Why do my decaf profiles look so good?
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Well, a graph may give a hint about the taste and the graph looks very good (according to the Rao principles). But "Too bad they don't taste better." doesn't say what you don't like. What is lacking? What is there too much of etc.
Also, decafs in general are a bit tricky and are not as easy as e.g. a Costa Rican washed coffee.
Also, decafs in general are a bit tricky and are not as easy as e.g. a Costa Rican washed coffee.
- endlesscycles
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I've experienced the same thing... they follow the curve quite nicely.
-Marshall Hance
Asheville, NC
Asheville, NC
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The coffee is a Brazil Serra Negra MWP, it actually isn't bad. It is a mellow nutty cup with a slight citrus, unfortunately it still smells a little like wet cardboard.
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I was just reading Rao's book and see what he says about cardboard taste :
Paper, Cardboard or straw flavors ---- Means that it's baked ---- Remedies = Smooth out the bean progression. Ensure the ROR curve did not ever flatten or drop sharply.
Hope this helps ...
Paper, Cardboard or straw flavors ---- Means that it's baked ---- Remedies = Smooth out the bean progression. Ensure the ROR curve did not ever flatten or drop sharply.
Hope this helps ...
- keno
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Decaf in general is less acidic due to the processing of the beans, which may partially explain the cardboard, flat, or baked taste. I've had some decafs that are much better than others. So it may not be your roast. Have you roasted other decafs and had the same issue or not?
But looking at your roast profile I notice two things you may want to try. First, your roast is almost 14 minutes. Try shortening the duration of the roast. Your time at yellow is also quite long at almost 7 minutes! Second, you charged the coffee quite high but your turn around seems on the low side at 160F. What size batch are you roasting? Does your roaster have sufficient thermal mass to handle the batch size you are roasting? Or are you backing off on the heat with the fan up after charging? I'm not familiar with the Quest but that just seems like a huge temp drop!
But looking at your roast profile I notice two things you may want to try. First, your roast is almost 14 minutes. Try shortening the duration of the roast. Your time at yellow is also quite long at almost 7 minutes! Second, you charged the coffee quite high but your turn around seems on the low side at 160F. What size batch are you roasting? Does your roaster have sufficient thermal mass to handle the batch size you are roasting? Or are you backing off on the heat with the fan up after charging? I'm not familiar with the Quest but that just seems like a huge temp drop!
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This was actually a 22lb batch on a 15k roaster. I did several samples on the quest of this particular coffee, it seemed to have that slightly musty cardboardness anyway I roasted it. I blend this with a SWP Sidamo that is much better quality decaf and highlights more florals and present but soft notes of stone fruit.
I'm definitely open to suggestion, but I was more so just humored at how easy it is to have a nice S-Curve with a smoothly decreasing ROR that I would dream of perfectly achieving on all my regular coffees.
On the Quest I usually drop between 8-12 minutes with usually 4-5+ minutes of drying
I'm definitely open to suggestion, but I was more so just humored at how easy it is to have a nice S-Curve with a smoothly decreasing ROR that I would dream of perfectly achieving on all my regular coffees.
On the Quest I usually drop between 8-12 minutes with usually 4-5+ minutes of drying
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How old is the green? How are you storing it? Seems to me that everything about decaf goes downhill quicker. The green, the roasted and the brewed
FWIW you might try a quicker roast. Sadly you may have to do a smaller batch.
FWIW you might try a quicker roast. Sadly you may have to do a smaller batch.
-Richard
- SAS
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I was given 25 pounds two year old decaf beans that exhibited a cardboard smell and flavor post roast no matter how I roasted it; excluding French Roast which I never tried. I ended up throwing the greens away.
LMWDP #280
Running on fumes.
Running on fumes.
- FotonDrv
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Wow, does not sound good!
That Light at the End of the Tunnel is actually a train