We are of the same mindset. So much so that in workplace my cut-the-crap admonition is "It doesn't matter who is right. Only what is right."
Now if only Starbucks would repent their sins, other providers might follow suit.
After all, American Wine has come an extraordinarily long way in a relatively short time.
Next step: Wiping "American 'Cheese'" off the face of the Earth.
Budget?
If I had the money, and wanted a roaster, I'd probably get a hottop. One of the better drum roasters around, but pricey.
Problem with hot air roasters is batch size, can't do very much at a time. I started roasting with a hot air popcorn maker modified for coffee. Had to bypass the hot shutoff
. Also added a thermocouple to measure the bean temp.Behmors are popular because they are relatively cheap, but they have limitations.
I have an alpenrost, which is obsolete. It's also modified with a thermocouple in the middle of the drum, and I gutted it so I could control the heaters with an arduino.
drum roasters
Randy
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It says, "Parts available after warranty from Behmor."
My Behmor control circuit died after 3.5 years. I emailed them the question and they offered me a replacement (bolt-on circuit board) for around $35. Swapped out and it's working again.
Some are more limited than others, from what I remember the Behmor only offers 4 different roast profiles to choose from. Guys would do things like open the door to try to get better roasts. Oh,
I think the theory behind most roasters is to make it idiot proof so you won't burn your house down lol.
It's why I built my own. Started off with a Popcorn pumper. Added two thermocouples. One thermocouple was in the middle of the beans, and the other was by the heating element. Used a PID to control it. And I got more elaborate after that.
Randy
This thread is pretty awesome
It helps to further my theory about audio folks. There's a good chance a disproportionate number are also into:
- coffee
- beer or wine
- photography
- bicycles
- computers
When I say "into" i mean more than your average person gets into things
I've been roasting my own coffee since I was in university... which is now longer ago than I care to think about. My wife and I purchased a little Fresh Roast Plus fluid bed roaster from Sweet Maria's and used it to roast beans almost daily given the minuscule batch size and the fact the we were each drinking two coffees a day back then.
At the time, it was honestly a revelation. I had tried the pre-roasted $50/lb Jamaican Blue Mountain beans and the $35/lb Hawaiian Kona beans from the local boutique coffee place, but nothing compared to simple Ethiopian beans roasted just the day before at home. Since then the coffee industry has matured a lot. Back then a cup of coffee that could match my home roasted stuff was almost impossible to come by, regardless of price. Nowadays there are local places here in San Diego that make a better pour-over than I have ever managed. I chalk it up to their large professional grade roasters and more elaborate / fine tuned roast profiles.
We eventually got tired of roasting daily, so I splurged on a Gene Cafe off-axis hot air rotating drum roaster which could manage a full 240g of green beans compared to the 50g of beans that the Fresh Roast Plus could manage. It cost me $495 back in 2009, and has been going strong ever since without a single issue. Going through my old Sweet Maria's orders, I've put at least 200lbs of green coffee though it. We roast pretty much a batch a week and sometimes more if we have guests or I make extra for work.
Having used both the Fresh Roast and the Gene Cafe, I have picked up on the pros and cons of both. The Fresh Roast was very quiet, and made it very easy to catch first and second crack. I was also so small, and the batch size was so limited that cooling was very fast, so you stopped the roaster when the beans got to the desired roast level, and that was what you got. It could also roast a 50g batch in about 8 minutes, so it was great for experimenting with different roast levels and bean varietals. In hindsight, it was the perfect beginners roaster. The Gene cafe on the other hand is louder because of the rotating drum. This makes it much more difficult to hear first crack, and sometimes even second crack is too muted to catch. Also, because of the design and larger capacity, cooling takes quite a lot longer. As a result you have to stop the roast a bit before the desired roast level as it will tend to coast up a little after you stop it. The Gene Cafe is also more sensitive to ambient temperature variations so outdoor roasting, especially in a Canadian climate could be hit or miss.
Despite the above, I would not hesitate to recommend the Gene Cafe roaster. It does have its quirks, but all home roasting solutions do. After 8 years of continuous use it has proven itself both capable and reliable.
