That old roaster told me to skip the thermometer on my first roast...

Back in 2018 I was just starting out with home roasting on a Whirley Pop. A guy named Lou who had been roasting for 30 years told me to stop watching the thermometer and just listen to the beans. I ignored him for about 6 months and kept burning batches left and right. Finally I tried his way and paid attention to the first crack and second crack sounds instead. My roasts got way more consistent after that because the numbers were distracting me. Anyone else ever get advice that seemed backwards but actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie26924d ago

Man I totally get that. Lou knew what he was talking about, the sound cues are way more reliable than any thermometer on a Whirley Pop especially when the beans are moving around so much. Once I learned to recognize the specific pop of first crack versus the snap of second crack my roasts stopped tasting like charcoal. The numbers just made me second guess myself and pull the beans too early or too late.

sean_perry24d ago

Nah you're absolutely right, once your ears are trained you stop second-guessing and just let the beans tell you what they need. Nothing worse than pulling a batch because a thermometer lied to you.