another_jim wrote:The key is not the bean temperature, but the timing of the final roast phase, from first crack onset to the end of the roast. For a brewing roast, you want this to be 2 to 3 minutes, for an espresso roast, you want it to be 3 to 4 minutes. You drop the heat more for espresso roasts, so the rate of rise is slower.

How hard you apply the brakes depends on how light you want to roast. For a light espresso roast in a drum roaster, you basically have to turn the heat off, and let the roaster coast in. For a darker brewing roast, when you want to get to the 2nd crack neighborhood in around 2 1/2 minutes, you may need to crank the heat up.

Probably not needed to be said but its very difficult to have a constant, smoothly descending ROR and have a finishing phase that long...

I still wish you would post your roast curves as I've often wondered what your final phase looks like on an ROR plot, as you have much longer dev periods compared to most. AND/or you roast what seems to be at least full city with your 4/4/3 methodology.

I should try the light espresso roast style of coasting ROR during finishing. I haven't tried this because its terrible as a light, filter/drip roast. I'm kinda weird but I often use my normal roasts for espresso and sometimes quite like the result. Thinner mouth feel but big fruit and sweetness. Yes you'll pucker sometimes but I enjoy it.

Not for Jim but for others - Please, in these threads, can we talk about your degrees of development and not blindly talk about "temperatures" which vary by roasting machine. I'd recommend stating when you're hitting first crack, and when you drop, and maybe when you roaster normally hits 2nd.