Same Bean, Three Roasts, One Is Flavor Champion...

Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
RAILhead
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#1: Post by RAILhead »

We've been working to really finesse the blueberry out of some FTO Yirgacheffe from the Gedeo Zone, and we did three back-to-back roasts. We are still learning the 1kg MCR roaster, mind you (and we had a recent snafu with the probes being hooked-up tot he phidgit wrong, but I digress).

I'll attach all 3 roast profiles. After cupping, one stood out as the clear winner in bringing out the blueberry notes we were looking for. The one that did that was NOT the one we expected. Any ideas which may have been the winner...?






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EddyQ
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#2: Post by EddyQ »

I'm going to guess the first one. Only because it has longer development. Others are pretty short development, which may result in sourness. BUT, I could be completely wrong. My second guess is the last one, since it has a much longer Maillard phase.
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Peppersass
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#3: Post by Peppersass »

I'll guess it's the first one because it got to FC the quickest.

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[creative nickname]
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#4: Post by [creative nickname] »

My bet is the last one. Blueberry sounds like a natural, and yirg naturals usually taste best when developed lightly. Also the roast was less crashy during first cracks.
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crunchybean
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#5: Post by crunchybean »

1st roast but if this was a natural you would have gotten a fuller juicier cup if you matched the ET with the BT curve. Meaning your ET got too high to fast. If this was a washed then ET seems fine. ...Fingers crossed, sarcastic rebuttals (if wrong) at the ready. If right, of course I'm right. I am the greatest profile whisperer ever. Everyone says so.

Devin H
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#6: Post by Devin H »

I have no idea but am interested to hear which one. I'll throw my hat in with roast 3 for the softer development.

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another_jim
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#7: Post by another_jim »

I'd be very surprised if it's the last, since the long ramp and short finish should favor Maillard flavors over fruity ones. I'd be less surprised by the first, since it has a proper finish. But on this one, the middle phase seems too short, and I'd be expecting a touch of grassiness. I'm guessing he middle one, although I'm not confident enough to take the bet unless I get better than even odds, say 1.5:1.
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drgary
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#8: Post by drgary »

Okay, Jim's a very tough one to follow. But I'll go out on a limb and guess that it's roast 3. I just did a similar roast of another Ethiopian natural on a North TJ-067 roaster that's similar to yours, except it has a perforated drum. I like the stretched development in Maillard with less time in 1C and a lower temperature drop. Roast 3 also has the best declining ROR during 1C, which may preserve more flavor. Jim's probably right, of course.
Gary
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RAILhead (original poster)
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#9: Post by RAILhead (original poster) »

Y'all ready for this...?



The flavor champion roast was ROAST ONE! We thoroughly expected it to be roast 3 because we got a better decline. We didn't expect roast 1 because of the hard crash.

Caveats:

1. Roast 1 had a 400° charge temp and the others had 385° charge temps. Could the higher drop temp be a contributing factor?
2. Roast 1 peaked at around 28° ROR for longer than the other two during drying.
3. Roast 1 had a longer development time at the end.

The other two had little to no blueberry flavor at all. We have no idea what we're doing hahaha!
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EddyQ
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#10: Post by EddyQ »

That was a good experiment. Thanks for sharing.
RAILhead wrote:1. Roast 1 had a 400° drop temp and the others had 385° drop temps. Could the higher drop temp be a contributing factor?
2. Roast 1 peaked at around 28° ROR for longer than the other two during drying.
3. Roast 1 had a longer development time at the end.

The other two had little to no blueberry flavor at all. We have no idea what we're doing hahaha!
IMO, drop temps didn't matter much with these three roasts. All dry times were pretty close. Drop temps tend to change the speed beans heat to say 250F. While important, it likely wasn't a factor with these three roasts.

Pay no attention to the peak of RoR. It is almost meaningless. The peak is when the BT probe catches up with the actual bean temps. However, it often does track charge temps tho (for a given bean/charge weight). I find changing charge temps has biggest impact on dry times.

IMO, the big difference between these roasts is the time spent in Maillard area. First roast is shortest at 2:36, last 4:00. I've found this has quite an impact on malty flavors.

I'm still trying to sense impacts of a the crash. May say they have experience huge flavor changes. I haven't yet experienced that (still experimenting tho). The changes you have made in areas of Maillard, and dry have more impact on flavor IMO than a crash. And development has by far the most impact to flavor.
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