Very light roasts (split from "I need a new coffee")

[qajariaq]

Originally Posted by mad dawg

I'm curious, Aaron. How light are we talking here? How long do you rest your light roasts? I've done some experimenting with lighter roasts (City to City+), and not found a way to make myself like them with most of the beans I roast. Sure, that may be because I gravitate towards coffees that shine at Full City, but I've tried the Konas and Kauais, and I've tried lighter roasts on some of the beans I have now (especially the Idido), and I just haven't found the key yet. What do you think is the key to your success?

I tend to gravitate towards roasts that are between first crack and city. I'll say that not all beans work well with such a light roast, but I rarely have to exceed city+ to full city to make a bean palatable to me, and to me roasting darker starts to taste one-dimensional. I seem to prefer the flavors and brightness associated the very light roasts. I don't dislike darker roast per se, just very dark roast.

I typically let them rest anywhere from 12 hours to 2 weeks, depending on how much I roasted during my last roast session.

I use an aeropress almost exclusively; I will say that the very light roasts need a loooooong rest period if being brewed with a french press, otherwise they taste very "green" and maybe a bit sour (I don't find this to be the case with the aeropress, though). I roast with a popcorn popper, indoors (set up to vent smoke and chafe directly out a window) which makes roast times very short.

Over the past few months I've been roasting Nicaragua Pacamara Peaberry. Earlier this week when I roasted I was running about 3 min, 20 sec. (first crack starts at about 2 min, 45 sec., and 4 minutes is full city or so, 5 min is charcoal!). This is probably as light as I've roasted these beans yet, and they are bright and "lively" although I would suspect that many would find the brightness too much. Has a very citrus-y quality that I find strange yet delightful.

Or maybe I'm just off my rocker... then again, I really like candela wrappers so maybe I just like the grassy/green flavors?