I am at the 12th roast on my R2 and came from Behmor 2000. I kind of developed a phobia of scorching the beans, but really want to bring them to the espresso roast level. On my first two roasts I had scorching. How de we deal with Sumatra to have it done for the Espresso, somewhere in the neighborhood of Vienna, but without oily spots and batch that I was working with is 500g. Ror is my other question, it’s ither my OCD or I just have to take it easy on concentrating all my attention on the perfect ROR, R2 is so fast and beautiful that I can’t hold all those horses, it’s like riding a Ferrari after Ford Escape lol.
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Here are some general rules of thumb that helped me
-The temperature readings won’t be the same as on the Behmor so you can’t directly compare them.
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aim for an overall time of about 13 minutes, with 3:00 to 3:30 minutes of development time. I haven’t had a lot of tasty espresso roasts that were shorter, and longer roasts lose a lot of flavours.
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you might need to keep the power levels in the higher ranges going into first crack in order to make sure you can reach a good end temp. This depends on the type of beans. Some of them lose momentum really fast after cutting power and others don’t.
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the last minute or so of the roast should be at lower power and higher fan speeds to prevent burning.
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trying to make a perfect ROR curve will drive you crazy. It’s a good reference to follow when you find a roast profile that you do like, but focusing on the other variables first is a better use of your time. Coffee with a weird ROR curve tastes just fine, all other things being equal.
Hope this helps
First of all, there’s no such thing as “espresso roast”. The grind is what determines the type of brew. Roasters usually do “espresso roast”, not because it is specifically for espresso, but to ease the burden on baristas in busy professional environments because lighter roasts require a bit more puck prep. You can brew dark roast filter, light roast espresso, etc. When you’re doing it at home it comes down to taste. It’s not that you must over roast or under roast to drink anything.
Second, you are making too many adjustments and they’re all late and unnecessary. Since you don’t have many roasts under your belt, I’d suggest starting from the Morten Münchow course that will help you, among other things, get rid of your RoR watching.
Hope that helps and happy roasting.
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I am not comparing Behmor temperatures it’s a completely different animal, yes. You just took a lot of anxiety and worrying from me by explaining it the way it should be done, especially about ROR I did was going crazy about it by keeping it steady and was missing the main thing which is site, smell and hearing it, just like I was applying it to Behmor. Thank you very much!!!
I suppose one should be clear about what is meant by terms like espresso in the context of roasting, thanks for the reminder.
What I meant was if I am roasting coffee that will be used to make espresso, I find that a slower roast with a longer development time tastes better. I will finish the roast at a higher temperature if I want it to be a darker roast.
In contrast, when I am roasting coffee that will be used to make a filter cup, I think a comparatively shorter development time than that tastes better, even for darker roasts.
Anyhow I know everyone has their own rules of thumb. I’ve tried a lot of the ones that have been posted and I’ve learned a bit each time. There isn’t just one right answer, thankfully. I’ve learned to be less of a perfectionist when roasting. I think picking the right bean has more of an impact on the taste of the cup rather than having a perfect roast profile. I would have saved myself a lot of frustration if I’d realized that sooner.
Well, it was clear what you meant the first time around and that’s why I said what I said. Those are commercial industry parameters, not of any individual in particular. I don’t really care how you roast, but it’s personal taste and preference. If you’re happy with something, just stick to it, but that is you, not roasting for espresso or filter.
Well, if it’s specialty coffee, you can’t go wrong, even with those barely going over 80. The perfect roast profile exists as much as any other mythological creature. There’s your perfect roast profile, which is real, that you can reach by trying different things. That’s why I told you about the Morten Münchow course. It’s an excellent starting point, it’s free and Münchow doesn’t tell you how to roast. However, if you’re happy with your results, I’m happy for you. Enjoy roasting and all the best.
Scott Rao Masterclass: Allongé vs. Standard Espresso: Roast Level, Flow Rate & Flavor