My first ever roast.

[Belgik]

A grand success. With the Hottop.
250 grams of Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira 2006-2007 (Hasbeen) went in, some 210 grams came out...
Programmed roast level 7 on the "basic" Hottop, the idea being to manual eject the beans at the "right" time.
First crack began at 16min 20secs (ambient temperature a mere 13-14 degrees centigrade). Frankly, I don't know when first crack ended, nor could I hear second crack... I ejected the beans after 18mins 40 secs. The resulting roast seemed to me to be "city".

I only waited a few hours before tasting the coffee. I usually have coffee with milk ("café con leche" spanish style). A most pleasing drink. Mellow, round, slight lacking perhaps in the "middle". First roast resulted in a coffee as good as my usual local roaster's "cérémonie" blend. I also tasted the coffee without milk (lungo, slightly sweetened with aspartame): very fruity, very "elegant", fine, light bodied. Very nice and quite unlike my usual "coffee" associations. A new world appears to open up here! By today (second day), we finished all the coffee... A very promising beginning.

This afternoon, I roasted
250 grams Guatamala El Injerto (216 grams after roasting)
Same roasting programme, same ambient temperature.
First crack began 16mins 25secs, ended ard. 18mins 40secs, second crack I thought began around 19 minutes and I ejected the beans after exactly 19mins 30secs. Looks like a "Vienna" roast to me. I'll taste this coffee on the third day after roasting (wednesday).

The Hottop is a nice machine. Works very well. As you can read, I opt to set her up for maximum roasting duration and interrupt the roasting when it sounds right and looks right. So far, so good!

Greetings to all!
Paul

[Bertie_Doe]

Nice one Paul, sounds like a good start to your roasting career. Looks like the Cachoeira didn't make it to 2nd, but heck if it tastes ok, that's all that matters. Dattera is another one that has a long gap between cracks on the Hottop, which is a huge strain on the nervous system, but if you keep a log of crack times, there's no problemo.

This afternoon, the temp in my garage was down to 6C, so I did 2 batches at 225gr and got to Lt.Vienna in 20mins each approx. I also have the basic HT set to max of 7 and you can sure hear the cracks, from some distance. Good luck.

Quentin

[Belgik]

During the last week, our family coffee tasting panel (or would "guinea pigs" be more appropriate?) had ample opportunity of drinking the result of my second batch, to remind you

250 grams Guatamala El Injerto (216 grams after roasting)
Same roasting programme, same ambient temperature.
First crack began 16mins 25secs, ended ard. 18mins 40secs, second crack I thought began around 19 minutes and I ejected the beans after exactly 19mins 30secs. Looks like a "Vienna" roast to me.

Wien, Wien, nür Dü allein!
The coffee tasted much less fresh and fruity than the city-roasted Brazil, more like what we usually find in our cup, what we would primitively call "coffee". Not better, no. In fact, were it not for the splendid advantages of freshness due to home-roasting, it was not better than the usual (good) store-bought coffee from "local" roaster De Boe.

I'm now finishing a pack of De Boe coffee (I have a few more 250gram packs in the freezer) before roasting again, which I expect to be a very nice way to spend some of next saturday's time. I feel I need daylight to roast: only then can I clearly see the beans through the Hottop window. The intention is to, this time again, go for a "city" style, we have yet to decide which coffee we pick, maybe again Brazil, unless I try one of the two "blends" bought from Steve. Due to trying a "city", I'll wait with the Ethiopians which, by all accounts, seem to need a darker roast...

Paul

[GeorgeW]

You really should be able to hear the second crack with the HT. It may be that the op is failing to discriminate between first and second which is understandable. A good start though.

[bruceb]

Looking at my roasting notes for the Cachoeira:

1st crack begins: 16:45 min
1st crack ends: 17:45 min
Then NO CRACKS until 2nd begins at 19:00
Rolling 2nd at 19:30 and I then eject.

My times seem to be much longer than those reported by many HT owners in spite of having a full 230 VAC using a 230 VAC machine. However, what's important is that there is a definite pause between 1st and 2nd crack. You may hear a single crack from a late comer, but mostly it's silence. For my ears 2nd sounds quite different than 1st crack. It's a bit more subdued and rolling 2nd sounds like corn popping.

You might try reducing the greens mass to 230g and listen carefully while watching for a change in smoke. When 2nd crack begins you should see considerably more smoke coming out of the top vent.

[Bertie_Doe]

Looking at my roasting notes for the Cachoeira:

1st crack begins: 16:45 min
1st crack ends: 17:45 min
Then NO CRACKS until 2nd begins at 19:00
Rolling 2nd at 19:30 and I then eject.

My times seem to be much longer than those reported by many HT owners in spite of having a full 230 VAC using a 230 VAC machine.

I have the basic Hottop and my roasts are a little longer than yours Bruce. The garage is about 20 metres from the house, I don't know if this is an influence.

Looking thru my log, my timings for start of Rolling 2nd were; Monsooned 19:50, Sidamo 19:40, Dattera 19:22 and Barahona 20:10.

I think it took me about 7 or 8 roasts, before my ear became 'tuned' to the difference in sound between 1st and 2nd.

QC

[Brummie]

If you have a Volt meter (digital preferred) try to attach it to a power outlet close to the one you plug the Hot Top in. When the heating element switches on, check the Voltage drop. That might explain the loger roasting times.

I also heard people "suffering" from other equipment switching on/off (like diskwashers/ovens and stuff) causing a significant voltage drop which has an influence on the roast and roasting times.

My roasting profiles (temp over time) on the HT are fairly consistent ( I have an upgraded panel that allows me to view temp) When I feel up to it I measure temp every minute and create graphs of the temperature. Timing of cracks are quite variable

Also depending on type of bean, ambient temp and humidity:
First crack usually starts between 16:00 and 17:30 minutes
Rolling first between 16:30 and 18:00 minutes
End of first between 17:30 and 19:45 minutes

start of seconds between 19:00 and 20:30
Rolling second (I hardly go there so I only have a few measurements) between 19:30 and 20:30

usually I eject at start of 2nd or like 10 seconds into 2nd.

Graphs look fairly similar (see picture containing 2 roating profiles)

[Bertie_Doe]

Also depending on type of bean, ambient temp and humidity:


Rolling second (I hardly go there so I only have a few measurements) between 19:30 and 20:30

I agree with you on bean, ambient and humidity. I have used the voltmeter a couple of times and it showed about 230v, so I don't think there's any problem. Also my rolling 2 times are pretty much the same as yours.

QC

[Belgik]

I'm now already beyond my 4th roast. The 3rd was a repeat Brazil, except the beans were roasted 30 seconds longer. Still good.
The 4th roast was 250 grams of Ethipian Yirgacheffe, full city. What fantastic coffee! Yesterday evening, just before going to the gym, I had a ristretto (rather than my usual "with milk"). Splendid stuff: fruity as well as mellow, very little bitterness, absolutely the best coffee I ever tasted. I didn't do the dishes until after returning from the gym, and the empty cofffee cup (two hours after) smelled incredibly good: fruity, then caramel, butterscotch, slightly smoked - wow!
I still have a lot to learn!
Paul

[bruceb]

Once you've discovered the joys of a good Yirgacheffe you're spoiled for good! Which Yirg are you using?

[Belgik]

Once you've discovered the joys of a good Yirgacheffe you're spoiled for good! Which Yirg are you using?

HAS-le-mr-BEAN's...

[GeorgeW]

I take it that you use the Yirg for espresso Bruce. How far on do you take this with the HT?