First time Roasting today, need some help

[Pmaynard19]

Hello everyone,
I took a stab at roasting some green coffee today in a little Redenbacher air popcorn popper. I have to say it was big fun for me! I enjoyed everything about it (except the cleanup lol). I roasted the beans until just after what I thought was the second crack but it was a little difficult to tell for sure. I really like dark and espresso roast so I’m shooting for that. I realize I may not be able to pull it off in a air popper but I’m not too particular, I was surprised though at how evenly they seemed to roast. I have a couple of questions that I have researched answers but they’re mixed.
1. How do I store my green I roasted beans until I’m ready to roast (how long can I keep them)?
2. How long after roasting until I can grind and use my beans? I’ve read 12 hours all the way to 72 hours, what’s B&B’s opinion?
3. Does this batch of beans look like they’ve roasted into the second crack to the experienced eye? I thought they would be a bit darker.
Also, any other tips and pointers would be great as I always learn from this group!

Thanks,
Phil

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[Mick]

1) Just keep them in the ziplock in a dry cool place. They will be good for up to 2 years from harvest.

2) You can use them right away. The beans will continue to de-gas for 24 hours after roasting. And continue to change for 2 weeks when they will "start" to be old.

3) Those appear to be just before 2nd crack from the color. If you want dark, go with an espresso blend or Brazillian SO. Those should give you the best results.

 

[Pmaynard19]

1) Just keep them in the ziplock in a dry cool place. They will be good for up to 2 years from harvest.

2) You can use them right away. The beans will continue to de-gas for 24 hours after roasting. And continue to change for 2 weeks when they will "start" to be old.

3) Those appear to be just before 2nd crack from the color. If you want dark, go with an espresso blend or Brazillian SO. Those should give you the best results.

Great! Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.


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[Mick]

Great! Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.


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No problemo

Roast on..... Roast on.....

 

[TexLaw]

@Mick +1

As for what you like in a rest, just brew with beans and find out. You might like them fresh from a roast, or you might like them with a long rest, or anything in between, and it likely will vary from bean to bean and be different for different roast levels.

It wouldn't surprise me if you heard a few ticks of second crack in that roast, but that's not a full on second crack.

The beans will put out CO2 for some time, actually, but the lion's share is over the first few days. A little while back, I vacuum packed some freshly roasted beans just to see what happened over a week. It was fun to watch the bag balloon.

 

[Pmaynard19]

@Mick +1

As for what you like in a rest, just brew with beans and find out. You might like them fresh from a roast, or you might like them with a long rest, or anything in between, and it likely will vary from bean to bean and be different for different roast levels.

It wouldn't surprise me if you heard a few ticks of second crack in that roast, but that's not a full on second crack.

The beans will put out CO2 for some time, actually, but the lion's share is over the first few days. A little while back, I vacuum packed some freshly roasted beans just to see what happened over a week. It was fun to watch the bag balloon.

Good idea. I’ll just keep in experimenting until I find what I like best. Thanks.


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[BarryR]

Why am I not surprised that there's a wetshaver - fountain pen - coffee roaster continuum? (I do all 3).

Not to diminish the wonders of B&B but coffeegeek.com & home-barista.com are great coffee forums (only a small percentage of wet shavers actually know about roasting coffee -- I think).

Also - of course you should roast to whatever level you like best but if you're not roasting for and actual espresso machine, most coffee geeks roast to City+ maybe Full City to really taste what the bean has to offer.

Regarding rest: agree with Pmaynard19 except a coffee will rarely (if ever) be ideal before 2 days of rest. Lighter and more complex coffees often need more rest than others. I'm a big fan of Natural Process coffees done to a City+ roast and they often are better after 5 or so days.

PS: I roast with a Hottop connected to my laptop using Artisan - love it.

 

[SharptoothC]

I usually go at least 24 hours of rest before brewing, but I will say that the finest cup of coffee I've ever consumed was during a coffee ceremony in Ethiopia. The beans were roasted on a hot plate, ground immediately with mortise and pestle, then went straight to the brew pot. It was a whole different world of flavor. So there are no hard and fast rules. Play and see what you like.

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[eelhc]

I usually go at least 24 hours of rest before brewing, but I will say that the finest cup of coffee I've ever consumed was during a coffee ceremony in Ethiopia. The beans were roasted on a hot plate, ground immediately with mortise and pestle, then went straight to the brew pot. It was a whole different world of flavor. So there are no hard and fast rules. Play and see what you like.

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To rest or not and the amount of time to rest is mostly a matter of personal preference. Some people go on and on about how some beans are optimal after exactly xx hours of rest but I say it's all BS. Just rest the beans if you prefer the taste.
Keep in mind when buyers travel the world to rate the coffee. They are cupping freshly roasted and ground beans. Coffee is traded on the basis of ratings at no rest.

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[alfabet]

Why am I not surprised that there's a wetshaver - fountain pen - coffee roaster continuum? (I do all 3).

Not to diminish the wonders of B&B but coffeegeek.com & home-barista.com are great coffee forums (only a small percentage of wet shavers actually know about roasting coffee -- I think).

Also - of course you should roast to whatever level you like best but if you're not roasting for and actual espresso machine, most coffee geeks roast to City+ maybe Full City to really taste what the bean has to offer.

Regarding rest: agree with Pmaynard19 except a coffee will rarely (if ever) be ideal before 2 days of rest. Lighter and more complex coffees often need more rest than others. I'm a big fan of Natural Process coffees done to a City+ roast and they often are better after 5 or so days.

PS: I roast with a Hottop connected to my laptop using Artisan - love it.

Yes, roasting, fountains pens, wet shaving is a thing for me as well. Perhaps add mechanical watches?

 

[BarryR]

Yes, roasting, fountains pens, wet shaving is a thing for me as well. Perhaps add mechanical watches?

There, I actually diverge. Mechanical watches are lovely and really cool BUT they do their job worse than new fangled electronic watches. Wet shaving & fountain pens function better (in many ways) than their modern replacements.

As a collector's item though, I totally get it.