johnboddie Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2008 Posts: 147 Location: Virginia Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Brasilia Mini Classic,... Grinder: Rocky, KitchenAid Pro Drip: Cuisinart (non-grinding)
Posted Sat May 19, 2012, 4:44pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
Because I'm out at the end of the grid, my voltage can vary substantially. I find the Kill-a-watt meter to be invaluable when considering how I'll go about completing the roast. When I'm roasting for my wife (She likes Columbian in a drip maker) I'll usually use P2 and if the voltage is 119 or 120, I'll let it go about five seconds into second crack before hitting the Cool button. If the voltage is 116 or 117, I'll let it go fifteen seconds into second crack for the same result, which is a FC+ (dark bean no oil no grassy smell sometimes a bit of chocolate, sometimes not).
I've done over 400 roasts on the Behmor and have experienced one fire (cleanup is a real pain) and I consider it a very good half-pound roaster. I can reliably use P3 to get my Ethiopian to FC and my Brazilian to Vienna. What I've learned is that the machine helps you significantly, but the final result involves a lot of sound, smell and practice.
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,464 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Sat May 19, 2012, 5:25pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
johnboddie Said:
I consider it a very good half-pound roaster. I can reliably use P3 to get my Ethiopian to FC and my Brazilian to Vienna. What I've learned is that the machine helps you significantly, but the final result involves a lot of sound, smell and practice.
Agree with all except] the 1/2 # roaster thing. I routinely roast 14oz by weight, SO's and espresso blends. I can easily get a 2nd crack result..if I want, with no baked beans. My trick is to ALWAYS use the "A" profile, and making sure the beans are at room temperature. Another well known workaround is to Start a roast, then stop it at 1minute-50 seconds.
Then restart the roaster with your normal profiling. This gives the green (and the Behmor) a little "kick-start" towards the yellowing process.
Prof Senior Member Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 632 Location: Seattle Expertise: Pro Roaster
Espresso: PV Lusso, Enrico of Italy Grinder: Pharos 696, Zass Drip: Brazen, Aeropress Roaster: Behmor, TO/SC, Poppery I
Posted Sun May 20, 2012, 7:10pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
Yes, P2 is a great profile for many beans. Keeping track of the variables, as mentioned above, makes it pretty easy to be consistent with the down-shift of heat near the start of 1C. Or maybe I'm just lucky. :)
Immediately after pressing cool, I open the door and remove the chaff tray (hot mitts...) to speed up the initial cool down. Having the door open gets lots of chaff around the roast table, but that's the only downside for my Behmor, purchased early on.
IMAWriter Senior Member Joined: 4 Jul 2002 Posts: 5,464 Location: Brentwood, TN Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Nothing at the moment Grinder: Vario-W,Preciso-Esatto/KyM... Vac Pot: Adcraft SS, Yama 8 cup Drip: Brazen.Chemex, Hario, Clever... Roaster: Behmor 1600, CO/UFO combo
Posted Sun May 20, 2012, 8:19pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
Prof Said:
Yes, P2 is a great profile for many beans. Keeping track of the variables, as mentioned above, makes it pretty easy to be consistent with the down-shift of heat near the start of 1C. Or maybe I'm just lucky. :)
Immediately after pressing cool, I open the door and remove the chaff tray (hot mitts...) to speed up the initial cool down. Having the door open gets lots of chaff around the roast table, but that's the only downside for my Behmor, purchased early on.
I do the same...remove the chaff tray. I also have a low power small stationary fan, just enough to circulate a little cool garage air on the roast in the drum as it cools.
godofgwar Senior Member Joined: 26 Aug 2009 Posts: 143 Location: San Francisco Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 Grinder: Mazzer Mini Drip: Single Dripper Roaster: Hottop B
Posted Mon May 21, 2012, 4:21pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
I second what Rob said about roasting lighter. I began roasting for espresso by going right up to or past C2, but I after comparing to some of my favorite local micro-roasters (Blue Bottle, Four Barrel, Sightglass), I noticed that they all roast espresso on the lighter side. Now I usually stop my roasts at least 20 seconds before C2 for a nice, sweet pull. Smells wonderful, not at all grassy. (I also crack the door about a minute into C1)
Posted Sat May 26, 2012, 8:27pm Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
Time for me to start playing with P2. I've rarely used it in the past. I usually roast 10-12 oz and when I use P3, I often select A instead of B or C. Using RoasterThing, I can see how the profile curves line up and P2 A should get me 60-90 seconds before 1C at the time of the power drop. Need I be concerned that it won't go back to full power on the profile for quite a while (the roast may even be done before that)?
PS: My voltage is usually 117 or so (preload) so my roasts are on the slightly slower side.
Paul, I generally roast 14oz by weight, as my tables have been based on that amount for quite some time. When I roast for espresso ( my green blends that have been pre-blended and allowed to moisture stabilize together for a week) I often do 12oz, as i want to assure of being able to hit 2nd crack within my expected time frame. This often depends on how much Brasilian, or other low grown bean is in the blend.
I'm not the most scientific guy around here (prolly an huge understatement...lol0 but I've found that decent record keeping can really aid in getting closer to one's hopeful result.
Posted Mon May 28, 2012, 4:40am Subject: Re: Roast levels in Behmor - seeking some advice
I just roasted some SMs El Salvador Finca La Montanita Bourbon. I used P2 A. I new (from previous roasts) that the power cut would occur about 90 secs before the onset of 1C that would have occurred with a P1 profile. What ended up happening though is that 1C didn't happen until after the power ramped back up (1C 17:27, 2C 20:00)
I think I should have used P2 C (which I realize is my plan) but my question is: Are there ppositive effects on the roast that could be obtained from lowering the power before (but not during) 1C, or is this just likely to bake the beans?
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