Any home coffee roasters here?

[DTS]

Was wondering if there were any home coffee roasters here. Hope to get my first roaster in the next few weeks. Pretty well decided to go with the Behmor Coffee Roaster, its a drum style with up to a pound capacity. Would be curious to now what types of roasters and suppliers are being used, if any. Burman Coffee Traders is who I'm going to go with more my initial equipment and bean purchase. It was either going to be home brew beer or coffee roasting, decide for the coffee first, maybe beer in the spring. Any brewers as well?

 

[TLS Guy]

Was wondering if there were any home coffee roasters here. Hope to get my first roaster in the next few weeks. Pretty well decided to go with the Behmor Coffee Roaster, its a drum style with up to a pound capacity. Would be curious to now what types of roasters and suppliers are being used, if any. Burman Coffee Traders is who I'm going to go with more my initial equipment and bean purchase. It was either going to be home brew beer or coffee roasting, decide for the coffee first, maybe beer in the spring. Any brewers as well?

I don't roast but my close friend Phil Marin does, and he is expert at it.

He has roasted for quite a few years. His first roasters nearly cost him his house in Grand Forks.

His current roaster is this one.

Last winter it started blowing his fuses. I had to do extensive repairs, so now he keeps me in first class coffee. He is correct that coffee is well past best by 10 days after roasting.

A word of caution though. I think these machines are very dangerous. There are high temperatures, and concretions of volatile oils build up. Also you need to clean not only the concretions but the chaff that builds up in them.

I would advise that you never operate it unattended even for a few seconds, ever. Hve a fire extinguisher close by on all times when roasting.

I would wonder how a machine could be built to any safety or quality for the price of the machine you are considering. I think Phil's machine should have had a lot more precision engineering and have been built to a higher standard. Personally I fail to see how you could build something of the required standard for much less than 2K.

Phil roasts at least twice a week and often more. He is expert at knowing which coffee beans need taking to the first crack, between the cracks and to the second crack. Taking beans to the second crack is interesting I can assure you.

 

[CraigV]

The closest I get is grinding before brewing. Sounds like a fun venture though – keep us posted. Is there a particular roast you prefer?

 

[jostenmeat]

You can save yourself a boatload of money by using a $20-40 popcorn machine instead. That's what the biggest foodie/home-brewer/home-roaster I know of happens to use. Not quite as interesting for a conversation piece, but it works.

A quick google comes up with a few articles.

 

[Swerd]

I use a Nesco roaster. It does a much smaller amount of beans than yours will, but that is fine with me. Depending on how much coffee I make, it lasts as long as a week. Keeping roasted beans any longer than a week is not worth it IMO.

Have you ever roasted coffee before? It makes a lot of smoke. Consider doing it outside, or if you have a good kitchen exhaust fan, keep it running during the roast. The Nesco roaster has a catalytic converter and produces very little smoke. Any roaster that is bigger will likely smoke much more. Just a thought.

I like the variety and quality of green coffee beans available from Sweet Maria's. My favorite are the Central American beans when they are in season. That web site is full of good info on coffee roasting. The owner of the company writes a lot about it and is very long-winded (he obviously drinks a LOT OF COFFEE), but it's worth reading as I've generally found that what he says works very well for me.

 

[jliedeka]

I'm currently using a Behmor. Before that I used a FreshRoast Plus, a Back to Basics stovetop popper and a heat gun. I generally like the Behmor but I can't realistically roast a pound. The largest batch I ever do is 12oz and more often 8oz but I always use the 1 pound setting.

Jim

 

[DTS]

Thanks all for your comments and insights. Been doing a a lot of online reading and research on the subject, and have a couple of books on the way. I'm aware of the fire hazard and will be there to watch and learn. Guess I don't have a favorite roast, just curious to try different beans, and there are a bunch to try. I also have read a lot of good information at the Sweet Maria's site and will probably put in an order there too. The Behmor has a smoke suppression system they say is pretty effective, of course I am aware there will always be smoke to some degree.

