Little Cricket roast

[weheritage]

Made an adjustment to my Little Cricket roaster by increasing the size of the vane and changed the roasting temperature and time. I was using 520 degrees for 25 min. and changed it to 450 degrees for 28 min. The roast is very uniform and I'll cup it tomorrow after it's gassed off.

 

[peterjschmidt]

What coffee and from who, will you use as your standard to gauge this against?

 

[weheritage]

I just like it. Enjoy coffee & I'm not interested in anything other then the satisfaction of having made a roaster and it's functional. After being in coffee for almost 50 years I don't really give a flip about what coffee is the standard. I used to have people ask me what the best coffee was and I always come back with, "what's you taste. If you like instant drink it" The same goes for roasting. There is no Best or Perfect roast. When I cup this batch tomorrow it may not be worth a flip.

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

You sound irritated that PJS would have any curiosity at all about the coffee you're roasting...he is, after all, a roaster, and maybe has an interest in what you're doing. Maybe not so much after that reply...

 

[peterjschmidt]

My curiosity was driven by the fact that the OP is roasting well outside the norm of what is considered suitable for time and temp. I get the idea of there being no right and wrong, and if you like it then that's the right way of doing it. But realize then, that when you say you're 'cupping it tomorrow' you're measuring your results against your own paradigm. You evidently enjoy coffee that is baked very darkly, and that's great - like my dad used to say, "It's a free country". That you realize you lie outside the norm is good too. What do you prefer about dark baked beans vs. not-so-dark roasted beans?

 

[weheritage]

Please accept my apology for my somewhat curt reply. I miss interpreted you comment as an affront. There are so few forums were people are not more interested in what they know then what someone else thinks. Again I do apologize. Having said that:

Roasting is a new experience for me. As mentioned I've been involved with coffee for 50 years but never roasted until recently. I've been putting a roaster together on and off for several years and finally was able to come up with a design that seems to work pretty good for me. I thought that I was following the information I had at hand. Evidently it was incorrect info. I like the darker roasts and I was trying to get to the second crack. My next batch, I will shoot for 450 F for about 18 min. The drum that I have makes it somewhat difficult to visually check the batch.

I am truly open to suggestions and hope that you will accept my apology.

Bill

 

[peterjschmidt]

It's all good Bill... I realize that I sometimes come off as a curmudgeon... probably because I am one.

You're wise to try different roast levels and times, thinking outside the box, to see if you get something you like more. If you find your roaster can't get to your desired roast level in 18min. you might try reducing the batch size a bit. Does your roaster allow you to hear what's happening with the beans, and smell the smoke too?

 

[weheritage]

I was thinking of trying a smaller batch, especially since they aren't giv'n 'em away. I've been getting my beans from Sweet Marie's only because I found them and haven't looked further. I know they are a bit salty on the price. I can hear and smell the beans although I don't notice any smoke until the later stage. I would guess the second crack. What might your thoughts be on a temperature and time for a 1/2 pound to a Full City roast.

Thanks

B

 

[peterjschmidt]

You could snoop around http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com. The prices are better than SM's, but most coffees have a 5# minimum.

It's hard to suggest a temp for a FC roast because every roaster will measure temps differently. Once 1C is over there's a lull or decrease in smoke output, which picks up again just as it's heading into 2C. That's a marker I use if I want to stop things before 2C, and don't want to go as far as hearing any 2C outlier snaps.

Time is difficult to suggest too, as it could be 12min., or it could be 16min. It's a personal preference thing, and might depend on the type of coffee being roasted. A good rule of thumb that's been bantered about is to have the amount of time from the start of 1C to the end of the roast be equal to 25% of total roast time. So if 1C starts at 12min. total roast time would be 15min. This becomes more difficult, the lighter you want the roast to be... it forces you to take into consideration how fast and hard you're pushing the roast going into 1C so that it doesn't run away and go too dark, but also doesn't stall the temps during and after 1C.

Hope that helps.

 

[weheritage]

Many thanks. This will give me some real parameters to explore. Believe it or not the first coffee roaster I ever had was a Royal No. 5. I was never able to get it operational as my partner took it for a portion of his buy out when I bought him out. (1980)