New Coffee Roaster Today

[elcoholic]

I went to Bodhi Leaf Coffee* today and bought a new Behmor 1600 1 lb drum roaster. I'm just getting to know it, but I think it'll do very nicely. Quite an upgrade from my hot air pop corn popper based Frankenroaster. Per the directions I'm starting with 1/4 lb batches until I get more familiar with the profile, time and temp programming. I roasted some Ethiopian Yergacheffe so we'll see in 3 days where I'm at with that one.

* If you're local these guys in Yorba Linda rock. Same price as other on-line retailers and they throw in 4 lbs of beans of your choice when you buy a roaster. They also roast there and will, with supervision, let you roast larger quantities in there full size Diedrick roaster. My friend did 16# for Christmas gifts.

 

[www.records]

That looks really nice. I have never roasted beans and am sure it can be an art.

Also, congrats on starting the 2,000th thread in Cooking and Spirits!

 

[jimfet]

I have been looking at coffee roasters lately. I know they can make them cheaper than what they do. How much does that thing smoke?

 

[rnorton]

I have been looking at coffee roasters lately. I know they can make them cheaper than what they do. How much does that thing smoke?

I strongly recommend that you Google turbo-crazy. I have a $900 HotTop roaster that has gotten ZERO use since I put together a TurboCrazy for way under $100.

 

[rnorton]

I went to Bodhi Leaf Coffee* today and bought a new Behmor 1600 1 lb drum roaster. I'm just getting to know it, but I think it'll do very nicely. Quite an upgrade from my hot air pop corn popper based Frankenroaster. Per the directions I'm starting with 1/4 lb batches until I get more familiar with the profile, time and temp programming. I roasted some Ethiopian Yergacheffe so we'll see in 3 days where I'm at with that one.

I can't believe you'd choose Yrg for a first roast in a new roaster. That is absolutely one of the most difficult beans to roast properly even after you know your roaster like the back of your hand.

The Behmor is about the only roaster on the amateur market that I've never had hands-on experience with. I've heard that it's pretty much meant for dark roasts.

 

[elcoholic]

I have been looking at coffee roasters lately. I know they can make them cheaper than what they do. How much does that thing smoke?

Almost zero smoke, it has a catalytic converter! I can and will use it indoors once I get to know it. Plus Yergacheffe has a nasty habit of catching fire because of all the chaff it makes. As PM Summer said "it's YourGonnaGetChaff".

I strongly recommend that you Google turbo-crazy. I have a $900 HotTop roaster that has gotten ZERO use since I put together a TurboCrazy for way under $100.

Can't argue with that. Although I had only $20 for a Pop Crazy and a repurposed small desk fan, the Turbo-crazy was going to be my next step, but I decided to give the Behmor a try hoping for a better combination of control, repeatability and convenience. We'll see.

I can't believe you'd choose Yrg for a first roast in a new roaster. That is absolutely one of the most difficult beans to roast properly even after you know your roaster like the back of your hand.

The Behmor is about the only roaster on the amateur market that I've never had hands-on experience with. I've heard that it's pretty much meant for dark roasts.

I agree on Yerg being very tough to get right, I just happened to have 9# of Yerg on-hand and a 1/3 of a pound of frankenroasted to compare to otherwise I'd have started with either the PNG* or the Sumatra I got today. I won't even bother to taste it until Wednesday. I really think it needs a full 3 day rest.

The Behmor should have plenty of control. It's programming limited the other direction to avoid getting past 2nd crack. It has 3 weight settings, 4 programs, and 5 roasting profiles, and the ability to add/remove time from the programmed combinations. One can also under or over roast by adjusting the amount of beans as compared to the 1/4, 1/2 or 1 lb setting.

* When Steve asked me what kind of coffee I wanted I asked him to make it 4# of 2012 Don Peschi Margarita, but no deal. That would have cost more than the roaster. He's had some of that too. He sells a lot of beans to Portola Coffee Lab and they bought 150# of the Don Peschi. My palette is no where near educated enough to truly appreciate that coffee, but one doesn't get many chances at a 98 point dry-processed cup of one of the hardest to grow coffees on the planet. It's astoundingly good. Try some if you get a chance.

 

[rnorton]

In re the 3 day rest: every coffee is different. I find that espressos need some extra time (like 3 days). I taste all of my roasts once a day to get a handle on whether they're going to get better or worse. A surprising number make their best roast only hours out of the roaster. Ethiopian Sidamo Kenebato Durame is a good example. Absolutely best in the 1st 24 hours. I had a recent Kenya Nyeri Peaberry that peaked after TWO WEEKS!! (and all but a cup's worth was gone)

 

[spaceman]

I didn't realize that different coffees have a different "rest" time, and I was calling that the "cure" time. :scratch2: Same difference, I guess, but I think you should just quit forcing them to work so hard, then they won't need a rest. I'm really trying to avoid the whole roasting issue, as far as actually roasting beans myself, but it's definitely good to listen in on your chats, to learn about loafing and/or resting.

 

[elcoholic]

I didn't realize that different coffees have a different "rest" time, and I was calling that the "cure" time. :scratch2: Same difference, I guess, but I think you should just quit forcing them to work so hard, then they won't need a rest. I'm really trying to avoid the whole roasting issue, as far as actually roasting beans myself, but it's definitely good to listen in on your chats, to learn about loafing and/or resting.

You can't get off that easy spaceman People have been doing it for thousands of years. It can be done on a hot rock. It's only needs to be as technical as you make it, This could be yours for the mere cost of shipping

 

[spaceman]

Ha ha, that's pretty tempting alright, but my biggest issue is space to do that roasting trick, and for storing beans. I appreciate the offer though.

 

[BGRoberts]

You can't get off that easy spaceman People have been doing it for thousands of years. It can be done on a hot rock. It's only needs to be as technical as you make it, This could be yours for the mere cost of shipping

Any good links to start learning about coffee/roasting/home-built roasters?

Thanks!
~BG

 

[rnorton]

Any good links to start learning about coffee/roasting/home-built roasters?

Thanks!
~BG

The list serve at Sweet Maria's is a good start.

 

[elcoholic]

Ditto on Sweet Maria's for links. If you do Amazon Coffe Beans Direct is another good source for beans.

 

[hbrocks]

CONGRATULATIONS on the new Behmor...!

When I'm ready to purchase one...I'll contact the Bodhi store in Yorba....sounds like a great deal.
I've read many forums where they discuss a gazillion mods to dial this thing in with heat control and the like.

Please keep us updated and post your results....and impressions!

Happy New Year!

 

[elcoholic]

Thanks Brad. Well I didn't follow the directions and screwed up the 1st 1/2 pound batch. I had it plugged it into a poor circuit that dropped down to 105V at full heat. Very under roasted. I moved to a good circuit from my sub-panel (115 V) and did a 1/4 pound as suggested. It looks pretty good. I may try a press-load of that in the morning. Once I get it down some more you'll have to come over for a demo, some french press coffee and some music. I have a cool tube processor on the way to play with the CD player in the music room.