I’m relatively new on the Bullet. I have 41 Roasts so far. I have been rolling mostly through the same bean while I learn the ins and outs of the machine. I have been trying to get consistency with some standard roast parameters, based on Robb Hoos’ teachings. When I aim for a standard medium roast (Y 5:00, FC 9:00, Drop 11-12:00) I find that I either hit Yellowing way too fast and have to slow down, which causes lag to FC, or I lag to Yellowing and end up with a much longer roast than intended either way. I am also kind of following Munchow’s teachings and aiming for a descending Power setting throughout, rather than going up and down to hit markers. I guess this also comes from trying to have a always descending RoR as well. Any advice here? Am I trying too hard to hit exact parameters? Should I not worry so much about Yellowing and focus more on time to first crack? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
If you’re hitting yellowing too late then you would need to increase the heat/power. Decrease power/heat will help you hit yellowing later. I’ve found my own roasts that yellow between 4 and 5 minutes to generally turn out well. It’s best to play around with the parameters and taste the coffee to determine which direction you’d like to go. You may want to try 3 very different roasts of the same batch size: one fast, one medium, and one long. Then determine which flavor profile you enjoy the most and aim to roast closer to the favorite. Continue to tweak one variable at a time until you achieve a coffee you really enjoy.
Thanks for the response. I do taste every roast and compare through cuppings. I think my question is more of a technical one. I am trying to hit a standard medium roast with the ultimate goal of doing exactly what you suggested. Three different roasts of light, medium, and dark. Could hitting yellow way too fast only to lag to FC be a bean specific thing? Or environmental temperature? It was colder than usual last time. Maybe the roast started fast due to charge temp and P setting, but lost some steam due to P decreases because of a cold room?
ferg, Are you saying that you use the same exact settings and changes for each roast and the Yellowing and 1C times keep changing, or that you keep altering the settings and changes trying to hit the Y 5:00, FC 9:00, Drop 11-12:00 marks exactly in one profile? If the latter, you may be trying to do something that is not possible. If you want to follow Munchow, then target FC at 9:00 and let Yellow fall where it may. The idea is to establish reductions that will set up a good ROR for going into and out of FC so that you can control the development to the time, color, and temperature you want. Also, varying ambient temperature from roast to roast or not having a consistent preheat will cause variations in the profile.
Thank you, this is what I was looking for. I think I have been too concerned about hitting every marker for a “standard” roast profile. I will start focusing more on time to first crack and let yellow happen when it does, as you recommend. I have been altering settings trying to hit each benchmark. I appreciate your response!
Thanks for posting this question, it was really informative seeing all the comments.
I try to hit those same markers (Y@5:00, FC@9:00), but I find that each roast behaves differently, due to charge weight, bean density, weather conditions (I roast outdoors in LA), etc. There are many folks on this site that select a roast curve that hit the markers at the desired times, and use that as an overlay. I do this, and have had good results more consistently than I was getting otherwise. I try to match the IBTS temp rather than the RoR curves since they are so noisy.
Roast behavior changes a lot with charge weight. I had to ‘relearn’ how to control 1 lb roasts after many roasts of 300 g. The larger the roast, the less responsive the bean temperature is to a power adjustment.
My advice is for you to look at some of roast curves from BradM (Log in | Roast.World). Look for roasts curves that use the same charge weight as you are using. You can look at my roast curves as well (Log in | Roast.World), but I roast for espresso, which means I go past 2nd crack.
Once you get the hang of it, you’ll develop a feel for how to get what you like, and you can jettison everyone else’s advice.