Hey guys. I tend to prefer my espresso when it's made with beans in the City-City+ range, but I've always had problems roasting them this way without overly bright and/or sour notes with a thin body. My lighter roasts work great for other brewing methods, however.

My question is, what should I be doing differently when roasting light for espresso vs. roasting at the same level for drip? I've tried extending all the phases, including more development (3min) after first crack, but these has produced generally bland results. I've had some truly amazing single origin espressos at this level in coffee shops, with bright acidity and thick viscous body, but haven't quite been able to replicate that.

Does anyone have some Artisan graphs they can post for example on how to do this?

Thanks.

EvanOz85 wrote:I've had some truly amazing single origin espressos at this level in coffee shops, with bright acidity and thick viscous body, but haven't quite been able to replicate that.

Do you get balanced shots when you use the light roasts that you purchase from those same shops? Getting a viscous and sweet shot from light roasts is much easier with large grinder burrs and controlled water pH (i.e. adjustable RO system) like many shops are equipped with.

For troubleshooting your home espresso roasts, trying cupping or brewing your roast around 5-7 days off roast. Roasts that are adequately soluble for espresso should present a nice healthy-looking bloom and a rounded sweetness in the cup. Watch out for sharp lemon peel, acetic (vinegary), or green (vegetal) flavors, any of which are warning signs that the roast would be sour and underdeveloped as espresso.

portamento wrote:Do you get balanced shots when you use the light roasts that you purchase from those same shops?

Yes, I do. That's why I believe my roasting technique is the culprit.

I also roast on a Hottop, and have had pretty good success using identical roasts for drip, vac pot and espresso. I definitely prefer Ethiopian and Yemen coffees for S.O. espresso.

You can see some of my roast graphs in the Roast and Learn threads and others. Here are three coffees that I have enjoyed as S.O. espresso:
Panama Elida Estate Natural - Roasting Suggestions?
Yirga Cheffe Gedeo WP 2014 - R&L March/April 2015
Klatch Gedeo Worka 2014 - R&L January 2015


My general technique is to charge the beans at 300F, 5 minute drying phase, 1st crack at 10 minutes, then stop the roast from 2:00 to 2:30 after the start of 1st crack.

I remember a thread earlier.
/search-res ... 2356191j15

I would suggest following Rao's rules. Charge as hot as you can get away with (avoiding scorching), apply tons of heat early, use adequate but not excessive fan, and drop at 20% development time. I tend to drop just a few degrees hotter than for brew roasts when I am going for espresso. (I drop brew roasts around 15F past 1Cs and espresso around 20.) I get good solubility from roasts at a true city roast level and adequate solubility from ultra-light Nordic roasts. (The city roasts work at around 50% brew ratio, and the Nordic ones at 40% brew ratio.)

My profiles won't translate directly to other roasters, but here's an example:



Apologies for the lack of fan/power notes on the graph, as this was a couple months back - Sweet Maria's Rwanda Karongi Gitesi when it was really fresh. Fan was five throughout with only amperage modulated. Amps were around 7/10 on my Quest at charge, slowly declining in development. Espressos were thick, sweet, syrupy, and soluble.

Here's a full-res imgur link:

Excellent recommendations, thanks!