After reading that big commercial roasters cool the roasted beans with water I thought I would try the same.

I have been roasting with IRoastII for about two years. One problem is: when to stop a roast. The beans continue to roast for a while during the cooling cycle. This introduces another variable. Hot weather (like now) lets the beans get quite a bit darker. In the winter it does not seem to be as big an issue.

After a couple of roasts that I cooled with a fine mist of water I got a batch that looked good to the eye. Nice deep color, satin finish, even in appearance with no cracks, no oil on surface. I was trying to stop the roast just before second crack. I found that in spite of the good appearance, the espresso was lacking in the sweetness I am used to (SM monkey blend). I also had to tighten up the grind quite a bit to get a pour in the 25 second range.

Any comments, suggestions?

Thanks,

Tim

From Wikipedia:

"Roasted coffee beans are also cooled using fine water mist, this method is known as "quenching" and is considered inferior to air cooling as the water soaks the fresh beans with moisture and oxygen particles sending it stale almost instantly."

Thanks!!

I wish I read that before I tried it! Now that you mention it, the coffee did taste just like old and stale coffee.

Tim

Bob_McBob wrote:From Wikipedia:
"... sending it stale almost instantly."

This is a sufficiently idiosyncratic view that it is inappropriate for a Wikipedia entry.

This is not particularly complicated: If you spray a mist of water on a few thousand pounds of 435F beans; the water will flash evaporate and cool the beans off. If you spray a mist of water on a few ounces of 435F beans, the beans get wet. Misting works well on very large roasters.

The Wikipedia entry is in line with the common myth that the processes used by large industrial roasters are second rate. This isn't true. If they can save a few cents per pound on the coffee, it justifies spending millions on process improvements. Therefore, the Folgers and Maxwells use the world's best roasting technology on the world's worst coffee.

The trend towards using better and more expensive technology on worse and cheaper foods is true for most mass market foods. Such industrially produced food is a good thing, since it lets the billions with access to it eat somewhat tasty and nutritious diets, rather than starve like those in places without it. But it's not the right system for things you cherish.

If you spray a mist of water on a few ounces of 435F beans, the beans get wet.

It seems that will depend on how much you spray on. Kenneth Davids in his book is clear that you should not use more than will immediately be completely evaporated by the heat of the beans. You don't get the beans wet.

H-B threads on cooling from the best of the archives:

Unique Ways to Cool Your Roasts

Cooling and Shelf Life

Fullsack wrote:H-B threads on cooling from the best of the archives:

It's a little frustrating reading this stuff because of the apparent lack of any quantitative understanding. "You shouldn't cool too fast." Who could possibly disagree with this? If it is an appropriate rate of cooling, of course it can't be characterized as "too fast". But what is "too fast"? "You must cool fast enough." Well, of course. No one is going to argue that you shouldn't cool "fast enough". There are plenty of assertions about just what the cooling time should be -- 1 minute, 2 minutes, 2-3 minutes, 3-4 minutes -- but no one is giving a basis for any of these estimates. So who can believe any of them?

Four minutes for cooling is considered ideal. The basis is what shows up in the cup.