Has anyone else on HB ever tried doing a light roast profile on the semi-washed Bali Blue Moon?

I've had really good cups from these beans as pre-2C medium roast (e.g. Anomali roastery in Jakarta, Indonesia). The Blue Moon seems popular among roasters who prefer to finish short of or past 2C, aiming for body and chocolate overtones. A blog post from Portland's Night Owl Coffee Roasters has even described the unpleasantness of these beans as a light roast:

"...a lemony cup with a strong herbal overtone, almost brushy. The acidity is also slightly greater. This can be quite desirable in many coffees, but in the Bali Blue Moon it doesn't match the other characteristics that develop and the resulting cup is unbalanced, uninteresting and frankly doesn't live up to the true potential of the coffee."

But in my limited experience of roasting the Blue Moon, I find that a light roast-dropped 20-30 sec after end of FC, just past the vinegar fragrance-can bring out sweet orange notes with a syrupy body. They also do wonderfully well as a fruity cold brew. So the acidity is pleasant, not harsh or rindy lemony.

Am curious if anyone else has tried light roasting the Blue Moon, since this coffee does not seem to be popular among those who prefer light roasting.

Haven't roasted it, but have had it a couple times from roasters and like it a lot. Never had it light roasted though.

I tried many times to get a lighter roast of Bali Blue Moon that tasted decent - but no success. My best roasts are fairly long and slow, to about 3:00 after the start of 1st crack.

My best roasts are fairly long and slow[...]

I'd like to read in more detail about your attempt to do light roast Blue Moon. What kind of roasting strategies and flavor profile were you going for? What were your failures tasting like? My failures taste like acidic basil/celery.

Like with wet-hulled Sumatras, the biggest challenge for me is to manage the beans' weird excess moisture (--am I right in assuming this?). So far, the approach that has worked for me is to first get rid of the damp grassy smell during drying by either 1. starting with a lower temp and extending the drying time, or 2. starting with a higher than normal charge temp and turning up the airflow for 30 sec to 1 minute whenever I smell the damp, grassy odor. Ideally, that grassy smell shouldn't be present by the time I hit 300F.

FYI: Am using a Hottop, and basing the reading on the stock probe thermometer.

mrinaldo wrote:I'd like to read in more detail about your attempt to do light roast Blue Moon. What kind of roasting strategies and flavor profile were you going for? What were your failures tasting like? My failures taste like acidic basil/celery.

Not sure I have much detail for you. I had purchased some Blue Moon roasted, which was wonderful. Then I bought some greens and tried to reproduce the "pro roast". Then I learned that my default roast profile gave me uninteresting coffee.

I did some searching at various sites for guidance, and discovered that most people roast longer than 2:30 after 1C starts. Many roasted up to (or into) 2nd crack. Once I stretched out my roast, the coffee tasted much better.

I've attached a roast profile from last year for you.

NOTE - my thermocouples read 30 degrees low ... st others.

I've attached a roast profile from last year for you.

Whoops. Did not catch your reply.

Thanks a lot for sharing. I may try stretching my drying again, though I've had better luck just starting with a higher than normal temp.

At the end of the day I may prefer natural or even washed process Bali rather then the wet-hulled variety. It's peculiar that the wet-hulled Blue Moon has become so popular in the States. I remember reading that the washed method is actually the norm in Bali.