I began roasting on a hottop P and I am using a sampler pack to get an idea of the basics - sight, sound, smell and color changes. While in many things starting out I prefer to go deep before I go wide, in this case each batch is different but I am getting the overall sense of the process.

I am quickly noticing - after only about 4-5 batches - that a difference in time of several seconds can make a large difference. This prompted me to post about the sounds of first and - more specifically for me now - second crack.

The sounds of first crack are like a bell curve in that it starts with a pop or two - crescendos - and then dies down again with the occassional tardy popper. The same seems true for the onset of second crack (although I have not gone to the end of that phase).

If I want to gauge a city plus from a full city - and eject the beans after a desired point after second crack starts - does one start judging from the first pop or when it actually gets going actively? Do you count snaps? Seconds?

Thanks for the beginner's help in advance.

Evan

Thanks, Jim. I was going by the HT manual which says city leading up to 2C, City+ is start of and Full city about 15 snaps in 2c.

It's interesting then because catching the right timing for a city roast with 250g only of each bean in a sampler pack is probably unlikely at m stage. I just ordered some roasted metropolis redline and will then buy a sack of the green redlines to experiment with using the roasted beans as a standard.

That makes a lot of sense to me. Being a novice has its automatic rewards. I am experiencing what it means to taste coffee at various stages into second crack - as I can't help it at this early point. It is helpful to the learning process - I am storing my palate's logbook with bitter aftertastes, flabby body and the like. From there I can judge differences by stopping earlier (when I figure out how to do that). I can't control the waves yet so I am learning how to surf.