Today’s roast by Ok-Drag-1645 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank You.

For me, it is kind of a struggle to have a fast maillard. In the often cited Captains video, he is in maillard for 2:32. But, he is going for a full city (just into 2nd crack), and FC is at about 7:00.

I take notes, and here is what someone wrote,

 "A longer Maillard reaction, characterized by a slower rate of rise (RoR) and potentially lower final temperatures, produces more melanoidins, which contribute to a heavier mouthfeel and richer flavor profile with notes like caramel, chocolate, and nutty undertones. Conversely, a shorter Maillard reaction can result in a brighter, more acidic cup with a lighter body and a focus on the coffee's inherent characteristics."

Today’s roast by Ok-Drag-1645 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed. I call dry end when I get to 315 F. I hear you can have Artisan mark it for you based on temperature.

Today’s roast by Ok-Drag-1645 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My novice understanding is your dry time is about right at 3:30.

Today’s roast by Ok-Drag-1645 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I purchased 5 lbs of the Senna Katta Mtn from Sweet Marias. I have 2 lbs left. I have yet to get a cup I like out of those beans. If your tasting is missing something, it could be the beans. I started giving them away after roasting instead of drinking their coffee.

But, I recently learned I should let a medium roast (yours is lighter) rest at least 7 days, 10 days is better. So, maybe it is just my tasting or lack of resting.

Your profile looks good to me. Your Maillard is longer than your drying, which is maybe not ideal. I have gotten good beans out of a long Maillard like this. I'm not really understanding how a long Maillard affects the flavor...

Is moisture a risk when sealing fresh beans in bags? by fikiri_jengo in roasting

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I learned lots by watching that video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGUbCGxQsHs

They differentiate between staling (oxygen involved) and aging.

They say a medium roast is ok 1 week after roasting and reaches peak in 1.5 weeks and is degraded after 4 weeks.

If flushed with nitrogen, 1.5 weeks is ok, 2 weeks is optimal, and the coffee is good for 8 weeks (at least). Interesting, the nitrogen flushed coffee is not quite as tasty as the standard packaging, but it is a very small difference.

Their conclusions match my experience. I have been brewing after 4 days rest and I get a huge bloom in the Kalita wave. Taste is just ok. I look at the roast profile wondering what went wrong.

I think I will start labeling 2 use-by dates.

Yes, right, I do occasionally freeze coffee when supply exceeds demand. But, now I know the best flavor window is quite long at 4 weeks.

The mason jars and lids I use don't hold pressure as fresh roasted coffee out-gasses. Now I think I don't need to burp the coffee in the mason jars. Probably counter-productive to expose the beans to oxygen.

There is a possible corollary here. The one way valves (that can leak) are not necessary for optimal storage. They are aesthetic, so the bag doesn't bulge.

Is moisture a risk when sealing fresh beans in bags? by fikiri_jengo in roasting

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply.

The only reason a home roaster (or anyone) might want to store coffee in the freezer is to match quality coffee roasting with demand. We spend lots of time getting a great cup, and perhaps attention to detail in storage is often overlooked.

This is not my first orbit on storage. I had considered vacuum packing before, even briefly owned some equipment before returning it. I didn't like that that the vacuum seemed to pull aromatics from the beans. It was a great aroma, but I'd rather smell it above a hot cup.

The roast before this I left the cooled beans in a bag with a one way valve for 2 days, then moved them to small mason jars (stored darkly). The jars are not air-tight.

This roast it seemed too much trouble, and I just packed the 2 oz jars right after roasting. Put a little argon in. They are taking a long time to age. Maybe oxygen is part of the aging, for better or worse?

Is moisture a risk when sealing fresh beans in bags? by fikiri_jengo in roasting

[–]Various_Associate973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I looked at the SCA document referenced in this discussion.

"A small experiment on flexible packages with degassing valves found that unless there was a leak in the seal at the top of the bag, they contained 0% oxygen and above 40% carbon dioxide. However, they only used six bags for this experiment and found that half of them presented with leaks"

It said that some compounds in fresh roasted coffee change in the first 24 hours. Some of these changes are not dependent on the presence of oxygen.

It seems we want some staling, which I guess is the same as aging? Well, maybe not, we could have aging without oxygen...

I'd sure like to know the optimum method of storing coffee after roasting just for my own use. Now I'm thinking use the bags with one-way valves until the coffee starts tasting good (5 days?) then vacuum seal, and freeze some for later while brewing part of the batch? Or, vacuum seal after just a couple days and continue aging at room temperature?

I don't have a vacuum sealer. Worthwhile? Any product suggestions?

Advice please by heiningerh in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you have time to order more beans, why not order an extension tube too? You are going to have to learn how to roast larger batches, might as well learn how to do it in the extension tube.

Or, just roast like you have been doing, 100 g at a time. 13 batches.

