grumpybarista Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2007 Posts: 217 Location: Detroit Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: LP Pub1 Grinder: Mazzer Mini w/ doser, NS... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: French Press, aeropress Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Mon May 21, 2012, 6:33am Subject: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
I was chatting on the phone with my girlfriend and absent-mindedly cut the roast a bit short -- I thought my 2nd crack had begun (it was just 1st crack as it turns out; I even recall thinking the sounds seemed like 1C instead of the more subtle 2C, but I still started the cool down. Like I said, I was distracted).
I tried it anyway since it looked pretty light but usable, but it was slightly green/grassy and definitely lacked body (this was on 4 days of rest), and fairly sour. So my question is whether there is any salvage to this. Or do I just grind it up and toss it in the garden?
Posted Mon May 21, 2012, 6:57am Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Nah - roast it again, keep it from going too far into 2C, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results.
Will it be perfect? Nope.
Will it be better than bagged pre-roasted or pre-ground coffee? You betcha.
Your flavor notes absolutely nail severely underdeveloped coffee.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Absolutely! I reroasted several batches of underroasted beans with a "what do I have to lose" attitude, and was very pleasantly surprised that the results were very drinkable.
grumpybarista Senior Member Joined: 19 Feb 2007 Posts: 217 Location: Detroit Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: LP Pub1 Grinder: Mazzer Mini w/ doser, NS... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: French Press, aeropress Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Mon May 21, 2012, 8:00am Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Excellent! I'll give it a try tonight, then. Worst case, I'll give it to my parents, whom I still can't shake from buying Folgers. After 5 years of home roasting. (hmm, maybe that speaks to my own skills, or lack of.....).
Dooglas Senior Member Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 686 Location: Portland, OR Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar HX, La Pavoni lever Grinder: Ascaso, Baratza Drip: Bonavita, Bodum press Roaster: GeneCafe, Behmor
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 10:45am Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Indeed, what do you have to lose? An the other hand, I am somewhat puzzled by all this "pleasantly surprised", "very drinkable", "good results" input. That is certainly not how I would describe my couple of results with "re-roasting". I can't help but think that a very low bar is being applied to conclude that cooling partially roasted coffee to room temperature and then re-roasting it later yields "good results".
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 12:45pm Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Dooglas Said:
Indeed, what do you have to lose? An the other hand, I am somewhat puzzled by all this "pleasantly surprised", "very drinkable", "good results" input. That is certainly not how I would describe my couple of results with "re-roasting". I can't help but think that a very low bar is being applied to conclude that cooling partially roasted coffee to room temperature and then re-roasting it later yields "good results".
I expected very mediocre results but found that the result was fine. I don't think I could have told that they were reroasted from the taste. You might have a more sensitive pallate than mine, but I'd say don't knock it till you've tried it (though, if you're a better roaster than me, you may never have to try it!)
Yes, as I said - I have given it a try a couple of times and was not pleased with the result. I certainly had no trouble telling it from my normal roasts. As I do watch color develop as well as listen for crack when roasting, substantial under roast is not a common event unless I have an equipment failure of course, but it does happen. Given all the trouble most of us go to in refining profiles, monitoring temperature, cupping various roasts - it would actually be pretty discouraging if none of that made any discernable difference in our results.
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 7:27pm Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Dooglas Said:
Yes, as I said - I have given it a try a couple of times and was not pleased with the result. I certainly had no trouble telling it from my normal roasts. As I do watch color develop as well as listen for crack when roasting, substantial under roast is not a common event unless I have an equipment failure of course, but it does happen. Given all the trouble most of us go to in refining profiles, monitoring temperature, cupping various roasts - it would actually be pretty discouraging if none of that made any discernable difference in our results.
Sorry, I missed the "I have given it a try... " part.
You may have a more discerning palette than me (though I do think I'm fairly discerning). I'm not saying one will get their best roast re-roasting, but I did feel that the results that I got were reasonable, not clearly flawed (and better than the underroasted version).
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,475 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 9:17pm Subject: Re: Uh oh, I under-roasted. Now what?
Interestingly, a few years ago I purchased some coffee (through a friend here on CG who will remain nameless) from a vendor (who will ALSO remain nameless.) The vendor's roasting method, for at least SOME of his coffees was to RE-Roast them. In other words, twice roasted coffee. I purchased one such blend, an espresso blend. It was pretty much un-drinkable, and DID end up in my garden.
However, given the rising cost of green, not to mention roasted, given "grumpy's" circumstances, I'd probably re-roast it, unless it appeared to be at least in city roast condition. I would toss all the ultra quakers out, and give it another few days. I say this because, as I've explained previously on this here fine web site, the Behmor (I was a beta tester) churns out VERY tasty city+ roasts, most which seem to take a bit longer to mature than did my Stir Crazy/Convection combo.
Grumpy sir, maybe keep half the beans stored in a one way valved bag, and re-roast the other 1/2. They obviously won't taste the same, but you'll probably like one better than the other. I happen to like a lighter roast, especially for pour-over and vac pot. And, it is not uncommon in many countries, such Yemen and other parts of Africa to pull roast during the 1st crack, then brewed almost as tea.
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