Hi, I am a new user of the Bullet, have been roasting 4 years on a Gene Cafe with amazing results (over the last 3 years). Trying to adjust to the Bullet. I would like to have your thoughts on the smell of the beans right after roasting (ie once cooled off). Sometimes when I cup the coffee right after a roast, the taste and body are not intense. However if I crush a bean under my thumb and it smells great and powerful the coffee seems to improve significantly after few days of degassing. If the bean has a muted smell it never turns out great. What are your experiences and observations on that? Is smell after a roast an indication of success?
In my experience, roasting with too high a preheat temp has sapped the aroma in my roasts. Earlier this year, after a PCB change my BT was stabilizing at 210℃+ for a PH of 310℃ with a 1KG batch. The roasts lacked aroma.
As of now, I have dropped my PH to 300℃, my BT is stabilizing at about 190℃ and the roasts smell good.
Thanks cash0612 very useful. I also found that charging too much makes the roast too fast and not long enough Maillard phase. However Charging too low and the roast will never end!
On the smell, i noticed it change when yellow phase begins, could be useful to identify properly the start of yellow. Also 10 sec before FC, the smell becomes very acidic.
On the smell after the roast and cooling, if after crushing a bean the smell is tone down, it will never turn into a good cup. If the smell if powerful, it will turn into a good cup. But If the beans smell good even remotely without crushing right after cooling the roast, it always gives an exceptional cup with a lot of body, lenght and sweetnes (ie not bitterness unless a very very dark roast).