Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

Outline · [ Standard ] · Linear+

 Coffee Roaster, All about the art of roasting coffee

views
     
lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 02:42 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
Hi all coffee roasting enthusiasts and sifus,

Would just like to introduce myself: very new to the specialty coffee scene (about two years), not doing this professionally (work in a bank).

On the coffee drinking aspect, I prefer espresso-based with milk (drowned), though also love to try out different brewing methods and tools. Cupboard now holds:
- various pour over filter holders
- French press
- Aeropress (favourite non-espresso)
- moka pot
- small copper-bottomed pot for Turkish
- various DIY contraptions to attempt cold brew

Espresso on a heavily modified Philips Saeco Poemia (depressurised, PID) . Dreaming of striking the lottery for a Bezzera Strega.

On the coffee roasting aspect, started about a year ago, popcorn popper (modified until short-circuited and almost set the house on fire), heat-gun/dog bowl (though usually just using a steel cooking pot, now using a Kaldi Wide stovetop drum roaster.

mdyyliew
My thots on your three options:

Bullet R1: if you can afford it, go for it! There's someone on the LYN coffee thread who has one.

Hottop: an old favourite. Pricy for what it delivers.

Sonofresco: if you think the other machines are bulky, this is an absolute monster! Also way out of my price range.

Quest/Huky not considered?


lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 03:45 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(kk131 @ Jun 29 2017, 02:26 PM)
Interested in your popcorn popper roasting experience.

I've tried roasting using an unmodified popper but the time to 1st crack was short - somthing like 4 minutes. I found it difficult to control the process. I'm now planning to modify the machine by running the fan off an old laptop power supply and adding a rheostat to the heating circuit so that I can better control the heat.
*
Super short roasts are very common for popcorn poppers, and it seems especially so here as compared to the US. I think it has to do with our 220v compared to their 110v, which of course will result in a much hotter ET.

I have tried to put in a voltage regulator with some success due to my limited electrical circuitry knowledge; when I placed it to control the overall power, it worked. However, this way the regulator also reduced the fan speed. Too low and the beans would not churn. Too high and it would be back to too fast/inconsistent roasts.

When I tried to install the regulator to only control the heat (and a separate one to control the fan speed), the whole unit shorted out and plunged my house into darkness.

Now I'm exploring to put in a regulator for the heat gun, as a heat source for my stovetop drum roaster. This time I will keep the fire extinguisher handy........
lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 04:35 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(mdyyliew @ Jun 29 2017, 04:12 PM)
Bro respect your DIY courage. notworthy.gif

How is using Kaldi with our stovetop? Is it difficult to control the heat?
*
Heh heh...I think the roasting group are the more "hands-on, try anything" mentality.....

I don't have ant other drum roaster to compare to, but my "feeling" is that the Kaldi is an amazing home roaster, especially for the price. Compared to the DIY setups the roasts are super consistent within a batch (perhaps a given for drum roasters in general), and easy to get a decent roast. Now of course I'm trying to further improve quality and consistency between roasts, and here the very manual nature of the Kaldi shows its limitations. There is no forced airflow (which for drum roasters is a big limitation), no speed control over the drum (less of an issue) and only one analogue thermometer. Logging is by stopwatch, eyes, pen & paper.

There are a whole bunch of hacks that can be done on this machine, since it is so simple & basic eg. install an extraction fan, thermocouples hooked up to a logger, etc.

Still a loooong way to go.....
lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 06:16 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(squallx840 @ Jun 29 2017, 05:21 PM)
Hello all.

I want to intro myself as well.

Just a cheapo guy using a Whirley pop stove roaster to roast coffee.

I had started roasting coffee for the past 1 year since its much more convenience and economical.

Been looking to upgrade to a drum roaster, but my budget is bit limited at the moment.
Probably in the future, I will get something like @lowkl is using (Kaldi wide).

My method of brewing are pour over / french press / aeropress / siphon / moka pot(Bialetti Brikka).
*
Hi squallx840!

Wow! Whirley Pop! I'm sure anyone who has tried this or wok/pan roasting knows the amount of work and skill it takes to get a good roast....I know I have failed miserably with these types of roasting.
lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 11:04 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(squallx840 @ Jun 29 2017, 08:31 PM)
LoL. Its a hit or miss for me. I am too lazy keep a roasting notes/logs.
To get better result, I had to limit the amount of beans to about 100-120g. ( I normally roast around 200g once a week for my personal consumption).
... which is why I am surveying for an auto rotating drum roaster.  But the roasters in market are way over my budget.
*
Fully understand not keeping logs. Pan, Whirly Pop, HG/DB, Popcorn ...all these require 100% visual and manual attention. No way you can control the roast and simultaneously take notes. I imagine the only way would be to video record while narrating comments, then later transcribe..... really too tedious and boring.

