How soon is too soon?

[anthony]

I just took my first batch of beans out of the over! I've been silently observing this forum for a while now and had to give chocolate a try. 

My question has to do with the brownie smell. I roasted 2 pounds of the Dominican FT/O beans and started noticing the brownie smell after 5-10 minutes at 360 degrees. I have read that the brownie smell usually indicates when the beans are nearing their finish, but 5 minutes can't be right can it? 

What at I ended up doing was reducing the heat to 330 after 5 minutes, then reduced to 250 degrees 10 minutes after that and kept going until the nib tasted like chocolate (the first try lacked chocolate flavor and finished quite bitter, I pulled the beans when I got a nice chocolate flavor and some of the bitterness subsided) 

I hope I didn't over roast, but the amazing chocolaty brownie smells just came so quickly! 

Thanks everyone! 

[timwilde]

Best thing I can say is to taste the bean at that point. If it's under roasted, you may taste some acidity or astringency. If it's roasted it will be pleasant to taste. Keep in mind, this is like eating bakers chocolate, only not quite as harsh, so expect some bitterness.

If it's not done, it's not done. If it's done that early I'd be more worried about checking the bean temperature at that point. You do want them to heat up, if for nothing else than sanitation purposes. If you let it go longer, did the smell go stronger or did it go away? Usually when I'm roasting I'll smell the roasting beans within about 5-10 minutes like you describe, but it's not till the end of my roast that it smells like a bakery/chocolate factory and it permeates the entire area.

[Brad]

Anthony;

As you experiment with roasting, you will find that the smell goes through a transition. Yes, at first, you will get a brownie smell. That's essentially the maillard reaction occurring on the outside of the bean. However, that smell will transition after several minutes to a fairly acidic smell, as the whole bean finally heats up and the acids that have impregnated the meat of the cocoa bean begin to burn off.

Trust me when I tell you that if you roast a few lbs in your home oven, after about 20 minutes the acidity is enough to clear your sinuses.

Then...

Another transition takes place. As the acids dissipate, and the bean roasts all the way through, the brownie smell returns, and begins to deepen. At that time, depending on how much acidity you want to preserve, and how deep of a chocolate flavour you want, you can pull out the beans and cool them. There is no magic formula. I've done many things with cocoa beans over the years, including roasting them, cracking and fanning them, and then roasting the nibs again.

I've also found that one doesn't need to play with temperature much. If you control airflow and time, those work as well as any.

Cheers
Brad
Choklat.

[voltaire]

Brad offers some sound advice. Another thing I found is that they often begin to "pop" and crack open after a while, which tell me they're close to finish. BUT! That also varies with your oven and if you want a lighter or darker roast.

[anthony]

Thanks guys! I def. pulled the beans too early. I ended up with 2 pounds of bitter acidic chocolate. Even after 48 hours of non stop processing.

I will let the beans go longer next time.

Thanks again