Huky 500 profiles / Q&A / Tips and tricks.

[brianmch]

an 8-9 min total roast time.

Best chance for delicate fruit notes.

That too.

[Ascholten]

I don't have a Huky so can't tell you how to run it really.
THe drying time I tend to drag out a bit if I can.  Bring it up to first about a degree every second and a half to two seconds, once crack starts, adjust heat to keep it from flying thru too fast, stop at end of first crack.  Rest 3 to 5 for the blueberry and go from there.

Now 200 other people are going to tell you 200 different ways to do this, my notes are just general notes to get you in the area you need to be to hopefully tweak for your machine / situation to get the best out of it.

9 minutes seems a bit quick at first, but then again, 9 on my I roast would pretty much destroy the beans, way too long.  Some people run it to 17 / 18 minutes.  A behmor you may find yourself approaching 20 minutes to get it finally cracking, then another 14 in it's cool cycle.

Too fast is not a good thing..... too dark is not a good thing.
Aaron

[antoine_t]

Here's my take.

I think that your first stage is too long as you're not running enough heat or too large charge for the heat. . Hit it at 5 or 6 kpa at 1 minute or sooner to shorten.

 Then start dropping heat more quickly to extend the drying phase as it's really short: this is a super important phase of flavor development so don't rush on a hard natural bean.

 Finally your 1c is pretty short at 16%: probably not enough heat cut soon enough in phase 2.  Are you getting lemoncello acidity or grassy notes?  These signify underdeveloped roasts.

Good luck and keep us posted.  Just a couple minor adjustments should get you there.

My initial roast looked like this: https://imgur.com/a/yuEJr

and I was told my MAI was way too long for a natural process coffee.

The first image I sent you was an 'improvement' already.  the cup is rather bland with some acidity, but no fruit notes even after 3-5d rest.


When entering first crack or just before, what's your typical heat settings at (using the stock IR mr li burner)?  One tip I was told was to keep the heat 'higher', such as 1.5k-2kpa and just blast the fan to control FC.  Tried that once but didnt' seem to go well (underdeveloped)

[brianmch]

I probably won't use the terms you're using because, well, I don't care to.  BUT here we go:

In the first roast I think that you're too slow getting to DE 5 min is a bit long: not enough heat.  Looks like you got on it at the right time.  I use the IR burner and roll it to 6 lb on a 300 gram roast. If you're 350 maybe 6.5. 

Your ratio from DE to 1C is a bit long % wise (45% vs 40% but the time is really the killer at appx 5:20.  Seems like too much heat built too late and you flew through 1C at 1.22 and a total development of less than 2 minutes. 

While I build heat quickly I cut it fast too. Often down from 6lb to 4lb/3lb at yellowing, down to 3lb/2lb midway through the middle phase, then down to 1 at 180-190 depending on the time.  (I use C as that's what my roaster buddies use). 1C often happens around 200 so I cut to 0.25 at 195, keeping it there through the roast.

Fan wise I run at 30% until 1C then 50% about 15-30 sec into it. 

12 minutes will result in a flatter taste profile for sure and a short 1C to end will result in under-development (grassy) notes.  A double hit of the worst.

Sorry you're having trouble.  How long have you had your Huky?

[antoine_t]

Hi
thanks a lot.  I'm about 30 roasts into my huky j set up. 

I tried to follow your advice, but instead of 6kpa, i went with 4kpa after dry end (300F or so) and decreased it from there.

I think i'm still going into first crack too quickly as FC is less than 1.5 mins.  I read that for ethiopian naturals, a short first crack time is desirable in getting berry flavours, but now I'm not so sure.

here's the graph

https://imgur.com/uvSZlEi


thanks

[brianmch]

Let us know how it goes.

[antoine_t]

Well waited a while before brewing.

Still very minimal berry flavour, but the cup does seem more complex?   An improvement over the previous roasts but nothing to write  home about unfortunately. 

Will try to control first crack better by adding more fan.

[brianmch]

Well waited a while before brewing.

Still very minimal berry flavour, but the cup does seem more complex?   An improvement over the previous roasts but nothing to write  home about unfortunately. 

Will try to control first crack better by adding more fan.

How goes your Huky roasting?

[AlanM]

Well. I took the plunge and bought a Huky. I have it pretty well setup but need to make the connection to Artisan to monitor temps before roasting.  I am using phidget connected to a raspberry pi which then connects wirelessly to my chromebook.  Using the newer phidget  vint hub.  Does anyone know if I have to use a powered USB hub with this setup? Or can I just plug the phidget into.the raspberry?

[brianmch]

I would check out the Artisan website for connection instructions.

Good luck with your Huky and monitoring.

There will likely be times of frustration on the path as there is a long learning curve.  Try to enjoy the journey.

To that end I've found that my Huky is very responsive to inputs with 330 gram charges, pretty responsive at 454, and less so at 500.  500 is way easier to control with 330 pretty much the bare minimum to be successfully repetitive. 

I typically charge between 175 and 210 C, no heat/fan for 1 minute, max heat at 1 and 1 level of fan.  At 1:30 bump fan, at 2 bump fan.  Now, depending on the bean, I'll either hold heat to yellow or start cutting at 130C depending on if I'm looking for a steep ROR slope or a flatter one.  This is bean and roaster dependent, both can be right. 

With African naturals that were grown at a high elevation and are small/dense, with plenty of acidity, I try to use a lower max ROR and flatter slope so I ultimately stay on the heat during 1C as my goal is usually to achieve some sweetness while retaining flavor (balance).  I don't worry too much about the Rao ratio.  I've not found it to be as important as the temp change between start of 1C and drop temp, and the absolute time between 1C start and drop. 

[woolz1]

Hey brianmch,
Could you please share a few more details?
"the temp change between start of 1C and drop temp, and the absolute time between 1C start and drop."
I usually aim for 10% for the time and try to keep the ROR declining for the bean temp without a flick.


Thanks for your input,
woolz1

[brianmch]

"the temp change between start of 1C and drop temp, and the absolute time between 1C start and drop."

I usually aim for 10% for the time and try to keep the ROR declining for the bean temp without a flick.

Thanks for your input,
woolz1

One characteristic of roast development is how much the temp rises from when 1C starts and when the roast is dropped.  Rao discusses this total development ratio (TDDR) but measures time against total roast time.  I guess it sort-of addresses temperature change but I think temp change can't be summarily dismissed. 

The editor isn't allowing me to insert the picture, but recent roast had a 4C temp change from 1C start and drop with about 1:20 minutes of absolute time, appx 15% of the total roast, a 2% temp change.  With the Colo El Condor I was routinely pleased with a 5% temp change over a 1:20 timeframe and a 10 minute roast. 

I won't judge how your 10% TDR roast turned out as it could be stellar depending on the start and drop temps, the total roast time, the coffee, its sweet spot, and the goal (espresso, pour over, drip, or mixed-use). 

With a longer roast your TDR will likely be shorter as roasts on a Huky taken much over 1:30 start to burn off a little too much of the terrior I'm usually wanting.  You also run a greater risk of getting a mid-crack flick which is a real problem.  I've been making a temp cut about 30-45 sec before 1C starts to avoid the exothermic flick that precludes 1C.  I make another cut about 30 sec after 1C starts to continue the declining ROR. 

[woolz1]

The whole reason I was asking is I am always searching for the sweet spot and also lower heat ~30 sec before 1ST trying to slow momentum.
I usually get ~10-15 f temp rise and wondered if more or less was the direction to experiment.
I prefer light roasts hence the 10% development. I too am always trying to save the terrior and that's what I love about single origin coffee.
Thanks for the info!