Posted Mon Jun 25, 2012, 4:42am Subject: Re: So, what did I do wrong? [roasting]
AndyPanda Said:
+1 about the Bread Machine/Heat Gun.
I started with a FreshRoast ... built a StirCrazy/Turbo Oven and was really disappointed in that (just didn't move the beans evenly enough)
I may have gotten lucky with the particular Bread Machine I used - but it easily does 500grams and probably more - I am getting fantastic roasts with it and it is so easy to control the profile. My roasts are always even --- and no more divots in my beans. I couldn't ask for a better system. (well .. it would be nice if I could pull a lever and eject the beans - but otherwise, it's pretty near perfect for my needs)
I've tried up to 600g, somewhere between 550 and 600g is where the stratification starts for me. Good bean circulation at the start, but by the time 1C starts to come on (where the beans being the big expansion) the surface gets really close to the heat gun and the top layer stops circulating to the bottom. Top third rockets to 2C, bottom third is just barely at 1C, and the top layer was crackling away while the thermocouple (at the bottom) registered a paltry 340°F.
The other issue with the stratification of the bean mass when overloading a breadmaker is the chaff isn't wafted out of the roasting chamber - In my case it collected in large masses in the middle as the bottom layer started into 1C - and would burp out the top in these clumpy chunks by the buttload. More beans = more chaff.
It's really alarming to hear 1C AND 2C going on at the same time. That familiar crackle - like miniature pieces of oak in a campfire - and you know you've got about 1 minute before the smoke REALLY comes on and you're close to ignition, but at the same time is the popcorn-popping of 1C.
525g seems to be a good place for my setup to snap the line - it makes about 460g of roasted coffee (hey, that's pretty much a pound!).
Mine was a Welbuilt, if I recall.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Mon Jun 25, 2012, 4:43am Subject: Re: So, what did I do wrong? [roasting]
The other benefit for BMHG is that unlike the Behmor, you can do peaberry and smaller green coffees like Yemen and Ethiopia.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Mon Jun 25, 2012, 8:06am Subject: Re: So, what did I do wrong? [roasting]
Mine is a Sunbeam. I've been baking bread in it for about 5 years prior to this. The paddle is extra tall compared to other bread machines I've seen. I think I paid $50 at target but bread machines aren't as easy to find, new in stores these days as they were 20 years ago. Really easy to find at thrift stores and yard sales though.
The heat gun is a cheap one I bought 30 years ago - high/low and I mainly leave it on low and it's close to perfect. If I want something in between I can either cycle between hi/low or pull the gun back a little further or vent the lid a little - but when this heat gun dies I'll probably buy a variable heat model.
I simply disconnected the heater in the BM and connected the motor directly so when you plug in the power cord the motor spins all the time. It would be nice to have a switch to turn the motor on and off - and maybe to turn the BM heater on for drying phase - but it works so well just as it is that I leave it alone for now.
I drilled a small hole in the side of the breadpan close to the bottom for my ThermoCouple. I've heard people worry about teflon and sandblast their breadpan - but I've been roasting for months and the teflon is still intact so I'm not worried about it.
I pulled the aluminum liner out of the plastic lid - tossed the plastic and epoxied the aluminum lid liner to the old hinge. So I can raise and lower the aluminum lid on the original hinge without all the plastic that was melting before. And I cut out an aluminum piece to cover the view hole (had a clear plastic window) in the lid - with just a small hole to poke the heat gun in. This holds all the heat and I find it easier to work this way than with the top open - I'm using lower heat from the gun so it isn't scorching the surface of the beans. I suspect that with an open top I would need a lot higher heat from the gun and seems like that wouldn't roast as evenly. But I wish I could see the bean color (I have to pull the gun and shine a light now) - so someday I may rig up a view window and a light - that is one thing the turbo oven versions have going for them, the glass top)
Here are two FC roasts of an Ethiopian Sidama I did this weekend
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