How far do you roast ?

[ArabBeaker]

Most beans I see in cafes and for sale at the supermarket are quite a dark roast. I would judge them as having a slight oilyness on the bean. As compared to say a medium roast where the process has been stopped just before the oily stage. ( excuse my amateur attempts at catagorising coffee)

I have been roasting in a corn popper for just a week or so and have been experimenting a bit with a roast that is just short of the second crack. But I wonder If I'm missing out on something ? Maybe I need to go a tad further till about half way through the second crack, what do you think ?

..... and ....for those who roast at home, what is your own preference for roast ?
Light, medium, city, dark, french ?????

 

[roaster dave]

Hey Arabeaker, I generally like my coffees to finish somewhere between first and second crack. Some a little lighter, some a little darker. One thing to consider is that the lighter the roast, the more complex the flavour will be, and the more you will taste the origin of the bean. The darker you go, the more you will begin to taste the roast, or what the roaster (you) is doing to the beans. I usually steer clear of anything oilly, but thats simply my preference.

So I guess my preference would range from a city roast to a full city (-) roast.

 

[cindy]

Howdy arabBEAKER

I also started my roasting in a popcorn popper, (burnt a few out in the process) and i actually still use one for cupping samples.
just to make things easier but at the same time more interesting, take one type of bean, do a few roasts (light, medium, dark etc), make a note of the 1st or 2nd cracks and then just blend and play with those.
after that you can start experimenting with different types of beans.

my most popular roast is also just between 1st and 2nd crack but its a blend of a number of different beans.

just play a bit.... :wink: ....its fun

 

[ArabBeaker]

Thanks for the tips folks. A few days have passed and we have had more opportunities to "test" out the different roasts.
I am in a better position to comment now and would say that I am tending towards not going into the oily stage.
The next step is, as you suggest cindy, to blend and play.

Arab.

 

[nazpastor]

Roast

It really depends on what you like the taste to be. For espresso, I prefer a darker roast. For french press or drip coffee, I prefer it a lighter roast. Really, there is no "correct" roast, but if you go too dark, it really loses all distinctiveness of the bean. Right around 2nd crack is what I typically shoot for. Just at 2nd crack is good for most beans I have tried, a little longer for some beans is good to bring out the heavier tones. Sumatrian coffees are good just about 10-15 seconds into 2nd crack. Kenyan or Costa Rican I prefer a little before 2nd crack.