I have been roasting for only about 15 months now and have never been satisfied with the Brazils.
Ashy, ashy and accompanying off-tastes reminiscent of licking an ash tray[don’t ask]. I was just about to give up on these green beans and look for something else to be used as an espresso base.
All of my roasted beans are generally consumed in less than 7 days, except this time, I had some extra brazils that I had roasted as a separate batch. To my surprise these beans underwent a dramatic transformation in taste after about the 7th day and beyond. The ashiness disappeared and oddly, the crema improved as these beans aged.
These beans were interesting to roast. First crack was very subtle, sounding almost like second crack. In my first batch, I actually missed hearing first crack and all of the sudden your into second.
A stop watch comes in handy here..