GARLLAMA Senior Member Joined: 5 Feb 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Oregon coast Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon May 14, 2012, 1:15pm Subject: Roasting using wood
I have a question.
I've been fascinated for quite a while with roasting coffee using wood as the fuel. Commercial wood roasters cost a fortune and are hard to find.
I was in a local big box store recently and saw a BBQ grill (Char-Grill) that uses charcoal to cook/smoke meats and/or vegetables. It is a large drum with a lid that opens. The bottom part of the drum is deep. There is a small smokestack on top to vent out smoke. There is an air vent on the side that opens and closes. It is apparently rotisserie adaptable. There is a temp. gauge on the lid (goes to 450* I think).
My question is, does anybody think this setup would work to roast coffee? I'd get a commercial drum and motor. Attach the rotisserie rod. Start a wood fire on the bottom of the drum(using small chunks of unique flavor wood like apple, cherry, etc.). Let it burn down to the coals and get the temp. up to 400* or so before starting the roast.
It might be difficult to regulate the temp. but maybe it could be done with the airflow vent.
Posted Mon May 14, 2012, 2:03pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
GARLLAMA Said:
I was in a local big box store recently and saw a BBQ grill (Char-Grill) that uses charcoal to cook/smoke meats and/or vegetables. It is a large drum with a lid that opens. The bottom part of the drum is deep. There is a small smokestack on top to vent out smoke. There is an air vent on the side that opens and closes. It is apparently rotisserie adaptable. There is a temp. gauge on the lid (goes to 450* I think).
My question is, does anybody think this setup would work to roast coffee? I'd get a commercial drum and motor. Attach the rotisserie rod. Start a wood fire on the bottom of the drum(using small chunks of unique flavor wood like apple, cherry, etc.). Let it burn down to the coals and get the temp. up to 400* or so before starting the roast.
If you could get the temp inside up to around 500 degrees F then it may be worth a go. The coffee beans themselves do not really pick up too much of the smoke taste (I've tried smoking already roasted beans before in my meat smoker ... actually what was picked up didn't taste that great as a final product).
I have seen grills at lowes and sams club where you can raise and lower the charcoal bed; that would seem to be a good setup for temp adjustments.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
GARLLAMA Senior Member Joined: 5 Feb 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Oregon coast Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Mon May 14, 2012, 2:46pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
Len, Thanks for your response.
I've purchased coffee before from roasters who use wood to roast (Wood-fire Roasted Coffee Co., and Millar's Coffee) and really enjoyed the taste. Very subtle and definitely not overwhelming smoke flavor. It seems to mellow and smooth out coffee and adds a touch of sweetness in the cup.
It seems if I could control the heat with airflow somehow, then I could maintain a consistent temp. throughout the roast.
I have owned two coffee roasting companies (sold both) so I have a pretty good idea on what needs to be done.
I might try it just for kicks - if I do, Len, I'll buy a drum from you.
Posted Mon May 14, 2012, 4:46pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
GARLLAMA Said:
Len, Thanks for your response.
I've purchased coffee before from roasters who use wood to roast (Wood-fire Roasted Coffee Co., and Millar's Coffee) and really enjoyed the taste. Very subtle and definitely not overwhelming smoke flavor. It seems to mellow and smooth out coffee and adds a touch of sweetness in the cup.
It seems if I could control the heat with airflow somehow, then I could maintain a consistent temp. throughout the roast.
I have owned two coffee roasting companies (sold both) so I have a pretty good idea on what needs to be done.
I might try it just for kicks - if I do, Len, I'll buy a drum from you.
Thank you Gary. Regarding the off tastes I got, maybe it was because I was smoking the beans after the roast using a colder smoke from my meat smoker, than a hotter smoke from a roast directly over wood.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
NobbyR Senior Member Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 1,613 Location: Germany Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Poccino Opus One, Ariete Grinder: Eureka Mignon Istantaneo,... Vac Pot: N/A Drip: Melitta Linea Unica de Luxe Roaster: N/A
Posted Tue May 15, 2012, 8:07am Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
Using wood is a traditional way of roasting coffee beans. The Italian roaster "Tre Forze!" from Sicily uses wood from olive trees to fuel their fires: click here. The direct contact made between the flame and the beans is supposed to result in a creamier and thicker espresso, that contains less caffeine. This is more like industrially roasted coffee than 3rd wave, of course.
