Coffee Roasting Log - User's Guide
From Avacuppa Wiki
Some of the entries are self-explanatory. Thus, I will skip some of the entries.
Contents |
[edit] Planning The Roast
[edit] Weight In
The maximum weight of the beans that can be roasted is determined by the roaster you are using. Consult the manual for the roaster.
[edit] Roast Level (Target)
This is where you should try to get input from coffee experts on what is the ideal roast level for the coffee bean you will be roasting. The store where you have obtained the raw green beans could give you suggestions. Also, the web (with the help of search engines like Google) is a goldmine of information.
The possible values are:
- City
- City+
- Full City
- Full City+
- Viennese
- French
- Spanish
- Italian
[edit] Pre-heat Instructions
For some roasters it is recommended to pre-heat before loading the green beans.
For Gene Cafe, set the temperature to your intended starting temperature (say 180C) then set the time to 5 minutes. Press Start then wait until it beeps, then use an oven miff to remove the roasting chamber and load the beans.
Note that the roasting chamber must be in the roaster during pre-heating.
Personally, I do not pre-heat when using Gene Cafe. In some other roasters (especially those with roasting chamber made of cast iron) pre-heating is a must. In Gene Cafe, however, because of the roasting chamber material used pre-heating seems to result in more tippings.
[edit] General Comments
This is the catch all entry. Thus, you enter any details that you may deemed useful. Like ambient temperature, humidity, roaster being used.
[edit] Temperature - Target (Celsius)
No need to fill all the boxes (i.e., every 0.5 minute). It is recommended to fill only the time slot when you actually have to perform an action. For the analog model of Gene Cafe roaster, that means you turn the temperature knob to the target temperature.
A recommended starting profile for Gene Cafe are:
- 150 degree Celsius @ 0.0 min (i.e., start)
- 250 degree Celsius @ 5.0 min
- 240 degree Celsius @ 12.0 min
- 238 degree Celsius @ 2 minutes after start of First Crack (or end of First Crack)
I have applied this roast profile to this sample roast log.
[edit] Let's Get Cracking (let the game begin)
[edit] Temperature - Target (Celsius)
You need to fill all the boxes (i.e., every 0.5 minute). A stopwatch will be handy at this stage. For Gene cafe, record the actual temperature. It alternately displays the actual and target temperature, the actual temperature is the display with dots in between the numbers.
[edit] Comment
Here you fill the box corresponding to the time when a roast significant event had occurred such as:
- Bean color had changed to Yellow - this means the bean moisture is rising to the surface of the beans
- Bean color had changed to Cinnamon Brown - the caramelisation of sugar and Maillard reaction is taking place. The transition from yellow to cinnamon brown should take about 2 minutes, thus, the actual gap can tell you if your roast is going too fast or too slow.
- Bean color had changed to Brown - First Crack is imminent (in a minute or 2). The transition from cinnamon brown to brown should take about 2 minutes, thus, the actual gap can tell you if your roast is going too fast or too slow.
- First Crack
- The appearance of smoke
- Second Crack
- Appearance of oil on the bean surface
[edit] Reflection (After The Roast)
[edit] Weight Out/Percent Loss
This is the weight of the beans after the roast. Calculate the Percent Loss by using the formula:
Percent Loss = (Weight In - Weight Out) / Weight In * 100
For example, if the green bean you used before roasting weighs 225 grams and the roasted beans weighs 190 grams.
Percent Loss = (200-162) / 200 * 100 = 19%
As a guide, the percent loss usually hovers around 16 to 20 percent (more loss for darker roast and less loss for lighter roast).
[edit] General Comments
As in the roast planning stage, this is the catch all entry.
Cupping notes summary could be included here. The cupping notes details does deserve a separate page. The day and hours of when cupping/brewing was done relative to when the bean was roasted should be noted down along with your cupping/tasting notes.
