Many readers will be surprised to learn that the total roasting time is not particularly important in determining the flavour of a roast. As long as the roasting time is appropriate to your machine and batch size, it’s better to focus on other factors, such as the colour, bean temperature, and the progression through first crack, to decide when to drop a batch.
While some roasters — and some scientific studies — have linked flavour to the total roast time, anyone who has used a sample roaster knows that it’s possible to produce great-tasting roasts in 7 minutes or less.