Alternative roast profile experiments.

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

Been playing around with non-steadily declining roast profiles. The idea is to build heat as quickly as possible, then taper it off equally as quickly to slow the ramp through Maillard. Then, when RoR gets to 15-17*/min. add a bit of heat to stop the decline and continue through 1C. What happens after 1C depends on the desired final temp. Still learning how to control it.

Here is an natural Ethiopia. You can see my usual profile in the background. The RoR got away a bit, but should be OK.



And a washed Costa Rica. This one I spent some effort to tweak the gas by tenths of an "wc to keep the RoR static. By reducing the RoR point from 17*/min to 15 on this one, I was able to extend the roast to over 11 minutes and still drop at 388*.



I know these coffee well and cup them often. Any changes will be glaringly parent.

It should be noted that the post RoR dips are not crashes. They are deliberate reductions in heat to reduce drop temp. Cupping will tell if that makes a difference.

Marcelnl
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#2: Post by Marcelnl »

interesting experiment! I'm curious to hear your verdict.
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Almico (original poster)
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#3: Post by Almico (original poster) replying to Marcelnl »

Me too :|

Here's better graph of the Costa Rica from a saved alog file:


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CarefreeBuzzBuzz
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#4: Post by CarefreeBuzzBuzz »

May not matter for a pile of beans :D , but curious how the AUC on these compare to your standard style on these beans? When will you be tasting and comparing?
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Almico (original poster)
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#5: Post by Almico (original poster) replying to CarefreeBuzzBuzz »

I don't use AUC at all.

The Ethiopia is astoundingly sweet and fruity. I need to make a pot of it, but I'm a little over caffeinated at the moment.

The Costa Rica is equally juicy.

Both coffees are roasted very light and surprisingly void of any astringency whatsoever. Especially considering they are less than 12 hours off the roast. Very smooth. But something is missing. I'm just not sure if the missing element is a good one or a bad one. I'm leaning towards bad at the moment. Both coffees are very clean, no baked flavors and sweet.

false1001
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#6: Post by false1001 »

How is the acidity?

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Almico (original poster)
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#7: Post by Almico (original poster) replying to false1001 »

Slightly different, but I'm trying to figure out why. Just as fruity; more tamed. It's like a lemon tasting like a lemon, but without the acidic bite.

So far I've roasted the Kilimanjaro, Costa Rica and this Ethiopia with this profile. The overwhelming characteristic is smoothness. No loss of sweetness, but I'm trying to decide what is missing that makes it so smooth.

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Almico (original poster)
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#8: Post by Almico (original poster) »

I just made 2 Americanos, one with the new Costa Rica, the other with my usual CR. I like the new one better. Crap. That means I have to do more of this. Next up, letting the roast go further for a med/dark roast. This profile should make darker roasts easier, since the RoR is not falling as much. It was always tricky with dark roasts, keeping the temp high enough to touch 2C without flicking or baking.

Marcelnl
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#9: Post by Marcelnl »

nice, am I right understanding that you are aiming for brew / americano more or do you 'see'a similar taste profile in espresso?

I have been punishing my head over the dogma of the steadily declining RoR curve and never found a good explanation, other than that it seems to work well, I have been thinking why there would not be more roads to Rome...apparently there are.

In my starting days as 'roaster' I was using a converted Illy can on a stick, spun by a cordless drill over a propane flame, no logging, no profile, just time and eight above the flame to regulate a roast.Somehow most of those roasts worked out well, to very well. I'm pretty sure they followed your pattern more than the usual almost linear steady declining RoR.

typical recipe:
preheat for a minute or so (hardly any thermal mass)
flame low for 1 minute
full blow until approx 6 min, or FC whatever came first
higher over the flame until 1:30 - 2min post FC
drop

sometimes the result was a tad roasty (no fan, just a hole for the fumes to escape through) but quite a few of those roasts were bolder than what I get with the Huky (although those tend to be more complex)
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EddyQ
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#10: Post by EddyQ »

I had a discovery a while back with an Ethiopian Natural with a similar profile posted here: Ethiopian Hambela Hassan Natural

At that time, I thought the long stretched dry and short mallard time was the reason for such intense fruitiness. But with your work, it would seem I need to try something different. Cool beans!! :D
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