HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
Tricky, someone on Facebook said they took 1lb to 2C in 11 min on the bullet. I'm going to keep an eye on their progress to see how it handles larger loads
☕ Coffee ☕: Ingredients, Roasting, Grinding, Brewing, and Tasting
- Thread starter passedpawn
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have you guys looked into the Huky 500 at all? pretty solid little 1lb roaster for the price.
I didn't realize it could do 1lb.
TD
TD
Decided to use my propane burner that I use for brewing next time instead of the grill. Did 1.5 lbs in the whirly pop and it was still nice and even.
OP
OP
If that's the model with the nylon gear on top, that gear will eventually fail (the metal axle going into it will spin) and you'll have to toss it. Heat kills it.
There's one that's all metal on Amazon. That one will serve you well if you continue to roast like this.
Sweet Maria's sells the one with nylon gears and says they are surprisingly durable. I have an Amazon order in for this model and the one with all metal gears is only a few bucks more. Metal/metal gearing is not necessarily better in every application so I went with the one recommended by Sweet Maria's. That and many of the amazon reviews for the metal geared model complain about poor build quality.
Anyway I'm stoked to roast up my first batch!
Anyway I'm stoked to roast up my first batch!
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
OP
OP
I'm talking from experience
The following was the last night (or close to it) that it worked. I did end up buying the following model, which works great: Great Northern Popcorn Original Stainless SteelI'm not raining on your parade here. It's gonna go great for you, I'm sure. But if that gear fails, you'll know where to go for your your next roaster. Have fun, and make sure to post pics!
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZVJ0EXMZSQ[/ame]
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^i just can't see the point in roasting like that when there are numerous options that are superiour. at a minimum, id stay away from (my very favorite) Ethiopian beans.
OP
OP
It worked pretty well actually. I don't do it that way anymore, but I had that thing in the house and I thought I'd give it a whirl (pun) without getting heavily involved.
Heavily involved is slowly happening now. But you have to start somewhere.
there is no doubt more than one way to skin a cat but to casually say it works well is doing newcomers a disservice. 100% direct heat is very harsh on beans, especially dry processed; which happen to be to the tastiest imho.
as in beer, we all have unique experiences & tastes so i would be a fool to simply say you are wrong. id be remiss not to rebut & explain why "works pretty well" is inaccurate though. roasting coffee is a delicate balance of direct, indirect & convective heat application. direct heat is the most harsh and can easily be demonstrated when searing a steak. on the other hand, convection ovens take indirect heat to the next level by applying convection currents. this in turn bakes more evenly & applies thermal energy more gently.
in short, direct heat only will most certainly lead to an uneven roast with tipping & scorching becoming a frequent nuisance.
*sorry for my poor (home-brew influenced) grammar
Thanks for the head's up on the gear, I actually noticed last night that it was plastic, and I had a feeling that was going to be the weak link in the chain. I may stick to 1 lb roasts until it finally fails, in which case I'll build a drum roaster or get a metal geared one. How long do you think it will last? I only paid 17 bucks for it with shipping on ebay, it was used.
I can't imagine that this is anything close to the best way to roast coffee, BUT it works good enough. The coffee tastes better than anything I can find in my area that's for sure, and its way cheaper than anything I could find on the internet that MIGHT taste better, being already roasted. Direct heat is sort of an "old world" way of roasting coffee that I think is kind of cool. Reminds me of boiling coffee in a kettle when I'm camping, sometimes it's more about the process than the product.
I wonder why I even bother sometimes... oh well
applescrap
Be the ball!
Jammin what suggestions for roasters do you have for new roasters. That are reasonably priced? I noticed that huky was 1300. I like coffee but not that much. Also i drink a lot of energy drink.
I think that unless you are wanting a fluid bed roaster (Hot Air roaster that blows the beans into the air like a popcorn popper) that The Behmor is probably the cheapest drum roaster off the shelf option under $1000
From everything I looked at when I bought 18 months ago, if you don't want to DIY something, it's air popcorn popper, Behmor, or HotTop. To me, all of the options in between those were poor compromises.
For DIY, you have options based on bread makers, turbo oven/stir crazy, and others. This didn't appeal to me since they all seemed like they would involve more tinkering, and I wanted to learn roasting first on something that didn't involve a lot of tinkering. Should i decide to replace the Behmor, I'll reevaluate that.
For DIY, you have options based on bread makers, turbo oven/stir crazy, and others. This didn't appeal to me since they all seemed like they would involve more tinkering, and I wanted to learn roasting first on something that didn't involve a lot of tinkering. Should i decide to replace the Behmor, I'll reevaluate that.
Jammin and harbortownbrewing, thanks for the tips on the Ethiopians. I had MUCH better coffee out of the last batch.
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
You guys ever buy from Roastmasters?
I have only had their beans once, and it was the 8lb sampler I got with the Behmor so I burned through those while trying to figure out the roaster.
I'm looking at their prices and they seem to be fairly expensive, even compared to Sweet Marias. The majority of beans are $7.80-$9.50/lb.
