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That’s why I got the 220v Bullet. Don’t think that they have released the upgraded power module for 220v yet to take full advantage of it yet.. anybody hear otherwise?

$129 shipped for the new Behmor Brazen 3.0. Can’t pass that up.
overall been very happy with everything about the Brazen except for one complaint. the lid on the carafe is made of two pieces and can get intermittent coffee that finds a way into the hollow void between the pieces. Tedious to take apart. I am considering epoxy on it, but it does use a gasket which might cause a problem, Mine is almost 6 years old. Would have wished it lasted longer

oops on partial duplicate post
 
I'll let you know how the ninja pans out. I left a reviewast night in case you missed it. The breville was my other choice maybe but consider this, its sca certified, makes tea drinks, makes cups like a Keurig and froths milk. The cnet winner was my main choice that oxo looks small, compact, and like a good workhorse. Ultimately this ones more clever albeit more expensive.

I am tasting char, I never taste char, wonder if the proper brewing temp is drawing flavors out of my roast that the cheap ones didnt!
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SCA cert is meaningless to me. My technivorm was at one point the only SCA certified, but it has shitty water delivery design as I detailed. Impossible to hit the marks or tune a brew on the UBC because it’s so erratic. A well built machine is all that matters to me and if it can reproduce the results Time and time again.

also for $129 to my door hard to pass up the Behmor v3.
 
As far as the Ninja review, yeah, I read it, sounds like a nice machine. I only brew black coffee and don’t make other things, so a lot of the features I wouldn’t use. id do French press every morning if I had the spare time and skip the machines, but I don’t have the time. Drip convenience I do enjoy.
 
Check out that oxo, it's pretty sweet and I have seen it at 150. I'm all excited here to play with different coffee drinks. Cold brew, iced coffee and such. Tastes different, I wonder if I prefer the colder extraction?!
 
Anyone using the breville drip brewers?
I have been using one of the fancy ones for a little while now. I got it because of the volume it can brew more than anything. With an 8 cup machine I might need to brew two pots to get my first cup as there are people here that drink coffee by the pint. I also thought the programmability would be nice and did make my own profile but I don't think it is any better than the defaults.

I really miss my Mr Coffee with the removable water reservoir, did not need to pull the coffee maker out to fill with water. If it did not get clogged every now and then and make a mess if I put too much coffee in it I would of got another.
 
Any change is big change. I mean on average we drink a pound a week, almost always Ethiopian natural and have since joining the thread, from a mr coffee type 180 degree brewer. I am all but certain and I just cant drink another cup, let's see, that's maybe 10 cups this morning, that the lower extracted tastes better. The hot seems to lambast the sugars and fruits and extract all kinds of other sour and bitter notes. I read on home barista someone saying yeah, coffee isnt suppose to be sweet. Not sure I agree, so pulled old coffee maker out and tasted same. I think at this point I either a, have had to much to tell a difference or b,have sour notes stuck in mouth. More to come, but whilst clearly extracting well, not sure the golden number provides the cup I like best .
 
As far as the Ninja review, yeah, I read it, sounds like a nice machine. I only brew black coffee and don’t make other things, so a lot of the features I wouldn’t use. id do French press every morning if I had the spare time and skip the machines, but I don’t have the time. Drip convenience I do enjoy.

A bit like my morning routine--I drink it black. I really like a press of coffee, but most days I opt for the Keurig with inserts to save time. Not optimal, but it makes good coffee. And my roasting--for bad or good--has the most impact on flavor in the end. Weekends (and slower weekdays) I do a 1L press.

As I work on my roasting-fu, I don't want to overlook the brewing side. Picked up a copy of Craft Coffee: A Manual, by Jessica Easto. I've been comparing her 8 minute French Press method versus her 5 minute method. In the past I usually brewed 4-5 minutes in a press. I now tend to lean toward the 8 minute version--the extraction seems about right--but need to decant the press right away, otherwise the last cups will become over-extracted. Eight minutes then press & pour seems to be the best. My wife agrees, as she will tell me when my coffee sucks!
 