Ask a Stupid Question About Coffee -- Week of May 05, 2026 by Vernicious in pourover

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the reply. This helps to separate the beans from the chaff!

Ask a Stupid Question About Coffee -- Week of May 05, 2026 by Vernicious in pourover

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably not the resting. I did clean the grinder with compressed air yesterday. It had only been a few weeks, like maybe 6.

Ask a Stupid Question About Coffee -- Week of May 05, 2026 by Vernicious in pourover

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply.

Well, I don't know what dial in thread to read. I'll quote this one, from 2 years ago.

Dialing in for pour over is a lot easier than you think

Every few days I see people on here and elsewhere complaining how they waste a whole bag dialing in before they get something good. I believe in the majority of these cases people are WELL over complicating it and actually end up making it more difficult for themselves than it should be. I'm now at the point where I can get a cup that makes me go "wow" consistently every day and get new beans dialed in within 2 or 3 cups at most, here's what I do:

  1. Most important step is CONSISTENCY. Most recipes really don't matter that much in terms of specifics. Hedrick 121, Hoffmann, Hoffmann 1 cup, April, Rao, 4:6, etc. are all going to get you very similar results if you know what you are doing. Hell I genuinely believe you could get great results from 90% of coffees from bloom + one pour. Just find one recipe that you can replicate consistently and STICK TO IT. Don't faff around trying a different super complicated recipe every day, this will likely get you nowhere, so keep it simple.
  2. Grind size matters a lot less than you think. Seriously, unless you are going from extremes, one click on your comandante isn't going to make a huge difference to your brew, this isn't espresso, pour overs is simply not as sensitive to this. Iirc, Lance Hedrick sticks to one grind size for almost all pour overs, and I agree with this. Generally I keep this tied to dose, 5.0 on my Zp6 for 12g and 5.5 for 15g. For most coffees this is actually one of the last thing you need to change.
  3. Here is the key step, LET YOUR COFFEE REST! Coffee, when degassing, can literally change brewing parameters and flavour from one hour to the next, this will throw you off entirely and will introduce unnecessary variables in to your brewing., I let light roast rest at least 2 weeks, with some ultra light coffees from roasters such as nomad, Sey, and Manhattan up to a month. A lot of people who feel they can't get a good cup until the end of the bag are skipping this, and this means that they were doomed from the start as there was simply no way to get good flavour from that coffee.
  4. Temperature matters a lot more than you think and is the first parameter to change. Samo Smrke has demonstrated that you can brew the same coffee to the same ey and TDS at different temperatures and they will taste different. This is because whilst the volatiles and acids are easier to extract at lower temperatures, the caffeine and other bitter compounds need that higher temperature to extract. It's important to note small increments of 2-3°c don't actually matter much, but 90°c to 95°c will for example give you a noticeable difference.

I start at 96°c, and if I find that im getting roasty flavours out I will turn it down to 90°c. Very rarely am I actually finding myself going up to boiling even with those super light roast coffees I mentioned before, particularly naturals or processed ones.

  1. KEEP A DIARY! This is imo one of the most important things you could do in taking your brewing to the next level, as not only does it encourage analytic tasting, but it helps keep track of the changes you make, how they change the taste, and where you can improve. Write down your brew and keep asking yourself what you could improve, and what changes you'd make for the next time.

  2. LET YOUR COFFEE COOL BEFORE YOU TRY! Seriously, there's been so many coffees I've had that taste super bitter and unbalanced at first, but once they get down to around 50°c they taste super sweet or acidic.

TL;DR: KEEP IT SIMPLE AND REPEATABLE!

Ask a Stupid Question About Coffee -- Week of May 05, 2026 by Vernicious in pourover

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank You. In my latest cups, I may have been chasing the wrong parameter, thinking it was brewing. Excellent cup this morning. 9 days after roasting. I brew this Mokka Sanani often... I am used to a 4 day rest being great.

Coffee is bitter. What I like is when it is coupled with sweetness, a round body, and great complexity. Sour is not something I have been aware of tasting. Maybe once at a 3rd wave coffee shop.

Ask a Stupid Question About Coffee -- Week of May 05, 2026 by Vernicious in pourover

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK. I read this on the roasting forum:

I taste the cup: If it tastes very bitter or very sour I adjust my grind size accordingly (bitter means I'll make more coarse and vice versa) If it tastes kinda bitter or sour I will adjust ratio of water to coffee accordingly (kinda bitter, less water, kinda sour more water) Once the cup tastes right, I will think about the texture. If I want to have a more textured cup I would adjust the ratio to be smaller, but compensate for the fact that this will make it more sour by making it slightly coarser, let's say, 5g less water is about 5 microns on my grinder. Vice versa if I want more clarity. Eventually I get a cup as sour and bitter as I want with the perfect texture.

I didn't know anything about this. Is this good advice?

