Bolivian woes

[Bresh]

Hi all

I'm having real difficulty roasting some bolivian organic decaf (from has bean) and haven't yet achieved a roast I'm happy with. The problems are:

1) The beans don't appear to go through second crack (either that or I chicken out too soon)
2) The green beans are a mottled light brown colour and so I can't go from the colour of the roast.

I'm roasting in a hottop. Anyone have some suggested timings ?

Thanks...

[phil]

I would expect 2nd on the non-decaf version around 19:30 - 20:30 at the outside.

I would expect the decaf bean to roast faster than the non-decaf.

When do you "bottle out"?

PS decaf "green" always looks nasty.

[kingseven]

Is it one of those coffees that always seem to catch me out by having no real gap between cracks?
I hate those. I destroyed a batch of pure elephant ears that way. Silly me.

[jameso]

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

[Steve]

Second will come just hold your nerve, Phil’s right around 18 mins or so for second to start in the Hottop, and so is James about the dull sheen on the outside. And yes the green in decaf always looks different, I wouldn’t say nasty but different.

Ever feel that your to late with a reply

Steve

[jameso]

That's interesting Steve, because both Jim and I got overlapping (or adjacent) first and second. You're saying that second should start until more like 18 mins. Does that mean that we both thought we heard second crack, when in fact it was still first? Or does it mean that the roast can vary somewhat? The colour when ground was dark enough that I find it hard to believe I only took the bean to what our cousins would call a "light city".

What times would you give for 1st crack to get an 18 minute start for 2nd (in a hottop where you can't turn the gas down in between )?

J

[Steve]

It really depends on the weight your using voltage etc. But on my Hottop I'd expect it around the 18-19min mark using 250-270g ish. The gap will be close but listen closely and you'll find it, there will be an end to first.

I hate giving Hottop times as the weight voltage thing makes it difficult. But 1st should happen around 15mins or so (give or take).

Hope this helps

Steve

[Bresh]

Going to try another batch tonight.

Anyone tried a stethescope mod to a hot top

Thanks Kevin.

[anette]

I've never done a decaf in the hottop but I've roasted organic ones on a little sample probat. Do you know which decaffeination method was used? Most decafs are so fragile from the stress that they should be started at a lower temperature, so not to schock the structure. I rarely hear first crack on my noisy little barrel, but I steer clear of second as by then they're too dead for me. I'm not a fan of any decafs but they usually taste better when I cup on a finer grind as well, anyone else experienced that?

Good luck!

[jameso]

They're CO2