Kind of an odd subject but i wasn't completely sure how to title it.

i've been roasting for a number of years now on a modified popcorn popper (flour sifter ontop of a popcorn popper with a chaff collector) , all via the seat of my pants without much knowledge... I kept notes on time and what i did. However, i had no idea on temps, other than the first crack at X, end of crack at X and really had no general idea on what i needed to look for with beans.

Skip forward to now. I just placed an order for an SR800, extension tube, and a thermocouple so i can see and keep a log of bean temperature.

Now that i'm reading more, I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm a bit lost. If you could guide me to different books, articles, etc. i would be greatly appreciated!

now, this information is going to be incorrect, but just as an idea on what information i would love to have.
when going through forums and message board posts, i see people saying stuff along the lines of
Example one,
- "oh, that is a natural bean, you should go through green to yellow at a quicker rate" or "that's a wet-processed bean, you should be letting it sit before first crack a little bit longer"

Example two,
- " Usually beans from XYZ country are harder and need to be roasted this way"
- " that bean really needs to not go into 2nd crack"
- " That countrys bean really should keep a longer first crack"

with that kind of information, where can i research to know this as well? the more i read, the more i become a bit lost.
how to know what beans are harder / softer and what to do with said beans
what countries do better with what kind of roasting styles
differences between wet processed and natural processed

- going to post another message shortly about another topic, didn't want to put it in here to muddle this one down.

Naturals generally start with a lower charge temp. compared to a wet processed bean. Moisture content is different.

High grown beans are harder than low grown beans and thus are harder and like a higher charge temp.

Shape of the bean is also something you should look at.

You need to know the bean make up before start.