*** "This drink of the Satan is so delicious that it would be a shame to leave it to the infidels." (Pope Clement VIII on coffee)
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,724 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Tue May 15, 2012, 9:13am Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
I don't know much about roasting coffee, but that type of smoker is quite temperature controllable. once you get used to it. There's a steep learning curve to really get comfortable controlling the temp. It's done by regulating air inflow (at the side of the firebox), air outflow (at the top of the chimney) and the amount and type of fuel. Some woods burn hotter than others and they also will burn at different rates, depending on multiple factors (particle size, moisture content, sap content, etc). I don't mean to say you shouldn't try it, but you might want to practice and get comfortable with how it works by smoking meats first.
GARLLAMA Senior Member Joined: 5 Feb 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Oregon coast Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue May 15, 2012, 2:06pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
I agree. It would be tricky controlling the temperature. There's obviously no way to increase or reduce the fuel flow like on a conventional drum roaster using propane or natural gas. It would have to been controlled by airflow. But I think it's doable and could be an interesting way to roast coffee.
germantownrob Senior Member Joined: 2 Dec 2007 Posts: 2,018 Location: Philadelphia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Duetto 3, A Dead Oscar Grinder: Vario-W, Preciso w/Esatto,... Drip: Brazen Roaster: Diedrich IR-1, HT B
Posted Tue May 15, 2012, 4:57pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
GARLLAMA Said:
I agree. It would be tricky controlling the temperature. There's obviously no way to increase or reduce the fuel flow like on a conventional drum roaster using propane or natural gas. It would have to been controlled by airflow. But I think it's doable and could be an interesting way to roast coffee.
Well control would be slow so unlike a commercial gas drum roaster your profile will be more of a set and go. An offset fire box with full control over the amount of heat and airflow is a way to have full control but you would have to build this for roasting or at least mod an existing smoker.
I do have a pid on my smoker for meats but it will not swing temps up very quickly and bringing temps down is a matter of letting less air flow cool the coals and this takes more time then a 15 min roast but my pid does a great job of maintaining 225f consistently for 6-24hrs.
I am finding this a very interesting topic. In the past I always associated smoke flavor to what I as a meat smoker go for, low and slow and lots of smoke. This thread has me rethinking what I assumed was going on with coffee beans and smoke, I guess it is more akin to a wood oven for pizza. Seems an offset fire box with say oak charcoal (or burned downed oak) would have a high temp somewhere in the 700f range, if a y pipe with a controlled fan and damper could control outside ambient air with hotbox air you could profile the temps going into the roasting chamber. I suppose the roasting chamber and drum should be over the hotbox to help maintain a roasting temp. My son should be off to at least two days of school after this summer, I think this is something I need to work on since I just took down 6 cords of oak and I am blowing through where the fireplace is to put a a sliding door and windows as I type.
Gary, check out this at lowes: Click Here (www.lowes.com)|1&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_Charcoal%2BGrills_4294857761_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=
Kind of a funky looking URL, but if click ther "Click Here" link above it will bring it to the grill.
I mentioned before that such a grill has the ability to raise and lower the charcoal bed to get it closer or farther away from what is being roasted, to provide greater or lower heat applied to such. This particular grill has a hand crank that does that job. That along with the draft controls on the grill should allow for decent heat control.
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
GARLLAMA Senior Member Joined: 5 Feb 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Oregon coast Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue May 15, 2012, 7:04pm Subject: Re: Roasting using wood
Len, Thanks for the link.
It looks very similar to the grill I saw at Fred Meyer (Kroger). It was on sale for $119.99. I can't remember if it had the capability to raise and lower the grate. I think it might have had it.
My thinking is to get a good hot fire going, burn the wood down to the coals, get the internal temp. up to 450-500*, get the beans going in one of your baskets with a rotisserie , monitor the temp. using an internal probe, control the temp. using the airflow opening on the side and at the top smokestack.
I would think it would take quite a few trial and error roasts before getting the right combinations going. My goal would be to try and replicate some of the Italian slow roast techniques that produce a sweet, creamy espresso. I would use a combination of unique hardwoods that I have on my farm (apple, wild cherry, alder, etc.).
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