by jameso » Mon Jan 02, 2006 7:31 am
Agreed - no gap between cracks. Although the overlap was the last few isolated first cracks and the first few isolated 2nd ones. 1st cracks are softer in tone than for a caffeinated bean, making the difference between the two harder to hear.
For what it's worth, for me, 1st started at 13.45, and was as good as ended at 15.20. The odd pop continued that was a bit of both and left me unsure which crack I was hearing, but by 15.45 I was sure enough that I had 2nd cracks to write that down as when 2nd began. I dumped at 16.10. With most beans, I find that 25 secs after 2nd started has turned it into a rolling 2nd. Not with this one. 2nd crack was really slow to build up. The finished beans were a mid-brown mottled colour, as you describe. When ground, the colour was much darker than the surface of the bean, however, and the taste gorgeous.
Decaf beans always have a much duller sheen on the outside when roasted. In my opinion they always show less oil coming out of the roaster, for the same final roast, than the corresponding caff bean. However after resting I seem to get oil on the beans however light I roast.
Which is a lengthy reply to say: The colour cues on the outside of the bean are different for decafs. The cracks are softer. This doesn't help. Add to the fact that this is an overlap crack bean, and it is hard to know when to dump. But the taste is deeper than the colour would lead you to expect
HTH
James