I've waited 8 or so hours for degassing. I've used a drip machine and a french press in my pursuit of great coffee, but I feel like I'm either missing or overlooking something. It doesnt take the popper long to roast the beans either. The 2nd crack begins around 4 min 30 seconds. If anybody could help and give me a few pointers or suggestions, I would gladly appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[mcohveca]

Sounds frustrating! You might be using old stale greens, the popper may give off uneven heat, or maybe even too much heat. Your beans may be cooking too fast and not getting the full heat required for a solid roast.
I've mentioned SweetMarias.com before, and I will again! Check out there site for some great info on home roasting.

Keep me posted.
Alex
www.cohvecacoffee.com

 

[jrnysend]

I know how frustrated you are. I've had the same problem roasting as you are with the ol' popper. This popper may be part of your problem but then again, I've had terrific coffee from it. Too fast or too slow a roast may also be a problem. If your beans roast too quickly, they won't have the flavor of a properly roasted bean. Too slow and the same occurs. I've had horrible coffee from some Mexican beans and African beans that I'm sure were fresh. The best I've had have been Ethiopian, Columbian, and Kona (probably a blend). Great everytime. I've also noticed that after the first batch since the popper is really hot, the beans will roast quicker each following batch. I like a dark, non-Starbucks burned flavor, roast. About two minutes after the second crack. The beans start to appear oily or glossy. Hope this helps you out. Happy roasting!

 

[BeanGrinder]

I can't say I've ever understood the whole popcorn roasting thing - maybe Topher can explain it to me some time! But I think mcohveca has a good point. See, as roasters go, I don't think the corn popper gives you enough control over the roasting process. So, while the outside of the bean looks done, the inside might not be. I can think of a dozen questions to ask about the process you go through, but I'll save them for now.

Back to the earlier posts...I think that some beans do better than others because of the bean size and moisture content. Really green beans with higher moisture content will probably not roast as well as beans with a little age on them, or smaller beans (like Ethiopian).

Keep trying - see if you can slow down the roast some and ensure that the inner bean is getting roasted.

Or, if you live in North Georgia, you're welcome to bring your coffee to my roastery and roast it on a "real" roaster. But then, once you've been at the helm of a drum roaster, you won't want to give it up!

-BG

 

[nzroaster]

It sounds like your roast is progressing to fast. If you can, try to put a variac onto the element power line. This will give you some temp control. There are plenty of online how-to's for this operation.

 

[jrnysend]

Bean Size

Those Ethiopian beans are smaller and do roast quickly and evenly as comparied to other beans. As far as the inside of the bean roasting evenly, it's odvious they don't. You can tell that by how they grind. With us folks that just want a good cup of coffee and are in the beginning stages of roasting, using the popper is the way to go. It does the job, regardless of the quality, and may only cost a couple of bucks at a yard sale. We can grow from there to a larger roaster and not be as concerned about the cost since we are more secure with not torching a batch of beans and stinking out the wife and kids.

 

[rooracer78]

depending on the depth of your roast you can break a roasted bean in half and test if it is roasted properly. A correctly roasted bean should have a caramel colour much like the colour of crema from a good extraction. Like others have said, it sounds like you are roasting too fast. A fast roast will be much harder to drop correctly....a few seconds past the correct drop point will cause the beans to oil up- especially if you are reaching second expansion quickly (and at an accelerated temperature). A fast roast will cook the outside of the bean leaving the inside green....that is most likely why your roasts aren't tasting great..

cant offer much in way of solutions to this problem as i only use drum roasters...but it sounds like the other guys have given you some good advice..

good luck