Aillio Bullet R1 IBTS Analysis by Evan Gilman
Unless otherwise noted, we use both the roast.world site and Artisan software to document our roasts on the Bullet. You can find our roast documentation below, by searching on roast.world, or by clicking on the Artisan links below.
Generally, we have good results starting our 500g roasts with 428F preheating, P6 power, F2 fan, and d6 drum speed. Take a look at our roast profiles below, as they are constantly changing!
Seeing this spectacular coffee come back every year is a pleasure. Not only is it consistent from cup to cup, but the striking flavor we know and love is also present from year to year. Traditionally, this has been a difficult coffee for me to roast in an intentional manner, but knowing its history allowed me to predict a little of what might happen in the roaster, and sort of take it on a ‘play-by-play' basis.
For instance, I know that this coffee is always super dense, with a tight screen size distribution. The density lets me know that I can hit this coffee with plenty of heat at the start, but will need to back off the heat application later in roast so the coffee doesn’t ‘take off’ on its own. The screen sizes tell me that this coffee will take on heat more easily than beans of many different sizes mixed together in a batch, which may counter the effect of the density. Therefore, a balanced approach was necessary!
To that end, I started with P8 power and F1 fan, then went totally off the rails to P9 power and F3 fan a little after turning point, really pushing this coffee hard through Green/Drying stage and wicking away as much moisture as possible. After a brief spate with the high heat application, I brought heat down to P7 at 300F, and increased fan speed to F4 a little afterwards. This was in an effort to draw out Maillard to at least be in proportion to Green/Drying. Anticipating the peak in RoR before First Crack, I lowered heat to P6... but also lowered fan speed to F2. I didn’t want to lose too much momentum after the remaining moisture was expressed at First Crack. Then it was back to F4 at 370F, and a further reduction of heat to P5 at 380F, just before First Crack. I kept these settings for the rest of the roast and allowed the coffee to roll slowly through post-crack development for 1:47, or 16% of the roast time for a final ratio of 40% / 42% / 16%.
The result was just what I hoped for: to showcase the super cinnamon apple pie notes in this coffee. On the cupping table, we tasted just that, along with touches of honeysuckle, butterscotch, and aniseed. This coffee will transport you back to a cold winter day in July – so refreshing, and just a nostalgic trip in a cup. I highly recommend this coffee for any preparation, as long as you’re ready to step into another world.
