different smell?

[Bill]

Hi,

I'm new to the group and to home roasting in general. I've done about
7lbs total in a popcorn popper, but I can't seem to get the roasted
beans to smell like coffee. I'm using good beans and I've gotten them
from different sources, so I am inclined to think it's something in
what I am doing. It tastes great, behaves like espresso, etc., but it
smells much different from "that coffee smell" (more like chocolate).
Has anyone else noticed this in home roasting? I've tried all roasts
from light to dark. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Bill

[Timothy Copple]

Bill wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm new to the group and to home roasting in general.

Hi Bill,

Welcome!

> I've done about
> 7lbs total in a popcorn popper,

I hope you don't mean you did 7 lbs. all at one time! (That would be a
trick!)

> but I can't seem to get the roasted
> beans to smell like coffee. I'm using good beans and I've gotten them
> from different sources, so I am inclined to think it's something in
> what I am doing. It tastes great, behaves like espresso, etc., but it
> smells much different from "that coffee smell" (more like chocolate).

Hum, are you sure you have coffee beans and not cocoa beans? I know
there is home roasting of cocoa. I'm sure you know the difference,
though! ;-)

I do primarily roast in a pop corn popper as well. Here are some
questions to answer that might help evaluate what the problem is.

What type of popper do you have?
What are the volts coming out of your outlet?
How much coffee beans are you roasting at a time?
Are you using an extension cord?
How long does it takes the beans to roast in the popper?

That should do for a start.

Also, be aware, that some types of coffee do have a more chocolate note
to their taste, and in some that comes out in the smell. Many
Brazilians, Kona, and some Central Americans can be like that. If you
still get chocolate smell in, say, an Ethiopian Horse, then something
may be wrong.

Timothy

[Bill]

Hi Timothy,

Thanks for your help. I'm using a Toastmaster, 110 volts, yes on the
extension cord. I roast about a 1/4-1/3 cup at a time (as much as I
can while allowing the beans to move freely in the chamber). I have
been doing African coffees mostly; Kenyan is what I have now. It takes
about 6-7 minutes for the first batch, then 4 minutes for subsequent
batches (I like it on the light side, more oil). Any thoughts?

Thanks again,
Bill

[Timothy Copple]

Well, I would stick to about 1/4-1/2 cup of beans. Much more than that
and it can heat up in there too fast due to lack of air flow with more
beans. 1/2 cup is standard, about 2.5 oz.

Your time is not necessarily too long, but it is possible that it may
not be getting enough energy if that only will get you to a light roast.
Can you take it to a dark roast, say Vienna to French roast and if so,
how long does that take?

It is possible if the power isn't high enough that you will end up
getting a baked bean flavor. As a test, you might plug it in without the
extension cord and see how that does. It will go faster, but see how
long it will take to get to second crack, a full city roast with and
without the extension cord. The extension cord drops the voltage and it
doesn't sound like you are starting out with a high one to begin with.

I have an extension cord on my Pumper with a can chimney in place of the
plastic hood to extend the roasting time, and I get to second crack
around 5:30 to 6:00 minutes.

The only other thing I noticed is it sounds like you are roasting in the
popper without waiting for it to cool down from a previous batch.
Usually it is recommended to wait at least 30 minutes between roast. I
feel the inside metal to see if it is still hot or not.

If you end up with four minutes roast, the beans don't get fully
roasted. They will appear good looking on the outside, but inside they
are not fully cooked because it went too fast. This is especially true
if you are just getting a light roast which need a good amount of time
from beginning to first crack to develop the flavors.

So I would say the likelihood is that the flavor is coming either from
under cooking the beans or over cooking them and never getting to a high
enough internal temperature.

You might experiment with that to see which is the problem.

Timothy

[Bill]

Timothy,

Thanks for your reply. That seems to make sense. How did you do your
can chimney? It sounds like that might be a good solution for me too.
Hopefully that will slow it down by a minute or two.

Bill

[Timothy Copple]

Well, I just tried different cans in it till I found one that fit just
right into where the plastic hood goes, so that it rest on the ridge and
doesn't slide all the way in. I think it was a can of kidney beans that
did it for me.

Then I cut both ends open with a can opener, cleaned it out and took the
label off. Then just stick it on and there you have it! It doesn't trap
the heat as much as the hood so it doesn't get as hot in there. Of
course, if you have been roasting in the kitchen this will mean you need
to take it outside, since now the chaff will not just shoot down into a
bowl but straight up into the air and all over the place. So now I roast
outside.

Some people roast in their garages too. With this, however, you may need
to sweep up the chaff afterwards.

Timothy

[Bill]

Timothy,

Just to try the extremes, I am now roasting with no lid or smoke-stack
at all. It slows the process down a bit, but I don't know if it's
enough. I thought it would make more of a difference, but I've
probably added a minute to the total. You're right, though--chaff all
over the place! Thanks again for your comments and help.

Bill