Adjusting Coffee Brightness Levels in a Hottop

[Coffeefreak]

As a recent convert to a Hottop from many years of roasting on a FreshRoast which followed a Hearthware Precision, I am still feeling my way. After doing four roasts (five, if one counts the first ruined batch in which I became so mesmerized by the machine that I neglected to press a button at the first series of beeps and the beans ejected,) I have only utilized the "Auto" setting when roasting.

The manual is excellent, but it does not indicate which parameters to try adjusting when striving for differing degrees of acidity, body, aroma and such. My last roast was of some Burundi Mwurire, which I had also roasted last week in my old FreshRoast. This morning, I drank some, and I seemed to be missing the "brightness" (read that acidity) that I remembered from before. It was roasted to approximately FC and ejected when the readout got to 410F.

If any of the experienced Hottop users have some suggestions as to where I should begin experimental tweaking of times, temps, fan & heat settings at different points, it would be appreciated.

[Tex]

The beep at 410° is another safety feature of your Hottop; just push the center button to continue roasting.

I usually take my roasts to 422° - 426°

[Coffeefreak]

Thank you for your response to my query. Do you use any manual settings to adjust parameters on the way to your target temperature or stick to the default Auto?

[Tex]

Typical HT profile;

I set the roast time @18 minutes; I don't use that much, but it's better to have it set too long than too short. I dump the beans at ~250°F, instead of the default preheat temp. I run @100% power for the whole roast until 1st crack approaches.

Three minutes after dumping the beans, I turn the fan on 50% for 30 seconds to get rid of moisture. Somewhere ~350°F I turn the fan back on @25% for the duration. As soon as I hear the outliers of 1st crack, I cut the power back to 50% and let it coast through the end of 1st crack. When I'm hearing the finishing outliers of 1st crack I kick the power up for the rest of the roast.

I have this profile saved, but don't use it often. Beans vary, so the programming needs tweaking as the roast progresses.

In all honesty, I mostly use one of my UFO/CO roasters. Using the router speed controller and a Kill-A-Watt, I'm able to tailor the profile much finer than I can with the HT - plus I can roast a full 1lb batch.

[Mlee]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

[Coffeefreak]

In response to your question, I am referring to the displayed temps as i do not (yet) have a probe setup in the bean mass.

[Mlee]

I was trying to see what Tex used

[GC7]

My first experiences with the HotTop were similar to yours. I have not used my popper in a very long time to compare but my cupping abilities have also improved to critique my roasts.
Tex’s program is very similar to one I got from Randy Glass who wrote the HotTop user manual. I suspect he (like Randy) uses bean loads of at least 225 gm and up to 250 gm.
I’ve found a few things that have helped my roasts and especially for brewed coffee.
1-   A bean mass probe and datalogger (again as Randy Glass suggests on his website) is the single most critical feature for accurately monitoring roasts and profiles.  I was shocked at how different the readings can be between the two.
2-   I use a bean mass of 170-180 gm.  I can get faster roasts at more optimal environmental temperatures  with lower mass of green beans. This alone added that brightness to profiles for brewed coffee.  I’d rather get “A” rated beans at 170 gm then a “B” rated roast of 225 gm.
3-   I drop my beans depending on profile desired at environmental temperature of 320-350 degrees (I set the timer to the full 25 minutes – reduce heat to 7 at the beap (25 minutes on timer- 167* on the hottop temperature probe) but usually drop beans at 21 minutes 30 seconds or so). I can then increase the heat to 8-9 to run the drying and beginning of ramp to first crack.  I get to first crack about 9 ½ to 10 minutes. The fan is off until bean temperature of 300 when I put it up to 25% for the rest of the roast. Approaching first crack I lower the heat to 5 (4-6) and try to maintain about 10* per minute rise to finish the roast.  For brewed this can be higher if I need to finish in 13-14 minutes and full city – For me City plus is bean temperature of 422-425*. Full city roasts are bean temperature 430-435* Second crack usually starts at bean temperature ~437-440* The hottop temperature probe is ALWAYS much lower than the bean temp at the end of the roast. I RARELY ever get above 410-412 on the hottop probe unless I’m doing espresso roasts 30 sec or so into second crack.
Hope this helps – Dropping hotter, maintaining lower environmental temperatures and ramping faster with lower bean loads to me was the key to better and brighter roasts with the HotTop.

