It looks lighter than the numbers suggest. The beans are expanded so you got to first crack, but if I am reading right you pulled it after only 50 seconds. I assume they said there would still be development in the cool down, but it sure looks like you should have gone longer. One roast I did last night was 7:45 to first crack and I didn't dump it until 10:15. I can't add anything more as I don't know enough about those fan and heat settings with air roasters. At least now you can roast multiple batches without risking burning out the machine.
First time roasting beans.
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- #62
I bet your right on being able to let it go a while longer. I was trying to anticipate the bean still roasting before the cooling really kicked in.
What’s nice about this over the popper is the way you can see the visual cues. The ability to adjust the heat and fan are nice too. Just have to get used to when and how much to use.
Nice looking roast!
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- #64
Today it was a new bean, Hati Singing Roaster. Total time of roast was 12:15, let the beans develop into a dark roast. The very first crack was at 7:30 but took a while to get into a rolling crack.
I like the way they look.
I like the way they look.
It looks like the temperature you chose got you to first crack where I would have expected. I don't know with air roasters, but if the temperature is correct then you may need more or less fan to get it to develop faster. That's still only medium+ which is fine in my book. Great job, getting even development before first crack seems to be one of the most important aspects.
This is an example though of where a temp probe would help, you would be able to see if the bean temperature is stalled or hopefully catch it before and turn something back up. Developing a sense of what temperature to hit the cool down is also helpful. Not trying to push or anything.
This is an example though of where a temp probe would help, you would be able to see if the bean temperature is stalled or hopefully catch it before and turn something back up. Developing a sense of what temperature to hit the cool down is also helpful. Not trying to push or anything.
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- #66
Keep the ideas coming, they really help. I did log the roasting temps.
Drying was at 325°, kept it there till the 3:10 mark where it was at 352°. It stayed there for 3:03 then went to 375°. I should have checked the temp during f/c but I didn’t, I will next time.
At finish I was at 432° then to the 3 minute cool down. Not completely cooled so they went into my home made cooler.
I am kind of afraid to say anything wrong, but my instinct is that you need more fan when you hit first crack. As somebody mentioned above, roasting is a convective process at this stage. In order to increase heat transfer into the beans, you need more convection. You may need more heat going into first crack if it is taking time to get into a rolling crack, but not so much as to mess up the nice even development you have. I have seen some air roaster videos and it seems that they are changing the heat up and down more than you would do with a drum roaster.
I have a batch I roasted a few days ago that came out really nice with the settings I used, but I really want to extend the time to first crack. The problem is the lower the starting heat, the later I have to start turning down the heat before first crack. If I turn it down to soon, I won't have enough heat to get to the roast level I am aiming for after first crack. I will probably also have to use a higher fan setting right after first crack to keep the roast developing. Just an example.
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- #68
That’s a good idea, I’ll give it a try on my next batch. That’s what’s nice about keeping a log. I can go back and see where changes are needed.
Thanks again for the help.
You are getting the hang of things pretty quickly. Hopefully you let us know how you like it once it is in your cup.
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- #70
Some Columbia Supreme this morning. Was raining out side so I tried in indoors. The smoke alarms went off 
.
Turned out pretty nice. Cranked the heat a bit early and got the roaster up to 462° right before the cool down. Took it into second crack briefly.
. Turned out pretty nice. Cranked the heat a bit early and got the roaster up to 462° right before the cool down. Took it into second crack briefly.
I don't know if it would work for you, but I put a cutting board on the stove burner and roast under the hood. I also have my ceiling fan set the correct direction to blow air into the kitchen, toward the ceiling first.
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- #72
The electrical cord on this is so darn short. I might build a short heavy duty one to do as you say. I only need a couple feet.
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- #73
First roast with the SR 800 extension tube.
Bolivia Apolo Chirimayo indigenous community
245 gram
Pre heat 320°
6/2 362°
3:30 6/3
4:00 5/4 400°
5:30 begins f/c 417°
6:30 4:35°
8:00 421°
9:30 cool down
End weight 195 grams
Bolivia Apolo Chirimayo indigenous community
245 gram
Pre heat 320°
6/2 362°
3:30 6/3
4:00 5/4 400°
5:30 begins f/c 417°
6:30 4:35°
8:00 421°
9:30 cool down
End weight 195 grams
If you decide to go back to the Yemen now that you have a nice medium profile figured out, remember that they aren't as heat tolerant(natural process) and you probably want to start at a slightly lower initial temp. This may lengthen your whole roast time, but you should be able to adjust as you have the probe in now. If you can get it to that same medium, but not less, I bet it will be delicious.
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- #75
I’ve been holding off on the Yemen for a bit. A few more successful batches and I’ll give them another try.
Have a few pounds of decals now too. That might be my next batch. My grandson loves coffee but he only gets decaf.
You will need a lower heat for the decaf just like the Yemen. I think you read how my first attempt at decaf went, it was a good learning experience. I now know that I need to think about what heat setting to use for different beans, that was new for me. You can kind of tell around half way to first crack, sometimes it's moving faster than expected. I thought a washed Ethiopian would be pretty heat tolerant, but it is actually less than expected. And natural process and decaf are even less.
Howdy folks, I moved from a cheap air popper that sometimes let me roast a decent cup to a whirlygig that seems like a huge improvement. Now its about timing the smoke out in the house lol. Glad to have found you all and I will post some pictures in a few days when I roast again. So happy to have another rabbit hole because shaving obviously has not consumed me
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- #78
Howdy folks, I moved from a cheap air popper that sometimes let me roast a decent cup to a whirlygig that seems like a huge improvement. Now its about timing the smoke out in the house lol. Glad to have found you all and I will post some pictures in a few days when I roast again. So happy to have another rabbit hole because shaving obviously has not consumed me
Good to have another roaster. You’re about to have some fun, good coffee too.
I hope so, I have roasted maybe 20 batches and most have been better than our usuals at the market. Only a few have been beyond decent though. Lots to learn, practice practice.
Even though some people don't like Rao's roast profiles, there is something(s) to be learned. The first thing that transformed my roasting was learning how much heat different beans can handle and applying it as far into the roast as I dare! You need to turn the heat down before first crack, but you need to have some idea when thats going to happen so you don't turn it down too early. There are a few other things I could mention, but the only other one that I want to right now is charge temperature. You need to push that one as well, I am charging all my coffees at 190-200c because I haven't needed lower. I would rather charge high and roast lower than charge low and have an extended time before first crack because I find that low charge produces unpredictable, and un-repairable once it's noticed, problems. Whereas heat can always be turned up or down.
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