Hey Bro T.
I should wait until tomorrow when I grind and brew some of my newly roasted beans, before I reply. But I am not that smart!!! Some say you can use them right away, some after 1 day, some after 3 days, so tomorrow is 2 days, that is as long as I can wait.
My pic is probably not that great, but I don't think my beans are THAT dark roasted. There is no visible oil on the surface and they are not super dark like I have always seen for espresso roast.
I think I was going the same as you described, but with my machine starting and stopping on me a few times, I could not say when was 90 secs after the first crack stopped.
Anyway, I will try them for my morning wake up and report back, then I can always try for a little less roast next time (soon, too, because I only roasted enough for like 4-5 days it would seem).
Thanks to keep talking me through this,
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

I usually look at the color of the chaff trapped in the crack on the bean. If it it a lighter "parchment" type color than I know I'm good. If it is dark like the rest of the bean, I've gone a little too far in the roast. I'll try to attach a pic later. I'm having technical issues at this end.

As far as how long to wait, that's not too critical in my experience. I've heard you may just want to grind it a little finer early on. If your using a French press, I don't think you'll have any issues. I look forward to hearing your impressions. And I would love to share a cup of Joe in person. If I ever make my way to Thailand I'll let you know!

Cheers,

T Cobe

Well my friend, I don't have much chaff trapped in my crack, but what I do have is about the same color, maybe a little darker.
I will definitely try for a little lighter roast next time.
But I think my roast was about the same as what I have been buying and enjoying from my local coffee supplier.
I SURE messed up on my first ground and brewed today though. (I read on the net late last night that I should "burp" off the CO2 from my beans in the first 24-48 hours every once in a while, so I got up in the middle of the night and did that, is that important?)
Then I read I needed 15 grams of ground coffee for every 250 grams of water, so I ground 30 grams of beans for the 500 grams of water I brew with. TOO MUCH coffee. Too strong for me. And I ground twice and still had the grind a little large I believe, even for a French Press.
So I have several changes to make, things to try tomorrow. No, my cuppa was not even as good as usual today. Disappointed here.
But not discouraged. ((this is still going MUCH better than my fantasy football team!!!)
Will report back tomorrow.
And I would love it if you ever could come over for a visit!!!!
God Bless,
Wayne

So today was better, drinkable, but still not as good as before I started roasting and grinding my own.
I reduced from 30 grams to 20, will go with 15 tomorrow.
I got inside the popcorn popper and disabled the thermostat, so tomorrow I hope to roast again with no shutdowns from over heating.
I hope to get a more consistent roast and better control. Will try and go a little lighter.
I am learning a LOT, mostly what NOT to do. ha
God Bless, Wayne

Back to good coffee today. The modified popper/roaster worked great. Roasted some Peaberry beans today, but it was still hard to control and not roast too dark. By the time I get to first crack, popping away, before that is finished, the beans are done. Yikes.
So more experimenting to be done.
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

Looks like you getting a fair amount of variation in roast level. I'd try to roast less beans at a time to see if you can level things out. How long is it taking to roast each batch? If the heat is very high, the beans have a way of getting from first to second crack quite quickly.

I try to make the process last about 11-15 minutes. The chaff burns off at about 4-6 minutes. I use the Whirly-Pop pan pictured below and stir at a fast rate on a propane burner. I usually do about half a pound at a time. With that fancy grill you have, I still think this process may be better but you may master your current process in time. The other thing I try to do is spread the beans out to cool on a baking pan immediately after roasting to prevent further progression.

Just a few ideas. Obviously the most important part is to enjoy the process and it looks like you're having a good time. Keep us posted! I'm on the road right now but cooler temperatures should have me roasting again very soon. I'll post some pics when I get back home and am able to process a pound or two.

Cheers,

T Cobe