# Classic temperature stability and impact on darker/lighter roasts



## Grahamg (Oct 24, 2013)

Just a quick check on this issue with those of you without PID's etc. and doing the old temperature surfing. Do you find that lighter roasts result in a bit more inconsistency? Perhaps less forgiving on the extraction temp than darker roasts? Have been trying out a few new beans, mostly medium roasts and more delicate flavour wise and certainly been struggling to get the same level of consistency as my usual darker bean.


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## aaroncornish (Nov 7, 2012)

Hey Graham

You are bang on the money in my experience with a Classic.

Darker roasts tend to be more forgiving, lighter roasts are not so.

Aaron


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

aaroncornish said:


> Hey Graham
> 
> You are bang on the money in my experience with a Classic.
> 
> ...


I found that too when using it with the Classic.


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## El carajillo (Mar 16, 2013)

aaroncornish said:


> Hey Graham
> 
> You are bang on the money in my experience with a Classic.
> 
> ...


Plus one for that


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## Grahamg (Oct 24, 2013)

Thanks for confirming my suspicions, I'm saving up for a new machine, but my original timeframe of 1-2 years to get the ideal amount of cash together is starting to look painfully far away!


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Some of it will depend on how you are brewing the coffee . A darker roast might benefit from a shorter brew ratio and lighter one a longer brew ratio for example .

Same ratio for radically different roast profiles might not be helping ...

This will then be accentuated by any drifts when you are Temp surfing . With a lighter roast you might benefit from a longer brew ratio ( are you weighing on and out ? ) and being at the slightest hotter end of your temp surf ....

I know of members who enjoy lighter roasts with a classic @risky for example


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## Grahamg (Oct 24, 2013)

Thanks for the tip, beans aren't a massive departure, but will go for a little longer (doing 18g:32-34g out.. depending on how much attention I'm paying to scales!).


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Isn't this more an issue with lighter roasts in general rather than a shortcoming of the machine? Lighter roasts are less soluble so require more effort to extract? Might I be as bold as to suggest that darker roasts typically don't have the subtle flavors that are associated with lighter roasts.

As far as the Classic goes, the only thing I would say is that I find the shot times can be inconsistent. Same grind setting, temp etc. and the shot time can sometimes vary, I initially put this down to poor prep on my part but I've got my prep to a stage now where I don't believe I can be causing the issue, for example I seem to find that if I pull two shots in fairly quick succession, the second one will always pour faster than the first.



Grahamg said:


> Thanks for the tip, beans aren't a massive departure, but will go for a little longer (doing 18g:32-34g out.. depending on how much attention I'm paying to scales!).


18-32/34 is quite short for a light roast. I typically start at 18-40 and work from there. Temp might not be the main factor at play here.


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## Grahamg (Oct 24, 2013)

@risky Success this morning with a longer shot, also recalibrated timer on the grinder as it was giving 1g over. Much better. Lesson learned in retrospect - on top of the need to experiment more brew ratio - is that the beans were a bit too fresh after the last batch ran out, meaning that I should have been weighing constantly in anticipation of further adjustment being needed. Normally, if beans well rested, I can get decent shots for a few days at a time before weighing in/out and recalibrating grind (it's a big conical, so I avoid making tiny adjustments if it all tastes good to me).


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## Khashy (Mar 10, 2015)

Can I ask people to share the temperature they set their classics to (if PID'ed) for lighter/medium/darker roasts?

I currently have mine set to 95 degrees (that is water temperature, so -8 degrees offset from the boiler wall reading of the PID) but I don't know if that's the optimal temp.


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