Stopping the roast mid-1C, question about beans

[cestrin]

So I stopped one of my roasts beginning/mid-1C the other day and had about half of the beans cracked while the other half were about the same color as the others, just smaller. Do y'all typically get rid of the beans that haven't necessarily "cracked" or will the overall blend taste about the same? I typically let my roasts get a good way through 1C before I stop it so I haven't typically noticed this.

BTW, I'm roasting on a Behmor...

 

[CoffeeJunky]

The beans will taste grassy and woody. It would be better to finish your first crack before stopping the roast but some reason you have stopped the roasting before 1crack, i would not cool the bean down right away but let it sit for about 15 mins before handling the beans

 

[cestrin]

I have talked to a local roaster here in Phoenix and they said that they drop their beans in the middle of 1C. (CJ, just to be clear, I don't believe it was before 1C, about half of the beans had made it through 1C) I imagine that since they are roasting on a 10 kg, gas roaster the bean mass will act differently. I was just wondering what y'alls experiences have been.

 

[namballe]

So I stopped one of my roasts beginning/mid-1C the other day and had about half of the beans cracked while the other half were about the same color as the others, just smaller. Do y'all typically get rid of the beans that haven't necessarily "cracked" or will the overall blend taste about the same? I typically let my roasts get a good way through 1C before I stop it so I haven't typically noticed this.

BTW, I'm roasting on a Behmor...

i don't "get rid" of any of my beans if for personal consumption. was this a trial roast? one of my lightest roasts are dumped at the end of 1C. any sooner as CJ noted will taste somewhat grassy.

 

[cestrin]

More of an accident, I had a friend over and I wasn't paying 100% attention to the roast. :neutral:

 

[peterjschmidt]

I have talked to a local roaster here in Phoenix and they said that they drop their beans in the middle of 1C. (CJ, just to be clear, I don't believe it was before 1C, about half of the beans had made it through 1C) I imagine that since they are roasting on a 10 kg, gas roaster the bean mass will act differently. I was just wondering what y'alls experiences have been.

A few possibilities... that local roaster was an idiot; they thought you were an idiot, and fed you some BS to get rid of you; they're following a moronic trend in some roasting circles to produce light/very bright roasts; or... who knows?

Obviously, there's some momentum in the bean mass and even after dumping a roast it doesn't cool down immediately. So, maybe their roaster doesn't cool down a large batch well, and this is how they try to get beans right at the end of 1C. Determining when 1C is officially finished is always a guess because there are some stragglers still cracking when 99.9% of beans are heading into City+.



Also, at least from my understanding 'drop' means charging the roaster with green beans, 'dump' means moving the beans from the roaster to the cooling tray. I'm not a word nazi, but like it when people are on the same page in their dialogues.

 

[namballe]

Also, at least from my understanding 'drop' means charging the roaster with green beans, 'dump' means moving the beans from the roaster to the cooling tray. I'm not a word nazi, but like it when people are on the same page in their dialogues.

my mistake on the word "dropped". have since edited

 

[Redswing]

Cestrin: I didn't see your personal take on the taste of the batch you finished a little early? What did you think?
Taste being subjective, I say roast another batch just a little further along before finishing, and then another a little further along. Then taste them side by side. By side. The more I am exposed to the coffee world, the more baffled I become by peoples certainty on roast levels. Don't get me wrong, listening to other roasters is super important...but don't lean too heavily on their ideas. You've got to try it yourself (side by side with other roasts) and see if you think it's tasty.

 

[cestrin]

It is pretty bland/highly caffeinated compared to when I roast it longer/darker. I gave this to a colleague at work and was afraid to do so. It is in his hands, I'm planning on giving him a more properly roasted batch whenever I make the time to.

When I first started roasting I had an issue with the light in the roaster as it has a yellow tint to it and because of the heating elements color. I started using a 200 lumen light to look at the beans and it gave me a more true-to-color view. It's been a while since I've under-roasted a batch (pretty much since I began).

Thanks for the input! I still don't know what the roaster was telling me about dumping towards the middle of 1C...

 

[Hankua]

I have ended roasts before 1C ends, even 1min after onset which would be halfway through. That's pretty light, bright, and acidic for sure. Not exactly my cut of tea, but as a home roaster going dark on expensive beans seems like a waste. It's good to experiment sometimes and go outside the box. The profiles my local roaster does on his 15k machine don't work on a one pounder; at all. Getting Mistobox monthly helps me see and taste what the pros are doing compared to my roasting.

 

[Bozo]

Cestrin; using the Behmor, they give 2:30 minutes after hearing the first pop of 1 crack but use the second pop of 1 crack. There should be silence after 1 crack before 2 crack.
City / 230 to 2:45 minutes
City+ / 2:45 to 3:00
Full City / 3:00 to 3:15
Full City+ / 3:15 to 3:30
Vienna or light French / 3:30 to 4:00
Your roaster maybe different but these times will be close, Bozo

 

[Bozo]

Cestrin, did those boys have a liquid lunch? Find out what the vender of the beans recommends for a roast profile. Write this down for every bean you roast, then use that when you roast next time, this works. Do you take notes? I have one I use every time. I can e-mail you if this is allowed, Bozo

 

[cestrin]

I do take some (minimal) notes. I'm colorblind which works against me. It's hard for me to tell color. I write down the roaster settings then time at 1C and 2C (which I really never hit) as well as when I stop the roast. It has been suggested to take note of when the beans start to dry out (yellowing of the beans). I get overwhelmed with a lot of variables so, until I get a thermister in the bean mass that takes readings for me, I'm going to keep it simple. I do note the profile if I like the way it tastes. I typically roast .5# on P1 (1# setting) for the first roast on any new variety. This works as a benchmark that I can use to see how the variety will roast compared to others I have worked with.

 

[peterjschmidt]

If it's any consolation, color in general is not the best indicator of roast level. It can help in knowing when the drying phase is done, and you see the change from green to a nice yellow/golden, but for determining end of roast, color is unreliable.

 

[cestrin]

What do you go by? Smell? Sound? Time? I guess on a large, gas roaster you have the trier to get sample from at different points in the roast. Do you just cup them afterwards and default to the corresponding time that cupped the best?