Tom @ Sweet Marias posted earlier this year about having some DP greens drop off in quality very unexpectedly. One week they were fine & the next pretty much gone. I seriously doubt the freezing was the cause.

If we assume that was the case for my tiny Yemen, then freezing did not save them from dying either! Under that assumption, one can't help but wonder if freezing is doing our greens any good!

As I said I've been vac bagging & freezing (-5*F) my greens for over 2.5 years. I'm still roasting some of the first batches I put in the freezer late winter 09. I've noticed no drop off in quality with any of the greens, DP or WP, so I know freezing isn't an issue here.

I'm in with John B for same length of time and result. Some of my vac sealed backs however don't keep the vac and those beans get used immediately. My freezer gets 1/2 a cow every oct-nov, the reason I got it. Grass fed noncertified organic, has made me a meat eater.

Marvin

Let me sum things up and offer some closure to this thread:

How I froze my greens:

Once I receive them from the mail, I divide them into small, thick, FoodSaver bags, vacuum seal them, then put them in my home auto-defrost fridge/freezer combo unit @ a temp of -5F (+/-5). They stay there until a day or five before I roast them. I never had a bag loose its vacuum.


How did my greens do after freezing:

• All greens before Sept 2011: I froze greens from several different origins and processing over the years; including decaf. I have never noticed a degrade in greens after thawing them; but this isn't to say I'm sure none has gone bad before because it could've happened and I simply didn't notice.
• 2011 Tiny PB Yemen: This is the star of this thread. Pre-freezing, this was an amazing green that lost all its goodness after being frozen and there was nothing I could do to save it.
• 2011 DP Ethiopian: This one was frozen at the same time as the Yemen above and I was very worried it'd suffer as much as the Yemen did. Luckily it didn't! At least not to a point I could easily notice.

lessons learned:

1. Different greens react differently to storage method.
2. Freezing either ruined my Yemen or didn't stop it from suddenly going bad.
3. Next time a new green delivery arrives, I'll do a freezing test on a small portion before blindly believing my precious greens are safe in the freezer.
4. I'll never again freeze the whole delivery of a new green bean all at once. I'll always keep a few months' supply of the same bean never frozen to: 1. Compare to the frozen patch over time, and 2. Not to put all my green "eggs" in one frozen "basket".
5. I have to experiment again with keeping my vac-sealed greens @ room temp in a dark place and see how that compares to freezing them long term.

coffee.me wrote:2011 DP Ethiopian: This one was frozen at the same time as the Yemen above and I was very worried it'd suffer as much as the Yemen did. Luckily it didn't! At least not to a point I could easily notice.

Nope, the Ethiopian was dead too, I just didn't notice it at first.

So, basically, freezing ruined all my greens. I don't know why it works for others but not for me; I ain't freezing again, period.

Nailed it!

A new roast profile brought what we thought were dead beans back to life, it was indeed that freezing affected these greens. The frozen beans needed a longer roast then the never frozen ones, both during ramp and development. Now I get peaches and beautiful red fruit brightness instead of dead coffee.

Another theory is that the never frozen ones were more forgiving, they "worked" even with a non-optimal roast profile. So freezing may have just affected the roast-profile sweet spot of these bean.

I'm kind of shocked nobody suggested this even with 5 pages of discussion, but also very happy that it turned out to be a profile thing and I don't lose a big chunk of my stash; the thread subject was accurate after all

I'm not quite convinced that you've solved the issue, but am happy to know that you have found a solution. If the freezing alone was the cause then the effect would be the same for everybody else that freezes their coffee.

Yup, we can only speculate on what exactly happened to my frozen beans, no definite answers, but at least there is a solution now which never existed before.

Greetings,
There is some really great and extremely helpful reading in the Home Roasting pages of this site.
We are so fortunate to have the roasting experiences posted by skilled roasters for others to analyse and experiment with.

Apart from the useful info on freezing on this (and earlier) threads, there is a roasting question that has arisen earlier in this topic I would appreciate some help with...please bear with the preamble.

I have been utilising another_jim's 'Quest roasting guidelines' on my HottopB as posted a while back.
The process transfers almost identically and very successfully to the HottopB, notwithstanding my earlier reservations concerning the functionality of the Hottop fan, and high load temperatures....Cupping has proven to the contrary.
Jim suggests lowering pre first crack heat around at 190c in order to gain control of the roast development process....this too transfers to the HottopB and allows for nice 4 min roast developments, finishing at perferred temps any where between 212c-222c

My question...Earlier in this discussion, DavidMLewis talked about "Hottop's infrared radiative forcing energy transfer", and suggested a "profile applying full power right up to first crack."...around 200c. I've since tried a few roasts with 100% power to first crack, and the only way I can slow the roast to effect a reasonable roast development period, is to lift the rear filter and exhaust to dramatically reduce ET whilst trying to balance the roast to slowly develop without stalling....I have not yet been able to quantify this procedure as it is still hit and miss....thankfully, all nice roasts (3)

I'm wondering if DavidMLewis could advise how he effected the roast development post first crack if 100% power was applied right up to first crack?....Are there any tips for a 4 minute roast development coupled with a range of chosen finishing temperatures?

Feedback from David or others would be valued.

Thank you and best wishes for a good 2012.

JL