Hit 500 home roasts last week and it got me thinking about quantity vs. quality

I hit 500 home coffee roasts last Tuesday, which felt like a big deal at first. But then I started wondering if I was just chasing numbers instead of actually improving my technique. Some of my best roasts came from batch 87 when I was still learning, and some of my recent ones were just okay. So does hitting a milestone like that actually mean you're getting better, or is it just about going through the motions? I'm curious how other people here look at their own roast counts and what matters more to them.

3 comments

3 Comments

theac6321d ago

Wait, do you feel like going through the motions with your roasting? Because I think that's the real question here - if you're just checking off roasts to hit a number, that's totally different from actually learning something each time. I hit 200 a few months ago and it honestly didn't feel as special as my 50th roast, where I finally nailed a light roast without any scorching. Have you tried going back and re-roasting one of your old favorites from batch 87 to see how your skills stack up now?

jordan_webb20d ago

You bring up a good point about going back to an old favorite. I actually did that last week with a Colombian from batch 112 that I used to struggle with. The difference was night and day - I got a way more even development and better sweetness just from having more experience under my belt. That kind of progress feels more meaningful than just watching the batch counter go up.

the_holly19d agoProlific Poster

That Colombian from batch 112 was a tough one for me too. I used to think going back to old beans was a waste of time but honestly you just convinced me to try it again this weekend.