Hottop Roast Experiences

[Sam21]

That's too bad- I'd give up on it too.
I just roasted up a 227g batch of Burundi Sogestal Kirimiro. Write-up said it makes a great SO espresso so I snapped it up. No power drop during the drying phase and full power to *just* before first crack, hoping to retain a good amount of brightness and be sweet too with the medium long finish. Well, I misunderestimated first crack and it didn't come for a full 2 minutes after I lowered the power to 50%. I thought I stalled the roast but first crack finally arrived and it was lively enough. I did the stretch as planned- beans have a rough surface but are all very evenly colored. I will let them sit for 5 or 6 days and then make some hopefully tasty shots.

I have found that P5 slows things down quite nicely but have never seen it stall the roast. Leading into first crack, P5 is a great tool to either get a longer stretch for espresso or get a slower temp rise for a nice light roast. Let me know how that Burundi turns out. I have the same bean at City+ resting. I found that it took longer for it to finish drying and get to first crack than some of the other beans I have roasted recently. I finished drying right at 6min and hit first crack up around 10:05 with the roast ending around 12:45. The beans look great. Lots of surface texture like a high grown central.

[Gregr]

Will let you know how it tastes in a few days- I'm looking forward to it. Well duh...
This roast was a departure from my normal pattern and it will be very interesting to see how it plays out in the little cup. Next roast is going to be a Sumatra- a tricky bean in the later stages. I normally get a very quiet first crack and then too soon to second crack. Luckily they almost always taste good no matter the timings. I have a feeling that's due more to the quality of the beans and gentle ramp to first that I use with them. Anyhow- 50% power a minute before first crack [ideally] will be my goal. Slowish ramp to first and then the long finish [ideally]. Suggestions welcome.

[Sam21]

Decided to try a cup of the Burundi today. Brewed it in my Kalita 155. 22g/360ml, 2:30 pour, done brewing by 2:45. This is one incredibly sweet cup. The acidity is very much malic in nature with full on apple-spice notes tying into a really deep deep sweetness. The finish is very clean and almost feels like it cuts short leaving a hint of spice in the mouth. I completely forgot to cull out this batch pre-roast, so I am hopeful I don't have any potato cups! This is my first Burundi coffee and definitely is giving me a good first impression. This is at 3 days old.

*edit* Just went and reread the SM description and am surprised at how easy this coffee was to pick apart. At this roast level, I am not getting much of the caramel sweetness, but rather am getting a very fruity cup. I've never had an Asian pear before, but I definitely can taste the pear beneath the apple/apple-cider as the cup cools. I typically taste things a bit different then the cupping scores, but this coffee really worked well at this roast level. I'll have to try pushing for a darker City+ or Full City on the next roast!

[rgrosz78]

You are correct- the built-in temp sensor is not reflected in that profile. From what I've read and experienced with the new probes the built-in sensor is neither an ET or BT sensor but a hybrid of both- that's why they look weird to you.

It sounds like you added two thermocouples to your HotTop. Can you share any links with discussions of the details?

[el grano viejo]

An anecdote relative to the complexity of the entire operation of producing a cup of coffee.

The recent Ethiopia Chelelektu Yirga Cheffe & Kenya Nyeri Tegu offerings are among the best ever, with the latter pleasing me no end. By contrast the Yirg despite its excellence exhibited a failing of Yirgs in general, a kind of top-end imbalance.

The people who sometimes enjoy coffee from me all favored the Yirg. They do not use vac pots.

By coincidence, pour-over preparation began here. A brand new way to produce a fine cup, although with one exception the vac pot result held an edge.

You can probably guess the exception was the Yirg. It may be uncertain how many clues are needed in a given situation before the brain decides to figure out what's going on, but I had crossed my threshold. The solution was simple -- alter the roast to improve the vac pot result. Still keeping it simple did nothing more than extend it about 20-30 seconds further into the C/FC divide, dumping about midway between them.

A brilliantly balanced brew from the vac pot -- top end hiss completely sorted out & harmonized. Not yet tried the pour-over, it will be interesting when it happens.
e-g-v

[Gregr]

Thermocouple conversations-- there are quite a few and I think I read them all, at least all I could find. I don't have them bookmarked anymore so will do some searching................... :
This one is a great overview with tons of info:

http://www.home-barista.com/home-roasti ... 18278.html

There are many more but they're easy to find on homebarrista.com, coffeegeek and here too I'm sure. And many ways to accomplish the task. I ended up drilling thru the back wall to install a bean probe and an environmental probe. Once I had all the ducks in a row it was easier than I expected. Ducks being cobalt drill bits, probes, datalogger, a usb cable to go from datalogger to pc and JBWeld to hold the probes in place.

[Gregr]

http://www.home-barista.com/home-roasti ... 45-50.html

The third photo of that page shows where I drilled the tiny holes for the probes (picture with pencil drawn marks). I used a 1/16" bit and poked the probes out into the drum about 3/4". Added JBWeld to the two holes, let it sit for a day and it's all been working very well ever since.

[rgrosz78]

http://www.home-barista.com/home-roasting/installing-et-and-bt-probes-in-hottop-t15145-50.html

The third photo of that page shows where I drilled the tiny holes for the probes (picture with pencil drawn marks). I used a 1/16" bit and poked the probes out into the drum about 3/4". Added JBWeld to the two holes, let it sit for a day and it's all been working very well ever since.

Greg, thank you SO much for that link, the discussion is very informative. I have a much better idea of what to do now.

[Sam21]

http://www.home-barista.com/home-roasting/installing-et-and-bt-probes-in-hottop-t15145-50.html

The third photo of that page shows where I drilled the tiny holes for the probes (picture with pencil drawn marks). I used a 1/16" bit and poked the probes out into the drum about 3/4". Added JBWeld to the two holes, let it sit for a day and it's all been working very well ever since.

Greg, thank you SO much for that link, the discussion is very informative. I have a much better idea of what to do now.

As someone else who has added probes, it's a nice additional data point. That said, your senses are so important to the roasting process. I'm still working on my sense of smell during phases of the roast. That said, adding probes does open the door to a different way of looking at the roast. In the end, keep it simple and continue putting emphasis on your senses. Good luck with your modification.

[Gregr]

Happy to help. I'm glad I added those thermocouples. It's helping me learn what's happening during the roast and helping me make more timely and accurate adjustments. Plus I no longer fear taking the roaster apart.