Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 1:54pm Subject: Question of semantic wrt to second crack
OK,
Similar to the other question on first crack.... Say, one orders some coffee from Sweet Maria's that is recommended to be full city. That is stopping at beginning of second crack. Well, I hear one crack, then 10-15 seconds before the next and maybe another 15 before it is getting pretty regular. When would you stop in this scenario?
Joel_B Senior Member Joined: 9 Oct 2007 Posts: 1,823 Location: Pacific NW Expertise: I love coffee
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Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 2:08pm Subject: Re: Question of semantic wrt to second crack
Great question, but it's hard to be definitive. This will greatly depend on the bean, the roaster, and the general profile being used. I would say in general that's a good time and probably a little before that point. The roast will continue to coast for a little while during the cooling process so you need to forward think it. Some beans will lead into second more "gracefully" than others (for lack of better term). I know with east african coffees, I have a real hard time with full city; they just want to jump right into 2nd crack. So, bottom line, this falls under YMMV lol
Posted Wed Oct 10, 2012, 9:57pm Subject: Re: Question of semantic wrt to second crack
For Full City, stop just before or at the first hint of second crack. Full City+ you can let a few more pops into second crack. Second crack marks the beginning of a darker roast; spicy and pungent.
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 4:56pm Subject: Re: Question of semantic wrt to second crack
I'm roasting on a Diedrich IR 2.5 these days. I'm using pretty much the standard Diedrich recommended profile currently. I drop at 325-400 deg depending on batch size. I get a nadir of 180-190 at 1:20. First crack usually about 9-11 min. Second 13-15 min.
I've been pretty happy with my results roasting to what I have considered Full City (the first one or two cracks of second crack). This usually occurrs about 400-402 degrees for me. I just roasted my last batch a little more. Prob 30 seconds into the second crack (409 deg). I haven't tasted yet. But, I'm curious to see what differences I note.
Posted Sat Oct 13, 2012, 2:50am Subject: Re: Question of semantic wrt to second crack
Things vary for different coffee's, but ... First crack sounds like popcorn slowly popping. 2nd crack sounds more like rice krispies cereal and is quieter than first crack. There is often some smoke before both first and second crack starts. The surface of the beans become smoother before 2nd crack. Take a look at some of the pics of beans roasted to different levels on S.M.'s If you monitor the temperature on your roaster you can find the approximate temperatures the cracks start. The actual temperature reading will vary depending on how your determining the temperature and what kind of roaster (infrared, thermocouple).
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