Lately I've been drinking a lot of great Kenyan and Ethiopian, but have also enjoyed a few different Rwandan beans along with a few nice ones from India. I usually roast between C+ and FC depending on the bean. For extraction I've been exclusively using a Hario V60 since selling my Rancilio Silvia espresso machine before my last move. I kept the Rocky grinder and still use it daily. It's on a second set of burrs as the originals were shot after 6 years.
Glad to see there are so many fellow coffee lovers here!
Cheers,
Owen
It helps to further my theory about audio folks. There's a good chance a disproportionate number are also into:
- coffee
- beer or wine
- photography
- bicycles
- computers
When I say "into" i mean more than your average person gets into things
I've been roasting my own coffee since I was in university... which is now longer ago than I care to think about. My wife and I purchased a little Fresh Roast Plus fluid bed roaster from Sweet Maria's and used it to roast beans almost daily given the minuscule batch size and the fact the we were each drinking two coffees a day back then.
At the time, it was honestly a revelation. I had tried the pre-roasted $50/lb Jamaican Blue Mountain beans and the $35/lb Hawaiian Kona beans from the local boutique coffee place, but nothing compared to simple Ethiopian beans roasted just the day before at home. Since then the coffee industry has matured a lot. Back then a cup of coffee that could match my home roasted stuff was almost impossible to come by, regardless of price. Nowadays there are local places here in San Diego that make a better pour-over than I have ever managed. I chalk it up to their large professional grade roasters and more elaborate / fine tuned roast profiles.
We eventually got tired of roasting daily, so I splurged on a Gene Cafe off-axis hot air rotating drum roaster which could manage a full 240g of green beans compared to the 50g of beans that the Fresh Roast Plus could manage. It cost me $495 back in 2009, and has been going strong ever since without a single issue. Going through my old Sweet Maria's orders, I've put at least 200lbs of green coffee though it. We roast pretty much a batch a week and sometimes more if we have guests or I make extra for work.
Having used both the Fresh Roast and the Gene Cafe, I have picked up on the pros and cons of both. The Fresh Roast was very quiet, and made it very easy to catch first and second crack. I was also so small, and the batch size was so limited that cooling was very fast, so you stopped the roaster when the beans got to the desired roast level, and that was what you got. It could also roast a 50g batch in about 8 minutes, so it was great for experimenting with different roast levels and bean varietals. In hindsight, it was the perfect beginners roaster. The Gene cafe on the other hand is louder because of the rotating drum. This makes it much more difficult to hear first crack, and sometimes even second crack is too muted to catch. Also, because of the design and larger capacity, cooling takes quite a lot longer. As a result you have to stop the roast a bit before the desired roast level as it will tend to coast up a little after you stop it. The Gene Cafe is also more sensitive to ambient temperature variations so outdoor roasting, especially in a Canadian climate could be hit or miss.
Despite the above, I would not hesitate to recommend the Gene Cafe roaster. It does have its quirks, but all home roasting solutions do. After 8 years of continuous use it has proven itself both capable and reliable.
Lately I've been drinking a lot of great Kenyan and Ethiopian, but have also enjoyed a few different Rwandan beans along with a few nice ones from India. I usually roast between C+ and FC depending on the bean. For extraction I've been exclusively using a Hario V60 since selling my Rancilio Silvia espresso machine before my last move. I kept the Rocky grinder and still use it daily. It's on a second set of burrs as the originals were shot after 6 years.
Glad to see there are so many fellow coffee lovers here!
Cheers,
Owen
Congrats on the first two batches! The second one looks great, but I personally would consider the first batch "burnt".
It's worth letting both rest, and trying both as a learning experience.
I really like the caramelized sweetness of a darker roast (like your second batch) but I'm not a big fan of the charcoal profile of the very dark roasts (like your first batch). Others are into that though, so to each his own.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you end just after first crack, you get a pretty grassy cup that can also get pretty unpleasant, like eating an unripened avocado.
The best part of roasting is that you can dial in what you like for each varietal and roast to that level!
Best of luck and keep up the good work
Cheers,
Owen
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