paradise found

well... i tend to get there in the end! I know that I still have a long way to go in this whole home coffee roasting business, but it is encouraging to start seeing (and tasting) some reward for my efforts!




in an attempt to keep the out-laws happy for christmas i've roasted up some papua new guinea kimel plantation A for them, and after speaking to the fine fellows from veneziano coffee in abbotsford, i feel like i'm finally on track with my coffee roasting progress!

so this afternoon i roasted up a couple of batches, increasing my pre-heat temperature to 180C, and dropping my roasting temperature down marginally to 230C

i also decided to manually stop the roast as soon as second crack set in, to allow for the relatively slow cool-down process on the gene cafe, which takes 10min on average, during which time the initial temperature is still quite high for awhile, and the beans are still effectively 'cooking' until the temperature drops

anyway, i'm yet to try the end product, and the proof will be in the pudding, but i've included a few photos which i took from my ace new nokia n95, so lets have a look:






this is my newish gene cafe roaster in action. the roast has finished here as the cool down process has just completed



i'm much happier with this batch than my earlier offerings, as i'm learning to intervene in the roasting process a bit earlier, and to stop it short as soon as second crack sets in, to prevent it from over-roasting.

second crack is has a distinctive sound, like that of aluminum foil being crumpled, but it can be quite faint, so you have to watch out for it. i also keep an eye on colouration and smell, and tend to stop the roast when it smells and looks like it's ready

whereas first crack tends to be a lot noisier, more like popcorn popping!

here's a close up of the gene cafe in action.
















and the photo at the top of the page is a close-up of the actually beans post-roast! very happy

well... my little family and i are off to qld on holiday tomorrow morning for a few weeks of rest and relaxation, so you may not hear from me for awhile, but feel free to keep those emails coming, and i will do my best to answer them

so until we meet again... take care and merry christmas!

ACG and family