Been adding an extra "cup" of water to the reservoir on the Technivorm to account for the retained water. Seems to have helped. Tomorrow is last day until the replacement Behmor arrives.
#applescrap - Do let me know what your thoughts are about brewing temps for Ethiopian natural. That is pretty much all that I buy anymore.
 
So new Behmor Brazen 3.0 arrived today. Looks identical to my old one.
Manual suggests brew water temp 197-199 for African natural bright city city+ fruity and island coffee types 203-205 for darker roasts and other origins.

interesting.
May have to do some experimentation.

their website said it had a pulse mode to simulate pour over brewing. Well…. Yeah kinda.
It has a manual release button. So the concept of this brewer is the reservoir sits above the filter basket and has a solenoid type valve the opens when it reaches desired temperature to wet the ground coffee below. No significant water retention like me Technivorm. Some steam and small residual water is still left but it is insignificant compared to technivorm which had 4.5-7.5 oz. see video

The manual release lets you open the vslve
Manually and it sprinkles brewing water onto the coffee as you push and hold the button it seems. More like a food processor pulse mode than an automated brewing mode.
 

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That's a sweet machine Td! Yeah I think the hot temps blasts the keytones, hope that's the right word, and other delicate flavor particles. I will be more certain as I experiment more.

One issue I found since last posting was the small cups were part of the problem. The coffee is so carrying in size, moisture, etc., that one cup blueberry, one cup chocolate, one cup tannic so to speak. So a larger pot has the mix of all three, it seems, where the small cup brew has less balance because it has less coffee to create balance. A half cup of grinds is going to be a .ore consistent brew then 2 tablespoons. Just another theory.

Speaking of balance I dont drink much french press. I prefer the clarity of a drip cup. But an ethiopian natural can be a very memorable french press. Not to murky for me, and a little larger grinds. I like clarity in my french press as well.

My machine does same, soaks, wets, squirts a little here and there, doesnt disperse till hot, it makes all kinds of robotic noises. I think it locks the carafe in when on.

Last but not least, not that any of you would doubt the scrappy 's roasting ability (😂brewing maybe) but I did get top ten in bodhi roasting comp. Honestly I had already shoed myself in with a good chance of winning, but I think the fact they got it 2 or 3 weeks ago killed its mojo. Still super happy to be in top ten. The feedback was the whole team loved the roast.
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That’s pretty cool achievement!

how much did the ninja coffee brewer cost??
I’m going to experiment with using the gold filter basket vs paper and different brew temps for my Ethiopian. I had nice filter bed but noticed this morning after letting it sit a long time on some commercial coffee after brewing that the filter bed was cratered. Maybe too much presoak. Was a boutique small batch roaster from a nearby town. Patriot I think is the name. They do a nice Columbian light roast that enjoyable to mix it up.
Had read that vcone filter better for fruity and African coffee and that basket better for darker or chocolate and South American coffees. This according to the Breville coffee brewer claims.
TD
 
I roasted a 7 oz. test batch of the Ethiopia Sidama I recently bought. Heat gun/bowl method. First crack started at 8:10, I stopped at 10:10 and quickly cooled. The beans are much smaller than many of the other varieties and more roundish. I'll let them rest overnight and try some tomorrow.
 
Happy for you Scrappy!!! I roasted 3 different batches for that. An early, a middle, and one stretched way past fc. Taste tested all of them, and ended up sending the middle roast, as I thought it presented the best for that bean. Must be my taste doesn't compare to theirs.
 
Today was my first ever pre-emptive efforts to keep my greens fresh. I had done this back when I was way overstocked, but that was AFTER the green beans had been sitting out too long and started to notice serious muted 1C sounds.
Mylar vac seal with oxy absorber divided into 1# parcels and sealed and then into the deep freezer on the day after I received them. Even wrote the date on the bag. This did end up reviving somewhat the older beans by the way. I also have a large USPS flat rate box of high quality but old beans, now perhaps stale from 2017-2019 perhaps for break-in of a new roaster, I can ship to anyone if they pay the shipping costs.

So todays beans, which I will roast this weekend (2 pounds new crop and 1 pound old crop from deep freezer is what I typically do) are from SM's Ethiopian Organic Dry Process Bookkisa and Guatemala Antigua Finca Pavon.

