How do you pick your profile and then adjust after? Because I'm roasting for myself primarily, I'm not able to roast so many variations to do blind cupping and have enough data to make good conclusions.
Some of my current working hypothesis:
Denser beans can benefit from a faster profile if you like aroma and acidity (e.g. Roast v5)
Low density and processed beans (e.g. Anaerobic, Decaf) benefit from a slow roast like Firestarter
Longer roasts/milliard phase gives more sweetness and even color, but sacrifices aroma and acidity potential
There is not a lot of benefit using too many roasting profiles (at least for starting), maybe one fast, medium and slow. Focus more on overall roast level and taste and adjust after
What are your findings and approach? After your first roast, Is modifying a profile to accommodate for curve smoothing and crashes/flicks worth it, or do you select a new profile and try from there? Thanks!
So many questions; first and foremost, what style of coffee do you enjoy drinking? Is origin character/ Acidity important to you? or do you prefer darker roasts/drink a lot of milk based espresso?
Great question, though I don’t have a great answer.
When I first got my roaster, it had a subtle fault that messed with the temperature reading. Generally, roasts went too fast and were unpredictable. The problem is now sorted.
Along the way, I sought out profiles that were more reliable. I didn’t realize that the machine was faulty. I just figured that it was more art than science. In the end, I found Ninja Turtle to give the least flaky results.
I stuck with Ninja Turtle after getting the problem solved, and it’s been rock solid. No matter the coffee I throw at it, the results have been consistent and taste great. I have to wonder if my struggles to find a good profile with an inconsistent machine ended up discovering a great profile with a proper machine.
All that said, I just received a cupping kit. I’m now looking for two other profiles to compare with Ninja Turtle. I want to learn what results I get when going faster or slower over different phases. It should be a fun journey!
beantacos wrote: ↑Thu 17 Aug, 2023 9:33 pm
Usually, I prefer bright and juicy coffees
Generally if I'm aiming for bright, juicy fruit forward flavours better for filter brewing, there are a couple of things id look out for.
I've found faster roasts usually yield better results (6-8mins): relatively quick maillard phase (30-35%) while maintaining a pretty steadily declining ROR through first crack. It can be tempting to ease off a little at FC(power or fan speed), but i've found that's when crashes/baked flavours usually start creeping in. I usually aim for about 17-22.5% development, depending on processing, and a weight loss of around 12.5-13%
