Colombian Santa Barbara (Portside Java)

It's been quite a while since I roasted but I finally found some time. I did some experimenting with these Colombian beans as Colombian beans are the hardest to screw up. It doesn't seem to matter how you roast them they always turn out delicious. Welp, I was sure wrong about that. Apparently I can roast so bad that even Colombian beans don't taste all that hot.

I started with a normal roast profile that started at 375 and increased in temperature as the roast progressed. It took a while to reach first crack and the first crack was weak.

Batch 1
To determine if I needed to increase the temperature, I roasted a batch at 400 to see how long it took to reach first crack. This experiment taught me something interesting: my roaster will not produce first or second crack with temperatures less than 425. This was confirmed in later roasting.

Batch 2
 Next I tried roasting at 450. It produced a hard first crack at 4:30, which is too early.

Batch 3

Finally, I tried a batch at 425 which produced a first crack 5:25. The crack was a little weak but it was at a more appropriate time.

Batch 4
I mixed all the batches together, waited a week and brewed. It was good but lacked the strong, pleasant nuttiness that usually comes with Colombian brews. It was mild, not bitter, but nothing great. I definitely would not serve it to friends or family. I will try again in a couple of weeks once I drink this batch.