Roasting SM Liquid Amber with a Freshroast

[doug_m]

I have been roasting single origin beans with two Freshroast roasters for about 3 years. First crack usually happens around 5 minutes and lasts for 1 and a half minutes and 2nd crack starts around 4 minutes later.
I have been monitoring the temperature with a wire bead thermocouple in the chaff collector.

I will be roasting some SM Liquid Amber blend for the first time this week and I wondering if I should roast the same as the SO or should I alter the way I roast the blend?

Doug

[TimEggers]

Hi Doug,

If your other roasts turn out well I see no reason to change it. Try it out and taste it. If something seems off (which it shouldn't) then you could adjust. Best of luck!

[DavidMLewis]

I will be roasting some SM Liquid Amber blend for the first time this week and I wondering if I should roast the same as the SO or should I alter the way I roast the blend?

I don't have direct experience with the FreshRoast, but I do know that blends like Liquid Amber that contain a mix of monsooned and non-monsooned coffees, as well as some robusta, like to be slowed down after first crack. When I used to roast them in a Hearthware Precision, I could do that by hitting the cool button for five seconds once first was well underway, and then again about 90 seconds later. If something like that is possible with the FreshRoast, it may be a good idea. You want to take blends containing robusta into second crack; any lighter and they taste awful, although if you're going slowly at that point, they don't have to go very far into second. Also, as Tom says, the blend separates in the bag due to the wildly divergent densities in the mix, so make sure you mix it up before measuring. I'm a big fan of the forest-floor note that blend has. Enjoy!

Best,
David