I'm an entirely self-taught roaster, as are many of you. When I started, I had neither good nor bad habits, which led me to find a roasting style that I've discovered a couple traditional roasters had pioneered years ago: low and slow. Since learning so much more about roasting, I've discovered that this style is traditionally thought to flatten a roast, kill the acidity, lead to baking, etc. Why is it, then, that it works so well on certain coffees?

This was a 25.5-minute roast, in a Behmor on P5: https://www.coffeereview.com/review.cfm?ID=3395
(This is the coffee: http://www.bodhileafcoffee.com/products ... rade-1-tp/)
This was a 19-minute, in a Behmor on P5: http://www.coffeereview.com/review.cfm?ID=3218
(The coffee was Sweet Maria's Kenya Nyeri Gatomboya AA - couldn't find the info)

I don't go to these extremes anymore, most of my roasts still lower-and-slower than most (usual dumps 14.5 to 15.5), but I do know of another LA roaster who regularly does 23-minute+ roasts on washed east Africans.

Curious to hear your takes - did a low/slow work well on the Sumatra because of the wet-hulling? The elevation? What about the Kenya?

Note: My current approach to roasting is slightly more-educated than just pressing P5 on a Behmor (I use a 2kg fluid bed roaster), based on processing, elevation, and the flavors I'm trying to bring out in the coffee.

Long discussion of this here:

35 Minute Roasts?!