First Roast!!!

[Black Dog]

My FR+8 arrived today! I tried 'er out this evening. I roasted 3 batches of Columbian Huila Supremo and 2 batches of Bolivia Organic. I was trying for different levels of roast to sample but they all turned out about the same. I was afraid I wouldn't roast long enough and also didn't want to overdo it. I think I've got a Full City roast or maybe Full City + (using the SM reference). I just used the 6 minute setting that the instructions on the FR+8 recommended but they were starting to get dark and oily looking so I advanced to the cooling stage about 45 seconds to 1 minute early. It took them through first crack and well into or maybe just past second crack. The beans actually didn't come out too dark but are kind of a rich dark brown with a very light sheen.
I started roasting about 7:00 this evening and finished up about 10:00 since I had to wait for the roasting chamber to cool between batches (SM was out of stock on the spares). I hope tomorrow morning isn't too soon to brew some up.
I'll let you know how it tastes. I'd love to hear from you folks about your roast times or whether you go to or beyond second crack.
Thanks for y'alls advice on roasters and beans to help me get started and I hope to keep learning more!

 

[stogies&hoagies]

Congrats, now the fun starts.

So, how'd it taste this morning?

 

[Black Dog]

It wasn't easy but I didn't try any this morning. I decided to go ahead and let them rest a bit. I probably won't make the 48 hour mark though! I'm not known for my patience. I'm planning on trying some this evening.

 

[Mad Dawg]

Congrats on your first roasts! :mrgreen: A couple of suggestions:

1. If you're going to roast multiple batches in your FR8+, MAKE SURE you allow the unit to COMPLETELY COOL between roasts! I've heard too many stories of people who've burned out their FR8+s by not allowing them to cool between batches.

2. After you've sampled these beans, try roasting the same beans just to Full City - stop the roast just at the first snap or two of second crack. When you get to the black/oily stage, you've wiped out most of the unique flavors and complexities that distinguish the different varietals of beans, and the darker you go, the more they all taste the same. The darker roasts wind up being dominated by roast flavors (smoky), at the expense of the whole spectrum of varietal flavors (floral, spicy, caramelly, etc.). Some folks like it that way, but most real coffee geeks wind up backing off on their roasts, at least for brewed coffee. Espresso is a whole different animal.

Welcome to Real Coffee!

 

[Black Dog]

I was wondering about the cool down time for the unit. I was thinking that additional roasting chambers would allow me to shorten the interval between batches but wasn't sure if the unit itself needed to cool completely as well. I'll probably get some spare roasting chambers anyway just in case I fat finger one and drop it on the garage floor or if the bottom seal breaks from usage.
I will definitely try backing off on the roast. I have to admit that in the past 10-12 years of my journey through coffe bean land I have gravitated toward the darker, oily beans from the various vendors of roasted coffees. Of course, that was the only way they came so I haven't had the benefit of sampling the same bean at different degrees of roast.
The journey begins anew!

 

[Mad Dawg]

Lots of FR owners do exactly that - have spare roast chambers on hand for those times they do multiple batches. Still, I've heard enough stories about burning out FRs to suggest using caution.

To my tastes, the only good use for the really dark roasts is espresso. Dark roasting decreases the acidity ("brightness") of the coffee, and bright espresso is NOT good. However, dark roasting also destroys the fragile organic molecules that impart complexity and varietal nuance to brewed coffee, which is why I pointed out that all coffees taste pretty much the same if you roast them dark enough. The other wrinkle to that theme is that dark roasting can be used to effectively conceal the use of inferior beans. For me, buying the best beans in the world and roasting them to the point which brings out the best in each individual coffee is what makes home-roasting so appealing. Coffee should NOT be a one-roast-fits-all thing, IMO.