I have only had their beans once, and it was the 8lb sampler I got with the Behmor so I burned through those while trying to figure out the roaster.
I'm looking at their prices and they seem to be fairly expensive, even compared to Sweet Marias. The majority of beans are $7.80-$9.50/lb.
^ive ordered from RM's several times. They are spendy but they do get quality beans. Their descriptions are often a little vague but they seem to always be accurate in what I get in the cup.
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
Interesting you mention the descriptions. The first one I read was well documented and described very well from the processing to the cup. Then the next one was incredibly vague and didn't sound like anything special, yet it was still about $8.50/lb.
Last time I looked at SMs I didn't see anything special. Maybe I'll try Happy Mug for a change.
Last time I looked at SMs I didn't see anything special. Maybe I'll try Happy Mug for a change.
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
Burmans has a Tanzania Tarime, which is the same district I recently had a phenomenal SM's bean come from, so I picked some up from them. Also ordered El Salvador, which is a new one for me. Threw in some Guat for a little floral fun.
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
I stopped by a local roaster called Big Shoulders Coffee. I only had time for whatever they had as drip, which happened to be Columbian - my second least favorite as drip.
I got it anyways, and it was alright as a coffee. Fairly clean, full flavor, but nothing predominent. They did have a roaster in the front of the cafe, which makes me wonder 1) When do they roast? When customers are around? 2) Do they roast everything on this thing?
It was a small roaster, maybe a 5 lb. Aside from their cafe, I have seen their stuff in local grocery stores. Maybe it is just in the cafe for novelty purposes, but it would sure seem like an expensive decoration.
I got it anyways, and it was alright as a coffee. Fairly clean, full flavor, but nothing predominent. They did have a roaster in the front of the cafe, which makes me wonder 1) When do they roast? When customers are around? 2) Do they roast everything on this thing?
It was a small roaster, maybe a 5 lb. Aside from their cafe, I have seen their stuff in local grocery stores. Maybe it is just in the cafe for novelty purposes, but it would sure seem like an expensive decoration.
^Coava is a full blown hipster, 3rd cafe/roastery in Portland. I stopped in one afternoon when they were roasting on their probat (5kg maybe?). The roastmaster had his earphones on and clearly wasn't interested in chatting while monitoring the roast. Can't say I blame him. Those guys roast on the bleeding edge of light, like WOW acidic at times. They also developed the Cone SS Chemex filter and Disc SS Aeropress filter.
Their old roaster kept around as a test/small batch roaster maybe? Or just a broken one that is only good for decoration or scrap?
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
The best part of waking up is Papua New Guinea in my cup. Errr, mug.
View attachment 1473513552169.jpg
View attachment 1473513552169.jpg
^nice, I love a good PNG. The earthy sweetness & big body make for a killer cup. I need to find a good one soon.
I've been using my Chemex since I've only been brewing for one all week. Good change in pace from my usual press pot.
I've been using my Chemex since I've only been brewing for one all week. Good change in pace from my usual press pot.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Admire your process control and setup harbortownbrewing. Wife found an air popper at king soopers today, marked down from 25 to 7. Westbend air popper those work right?
HarborTownBrewing
Well-Known Member
I'm not one to give advice on poppers, as I haven't had one. I'm sure someone here has some experience, but I'll say: my concern would be lack of temperature control during the roast.
It took a couple roasts but I really figured out this PNG and I'm really liking it. Has a lot of characteristics which I haven't typically found all in one cup before. It makes a really nice espresso too: nice body with the flavors of an East African bean. I'll have to keep an eye on these from now on.
I'm getting pickier with my coffee selections, but I think it's just because I'm getting a really good feel for what I like and what I don't.
Roasted the last of the Amaro Gayo (Ethiopian DP) this morning. Always good stuff
Do you believe in the weight loss % regarding maximum aroma development?
I've not been able to achieve a light end roast and also get "peak aroma development" based on that theory. I think 14.5% loss according to the chart I spied someplace was the minimum of "palatable" weight loss. Not sure I'm a huge believer of this yet. I have a fear of treading into the 12:01 and beyond range for some reason.
TD.
Oh yeah, I'm on the wait list for the R1 bullet.
I've not been able to achieve a light end roast and also get "peak aroma development" based on that theory. I think 14.5% loss according to the chart I spied someplace was the minimum of "palatable" weight loss. Not sure I'm a huge believer of this yet. I have a fear of treading into the 12:01 and beyond range for some reason.
TD.
Oh yeah, I'm on the wait list for the R1 bullet.
Sweet Maria's tells you what to look for better than I can:
https://www.sweetmarias.com/air-popper-recommended-design
It's probably going to be a little tough to get good control over the roast with a popcorn popper, and you'll probably also melt the top of it and/or burn it out if you use it for a long time.
That said, for $7, there aren't any better ways to roast coffee that I know of. I roasted a few pounds with a popcorn popper before deciding to take the next step with the behmor.
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