chasing RoR

[Steve]

Fascinating and generous input Damian.

I'm just starting the roasting journey and have an endless amount to learn. (4 roasts in!).

Can you advise, was it really FC at 7"30' ?

With Guatemala Huehuetenango and K-Classic at L3.5 FC has been at 5'03''. That being 5 minutes from pressing the go button on the roaster and sound recorder. (from memory, when reviewing the graph, the software seems to start the time count later??)

I get that different varieties behave differently, but, with a circa 2 minute difference to FC, are you aiming for a richer roast without burnt overtones?

Hi Beanz,

Not to speak for Damian, but my guess from his contributions here he enjoys a medium espresso roast tending just on the lighter side, clean sweet flavours, minimal roasty / over caramelised flavours and no baking.

There are so many different roast styles out there! Lots of people enjoy much lighter roasts than the KL Classic at 3.5. For me at that level all I get is heavily roasty / ashy dominant flavours with no inherent characteristic of the green coffee left. The Classic at 1.3 is actually pretty decent roast once rested for a couple of weeks. The Classic profile is a classic very fast start roast with a very long slow finish. Lighter roasts tend to start a bit slower and slowly build energy all the way to the first crack and dropped during or just at the end of first crack.

If you wish to understand more / expand your tastes the best way is to regularly cup say 4 different roasters at once so you can establish a framework of contrast. If money is not a problem skip ahead and just get the Scott Rao / Regalia, Roast Defect Kit which has an underdeveloped, baked and well executed roast sample.

Another option for people willing to spend some silly $$$ is to buy some Mountain Air roasted coffee from the USA / NC through a reshipping company. Marshall Hance has an engineering background and custom built air roaster, his roasts are a perfect example of how good an air roast can be. Sweet, vibrant and super clean display of what the coffee has to offer.

Not sure of the roasting scene in NZ so can't offer much help there of what to try.

I have been experimenting with roast profiles heavily / cupping almost daily, re - inspired by Damians efforts and completely different take on use of the Fan Profile. I might add where I am at later on.

[Steve]

I have stuck to 100g batch and nearly gone through another 5kg of a decent bottom rung specialty grade washed Colombian.

Cupping Damian profile over a few different beans revealed a similar characteristic in all of them as they aged from 7 to 14 days. A bit of underdevelopment (likely mitigated if roasted a touch darker) but also a little thin. Still cup very clean with good upfront sweetness and aromatics.

I sought to develop a slightly lower RPM fan profile and tried many different combinations. The following is tasting pretty good.

Funny enough I have accidently ended back at a roast profile that looks very similar to Firestarter without having looked at the profile for many months.

Have not tried Firestarter with my current Fan Profile but this may be worth a shot if anyone wants to experiment. The subtle changes in my roast profile result in what I perceive to be a better power profile.

If anyone wants to try this but prefers a bit more caramelisation you can use power level 1.8 to 2.0 which brings up the body and adds some deeper flavours.

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[Beanz]

Steve, thanks so much for such a helpful reply. No doubt others browsing here will also gain from this insight!!

I hadn't expected such a range in roast levels or profiles. I noticed you had marked FC @ 8"!! I will have to change tact and check out the lower roast levels. Now to check out Firestarter.. Inspirational

[Steve]

Thanks Beanz!

I think everyone should probably ignore my profile above, its not tasting as good as I first thought. I think Damians is probably still better.

This reinforces my belief about the black power profile going flat at the the end killing the roast. It becomes quite apparent as the coffee rests / ages.