Wondering who else has had these and any suggestions on roast profile? I used to try to get the Ethiopian DP beans just past 1C and then stop, but I find that leaves many rough flavors and a bit too "bright" so I tend to carry out past 1C a bit longer now.

TD
 
I broke out the French press yesterday for some Kenyan, I half assed it because I was in a hurry and was doing other things, ended up doing a 7 min steep before plunging. Oops.

It was delicious though! This was a Kenyan with spice and apple notes and the press really accentuated that.

Today I brewed a new Nicaraguan in the Behmor. I struggled with the roast, at least I never did hear a first crack. But man did this one taste good. Really nice and bold, perfect for this cooler weather.
 
Hate the muted 1C sounds. usually get with tiny greens or greens that have been sitting in my basement too long.

By the way, what is your personal Bullet 1 pound Ethiopian dry process roast like? I have a feeling my roast is progressing too fast, especially the drying phase, usually always between 2:30-3:00 To hit 135°C.

this weekend I roasted the Bookkisa and the Hamasho Ethiopians I’ve had for a while (wow august 2020!). I also pulled a Bali Kintamani 2017 from my freezer and roasted it. Said “fruit bomb” on the package.

had 13% , 14%, and 15% weight loss in that order. All roast finished fast, under 10 minutes. I usually preheat to 240-245 on my bullet, and let it go for a hour for the first roast.

still feeling like I’m learning to use my bullet.
had tried to implement the “soak” method with some success at stretching out the drying phase, but forgot how to do that. Turn off the heat until the turning point I think? I know there are tons of technical posts on the roast world site, but I just hate the way they have that organized. Also I quit using Facebook


tasting notes maybe next week.

TD
 
@TrickyDick I can tell you what I do, if it helps at all. I'm using a Bullet with the IBITs module, not sure if you have IBITs but if you do not then just ignore the following. Also I use Celsius.

I do a 240C preheat for 30+ mins. I'll charge it with 1lb of beans, P6, F2, D9. At the 1:30 mark I drop to P4. Stay at P4 until Yellowing occurs; once I notice no more green-ness in the beans I go up to P8. At this point I'll keep an eye on my ROR and try to keep it steady around 10-12 degrees C/min. I'll start trimming down to P7 maybe about 1:30 after switching to P8, then switch to P6 about 1:00 later, then P5 about 1:00 later. Usually around this point I'll hear the first couple snaps before 1C starts. I then ramp up to F9 for about 10 seconds to flush out some of the hot air, then drop back to F2. Once 1C starts I drop to P3. For Ethiopians or Kenyans I'll stay at P3 for the remainder of the roast, dropping the beans typically at 13-15% development. If I'm roasting something like a Guat or Columbian, about 30 secs into 1C I'll go to P8, and drop the roast around 18%-20% development.

This is probably incredibly confusing to read, but this is my routine and it works well for me. I know everyone's setup and approach is different though, so if you don't like it, well, I'm not too offended. If you have any questions let me know and I'll see if I can help at all.
 
Perfect! Thanks for sharing! I can follow along. Are you using Artisan or the aillio software?

long been wanting to get back to using artisan and getting the 3rd party automatic 1C detection working ( found some software someone posted on another forum, but was never able to get it to work ). Going to get one of the IT guys at work to help me but been too busy with other things.

yeah I have the Infrared temp thing installed too.

I had read somewhere that some roasters arbitrarily define drying/yellow stage at 135° C as a means to attain better reproducibility between roasts or something,

by the way, perfect cleaning on the chaff filter SS insert achieved by PBW soak in ultrasonic cleaning bath.
TD
 
I am strictly Aillio software. They have done a number of substantial upgrades and I'm really digging it now.

I ordered a new chaff filter and put it in last week, it's making a huge difference. I don't know that a soak would have been enough for me; I should have tried it, but oh well. It was only $30 for the new one anyways, and I've got a lot of roasts through the first one.
 
I think the ultrasonic cleaner in combo with the PBW was where the magic happened. Plus it heats the solution. 30 minutes and it’s sparkling clean. My cleaner unit is the one from Hornady. You do have the larger chaff insert? The original is tiny, like a small dome, and they later revised it with a larger one almost as big as a small can of Red Bull.