 

[j_garcia]

I know this guy; did some work for him while he was developing a smokeless roaster. He is some kind of coffee god and a VERY interesting guy. Big into audio too

http://www.coffeetec.com/

You can get a roaster from him for $3K Or if you want to do a few HUNDRED pounds, you can get one for $98K.

 

[DTS]

Thanks, but for now I will stick with the $300 model, I don't drink that much coffee and don't that many friends.

I know this guy; did some work for him while he was developing a smokeless roaster. He is some kind of coffee god and a VERY interesting guy. Big into audio too

http://www.coffeetec.com/

You can get a roaster from him for $3K Or if you want to do a few HUNDRED pounds, you can get one for $98K.

 

[DTS]

Any home coffee roasters here? UPDATE- now with Photos!

Got my roaster and beans yesterday. Did two 8 oz batches of regular {Papua New Guinea Amuliba "A"} and a 8 oz batch of decaf {Decaf Costa Rican BCT Dota Select}. Brewed my first pot this morning, and man its good. Roasting is interesting and fun. Going to do another batch today since I gave a good bit of it away.

My Behmor roaster and bean selection. 2 more Decafs - Mexican Malinal & Ethiopian and Hawaiian Kauai Reserve & a blend.

Before and after

Dacaf

 

[GlocksRock]

I haven't, but I would love to have fresh roasted coffee. I just buy my coffee in bulk at Sams club, and grind it before I brew it.

 

[jliedeka]

I've had my Behmor for over a year and have been home roasting for 7 or 8 years. I like being able to roast about a week's worth at a time. There's something to be said for always having the freshest possible coffee.

Jim

 

[DTS]

Just a quick one week update. I love home roasting, its fun and it is sooo good. Have done 8 roast, all of them have been really nice. The Behmor does a really nice job in my opinion, but the only one I have ever used. Its fun and addicting ordering and trying different coffees. I have a 4 pack sampler coming from Sweet Maria's that will have 4 coffees from 4 different continents. Later in the week I will try a different supplier from Tampa, best prices I have found so far.

 

[GlocksRock]

Anyone care to send me a small batch of fresh roasted coffee so I can see what all the fuss is about?

 

[jinjuku]

Sorry, I make beer

BTW, I understand the importance of roasting, but what is your brew method? What grind do you use? Water temp? How does all this vary for the bean your are using and the darkness that you are roasting to.

Also, why does it cost more to get the unroasted/unground bean?

 

[GlocksRock]

You can feel free to send me beer too

I did a tiny amount of home brewing before with some friends of mine. We only made a few batches, and it turned out pretty good, but it isn't something I really wanted to make a hobby of.

 

[Dan]

Sorry, I make beer

BTW, I understand the importance of roasting, but what is your brew method? What grind do you use? Water temp? How does all this vary for the bean your are using and the darkness that you are roasting to.

Also, why does it cost more to get the unroasted/unground bean?

I roast too. The ideal water temp is just short of boiling, about 205 F. I use a teapot and assume I get 5-10 degrees of cool down by removing it from the burner. The problem with most auto drip coffee makers is that they don't get hot enough (around 185 F) especially over time to extract the oils with their flavor. The grind depends upon how the coffee is made. A French press needs a coarse grind or you'll have a lot of grinds in the cup. I use a fine grind with a Melita filter over my mug and pour the water through it. It's dirt cheap, $5, and works great, won't break. Espresso, for which I use a stovetop machine takes a very fine grind. I use a good blade grinder about $20 but they are hard to find anymore. A burr grinder is better but they can get very pricey. I get green beans generally around $5.50 to 6.50 a pound, cheaper than the junk in the stores roasted god knows when.

DTS that was a lot of coffee you made! I have found it's best the next morning and after a week, it really starts to tail off, even when stored in airtight containers. A quarter pound does me fine for 5-7 days. Also, the roast looked mighty dark in your photo. Certainly, to each his own. I like a very light roast (which also makes for a very high caffeine load). Try some lighter roasts, before the second crack, especially with Central and South American stuff and see if you like it. It took a least 6 months to learn what coffees I liked and how I liked to roast it consistently.

