Just bought the Hottop and need some roasting/blending tips

[phil]

Tisri, I think you are right and I will try today to roast it much darker ! I was maybe to tensed in the process and could not wait anymore. Main reason was that I heard the first crack after 18 minutes, because I roasted outside my house. So next time i wil wait longer and again show the results (if it improved!).

Steven

Don't listen to him! Some people should just buy the chimney sweep's soot!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sorry tisri, couldn't resist that crack after the suggestion that people should send me a robusta-only blend. That was evil!

Steven - if you can't hear the cracks in the Hottop something's wrong. The Perfeito's not the most explosive of coffees, but I would have expected you to hear 1st crack loud and clear, even if you didn't recognise 2nd crack the first time you heard it. How long did you roast this batch for? It looks OK btw.

[stevenzaat]

Phil,

I heard several cracks, but because after 17 minutes the beans didn't a crack at all, I start referring every sound as a crack. Are you sure that I was into the second crack (can you see that in the pictures). I think I heard another crack, but it was louder than I expected, so maybe it was the start of another bean sort in hte blend with their first crack. The coffee tastes terrific as a drip, but I need more body for my espresso, although making a double gives an excellent cup of coffee. The smell of the beans was something I remembered from early days, it was unbelievable and after the grind it gives the best smell I have ever experienced.

So I will give it another try today or tommorrow for my espresso and we will see. The total roast took 20 minutes, but I did it outside in the garden (under a roof), becuase I thought that the ovenstove would make too much noise to hear the cracks. Is it unwise to roast outside (under a roof) or does it will not have any impact on the quality of the roast.

[phil]

Sounds as if you finished 1st crack.

Did you hit Eject at 20 minutes?

What was the weight of the beans you used?

When did 1st crack start?

[stevenzaat]

1. I hit the plus button 3 times (Roast profile 4 of the Hottop_
2. The weight was exactly 250 grams (supplied by Hasbean in 250 gram packages)
3. 1st crack started at 18.04 (min)

[phil]

When did 1st crack appear to end?

Sounds to me as if you didn't hit 2nd at all. 2nd sounds like leaves rustling, as opposed to twigs snapping. I would have expected 2nd crack around 20:30 - 20:40.

[tisri]

You can also use the final weight as a rough guide, although you'll need to measure accurately. I find when I'm roasting for espresso I put 250g of beans and almost invariably get 202-204g out. For lighter roasts the final weight can be anything up to 215g although my own experience is that if you've got more than 200g then you haven't roasted them enough.

[tisri]

Don't listen to him! Some people should just buy the chimney sweep's soot!

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Sorry tisri, couldn't resist that crack after the suggestion that people should send me a robusta-only blend. That was evil!

Any time you want some soot you know who to call. My soot is made from 100% quality robusta beans, roasted into oblivion and ground with a suitably cheap and nasty mortar and pestle.

[stevenzaat]

Dear all,

Here are the results of the second roast (see picture, sorry for the small picture!).

It is much darker and I hope this suites Tisri. I have to agree with him that the darker roast is reallly delicious for my espresso cup. For the drip I prefer a less darker coffee, that's why I started today with the roast of the Kenya Peaberries (which smell wonderfull) and the Costa Rican Naranjo.

I am already looking forward for my next roast. This will be the suggested blend of Simon P.

Regards,

Steven

[tisri]

Now that looks like espresso coffee should look! Good and dark. Goooooood aaaaannnnnddddd ddddaaaaarrrrrkkkkkk!!!!

Now all we need to do is convert Eeffoc to the dark side

[ivdp]

Some general things:
there is no difference in roasting for espresso or for drip: you like a certain roast colour or not.
Looking at your roast colour I would judge as too dark for my taste, whether for drip or for espresso.
There are no rules for blending, just your own taste.
Since you want to blend, or it seems so, here is a suggestion:
roast the coffees you want to blend with seperately.
Liquify the coffees seperately, whether espresso or drip, whatever you like.
From the liquids start your blending session. Mix/blend by the spoon: 50/50 - 30/30/30 etc, your own imagination is your limit.
After deciding which is the best for you (or your wife), you can blend the green beans and roast them.

Ivo

PS You don't need robusta for crema. You only need robusta to make a cheaper blend . . .

[Steve]

I disagree Ivo I think robusta gives an espresso blend a little something, and its not about a cheaper blend. In my experience robusta free blends leave me wanting a little. But that’s the beauty of coffee its all about opinions.

I also think that espreso roasting is a little different than drip roasting. some beans demand a different roast to get the best out of them, I dont thnik its as simple as saying I like this roast type so I'll roast every thing to this.

[ivdp]

I certainly agree with you: robusta gives something different.
I remarked that you don't need robusta for crema.

My remark that robusta is for getting a cheaper blend is right but not fair to those people who like the taste of robusta. Robusta, on the world market, is a lot cheaper than most arabica's though.

Coffee roasting is simpler than most people believe.

Ivo

[mattmills]

i have to say that i can agree, but at the same time disagree 1) there are some robustas that are more expensive than some arabicas, most notably thhe washed indians. These tend to have a velvetly butter taste, really giving the cup something special, not only in the espresso but for other forms of extraction.

Roasting is more simple thatn people believe, however, it is also far more than more beleive as well. When you start to consider the chemical reactions that take place at different tempretures airfolws and systems of roasting, then compare the differing taste profiles that each system gives. Each onne alters the coffee, if we are talking about roast colours, or if we are talking about roasting profiles.