Fresh roasted coffee tastes good but has little smell. Why?

Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
Röstimeister
Posts: 3
Joined: 8 years ago

#1: Post by Röstimeister »

Hi,

During my time as a "roaster" I have noticed that although my fresh roast tastes good (to me and others) there is almost no bloating of sealed bags and very little smell when you brew a cup. Am I wanting too much here or is there something I miss. Did some "googleing" and found no reasonable answer. Why it bothers me? I bought one-way-valve bags so the bloating wouldn't be an issue. But only rarely some of the bags bloat up and I cannot link it to anything I've done. The smell is part of first "impression" of a fresh roast and I would expect to have it in my cup as well.

My "usual" roast time is FC@9min - drop around 10:40-11. I roast light to medium but never dark. Guatemala & Brasil.

So thanks in advance if you can give me some pointers. :mrgreen:

saepl
Posts: 57
Joined: 13 years ago

#2: Post by saepl »

what's your air flow like during the roast?

Röstimeister (original poster)
Posts: 3
Joined: 8 years ago

#3: Post by Röstimeister (original poster) replying to saepl »

When I start off it's usually 20-30% till 4-5min (dial knob - would have to check how much cm3 it is per min)
I increase it during the roast usually to around 40-50% and after first crack I hit it to 80-100%. At that point I usually tend to lower heater power as well.
The BT reaches ~185C. max.

Airflow all-in-all depends on how my roast is going (am I hitting right BT at a certain time or not). I also increase air volume when I see that smoke wants to come out of the housing from all the "wrong places".

If it is of any relevance - I use a North Coffee roaster (Electric) 1kg

41fivestar
Posts: 31
Joined: 8 years ago

#4: Post by 41fivestar »

To me it just sounds like you're just roasting light. I wouldn't worry about it as long as the coffee is soluble enough and tastes delicious.

Röstimeister (original poster)
Posts: 3
Joined: 8 years ago

#5: Post by Röstimeister (original poster) replying to 41fivestar »

I am not sure because I've done a couple of darker roasts to see if this does the trick or not. And it did not. There has to be something to the roast why it happens sometimes and sometimes not although I use same roast template. Is it charge temp? Is it the length of the roast? Has anyone else noticed something similar?

I will try to put up the graph at some point. Maybe it will give better insight.

User avatar
Boldjava
Posts: 2765
Joined: 16 years ago

#6: Post by Boldjava »

Röstimeister wrote:...

If it is of any relevance - I use a North Coffee roaster (Electric) 1kg
Try air settings of 30%/45%/65% through the 3 phases of roasting. We roast on North's as well. The fan is strong. I wonder if you are losing aromatics as well as exhausting the smoke. Just a guess/suggestion from a distance.
-----
LMWDP #339

GeneBean
Posts: 69
Joined: 10 years ago

#7: Post by GeneBean »

Röstimeister,
I've noticed the same thing. When I first started roasting a few years ago I was expecting to have a strong nice aroma from my roasts. To my surprise that didn't happen. Although even from the start I preferred my roasts to anything I could buy anywhere. Recently I had ground some beans for a friend who doesn't have a grinder and to my surprise the next morning when I grabbed that bag to take to him I noticed the wonderful aroma I had missed from my roasted beans. I think as we were growing up with canned ground coffee like Maxwell House and others we became accustomed to the strong aroma of 'fresh' coffee when we opened the can. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this. I wonder if the big commercial coffee companies add something to the cans to get that affect.

Also, what altitude are you roasting at? I'm at 6500 feet (1900 meters?) and I roast at usually 15 to 20 degrees lower than the stated temp. for any particular roast.

My 2 beans worth,
Gene

BenKeith
Posts: 309
Joined: 10 years ago

#8: Post by BenKeith »

About a month ago, I gave some Brazilian beans I had roasted just to the end of the first crack. FC (when they have started cracking steady) for me is at 397-398F @ 9:40 with Brazilian and I stopped them at 414F @ 11:20. I thought they had a very good aroma, but later when I asked my friend how he like them. he commented that when his wife came in when he was drinking a cup and she asked "what is that smell?". He said he told her it was some dam good coffee. I leave them open and exposed to the air for about three days before sealing because some origins I don't think smell that great, and especially if sealed up immediately after roasting. I also find the lighter roast don't make the carbon dioxide the darker, espresso roast make.

Soliloquy
Posts: 29
Joined: 9 years ago

#9: Post by Soliloquy »

The smell of coffee is flavor being lost. As long as the coffee tastes great, don't worry if your beans don't smell up the whole house when you open a bag. Those volatile compounds (flavor) will be in your cup, instead of in the air.

saepl
Posts: 57
Joined: 13 years ago

#10: Post by saepl »

If the coffee is bagged fresh off roast then when I open the bag for the first time to use it I will sometimes let it sit for 1/2 hour or so to let the gases in the bean neutralize. If it don't do this I find the coffee can taste extra acidic or astringent due to the extra CO2

Post Reply