Why is this roast so mediocre?

[charlesaf3]

Hi all, hoping for some opinions on why this ethiopian SO Janbar tastes so mediocre.  It has no obvious flaws, but it's not at all what I'm expecting.   Have roasted around 5 pounds so far and haven't been pleased with any of it.  I'd say it tastes leathery and a bit bitter, no fruit.

I'm looking for fruity and sweet espresso, though I like things at the end of full city, darker than 3rd wave, if that makes sense.  So more or less at the end of full city ideally.

Constructive criticism welcomed.  My first thoughts are lower the charge and the weight, and up the fan speed.

[SusanJoM]

I have no help at all to offer on the profile, but I'm curious to know if you have tasted this particular bean roasted in a way and to a degree that you do like?

Sometimes beans just aren't likeable.
That doesn't mean they aren't good, just that you might not like them.

[charlesaf3]

That thought had occurred to me, but it had good reports on GCBC, so my first guess is I'm doing something wrong...  Considering I'm a newbie at the Huky, and my roasting knowledge remains weak, I'm the obvious weak point.

My hope is there is something obviously wrong with the profile

[hankua]

This is kind of a contradiction; in that you can't roast with that much development and still get something "fruity". I'll go downstairs and find an Ethiopian profile for you to try.

One suggestion is to target your roast somewhere in between 1st and 2nd crack for the ending temperature; and try for a development time 2:00-2:30.

Another way to get around your preference is to blend with the Ethiopian roasted lighter and combine it with a Brazil, Mexican, PNG, etc for the darker roast notes. Most commercial espresso coffee is a blend; there are endless variations one can play around with. As home roasters we can blend smaller amounts for experimentation; hopefully without getting over caffeinated LOL.

[SusanJoM]

That thought had occurred to me, but it had good reports on GCBC, so my first guess is I'm doing something wrong...  Considering I'm a newbie at the Huky, and my roasting knowledge remains weak, I'm the obvious weak point.

My hope is there is something obviously wrong with the profile

I tried for a long time to like that bean.....to no avail.

[korkiley]

Hi all, hoping for some opinions on why this ethiopian SO Janbar tastes so mediocre.  It has no obvious flaws, but it's not at all what I'm expecting.   Have roasted around 5 pounds so far and haven't been pleased with any of it.  I'd say it tastes leathery and a bit bitter, no fruit.

I'm looking for fruity and sweet espresso, though I like things at the end of full city, darker than 3rd wave, if that makes sense.  So more or less at the end of full city ideally.

Constructive criticism welcomed.  My first thoughts are lower the charge and the weight, and up the fan speed.

I'm having trouble seeing your roast log, especially details like your fan and power numbers. Perhaps you could upload a bit higher resolution. I realize that there is the dreaded 1024 Kb file size limit but you are way under that limit so you should be able to upload a considerably higher resolution. I've also noticed that the text for some people's Artisan roast logs are very small but I don't think that is the problem with yours.

I think that sometimes you can beat your head against the wall trying to get blood from a stone. Maybe this bean is not as good as some people claim. Maybe the green bean has already been in storage too long, etc. I find that for a really good bean, you USUALLY realize the potential immediately even if you may not pull off the perfect roast. It might be a possibility.

[SusanJoM]

I'm having trouble seeing your roast log, especially details like your fan and power numbers. Perhaps you could upload a bit higher resolution. I

If you Save Graph using the Full Size option, it should be fine.

[edtbjon]

Looking at the graph, it kind of looks good. ...kind of... I.e you've got the declining RoR more or less spot on (except for that bump before 1C, which really shouldn't matter that much).
What gives it away though is that the ET curve is very close to the BT for most of the roast. I used to be there and those roasts were kind of mediocre too, regardless of which bean I tried. While my current setup is with a solid drum, I do have experience with a perf. setup too. As Ethiopians in general are high grown dense beans, I guess that they can take and also needs a good hit with the heat. Why not charge a bit lower, getting a lower TP (well below 180F) and hit the gas a bit harder from there. (This approach will create a larger gap, "delta", between the ET and BT and it will get more energy into the beans, which in turn helps all the different Maillard reactions along.)
As others have pointed out it may be a case of an out-dated bean too. If so, there's really nothing to do, but do try some different strategies first.

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[SusanJoM]

I'm surprised this roast wasn't at a rolling second crack when you dropped it. You went 50f past first crack which in my experience would roast away all of the fruit. I would try 25-30f past first crack and adjust my next roast according to the results.

Okay, I guess I really can't read that graph.  What IS the drop temp?  434F?

[edtbjon]

Why not charge a bit lower, getting a lower TP (well below 180F) and hit the gas a bit harder from there. (This approach will create a larger gap, "delta", between the ET and BT and it will get more energy into the beans, which in turn helps all the different Maillard reactions along.)

Can you explain this a little more? Why do you think you need a bigger gap between BT and ET? Why would this approach get more energy into the beans?

The only way to measure the amount of energy being transferred to the beans is the BT reading. Are you advocating a higher RoR during the maillard phase? I don't think you are getting more energy into the beans but rather a different type of energy.

I started a thread a couple of months ago where this approach is discussed. Even though I use a solid drum at the moment, I've used a perforated drum for some 6 months and I'm pretty (very) confident that the approach with charging low applies to a perf. setup too.
Even though I may misuse some terms and concepts, the end result i.e a better cup is what counts and that is what the OP wants with his beans too.

[SusanJoM]

  I'm pretty (very) confident that the approach with charging low applies to a perf. setup too.

This has become something of a divisive point.

I don't believe it makes any sense with a perforated drum.
There is simply no way that I can get 400 gms of beans to my benchmarks unless I start with a HUKY which is well warmed and charged at 450F-480F.

So, a gentle reminder:  try everything.  see what works for you.

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