how to roast a kenya

[jumper]

i jut picked up a kilo greens at work and pretty much don't want to get anything but the best roast this time.
so the question is dark or light ?

mark

[Steve]

Light most deffinalty light maybe medium but it is a crime to dark roast good kenyan. For me any way.

[phil]

Unquestionably, the man from Stafford has the right of it.

Kenyans - somewhere between first and second, never later, exactly how far after first depends on the bean in question.

Kenyans are wonderful wonderful coffees - on my last two contracts I've converted folks to the way of gourmet coffee with samples of Hasbean's wonderful Eaagads Estate Peaberry (sadly now out of stock, so I'm not advertising even if he does deserve it!).

[tisri]

Kenyans are light and delicate. I'd typically stop a Kenyan towards the very tail end of first crack. They are among the few coffees I never take to even the first pops of second.

[Beanie]

Phil... does that mean then, that one would first have to roast 1 batch into second? Otherwise, how would you know when second would start in order to stop somwhere between 1st & 2nd?

Also are the cracks tied to temperature? As in, all beans will hit 1st crack when the reach XX deg. and same for 2nd? I understand that beans have different crack times, is it because they reach XX temperature at different times?

I'm just getting together my pre-roast log/guide for when I do start Tried to be prepared... so I don't kill my 1st batch

[zix]

Ah, another HotTop roaster! I must try to get near one of those some day.
Bean believer, don't worry about it! After first crack, the beans will grow darker and darker all the time before they approach second crack and steve's, phil's and tisri's advice are all one: roast light. Also, there is the smell (more of it as you approach second)
This said, please kill your first roast! Or at least, don´t expect too much of it. Any bean (except for the Robustas) will do for a first roast, save the good and expensive ones for later. First batch will be fun! And doing it in real life will tell you more than a thousand descriptive words, because you will use eyes (peeking through the little HT window), nose (smoke smell) and ears (cracks). On your first batch, it is good to roast all the way into second crack, or perhaps even past that just to see how fast things happen at the end of the roast. Then you can go back and do a lighter roast, stopping before 2nd crack.
Regarding cracks and temperature: yes, each bean will crack when it has reached XX degrees, and then crack again when it has reached YY degrees (and then start burning at ZZ degrees ). Each bean reaches this temp at its own time, depending on ripeness, size, defects and probably several other things (dampness perhaps?). Some coffees have a very stretched cracking phase, others a short one, depending on how even the beans are in size, ripeness and so on.
Uneven heating may also cause prolonged cracking times, but with an enclosed radiator-heat drum roast like the HotTop you will probably have very even heating, and very even, easy roasting. So don´t worry, but please do at least one trial roast first.

Phil... does that mean then, that one would first have to roast 1 batch into second? Otherwise, how would you know when second would start in order to stop somwhere between 1st & 2nd?
Also are the cracks tied to temperature? As in, all beans will hit 1st crack when the reach XX deg. and same for 2nd? I understand that beans have different crack times, is it because they reach XX temperature at different times?
I'm just getting together my pre-roast log/guide for when I do start Tried to be prepared... so I don't kill my 1st batch

[zix]

Oh, and by the way, the reason I don´t recommend you to use Robustas the first time is that they need a much longer roast. They are more robust... so if you do one of those first you might be surprised when roasting the Kenya.

Yes, and I find phils review of the HotTop fantastic. Perhaps you have already seen it?

[ivdp]

Not all Kenyans are created equally . . .
Try a light roast, than try a dark roast and you will be able to judge yourselves what is best for this specific Kenyan.
Maybe you end up with an in between roast.

Ivo

[ivdp]

Oh, and by the way, the reason I don´t recommend you to use Robustas the first time is that they need a much longer roast. They are more robust... so if you do one of those first you might be surprised when roasting the Kenya.

Yes, and I find phils review of the HotTop fantastic. Perhaps you have already seen it?

The robustness of robusta refers to the plant and growing conditions.
Robusta's do not need longer roasts in general.
Rather shorter if you compare it with a high grown guatemala.

But than, there are so many differerences in robusta's as well as arabica's, who can tell for sure.

Ivo

[zix]

Hmmmm, ivo, that´s interesting! Since I have been pre-roast blending a lot lately I have also tried putting robusta in several blends. But it has always been the robusta that reaches first and second crack last. And since it needs a dark roast, all the other beans would be at french roast level when the robusta reached second crack. Eventually I gave up and now I roast it separately in the popper. Perhaps the indian robustas (which are the ones I can usually find locally) are typically long roasters compared to other robustas? I must admit I have a somewhat limited choice of beans, (10-15 different origins including robusta), it may be I am prejudiced without knowing it.

[tisri]

Phil... does that mean then, that one would first have to roast 1 batch into second? Otherwise, how would you know when second would start in order to stop somwhere between 1st & 2nd?

When first dies down you've got a quiet space before second starts. Make a note of the weight of beans you were roasting and the time that first crack ended and the very first pops of second started. If you listen for first crack slowing and then stopping, then take a guess how long you might have before second starts. If you hear the first pops of second terminate the roast right away. Either that or stop it when the pops of first crack have slowed to every few seconds (i.e. at the end, not the beginning!)

[Beanie]

Me thinks.... I'm not going to be able to get out of the kitchen for the next 6 months!

Okay, that's what I thought... waste the 1st batch

Zix, thanks for the bean ed. So if all beans share the same XX and YY, exactly was are the XX and YY points?

Also, what is the general opinion about roasting the same bean in different batches with different roast levels and then blending it?

Sorry guys, I'm sure these silly questions of mine will stop once I get my machine and can just do it!

Cheers,
M

[Gouezeri]

BB,
Without wanting to be a killjoy and put a stop to these interesting discussions, a good starting place for finding information on bean and roast types is Kenneth Davids' "Home Coffee Roasting" (2nd ed). I'm not saying it will answer all of your questions but it is an informative read.
Dom

[Beanie]

Thanks Dom

Ordered it 2 nights ago. Just waiting for arrival

Cheers
M

[Tonka]

Here comes some sacriledge. I have been drinking Kenyan Peaberry for about 15 years now, and consider it to be one of the most finely flavoured coffees there is. However, peaberry refers to the smaller berries picked from the end of the branch, this does not mean that all Peaberry has that lush winey flavour. Some of the nicest peaberry I have tasted in years??? a bag of pre-ground Taylors Kenyan from Sainsburys.