Tasting notes from the browning stage?

Discuss roast levels and profiles for espresso, equipment for roasting coffee.
GDM528
Posts: 834
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by GDM528 »

Browning, aka Caramelization, aka Mailliard. That time/temperature/heat period between drying and first crack. I get there's some important chemistry going on that will influence the resulting coffee, but fuzzy on how to tell if something's going right or wrong during that phase.

Looking to create a design of experiment to play with different strategies for the Browning phase and hoping to tap into the sage wisdom of the millions of roasts represented on HB. Specifically, are there tasting notes that predominately link to the browning phase?

For example, I've already found that low browning temperatures (without changing the drying and development stages) can manifest 'grassy/vegetal" notes - are there other cues like that?

How does the coffee taste if the browning phase is too long or too short?

User avatar
mkane
Supporter ♡
Posts: 1749
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by mkane »

I got to think about that.

I do know that if I change the insertion depth of the BT thermocouple yellow arrives at a different temperature. And that completely changes everything after dry.

GDM528 (original poster)
Posts: 834
Joined: 2 years ago

#3: Post by GDM528 (original poster) »

Update:

Completed a series of roasts where I held the browning temperature between 180-185C (356-365F) for 2, 4, and 6 minutes - a pretty wide range to compensate for my unsophisticated tasting skills.

Cupped each roast and the most distinctive difference I noted was the acidity:

2 minutes was too 'bright' for my dark-roast preference, but still enjoyable.
4 minutes still had acidic notes, but demonstrably muted.
6 minutes eliminated the acidity - a pretty smooth beverage.

I'm new to the cupping protocol, so unschooled on how to interpret the results. Did the longer browning time reduce the acidity... or did it boost the sweetness that simply masked the acidity? Also, the roast was only two days old, so after grinding each batch I let the grounds sit for about 45 minutes before brewing. It would still be plausible that I might have been tasting the difference in CO2 between the roasts.

I have a new level of respect for people that have figured out how to navigate this.

Trjelenc
Posts: 149
Joined: 4 years ago

#4: Post by Trjelenc »

GDM528 wrote:Update:

Completed a series of roasts where I held the browning temperature between 180-185C (356-365F) for 2, 4, and 6 minutes - a pretty wide range to compensate for my unsophisticated tasting skills.
Are you saying you held the bean temp within that range for those durations? And then finished the rest of the roast?

mathof
Posts: 1472
Joined: 13 years ago

#5: Post by mathof »

GDM528 wrote:

How does the coffee taste if the browning phase is too long or too short?
In the chapter entitled 'Maillard Reaction' of his little book "Modulating the Flavour Profile of Coffee", Rob Hoos reports the results of the experiments he made doing just that. He summarises his findings as follows:

* Less time in this phase results in lower body and reduced complexity (less complex and lighter flavours)

* More time in this phase results in heavier body and increased complexity (more complex and heavier flavour)

GDM528 (original poster)
Posts: 834
Joined: 2 years ago

#6: Post by GDM528 (original poster) »

Trjelenc wrote:Are you saying you held the bean temp within that range for those durations? And then finished the rest of the roast?
Exactly. I'm using a slight variation (lowered development temps) of the roast described in post #135 here: IKAWA Home - profiles

GDM528 (original poster)
Posts: 834
Joined: 2 years ago

#7: Post by GDM528 (original poster) »

mathof wrote:In the chapter entitled 'Maillard Reaction' of his little book "Modulating the Flavour Profile of Coffee", Rob Hoos reports the results of the experiments he made doing just that. He summarises his findings as follows:

* Less time in this phase results in lower body and reduced complexity (less complex and lighter flavours)

* More time in this phase results in heavier body and increased complexity (more complex and heavier flavour)
Interesting, thanks! More Maillard time sounds like a good thing, but I imagine there's a point where it will peak, then start to drop off, aka 'baked'.

User avatar
mkane
Supporter ♡
Posts: 1749
Joined: 6 years ago

#8: Post by mkane »

Quite simple really. R0R flatlines

GDM528 (original poster)
Posts: 834
Joined: 2 years ago

#9: Post by GDM528 (original poster) replying to mkane »

Yeah, that relationship (flat RoR = baked) seems to engender debate among fluid-bed roasters, so I also note the point where BT starts tracking the inlet air. The (fluid bed) roast profile I'm using deliberately 'bakes' the Mailliard phase, so I can personally experience what that tastes like - for all I know I might actually like it, and if I don't I'll know why.

User avatar
mkane
Supporter ♡
Posts: 1749
Joined: 6 years ago

#10: Post by mkane »

Baked tastes flat. No discernable roast notes. All coffee will taste alike.

Post Reply