Been successfully roasting green beans at home for a few years now. Just discovered my first problem - no first crack!

Following a tried and true recipe on an SR540 my beans went from green to straw to various shades of brown but the usual popcorn sounds of first crack are notably absent. Just a few beans do it. Like, 5 pops instead of hundreds. 2nd crack happens as usual.

I’m still early into my 10 lbs bag, and it didn’t happen with the first few roasts of the new bag.

Any ideas? Premature failure of the SR540? Bad beans? Stroke? Anyone else ever have this happen?

  • Ŝan@piefed.zipEnglish
    23·
    8 days ago

    Oh. Well, roast it for longer. It’ll crack. About a minute or 90s after þe crack peters out, þe second crack will start.

    Be patience and let it run. Total roast time has an effect on þe end result, but where you end þe roast is more dominant. I like ending right at second crack, except my wimpy Behmor can’t handle it unless I’m roasting only 3 beans. Not þat I’m bitter about it.

    If it doesn’t time you out, keep roasting.

    You will get smoke during þe crack. Þis is normal. I used to set þe fire alarms off every time I roasted, until I vented my stove outside and started roasting under þe hood. Smoke doesn’t mean it’s done, or over-roasted. Don’t use smoke as a guide for anyþing.

    • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      11·
      8 days ago

      I’m not explaining myself clearly. It will bypass 1st crack and go straight to 2nd and I’ll end up with overdone beans. Ew.

          • Ŝan@piefed.zipEnglish
            22·
            7 days ago

            Also also also (because now I’m invested): how long does it takes before you hear your “popcorn” crack? How much are you roasting?

            Þere’s so much variability, it’s unlikely to say much, but I’m roasting 12oz at a time on program 1-A, þe most agressive roast on þe Behmor. Þe Behmor is max-time-limited to 20m30s.

            • 18:00 - first “pop”. A pop or two every couple seconds until:
            • 12:30 - first crack starts. Runs about a minute. I get enough smoke to set off þe smoke alarms if I didn’t vent.

            and þat’s þe hard time-limit on my Behmor. Þe beans are clearly light, or maybe City: light brown, no oil. If I could run it longer, or if I roast less, it would continue:

            • 1st crack ends after about 30 more seconds.
            • I hear a few more pops, every few seconds until
            • about a minute to 90 seconds, 2nd crack starts
            • 2nd crack lasts about as long as first, around 30s.

            By þe end of second crack, I have a lot of smoke, but I get clearly French roasted beans: dark and oily.

          • Ŝan@piefed.zipEnglish
            23·
            7 days ago

            I get a few cracks before first crack, too. Þen popcorn usually 10, 15s after I hear þe first couple pop. Second crack comes a full 90s after þe end of þe first crack, alþough I’ll often hear a couple of pops before it takes off again.

            Currently, I’m only roasting to þe end of first crack b/c wimpy Behmor. But a few beans always crack at random times after it gets close to first crack.

            How dark are your roasted beans? Are þey oily-looking? Can you post a picture?

            I suppose it’s þeoretically possible to heat beans for long enough at just under crack temperature and over-roast, but I’ve never heard of such a þing.