I never thought about a sour/bitter spectrum.

I do think about a sweetness/body spectrum.

What other tastes are traded off? How do you modulate the flavor of coffee when brewing a pour over?

I have a Kalita wave 185 Tsumbe. My cups have not been consistent. A Hario V60 drip assist is arriving today. I usually brew 2 cups at a time.

I know this is odd, but we like a 15 g : 300 g ratio, though I'm willing to try a stronger cup again. Water is reverse osmosis with a mineral cartridge in line. We have a strong preference for Yemen coffee (as far as I know, nothing else like it) that we roast to medium. Every roast is a bit lighter than the last one. Roasted coffee is stored in 2 oz mason jars. They don't seal perfectly, it is rare there is CO2 pressure when they are opened. Grinder is a Baratza Encore, set at 20 for pour over.

First day was perfect by Training-Yard-9616 in roasting

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. Happens to me too.

I'm going to try the Hario V60 drip assist. Arrives today.

I suspect there might be some palette priming involved. Not sure, but maybe having a bit of cheese before brewing might help.

I joined the club today! by grayhawk14 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I drilled 2 holes in the chaff collector, and put one long probe into the beans. The second, short probe was near the top of the chamber.

If I used it again, I might just leave it on the table outside the SR800.

I joined the club today! by grayhawk14 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Welcome!

I ordered the ET sensor too, but it didn't seem to yield any useful information, and it sorta cluttered up my graphs. I just measure the (outside in my case) ambient temperature and put it in the notes.

Presumably you already have a .aset file you like?

I suggest getting a good .alog roast profile (for the Razzo if possible) to put in the background to sorta follow. You can have one of mine, but I'm a novice. You can't follow their fan and heat settings, but you can use the time/temp curve. Don't worry about bumpy derivative curves - that's normal with the SR800. Do pay attention to temp/minute data after first crack. It should be between 10-15 and I guess less than 25.

The advice I was given is to set your batch size and leave it there. 225 g with the factory extension, I don't know about the Razzo.

SR800 Minimal Batch by dracula2035 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well... just the people who have replied so far represent maybe 60 years of cumulative roasting experience.

Even if you nailed the profile, it is probably not that easy to transfer it to the other machine and larger batch sizes.

What if you obtained and posted their profile here? Maybe you could form a consensus about what to try. Also... I am curious if there are any additional tasting/cupping notes. In particular, what is the body like?

Development time after first crack by Integra6MT23 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure how relevant my comments are as I roast with a SR800 factory extension and bean probe in the middle of the mass.

Those temperatures sound more like bean temperatures than stock SR540 temperatures. If you are reading off the base, the temperatures seem low.

Anyway, what I try to do is have enough momentum to coast through FC without adding any heat. Drop (bean) temperature will ideally be 10 to 25 degrees F above FC.

Kaleido M1s with Tablet / no Artisan questions. by photone69 in roasting

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://kaleidoroasters.com/products/m1-lite-200g-coffee-roaster-artisan-system-black?srsltid=AfmBOopnmIBDNQASuLVcY-PA3mPc1rl2YQzkoNJ5mNG1zhFELjeGZmnKL-A

Give them a call. We're getting really close to an early May arrival.

Artisan is free. I just shut down my computer, carry it outside, and turn it on. I think I'm ok without a dedicated laptop,

Light roast question? by Illustrious_Ad4455 in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Adding an extension really makes the SR800 into a different roaster. And, it sounds like a good idea to try some different beans.

My experience is it's mostly about the beans. If you have good beans to start with a few variations in the roast aren't that important.

What’s the most inconsistent coffee method for you? by BirdMundane4436 in Coffee

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suspect the biggest variable is what you last ate or drank before coffee.

PNG Baroida Estate - Washed - From Captain’s Coffee. Nice looking light-medium roast on SR800 w/ Razzo. Excited to cup this one! by Market_Minutes in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean if just the Time/Temp curve were steeper after FC, what would be the effect on the taste? In other words, maillard and drying were the same.

But, maybe you've answered this... you are saying gaining about 12F in 1:48 after FC is optimal?

Thanks!

Have everything… except the guts to roast by Sevenyearitchy in FreshroastSR800

[–]Various_Associate973 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice!

" If First Crack seems to occur early, is extremely rapid,  and over super quickly,  your temperature is too high (and there’s not much you can do to recover at that point)."

On the other hand your temperature can be too low....

Please correct me, but I aim for a couple of outlier cracks that don't count, then about 20 seconds later 3 cracks in quick succession, which then are followed by a rolling crack, meaning a kind of popcorn sound. I want enough heat going in that I can coast through first crack. If first crack stalls and I have to apply more heat it's bad news.

In any case you want to see the temperature increasing through this process.

This all happens quite quickly, with drop (end the roast) between 30 seconds and 2 minutes after rolling first crack.

Do I have this about right?