Caturra, Catuai, Margogype, 74110—these are just examples of the many different varieties roasters can face during their roasting career. You may wonder how to approach each of them, but there are so many that it’s giving you a headache. Let me introduce you to my simple approach.
How I like to teach and explain coffee roasting is by making everything as simple as possible. Different varieties usually come with different sizes and densities. They are usually aligned, and the bigger the size, the lower the density, and other way round. I divided them into three sizes: small, medium, and large.
For a start, medium-sized varieties including bourbon, caturra, typica, catuai, geisha, pacas, and similar that are usually between screens 16 and 18. They are most commonly roasted varieties. I would start with a simple approach – first crack between 8 and 9 minutes, with a development time of 1:00 to 1:15 for a filter coffee or cupping purposes. For most of the drum roaster, this requires medium-high gas at the start of the roast, assuming there is no possibility of changing any other roast parameter.
Small varieties like Ethiopian varieties, Villa Sarchi, Java, and everything that is mostly below screen 16 require a faster approach because coffees are more dense, so it’s much easier for heat to reach the center of the bean and roast the bean evenly. To start, I would do high heat settings, slightly higher than medium varieties. This heat application should yield a first crack in 7:30 – 8:30 and slightly shorter development time, more or less 0:45 – 1:00.
Larger varieties are my nemesis, although they are very delicious when done well. Large varieties like Maragogype, Pacamara, Maracaturra, and similar. They are usually larger than a screen 18. Since they are large with low density, they require slower heat application. To start, I would recommend medium heat, or you can try the soaking technique to extend the roast time. This technique is basically using around half of the initial heat (for example, if you will be using 70% gas, you start with 35%). Try to aim for the first crack at 9:30 – 10:00 with longer (1:30 – 1:45) development time. Remember to be gentle to coffee when you start development. If you are too fast, you will end up with very dark coffee.
All mentioned roast times are suitable for filter coffee or cupping. If you want to roast for espresso, I would add 15 – 30 seconds to the time to first crack and 30 – 45 seconds to development time.
Obviously, there are some exceptions and other aspects of coffee that will determine how to roast it. Treat my recommendation as guidelines for your first roast.
I hope this will help you roast the best possible cup.
Our step-by-step roasting guide & roasting tips has been design for you by Aleksander Smet, 2022 Polish Roasting and Cup Tasters Champion.
