Aaron checking in

[akiley]

Hi HF,

I'm also a HB member, had My Huky s/n 540 since Dec 20, 2014.  Glad to find this forum.  Thanks Susan.

I was given my first (used/cheap) espresso machine 15 years ago.  I quickly moved to Silvia, then Andreja, MyPressi and Portapresso Rossa HC-P.  My first coffee roasting started about 10 years ago with a StirCrazy, then to a Hottop.  I wanted a larger roast load so I bought a Behmor.  Then I probed my Hottop and got auto data logging with Roastmaster and DuoTherm on my iPad.  After "seeing the light" with data logging, I couldn't go back to the Behmor.  (I use it to roast Almonds)  Still wanting more capacity I jumped to Huky and am very happy.  I hooked the DuoTherm up and continue to use Roastmaster which I love.

My current roast style is often Kenyan and Ethiopian so, 350g loads charged at 365f BT.  This puts turnaround at 1:40, then 300f at 5:00, FC about 7.5-8.5, then finish 10-11 minutes at a BT of 427f.   This makes for 20-25% development and I've been "trying" for a steadily falling rate of rise. (for now anyway)  I feel this gets me a balanced roast.  Definite acid and brightness, but not over the top allowing the rich roast flavors to balance things out.

... Aaron

[Gregr]

Hey Welcome Aaron
I roast centrals and Africans very similar to you except I've been charging at a much higher temp to get closer to 4 minutes dried- something I'm going to start stretching out a little. Have you tried your same profile with a quicker drying phase?

[akiley]

Hey Welcome Aaron
I roast centrals and Africans very similar to you except I've been charging at a much higher temp to get closer to 4 minutes dried- something I'm going to start stretching out a little. Have you tried your same profile with a quicker drying phase?

No I haven't yet.  I guess, reading various forums, it seems 5 minutes to 300f is already fairly short?? (I could be wrong)  Also it all too easy for the MET to go through the roof.  What does a shorter drying phase do to the taste in the cup?  I've been actually considering a longer roast that ends earlier.  Because:  Had a truly amazing pre-roasted blend from Nossa Familia (Full Cycle) recently. Closest to a god shot to date.  The roasted beans looked fairly light so I expected a really bright shot, but the taste was superbly well balanced.  The center of the beans were dark which makes me wonder if it was a slower roast thus the light color, but darker taste.  ... Aaron

[SusanJoM]

Aaron, what are you doing with the gas and fan settings to reach those benchmarks? 

[hankua]

Hi Aaron!
I think you should try the slower longer profile just to see. I think there is a tendency for roast times to get shorter and shorter, at least for me. One question I have with the perforated drum; if the overall roast time is longer, can the RD segment be shorter?

[akiley]

Aaron, what are you doing with the gas and fan settings to reach those benchmarks?

I'm still learning, but currently I'm preheating with exhaust pipe off, so no fan.  I calibrated my gas in percentage of 100.  So:
-preheat at gas=80%, shutter open, no fan or pipe. 350gram loads, ambient temp 60f
-charge about 360 depending where I want to hit 300f and what bean
-right after charge, hook up exhaust pipe run fan on 20% (calibrated with anemometer)
-turn around about 1:40, then gas=70
-approaching 300f fan=50%  gas=60, then shutter closed at 300f
-after 300f gas=50 and use fan to fine tune ROR, fan running medium to low depending
-by FC gas about 40%, then use some extra fan to get over the FC hump monitoring ROR
-depening on when I hit FC I do the math to try to hit a 20-25% development.
-after about 410f I back the power down almost nothing and use the fan to fine tune the ROR
-I stop my roasts about 427f before SC hits.  I like the balance at that point.
I'm considering stopping the roast at maybe 420 but compensating by making a longer roaste.  Possibly 14 minutes.  My current roasts run about 10-11 minutes.  ... Aaron

Here is a typical roast

[SusanJoM]

This fairly recent roast of mine gets to dry about when your does but then takes longer for each of the next two phases.

[akiley]

Hi Aaron!
I think you should try the slower longer profile just to see. I think there is a tendency for roast times to get shorter and shorter, at least for me. One question I have with the perforated drum; if the overall roast time is longer, can the RD segment be shorter?

I'm not sure, but I've read that delays at drying stage also count as development time, though I think it's generally referred to as the time from FC to end.  But it would make sense that a longer overall roast time could be compensated by a faster FC to end seeing as you are getting extra time elsewhere.

... Aaron

[akiley]

This fairly recent roast of mine gets to dry about when your does but then takes longer for each of the next two phases.

Wow, that looks great Susan.  That's about what I planned to try next.  How do you keep you MET under control like that?  Mine seem to soar way above 500 if I don't have enough fan in the early part of the roast.  But messing with the fan to pull MET down has the side effect of making the ET jump, with the BT following.  Can you get your ROR graph to show in Artisan?  Would be helpful additional info.

[SusanJoM]

I can't answer your question about MET;  I don't actually look at it during the roast.  I only look at BT.

I don't use as much fan as you do.  I set it at 26 on the Variac; give it a burst (maybe 65)  for about 30 seconds at the end of dry, then back to 26 until the end of FC when it goes up to 56 or 65.

And I preheat slowly at 1.5 kPa until TP is around 350;  then up to 2.5 kPa until Charge;  then up again until just before FC starts when I drop it way down (1 kPa?)

But/and/also I change my plan every time I roast before I roast again, so I can't tell you exactly what I was doing for that roast. 


I see the ROR when I'm roasting;  I don't know why it's not in the graph.

[John F]

After seeing the light I use it to roast almonds. 

[John F]

And I preheat slowly at 1.5 kPa until TP is around 350;  then up to 2.5 kPa until Charge;  then up again until just before FC starts when I drop it way down (1 kPa?)

I'm going to use some of this next time.

I think the warm up at 1.5 is a good idea.

I'm going to try riding around 2.8 to first crack then dropping back to 1.5.

Susans graph looks a little long (for me) maybe just a little more heat will cut a bit of time off.

[SusanJoM]

John, remind me:  which configuration are you using?  perf/slow or solid/fast. 
I think you ordered both, but which one are you using to start



 

[John F]

I only asked for perf drum.  I didn't specify a motor speed so I got whatever he gave me.