FYI the Kaldi Wide cost RM2K delivered. Best deal was on 11Street.my.
lowkl
post Jun 29 2017, 11:07 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(tribalsun @ Jun 29 2017, 10:43 PM)
I am currently using the R1 Bullet. Interesting machine. Hard to master a really good roast. So far it is a good investment for me!
*
tribalsun

Fantastic! Please share your trials & tribulations on this gorgeous machine.
lowkl
post Jun 30 2017, 03:18 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(ymeng85 @ Jun 30 2017, 02:59 PM)
I like how you put it haha

Someday when I get back some time, I'm going to redo my popcorn popper roaster and add some software to it with PIDs  biggrin.gif
*
Please do, then share your comparisons between drum and fluid bed roasting methods. There's a lot of talk about the pros and cons between these but I haven't read of a side-by-side roast-off, using beans from the same batch, roasted to the same degree, then blind cupped.

I'm also itching to rig up my heat gun as the heat source for the Kaldi. That should address my current issues of insufficient heat and introduce high forced airflow. Would this make the rig a drum roaster or a fluid bed? Heh heh......
lowkl
post Jul 7 2017, 12:37 AM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(squallx840 @ Jul 7 2017, 12:27 AM)
Just curious, for home brewer, what makes you guys start roasting your own coffee beans?

For me, I was watching a documentary about Ethiopian coffee,  and I saw the people there just roasted their coffee on a pan, outdoor, then I decided to try it out myself.
*
For me:

- the guarantee of freshly roasted coffee, available with short notice
- the cost effectiveness & flexibility, especially when compared to a coffee subscription
- the "meditation" that comes from the total & absolute concentration during the few minutes of a roast
- the geekyness of it all! Tons of technicalities, yet still has that artisan component.
lowkl
post Sep 11 2017, 11:48 AM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(yuka @ Sep 10 2017, 09:29 PM)
Is there any manual bean roaster that I can buy in local shop?
*
A dedicated coffee roaster? Don't think so, though with all the online shops you can easily have one delivered to your doorstep from many parts of the world.

ooo.... I forgot ...the last coffee expo Dankoff had a fluidbed on display. Pretty big & bulky for a small amount of beans though. I guess you can check that one too.

Non-dedicated there's always a popcorn popper, heat gun, whirley-pop, oven or even a wok.....
lowkl
post Sep 12 2017, 09:23 AM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(yuka @ Sep 12 2017, 12:21 AM)
Looking for a simple one something like this actually,
http://www.auvelcraft.co.jp/coffee/
*
Hmmm.... interesting cube shape to eliminate the use of vanes/paddles. Such a design would mean the distance between the beans and the heat source keeps changing though....would that make a difference?

If this level of manual roasting is what you are looking for:

220V /110V Electric Stainless Steel Coffee Roaster Used In Gas Stove Or Electric Stove

Furthermore this unit has a motor.



lowkl
post Sep 18 2017, 10:26 AM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
Just managed a first roast with Artisan logging on a Raspberry Pi. What an experience!

Learning points:
- touch screen - tak boleh pakai lah... with gloves (duh!)
- remote screen on phone via VNC - tak boleh pakai lah ... screen size & the need to scroll around serious usability problem
- Mastech 6514 temperature meter - connects to the Raspberry Pi via Artisan natively - Win!

Best feature:
- Phases LCDs - ability to continuously calculate expected times to reach the end of each phase is super super convenient!

Next things to do:
- really need to relocate the ET probe - temperature went up to 600C!!
- dedicated keyboard, monitor & mouse

and of course.... tweak the roast profile!

lowkl
post Sep 18 2017, 06:34 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(ymeng85 @ Sep 18 2017, 05:41 PM)
Nice! Enjoy the journey bro  thumbup.gif
Are you able to "try" the beans during roasting? Just making sure you mark yellow/end of dry correctly
*
Yes; the roaster comes with a tryer. However I can't seem to find a "definitive" characteristic or set of characteristics to identify when this happens. This is very different from the cracks, which can be heard.

I currently set my drying phase to end at 150c, since my FCs is around 200c on this thermocouple placement. This also corresponds with the Maillard reaction temperature, being between 140c to 165c.

Any suggestions?
lowkl
post Nov 2 2017, 11:55 AM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 2 2017, 10:38 AM)
lowkl
thanks for the info.
the kaldi wide capacity is 300g right?
what might be the reason for adding a speed controller?
is the power or torque stated/ printed on the gearmotor?

roasted beans are getting costlier...
am considering to build a roaster to do some home roasting  brows.gif
*
Rated & tested capacity is 300gm. I doubt you can exceed 350g without beans spilling out of the rotating drum during a roast. On the other end I wouldn't do much less than 300gm as the thermometer/thermocouple readings would differ as contact with the beans may not be optimal.

Btw 300gm green gives you 250gm roasted, plus or minus max 6gm depending on roast level.

Reading the huge body of discussions pertaining to drum roasters, there doesn't seem to be consensus over the need to control drum rotation speed. IMHO the rotation is purely to ensure even heat and air distribution. As such I haven't bothered to mod the motor to control the speed.

I will check on the motor specs and revert.