[Tex]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

Displayed temps on the digital thermometer - I have a bead-end type K thermocouple threaded into the roast chamber.

[Mlee]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

Displayed temps on the digital thermometer - I have a bead-end type K thermocouple threaded into the roast chamber.

I thought you had a probe. The biggest difference in my roasts were when I added the bean probe, kill-a-watt, and the variac. It makes repeatability so much easier. The Hottop display is pretty much useless especially as you get towards the end of the roast.

[Tex]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

Displayed temps on the digital thermometer - I have a bead-end type K thermocouple threaded into the roast chamber.

I thought you had a probe. The biggest difference in my roasts were when I added the bean probe, kill-a-watt, and the variac. It makes repeatability so much easier. The Hottop display is pretty much useless especially as you get towards the end of the roast.

I feel the same way about the supposed programability of the HT. There's just too much variance between beans and environmental conditions to reuse the same program, not even for the same beans. I simply run a generic program, like the one I mentioned, and play it by ear.

Basically, I'm keying on the time it takes to get to 1st crack outliers - trying to hit that point in 9 - 12 minutes for 400 300 grams of coffee. From there I'll reduce the power settings to give me a couple of minutes to coast through 1st crack, after which I'll go full power to the end of the roast.

That's pretty much what I do with my UFO/CO too.

[staylor]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

Displayed temps on the digital thermometer - I have a bead-end type K thermocouple threaded into the roast chamber.

I thought you had a probe. The biggest difference in my roasts were when I added the bean probe, kill-a-watt, and the variac. It makes repeatability so much easier. The Hottop display is pretty much useless especially as you get towards the end of the roast.

I feel the same way about the supposed programability of the HT. There's just too much variance between beans and environmental conditions to reuse the same program, not even for the same beans. I simply run a generic program, like the one I mentioned, and play it by ear.

Basically, I'm keying on the time it takes to get to 1st crack outliers - trying to hit that point in 9 - 12 minutes for 400 grams of coffee. From there I'll reduce the power settings to give me a couple of minutes to coast through 1st crack, after which I'll go full power to the end of the roast.

That's pretty much what I do with my UFO/CO too.

Huh? Is that a typo??

[Tex]

Are your temps the displayed temps or do you have a probe in the bean mass?

Displayed temps on the digital thermometer - I have a bead-end type K thermocouple threaded into the roast chamber.

I thought you had a probe. The biggest difference in my roasts were when I added the bean probe, kill-a-watt, and the variac. It makes repeatability so much easier. The Hottop display is pretty much useless especially as you get towards the end of the roast.

I feel the same way about the supposed programability of the HT. There's just too much variance between beans and environmental conditions to reuse the same program, not even for the same beans. I simply run a generic program, like the one I mentioned, and play it by ear.

Basically, I'm keying on the time it takes to get to 1st crack outliers - trying to hit that point in 9 - 12 minutes for 400 grams of coffee. From there I'll reduce the power settings to give me a couple of minutes to coast through 1st crack, after which I'll go full power to the end of the roast.

That's pretty much what I do with my UFO/CO too.

Huh? Is that a typo??

Thanks - spell checker prevents obvuius mistakes but can't read my mind.

[Coffeefreak]

Oh! You really meant 400 POUNDS instead of 400 GRAMS

[Coffeefreak]

This morning, I attempted to use Tex's Hottop profile when roasting some more Burundi Mwurire beans.
A couple of days from now, after some proper resting I shall be able to evaluate the results objectively.
The instructions were very lucid, but any failure will be my own from starting the day with 1000/500 BP from dealing with an Alzheimer spouse. But, we all have problems and I should not be sharing mine.

I am very grateful to all of the knowledgeable roasters who have responded to my questions.