Thanks T.
My fancy grill does not have a side burner so I would have to buy both that type of popper and gas ring.
I messed up, did two smaller batches this time and got a different roast on them, then stupidly dumped them together in the colander to cool. So I guess this batch with be a "blend" and I will act like I meant to do that!
Yeah, my popper/roaster is too hot, goes too fast from first to second crack in a heartbeat.
Gotta try to figure it out.
Thanks, God Bless,
Wayne

OK the light roast I tried above turned out AWFUL!!!!!
It is pictured first below. I tried it yesterday and it was WAY too weak, using the same measurements I have been using on my darker roasts. So today I upped the amount of coffee and it still was horrible, very acid tasting. And today, of course, my wife decided to try my coffee. She reckoned it was better than dishwater, but not by much.
I had to agree, this is harder than power cables!!!!!
So I took the rest of these beans and put them in the roaster again, and just browned them some more. Se pics below.
Meantime, back at the ranch, I rec'd my Colombian and Ethiopian beans from Amazon. I am scared to even try to roast them until I get this figured out better with my local beans. Don't want to waste the good ones I paid a lot more for and shipped them halfway around the world.
Will see how tomorrow's brew goes with them a bit darker. It MAY be that these local beans just need to be a darker roast to taste their best?
All suggestions appreciated.
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

Different beans are certainly better with different roasts. I've tried a lot of coffees but never anything from Thailand. Your roast looks pretty good and similar to the results I achieve. Today I roasted coffees from Honduras, Panama, and Ethiopia. 3.5 pounds in all. I'll probably brew a pot in the morning. While it will improve in the days to come, a slightly finer grind should still taste very good. I'll check back in the AM.

How long is each batch taking you to roast? I do about half a pound at a time and it takes between 10 and 12 minutes. I'm surprised that the beans taste that much better if your local roaster is roasting the same beans they're selling you. It may be time to try a different brewing method as well.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Thanks Bro T. to hang in here with me on this journey!!!
Sounds like you are gonna be brewing and drinking a LOT of coffee in the near future. Do you have help???
It is definitely not about my French press, that is the best $7 I ever spent!!! (About acid below, I know other brew methods with a paper or cloth filter would artificially reduce that somewhat, but I have already made several GREAT cups of Joe with the press, I am staying with it!!!)
Roasting time? I can burn beans faster than you can roast them in my popcorn popper!!! ha ha
IF I just run it non-stop they (quarter cup or so) will be dark roasted in around 4 mins and burned quickly after that. Thus the start and stop method (stirring constantly) I have used the past two times. Too fast, hard to control, I know!!!
I hear what you are saying, and have pretty much become convinced that the local beans I get, the guy that roasts (and grinds too, if I need) them likely knows best, they taste the best with a darker, probably a Full City roast. My first batch I roasted rather dark, tasted delicious, same as his, when I got the amount to brew correct for me.
The ones I lightly roasted and were YUCKY, so roasted some more yesterday (you saw the pics above) made a VERY drinkable cup of "American" coffee today. By that I mean, going back to the recommended 30 grams of just ground coffee for my 500 grams of water, it tasted right on strength wise. The color was right, etc. (Remember I can only use 20 grams of the darker roast--BUT it still tastes better to me). I now know what they mean about the lighter roasts being more acidic or they call it "brighter". Today mine was bright!!! But that is still too acidic for me. IF cream and sugar was in there, it probably would have been a great cup for some people.
I will experiment more with my local (cheaper) beans, then IF I feel I am getting better at roasting, I will give the Colombian or Ethiopian beans a whirl.
Never dreamed it would be this challenging. I should stay with audio!!!
God Bless,
Wayne

Bro T.
After trial and error, I have found that the local coffee beans must be roasted pretty well, City plus or more, to be tasty and not too acidic.
I am back to the pea-berry, well roasted and they are delicious.
I think I am feeling confident enough in the roasting process now to give the beans I ordered from Amazon, Ethiopian and Colombian, a try in a week or so when I have finished my local last roasts.
Will report back, and thanks for the support!
God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

A medium roast will certainly give you a brighter, more acidic cup of coffee. To me, it also retains more of the beans natural flavor. I can taste a significant difference in the origin of the bean with a medium roast, but once you get up to full city and beyond, I lose a lot of that. Then it just tastes like burnt beans to me. Kind of like cooking steaks on the grill. If you cook them to the point they are very well done, it's difficult to tell what you started with in terms of meat quality. Just a matter of preference.

This morning I'm drinking a Honduras Marcala 18 Rabbit Finca Dulce Luna. Yeah, that's a mouthful! It's quite tasty. I used a medium/medium light roast, going about 90 seconds after first crack. The remaining chaff on the bean was a parchment color. It's an amazingly floral cup of coffee with a fair amount of acidity and sweetness. I'd be curious to try those Thai Peaberry beans. I'll keep a lookout. Does the seller have a website and ship international?

Cheers,

T Cobe