I think I need to update my software for the aillio roast world. I dislike entering the bean info separately, and last I checked couldn’t delete it.

looking forward to trying your roasting method.
TD
 
Yeah please do share how it works out, if it works out.

My chaff filter is the red bull size can you mentioned. I'm not sure how many roasts I've put through it off the top of my head, but it got to the point where I had to soap/scrub it every two pounds which was pretty annoying on days I was roasting 4+lbs.
 
Yeah please do share how it works out, if it works out.

My chaff filter is the red bull size can you mentioned. I'm not sure how many roasts I've put through it off the top of my head, but it got to the point where I had to soap/scrub it every two pounds which was pretty annoying on days I was roasting 4+lbs.
I’ll have to do a before and after photo and post. Maybe tonight. I had just cleaned it before roasting three 1lb roast over the weekend. Will try to remember.
might be worth the investment if it saves you time. Maybe could run it less than 30 minutes and would probably be good to go.

by the way, one of the first bullet users on the FB group had rigged up an in-line chaff removal system with some type of tubing or vacuum like hoses. Looked pretty elaborate But he was roasting back to back to back commercial duty I believe.
TD
 
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Busy week, sorry havent kept up, gosh why was it easier with app. Lots of good stuff trickyd, woot. The ninja I want to say was 250 plus shipping taxes, etc. So we are enjoying the tea feature plenty, havent used the frother and different settings enough but I love cold brew and iced coffe so looking forward to it. Arent using carafe, because It has these weird settings and here is the chart.

So the xl mug with close to a quarter cup, or 4 tablespoons of grinds equals about 2 tablespoons per 6 oz fluid. Figuring the rest out will take time. But got that one down. It's super convenient and wife is not brewing carafe. She puts my travel mug under hits xl mug, and brews hers later. I remain certain it's too hot, but the convenience and I am willing to consider I dont know what I dont know. Plus, with such a small cup a bigger pot has a better cross section of grinds, theory.

Muted 1st crack is too low heat, just my experience. Haha, I put beans in freezer or fridge, cant remember, and was like why are these roasts off. Sure enough, I wasnt accounting for the fact they were cold. It changed things quite a bit ymmv.

Thanks everyone for the kind words, haha, yeah super cool. I entered at my wife's prodding, if you know me it's not like me to enter something like this. I did one roast and after tasting a cup, thought s... this ain't bad. Lol, I kinda wonder if they drank it when it got there, they had to have smelt it. But cool they sent me feedback, and imo imply, I think, the winner was local and fresher and had her buddies there. I find it interesting, based on experience and sampling, that a 15 minute roast was better. But yeah, lol, really enjoying the props.

The coffee they sent was nice, smelt heavenly, to drink, ehh, not so much. I mean was good but nothing like that klatch, what a roast I thought. To be that developed with such a light middle crack, what the heck is the crack called, cant think of it.Screenshot_20211104-140931_Email.jpg
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@TrickyDick I can tell you what I do, if it helps at all. I'm using a Bullet with the IBITs module, not sure if you have IBITs but if you do not then just ignore the following. Also I use Celsius.

I do a 240C preheat for 30+ mins. I'll charge it with 1lb of beans, P6, F2, D9. At the 1:30 mark I drop to P4. Stay at P4 until Yellowing occurs; once I notice no more green-ness in the beans I go up to P8. At this point I'll keep an eye on my ROR and try to keep it steady around 10-12 degrees C/min. I'll start trimming down to P7 maybe about 1:30 after switching to P8, then switch to P6 about 1:00 later, then P5 about 1:00 later. Usually around this point I'll hear the first couple snaps before 1C starts. I then ramp up to F9 for about 10 seconds to flush out some of the hot air, then drop back to F2. Once 1C starts I drop to P3. For Ethiopians or Kenyans I'll stay at P3 for the remainder of the roast, dropping the beans typically at 13-15% development. If I'm roasting something like a Guat or Columbian, about 30 secs into 1C I'll go to P8, and drop the roast around 18%-20% development.