Are you thinking of building your own?
lowkl
post Nov 2 2017, 07:06 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 2 2017, 02:56 PM)
was looking at poppers; there are a few good ideas on youtube.
but the 1200w thingy, power guzzler, puts me off...  tongue.gif

zero knowledge on acad.
asked; but "too small" for fabshop.

guess i'll have to start with a drum/ cage sourced from ebay.
or just buy the cage type roaster with the ac gearmotor to start.
*
Actually, 1200w isn't too high an impact in terms of electricity. Most roasts are under 20 minutes including pre-heating, and doing back-to-back roasts means even shorter times. Furthermore, for some reason fluid-bed roasting is super super fast.... in fact, when I was doing it the big challenge was how to slow down the whole process!

It's about 57sen per KWh at the highest band TNB rate right now, so 1200w x 20 minutes(1/3 of an hour) = 0.4KWh which works out to be 22.8 sen per roast or lower.

HOWEVER....

I tried using my Kaldi Wide with a heat gun as a heat source; kind of a mix between a drum roaster and a hot-air fluid bed. My experience:

- in terms of ability to control the roast -- very good. I could easily control the heat and achieve my intended roast profile
- in terms of speed -- it could do super-fast roasts... all the way to 2C within 8 minutes!
- in terms of evenness -- very very good. All the beans were very evenly roasted

BUT.....

Yucks!! Bleahh!! I did about 6 roasts this way, and the taste for pretty much all of them was horrible! No flavour, no body. I tried short roasts, stretched out roasts similar to regular profiles, nothing worked!

So I'm back using gas....
lowkl
post Nov 3 2017, 02:04 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 3 2017, 01:42 PM)
you are correct too.

the ideal capacity for me is 300g, about week consumption.
therefore am thinking of a 8"D x 6" L drum that will give me
some flexiblility to roast up to 600g or maybe a  little bit more.

may i know the drum dimension of you roaster? thanks.
*
14cm diameter X 15cm length.

built and ymeng85; would you consider an infrared halogen heat source? Honestly, I'm fascinated about this and would love to test it out.
lowkl
post Nov 3 2017, 04:24 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
built and anyone else who is looking at stovetop drum roasters,

If the Kaldi Wide fits your bill, just to inform the best deal appears to be from Qoo10.my for RM2,549 less RM300 online coupon, bringing it to RM2,249.

Even ordering directly from GMarket is more expensive, as there is about an additional charges for delivery.


lowkl
post Nov 3 2017, 06:11 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 3 2017, 04:50 PM)
thanks for the info.
the other one that interest me is Rotate Fun, Taiwan.
they have RF200, RF300 and RF1200.
i was quoted below NT$8600, shipped, for the RF200.
that is about MYR1205. not bad eh?
can see the roaster in action on youtube.
*
Fascinating! Regretfully, much of the literature on these models is in Chinese.

Is the RF200 for 200gm or 300gm?

Please keep the forum updated on your decision, and if you get the Rotate Fun, please let us know your experience using it.
lowkl
post Nov 13 2017, 12:37 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 13 2017, 12:28 PM)
i was advised to wait until the rush cool down a little.

what do you guys think; order now or wait?
*
I dunno how you *can* wait! From the specs, it's a great deal (although I'm still very satisfied with the Kaldi I got which cost more than twice as much!).

Seriously, doubtful there can be a massive price change for this type of product.

One question to those already using it: how do you drop/discharge the roast when done? For the Kaldi I remove the hopper unit then tilt the entire roaster. I used to remove the heat diffusion screen but burnt myself (twice!) so now just clear out the ash along with the chaff.
lowkl
post Nov 13 2017, 03:30 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(ymeng85 @ Nov 13 2017, 02:44 PM)
Please be mindful of the smoke discharge especially in larger batches. Health first  smile.gif

Small non-commercial units like these doesn't have venting for the cooling tray to take the smoke away from the room so when you dump, a huge amount is released into the surrounding.
Wear mask please and keep the area ventilated if you're roasting inside

On the other hand, roasting outdoors is mighty uncomfortable (sweat, lots of sweating haha) and not to mention, you are getting challenged with difference ambient temp each time so you have to surf the charge temp for each time.
*
I've given up roasting indoors; even with the cooking ventilator at full blast the house still smells of smoke for hours, and the chaff gets everywhere (as I used to cool by pouring the beans from colander to colander in front of a fan).

Roasting outdoors can get very warm, but I got an exhaust fan hooked up for cooling the beans so when it's not cooling beans it's blowing on me.

Speaking of which, while the fan cools the beans down in less than 3 minutes flat, the chaff it kicks up into the air covers me & makes for a most unpleasant experience. Anyone has a home-baked cooling/chaff removal solution to share?
lowkl
post Nov 13 2017, 06:54 PM

Getting Started
**
Junior Member
88 posts

Joined: Apr 2007
QUOTE(built @ Nov 13 2017, 06:38 PM)
saw on youtube that they "season" the new roaster.
*
I thought seasoning a roaster was to roast a batch until totally hangus, to understand its "behaviour"/characteristics, eg. RoR based on different heat/airflow settings, 1C/2C temperatures.

2 Pages  1 2 >Top
 

Change to:
| Lo-Fi Version
0.0217sec    0.31    7 queries    GZIP Disabled
Time is now: 28th March 2024 - 09:18 PM