Advice for a wannabe roaster?

[CoffeeJunky]

If you are in Michigan, I would sold you few different kind of coffee beans.....

 

[namballe]

I don't know how many bad batches I'm going to get before I get something drinkable

you would have to go beyond a "French Roast" before getting something undrinkable. and at that point, the smoke will be a tell-tale sign lol! i wouldn't worry too much.

 

[eldub]

He could have the roaster running too hot and scorch the outer layer of bean before the insides are roasted sufficiently.

Or he could bring the temps up too slowly and bake the beans rather than roast them.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

He could have the roaster running too hot and scorch the outer layer of bean before the insides are roasted sufficiently.

Or he could bring the temps up too slowly and bake the beans rather than roast them.

This is almost not possible if you are roasting at home cook top.

Rose,
I love roasting at home. My kitchen has door out to my deck and I have bean cooling set up with commercial type of fan.
I roast much more in winter.
If you are roasting about a pound at a time, your smoke will not be over powering in Whirly Pop. Its little hard to see the color of the bean but you can clearly hear the FC and SC.
I know you do not like dark roast so you just need to wait to finish first crack and you will have beautifully roasted coffee.....
You should try....

CJ

 

[jaredgibson87]

If you are in Michigan, I would sold you few different kind of coffee beans.....

quite a long drive for a few beans. I'm stuck in north Alabama

 

[jaredgibson87]

Well, I just put in an order at Sweet Maria's for a Hottop Basic. I also took advantage of their offer to add a 5 pound bag of green coffee beans for an extra $10. I decided to go for the Kenya Nyeri Gaturiri AB beans on a whim. Looks like I might be roasting by the end of next week :razz:

 

[PinkRose]

Congratulations! You've made the decision and the order is on its way. I hope you have lots of fun playing with your new toy!

Rose

 

[cAPSLOCK]

Well, I just put in an order at Sweet Maria's for a Hottop Basic. I also took advantage of their offer to add a 5 pound bag of green coffee beans for an extra $10. I decided to go for the Kenya Nyeri Gaturiri AB beans on a whim. Looks like I might be roasting by the end of next week :razz:

You'll love this!

It's really easy to do, and there is something very rewarding about roasting yourself.

By the way your roasted beans are at their BEST the next morning after roasting IMO. We put them in a mason jar, and the jar will gain pressure from escaped CO2 overnight. I don't know if that has something to do with it... but I always like them most after they rest.

 

[jaredgibson87]

You'll love this!


By the way your roasted beans are at their BEST the next morning after roasting IMO.

I've read that on some how-to articles on home roasting. Gonna be hard to wait 24 hours, before grinding and brewing my first batch, though.

 

[PinkRose]

If you can't wait, then go for it!

You can always brew some and also let some of it "rest" for a day or two and compare the taste.

I'm guesing you'll be roasting plenty of coffee, and you'll be experimenting with the timing for resting (degassing) and brewing. You'll eventually find what's right for you.

 

[cAPSLOCK]

I've read that on some how-to articles on home roasting. Gonna be hard to wait 24 hours, before grinding and brewing my first batch, though.

Just roast enough so you can brew right after and save some for later... that's what I do.

 

[Scareyourpassenger]

Like many others, I started out on a Behmore and loved it. The simple profile selection and built in cooling was a nice advantage.

As you progress start thinking about how those different profiles affect the cup and why there are recommendations for the use of certain profiles for each type of bean. Once you get a handle of the built in profiles, you can play with altering batch size and opening and closing the door during a roast to get different flavors. Finally, it isn't easy but cooling the beans outside the Behmor will make a difference as well.

Have fun with it!

 

[jaredgibson87]

well, it's going to be here tomorrow morning (UPS guy usually goes through our neighborhood at 10ish). And, luckily, I'm off, so I wont have the machine and the beans sitting out on the porch all day. Looks like I'll have some fresh roasted coffee before my morning shift on Tuesday

 

[JumpinJakJava]

Good for you! The true adventure now begins. That Kenya will taste better on Thursday though. Congratulations! Roast away!

 

[jaredgibson87]

Well, roasted my first 250 gram batch. I set the timer to 25:00 and left the temp setting at 428F. I was following along in the instruction manual on how to roast my first batch, so I was more concerned with reading and tinkering with fan and heating element settings than listening and watching through the window. I specifically remember hearing one crack but not a second by the time the temp rose to 395, the beeper beeped, and the beans were ejected on to the cooling tray while the timer counted down the last few minutes. I was looking for a City+ roast, which iirc is at the beginning of the second crack. The beans were ejected about 30 seconds or so after the crack I heard ended. Im prepared for this batch to be a total failure in terms of taste since I honestly had no idea what was going on. But maybe I got lucky. Hopefully it's at least on the level of the starbucks stuff I'm used to

I attempted to insert a picture, but I'm sometimes technology-stupid, so it might be too pixelated and tiny to be of any use, if it even shows up at all