very new to roasting. I’m just wondering if anyone can shed any light on my last roast, in terms of temperature’s and RoR i think it should have been one of my best yet but when its cooled it seems under done. still smelling grassy with a little grassy taste, beans also still seem small and hard not like the other roasts I’ve done where they have increased in size.
so my question is, is it a case of leaving everything the same but just incresing the development time or is it a case of trying to get more early heat into the beans?
My advice is not to get caught up in temperature slopes and lines. Just because they look pretty doesn’t mean they are right for the bean you are roasting. You already identified some important factors about your roast that are fixable using your nose.
“still smelling grassy with a little grassy taste”
What does that tell you? To me, that means the beans are still underdeveloped and could use some more time roasting. So next roast perhaps slow things down. Start the Roast at P7, and F2 or F3 (this is normally where I am at for a 500g roast, F3 for less dense beans). For beans that still taste green, I usually try to extend my Maillard/browning phase on the next roast. For me, development time and temps affect acidity/fruitiness vs. roasty “brown” flavors. Your total roast time was 9:27, so perhaps aim for 10:27 next time and see how that changes your roast.
If this is a new bean, then it may require different treatment.
To my eye, this looks like a pretty fast roast, a fairly low end temp, and a low level of moisture loss. I would expect the bean to be on the less developed end for sure, but it’s all relative to what you were expecting.
Thanks very much for the advice, that’s a great point regarding the profiles looking pretty, and something to bear in mind for future roasts.
another excellent point about slowing things down, like i say this is all new to me so its definitely trial and error, if i can pick up any knowledge along the way then i will.
ill try to aim for a bit longer in the malliard phase next time and see where i come out at.
Thanks again i appreciate your time.
Thanks for getting back to me, its much appreciated.
yes I’ve roasted this bean before, just over the last week to try and get something pretty good tasting and consistent.
previous profiles were more erratic than this one in terms of ROR - and end temps were much higher, i tried to aim for a lower end temp as people were saying to try and drop it at around 215-220 - i think I’ve just gone early as i was afraid of over doing the beans.
previous roasts have tasted good, i would say every one has got better until this one! as I’ve mentioned its all learning so I’m not to fussed i just want to get better and more consistent and understand the the affect the changes make to the overall roast.
i think from what’s been said ill try again but try and extend the roast for a minute longer and try get a higher end temp.
No problem Tom, It’s a learning experience for sure! I’ve only been roasting for about 5 months now., and learning with each roast. Remember that a majority of your flavor is also directly correlated to the final roast color, and you can reach the same color at different drop temps. Generally speaking, if you are aiming for a specific final roast color you can get that with a higher temp, but shorter development time, or a longer development with a cooler temp. All of this within reason of course. Too hot and and you’ll scorch the outside, to cool and you’ll end up baking all the character out of your beans. The trick with all of that is to be able to taste your product, and then now how to make meaningful adjustments to your next roast, with the data you have.
