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charge temperature — does it really matter that much or are we all overthinking it

W
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in roasting community there is always debate about charge temperature. some roasters say it must be precise within 5 degree. other say it is just starting point and correction can be made after during the roast.

my question is: does charge temperature really affect final cup quality that much, or majority of cup quality comes from development stage anyway?

I roast with same profile but sometimes charge temp is off by 15-20 degree because preheat time is not consistent. cup result usually still acceptable. but I hear some roasters say even 5 degree difference can ruin batch completely.

what is actual experience from everyone here?
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8 Replies
N
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In my experience charge temperature does matter but it is not the most critical factor by itself. What is more important is consistency. If you always charge at same temperature, even if that number is not the so-called ideal, your result will be more repeatable. The problem with 15-20 degree variation is that your turning point and ROR curve will start differently each time, which makes it hard to apply same correction at same point in every roast. So maybe the real issue is not the number but the inconsistency.
P
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15-20 degree variation is too much honestly. charge temp affects turning point timing and that propagate through everything after. you cannot apply same corrections at same moment if starting condition is different every time.
N
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yes this is exactly the point. starting condition difference carries through the whole roast. I think of it like baking where oven condition at the beginning affect the entire result even if you adjust temperature later.
I
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in my experience, charge temperature it depend also from the bean characteristic. for dense high altitude bean, i feel charge temperature is more important because the bean need more heat energy to start move. for low altitude bean with less density, maybe not so critical. but still better to be consistent as possible i think.
W
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interesting point about density. I never think about it this way. do you actually adjust charge temperature based on density or you just manage heat curve after charge?
B
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I think many roasters overthink charge temperature. development stage and how you manage ROR is what determine cup quality more. charge temperature just set starting condition, after that the real skill is in heat management during the roast.
C
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both sides have valid point I think. charge temp matters a lot for consistency and repeatability especially if you follow reference profile. but for manual profiling an experienced roaster can compensate quite a bit. the problem is most of us are not experienced enough yet to compensate reliably, so better to keep charge temp consistent and remove that variable.
A
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one thing I also notice is that bean stored at different temperature before roasting behave differently even with same charge temp. so there are many variables we cannot fully control. I try to control what I can and accept that not everything will be perfect every single batch.

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