Aside from improving my coffee, I have also improved my weak central American geography and learned that Mexico makes some great coffee (from Chiapas).

 

[jliedeka]

Green coffee is cheaper than roasted coffee, at least until you add in your labor for roasting. Most of the coffees I get run between $4-7/pound shipped. Even figuring the 20% weight loss from roasting, it's still cheaper than an $11 bag of roasted coffee.

I use an electric kettle and brew with a manual drip. Mostly I use a filtercone and brew into a travel mug. When I want a whole pot, I use the Chemex and transfer the brewed coffee to a carafe.

The grind quality is important, less so for drip but still important. I use a Rancilio Rocky espresso grinder for everything. I've recently been experimenting with a finer grind for drip to get a more thorough extraction.

Jim

 

[DTS]

To reply to a few comments-

A good portion of the coffee was given away to friends and family

I use a full size restaurant pour over BUNN. My dad and I had a coffee route at one time, so it is what I have used for years. And its fast, instant java.

Brew temp is 195 degrees, checked it today as a matter of fact.

I use a burr grinder and only grind enough for one pot. I do use 2 1/2 oz per pot, and often have 2 pots per day, so that does eat up the bean supply pretty quick.

Green coffee, so far for me, is $4.73 - $6.49 SHIPPED, I don't think you can beat that, especially for the quality of the product, and the fun. The latest order I put in today is from Caracolillo Coffee Mill from Tampa. Among other beans I got 5# of Columbia Supremo Huila for $17.95 {$3.59/#} and I had a tracker number within the hour.

I have done different roast, some darker than others. Generally try to go by the recommended roast by the distributor.

I let by fresh roasted beans rest for no less than 12 hours, often over night, then it to air tight storage.

Now, I think I will go brew up some Decaf Mexican Malinal WP, it was roasted yesterday and it smells so good.

 

[TLS Guy]

Bringing a third world coffee roaster up to code.

I was getting increasingly uncomfortable about the safety of my friend Phil's Hot Top coffee roaster.

I had already done an extensive repair after a chaff fire, and the chaff seemed to build up in dangerous places very quickly. So I persuaded him to look for another coffee roaster.

The distributor from whom he buys his green coffee beans had imported 14 roasters made in Peru. Previously they had sold one. However the unit is not up to gas an electrical codes, and the first owner blew himself and his garage up as the unit is supplied without a regulator and the purchaser was not told he needed one.

The vendor was clueless about codes and safety and was not happy when I told him the unit did not meet US/Minnesots gas and electrical codes, and he should not be retailing them like that.

The gas fitting was crude and attached with a cutting hose clamp to a serrated nipple on the side. So I took off the nipple to make sure I got the correct threads to make this connection.

The next problem was the electrical connection to the Cyclotron exhaust, which could easily deliver a nasty electric shock and would give Rickster conniptions.

The other problem was that the exhaust was supposed to be vertical, but the manufacturer had made no provision what ever for mounting it, and it is too top heavy to stand. The vendor uses it with the exhaust laid in its side, which is very crude.

So a few weeks ago I custom built a clamping base for the exhaust out of steel scraps from my shop. I only had to purchase a 3" piece pf steel pipe and a steel hinge which I cut down and welded to the clams I made from the steel pipe. I cut the base with my plasma cutter and made the other parts with my Jet band saw. I welded it together. The left clam is welded to the base, the right hinged. It clamps with the large bolt and is lock nutted so it does not move. The jaws have foam pads on the inside.

I installed it all today and made the electrical connections safe. The support of the exhaust is solid. The chaff door opens between the clams.

Here is a view of the total set up.

It roasts coffee superbly.

The nice deal is that I get excellent free coffee.

Although the cost is high, due to the low cost of green beans compared to roasted, we calculated pay back to be 2 years given the amount of roasting done.

I thoroughly enjoyed thinking this project through and doing the custom fabrication.

Here is a link to the complete album.