Lightly roasted African beans - Page 2

[another_jim]

Few commercial roasters are going to roast coffees to that light a degree as there aren't a lot of high quality high grown coffees that can easily take such a light roast without being grassy and under-developed.

Grassiness is a roasting fault, not a bean fault. For ultra light roasts, shop drums are very difficult to use, since they've picked up a lot of thermal momentum by the time the first crack starts (the massive drum is like a freighter, heat-wise). You need to stretch the time from the start of the first to the point of pulling the roast to between three and four minutes for a roast this light -- this is a lot easier when going no-tech, sauteeing the beans in a pan over a fire like Beduins, or hi-tech, in a PIDed airroaster, like me. In a drum, it is hard to do this interval slower than a minute or two.

[ChadTheNomad]

I can get a good light roast from my GG/SC setup with a few mods, including a TC. I still think this, coupled with a decent cooling method, is one of the better options out there for sometimes < $100 that gives the roaster full control.

[malachi]

Grassiness is a roasting fault, not a bean fault.

Quite true - and my point. There are coffees that are forgiving of lighter roasts (as you note on commercial equipment) but they are rare. The rest, when roasted this light (on commercial equipment) tend to end up grassy. As the question was "where do I buy these lighter roasts" - I kind of had to assume commercial equipment.

[Compass Coffee]

Grassiness is a roasting fault, not a bean fault. For ultra light roasts, shop drums are very difficult to use, since they've picked up a lot of thermal momentum by the time the first crack starts (the massive drum is like a freighter, heat-wise). You need to stretch the time from the start of the first to the point of pulling the roast to between three and four minutes for a roast this light -- this is a lot easier when going no-tech, sauteeing the beans in a pan over a fire like Beduins, or hi-tech, in a PIDed airroaster, like me. In a drum, it is hard to do this interval slower than a minute or two.

Hard is relative. It's only hard if not knowing how to control your roaster or having a roaster with poor control, both heat and airflow wise. While quite true an air roaster can hit the profile brakes faster, this is not to say it cannot be done on a commercial drum. By knowing when anticipated 1st will be it's just a matter of reducing the applied heat and greatly increasing the air flow to slow the ramp as 1st hits, then baby it very slowly up for said 4min or so slow stretch to end of roast. Granted the roaster will have to have enough variable airflow to flush the drum to pull it off.

[another_jim]

There are coffees that are forgiving of lighter roasts (as you note on commercial equipment) but they are rare. The rest, when roasted this light (on commercial equipment) tend to end up grassy. As the question was "where do I buy these lighter roasts" - I kind of had to assume commercial equipment.

... it's just a matter of reducing the applied heat and greatly increasing the air flow to slow the ramp as 1st hits, then baby it very slowly up for said 4min ...

This is coming to be an interesting discussion.

Drum roasters with very high airflow are based on large scale roasting designs (e.g. from the original Burns Thermalo and on) and are not all that common among SCAA roasters. Sample and lab roasters that can reproduce and test the profiles of production roasters are also rare. This is not surprising. Twenty years ago, sophisticated controls were far too expensive for roaster retailers to afford. Instead, they learned how to produce roasts for their market by lots of practice and intuition, on antiquely designed roasters. This made for great roasting in a particular style, but also required starting all over again to do a roast in a new style.

For Maxwell and Nestle, a million dollars of high tech is worthwhile if it allows them to make the same swill with a coffee that's 2 cents cheaper per pound. I think the technology has gotten to the price point were roaster retailers can equal the big boys in matters of technological sophistication. Instead of using that technology to make Vietnamese Robustas drinkable, they could use it in developing a far wider range of roasts and styles of coffee. For this to happen, we coffee lovers need to start getting interested in drinking them.

[Compass Coffee]

This is coming to be an interesting discussion.

Drum roasters with very high airflow are based on large scale roasting designs (e.g. from the original Burns Thermalo and on) and are not all that common among SCAA roasters. Sample and lab roasters that can reproduce and test the profiles of production roasters are also rare. This is not surprising. Twenty years ago, sophisticated controls were far too expensive for roaster retailers to afford. Instead, they learned how to produce roasts for their market by lots of practice and intuition, on antiquely designed roasters. This made for great roasting in a particular style, but also required starting all over again to do a roast in a new style.

No dispute, I don't have nearly enough experience with a wide range of commercial drum roasters. Speaking specifically of my wee 8 pounder USRC 3k which was custom built including air flow motor twice the normal hp rating Dan usually uses. Indeed takes very different profile roast control approach for a Cinnamon roast versus say a Light Full City! Mine has the advantage of not just baffle air controls but variable fan speed in 1% increments. Only time I use 100% fan speed is to slow the ramp, and at that air flow speed actually somewhat overwhelms the chaff collector blowing some chaff out the stack. (no after burner)

[Fullsack]

Grassiness is a roasting fault, not a bean fault. For ultra light roasts, shop drums are very difficult to use, since they've picked up a lot of thermal momentum by the time the first crack starts (the massive drum is like a freighter, heat-wise). You need to stretch the time from the start of the first to the point of pulling the roast to between three and four minutes for a roast this light -- this is a lot easier when going no-tech, sauteeing the beans in a pan over a fire like Beduins, or hi-tech, in a PIDed airroaster, like me. In a drum, it is hard to do this interval slower than a minute or two.

A Probat L12 shop roaster has a 10 to 26 pound capacity. Stretching the time after the first, with 26 pounds is not going to happen, but with a 10 pound batch and the right profile, it is doable.