This is probably incredibly confusing to read, but this is my routine and it works well for me. I know everyone's setup and approach is different though, so if you don't like it, well, I'm not too offended. If you have any questions let me know and I'll see if I can help at all.
How long is the overall roast? It looks like a solid method.
 
Well I ordered my beans for my Christmas Blend, 20 lbs each of a top secret mixture. I opened the Sweet Maria's box and to my surprise saw the most intriguing bag I've ever seen, complete with instructions to read and a link to watch instructions. I kid you not.

So I go to the link and watch Tom's video. It's interesting and has some good info on bean storage. But geez. If I need to watch a video on how to use a bag, maybe the bag is too complicated.

All is well though. If anyone is curious, here's info on the bag. They use it on 20lb shipments now apparently. The Ecotact Troiseal Reusable Bag for 20+ Lbs Green Coffee - Sweet Maria's Coffee Library

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Interesting bags. I’ve been thinking about vac sealing and freezing 1lb amounts of my green coffee that I won’t be using real soon. I try not to keep so much on hand that it’s an issue, but I like to hold on to some of the better coffees. Maybe I’ll go vac pack some right now!
 
That is what I do, Mylar bags (no condensation inside and airtight),
a “snorkel” type vac sealer, mine is sinbad brand or something like that, and also get a bag of those oxygen absorbing packets, which I figure can’t hurt so long as you don’t accidentally dump into your roaster, lol. Pre weigh into 1# amounts and then seal and toss into freezer.
 
That is what I do, Mylar bags (no condensation inside and airtight),
a “snorkel” type vac sealer, mine is sinbad brand or something like that, and also get a bag of those oxygen absorbing packets, which I figure can’t hurt so long as you don’t accidentally dump into your roaster, lol. Pre weigh into 1# amounts and then seal and toss into freezer.
I used normal bags instead of mylar. 1 pound in each bag and put 13lb (the majority of what I have on hand right now) in the deep freezer last night. Mylar might be better, but I’m not anticipating the coffee being in the freezer for years.
 
You are probably good then. When I did mine, I had a huge surplus of greens that were old and getting older. plus I already had the vac sealer for doing hops with In Mylar pouches. Some of my greens have “perked” up a bit from being in the freezer. I am not sure why, but the previously muted 1C sounds are easier to hear after having been in the freezer. Some has been in freezer for a few years now. Gradually whittling away at it…. And still tasting good too.

TD
 
Well I ordered my beans for my Christmas Blend, 20 lbs each of a top secret mixture. I opened the Sweet Maria's box and to my surprise saw the most intriguing bag I've ever seen, complete with instructions to read and a link to watch instructions. I kid you not.

So I go to the link and watch Tom's video. It's interesting and has some good info on bean storage. But geez. If I need to watch a video on how to use a bag, maybe the bag is too complicated.

All is well though. If anyone is curious, here's info on the bag. They use it on 20lb shipments now apparently. The Ecotact Troiseal Reusable Bag for 20+ Lbs Green Coffee - Sweet Maria's Coffee Library

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A 20 lb bag that can only be sealed/cut open 3 times? I tend to roast only 1-2 lbs at a time, so I'd be opening that a lot more than 3 times.

The 10 lb bags of greens I buy from Mill City are packed in ordinary heavy plastic bags. Cut open, take what I need, tape over the top, place bag of beans inside a 5 gal bucket with Gamma lid until next time.
 
Yup, doesn't suit my needs but I just cut open a small corner of the bag, then rolled it and clipped it shut.
Me similar and kept in the box it came in, in a dark pantry. Refrigerate would be best, but it messes with my roast. I dont keep much spare on hand. Right now I have 5 or 6 pounds of wush, 1 or 2 pounds of banko, and 1 pound sidama yirgacheffe.

Bro that roast method is super cool. Super cool.
 
The ninja remains fun and usable. Surprisingly might as well throw away the carafe. We just make travel mug sizes mostly. We put coffee in, travel mug under and set to travel mug. Almost using it like a Keurig literally but with good tea and coffee. I am still suspect of brewing temps but I am giving this thing two thumbs up.
 
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