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