Anyone done home coffee bean roasting?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Any teemings with experience home roasting coffee beans? What’s your setup and learnings?

I’m thinking of doing home coffee bean roasting. Should be kind of a fun hobby. Fresh roasted beans are the BOMB. Plus, seems lit it’s around a 15-20 minute process. Unroasted beans are about $5/pound.

I have a Breville fancy ass semi automatic espresso machine. Freshly roasted beans are really nice. Basic espresso works fine for me, which seems to be a pretty forgiving roast. We drink lattes or caps, so the bean/roast is not as important than if you’re doing straight espresso shots or americanls. Of course, I’d like to experiment with various beans, especially the Sulawesi varieties.

Here are the two “starter” home machines on a website I know nothing about: Buy Home Coffee Roasters | Burman Coffee Traders The FreshRoast SR500 seems to be the most popular starter roaster out there. Certainly open to other, and more expensive options, but typically lean toward an price performant starter machine and 1-2 years from now could upgrade to something better if it’s been a rewarding thing to do.

I’m sure there is a lot of trial and error. I like experimenting. I’ve got a covered porch with power outlets so the smokiness won’t be an issue.

Anyhoo, if you have personal experience please share. Thanks in advance.

2

I used to work around the roasters at a large coffee company. We roasted close to a million pounds a week. Not really all that much smoke involved but it is right on the edge of smoking. The aroma alone makes it worthwhile.

3

Holey Moley, a million pounds a week is something like 2-3% of the US population. That’s a lotta beans. The size of the roaster must have been ginormous.

4

I use the Behmor 1600 Plus, also known as the “not starter one”. I had a previous one that I bought used from my sensei and I used it to death.

The writeups for the roasters you listed didn’t seem to say anything about smoke… YMMV because these are probably smaller roasters, but what I find is that the more I roast at a time, the smoke increases dramatically. If you don’t have a good vent over your stove (I put my roaster on a table in front of a window with a window fan blowing out, which is mildly problematic in Minnesota in January), and haven’t set off my smoke alarm yet. Be prepared to hit the “shut up” button on the smoke alarm. I try to roast it until it’s nice and dark, and there’s always smoke coming out of the machine before it gets to that point.

For my green beans, I go to Sweet Maria’s. They seem to have good product, a lot of variety, and good descriptions of what to expect from each roast at various roasting levels.

I make drip coffee, French Press, and espresso using a Moka pot, so I’m always varying the grind. I also order a pound each of five or six different types so I can see what they’re like; so far my favorites are the Ethiopiques blend and the Mocha Kadir blend.

5

Like Ethilrist, I now use the Behmor 1600 Plus, but my first roaster was a FreshRoast (an earlier model than the one you’re looking at though - I had the FreshRoast 8). Yes, smoke is a big issue on those models. One nice thing about the Behmor is it has smoke suppression, but even then, it will occasionally set off the smoke detector. When I had the FreshRoast, I didn’t even bother - I would just roast outside.

I’d say the Behmor is probably too much to start with. It’s also a little pricey until you’re sure it’s something you want to stick with. I was very happy with my FreshRoast for many years. The main drawback (other than the smoke) was it could only roast 3oz at a time. The SR500 can do a little more - 4oz. I would do 2 or 3 batches back to back, but that got tedious. The Behmor can do up to a pound (but I find it generally works best with less, about half a pound at a time).

I second Sweet Maria’s, but am also fond of Happy Mug. Great customer service, and the shipping is cheaper than SM.

Good luck! Feel free to ask questions.

6

Ditto the Behmor 1600 Plus and Sweet Maria’s.

Started with the iRoast2 which sounded like a VERY loud vacuum cleaner. I never knew what “first crack” and “second” crack" sounded like.

7

I’ve done it on the cheap using a popcorn popper. It’s no harder than cooking a hamburger, and the coffee is excellent.

8

Just started, and I too use a cheap popcorn popper (under 20 bucks) and it works great. No reason not to start here. And second Sweet Marias. I bought an 8 pound sample of 8 different coffees, and will make my way through them soon.

The one tip I’ve learned is that it takes a while (a few minutes) to start roasting, but once it’s going, it goes fast and you go from perfect to burnt in 15-30 seconds. Better to stop a bit too early than too late.

9

I’m starting to lean towards the 1600 Plus. How long have your machines lasted? The cheaper FreshRoast on line feedback seems to be good for about 2 years, and the roast size is pretty small.

A few more questions and please throw out anything you think I should know.

  1. how long do you spend from start to end of cleanup per batch
  2. Do you get a good espresso shot suitable for a latte or cap?
  3. What are your go to beans and roast profiles? Do you have one, do you have a couple different roasts that you use all the time?
  4. I get that should start with single source beans to figure out what I’m doing. Have you had good results with blends?
  5. What is your typical roasting amount? Seems like the Behmor maximizes at a pound but most on line reviewers rate it at less than that.
  6. Anyone use the upgraded control panel
  7. Any feedback on the hottop or gene cafe, or does the consensus seem to be the Behmor for the step up from the entry/starter machines?
  8. Anyone use a gas fired machine? I don’t think that is something I want but open to suggestions if that actually demands a second look. I have a weber gas BBQ

Thanks for the Happy Mug site. I already found Sweet Maria’s, and both look to be good resources.

10

How long can green beans be stored?

11

What advantages do the dedicated roasters have over the popcorn popper technique (has anyone done both?)?

12

**How long have your machines lasted? The cheaper FreshRoast on line feedback seems to be good for about 2 years, and the roast size is pretty small. **

I’ve only had my Behmor for a year at this point, probably averaging a roast a week. No issues. I know I’ve read from people on the Coffee Geek forums (a great resource, by the way) who have been using theirs for years.
**

  1. how long do you spend from start to end of cleanup per batch**

Probably about 35 minutes or so.

2. Do you get a good espresso shot suitable for a latte or cap?

I don’t currently own an espresso machine, so I can’t answer this. You SHOULD be able to get a good espresso roast, but it’ll take some experimentation. One major variable is the voltage in your house. Here’s a tip - it’s worth it to get a Kill-A-Watt to test your household voltage and maybe move to a different location if need be. My understanding (although I could be wrong, and didn’t find this to be the case in my own place) is that even within the same house, some outlets will provide less voltage than others, which will effect how hot the machine gets and the resulting roast.

3. What are your go to beans and roast profiles? Do you have one, do you have a couple different roasts that you use all the time?

I’m not sure I have a “go-to” bean, as I like to try different ones. I do tend to prefer either Central American and Indonesian beans. Lately, I’ve been using a Sumatra Mandheling from Happy Mug that I’m very happy with.

My standard process on the Behmor, that I’ll always start with for a new bean an adjust accordingly:

• 6oz of beans (a little less than 1/2 pound, but I found this is my sweet spot).
• Pre-heat the roaster (without the drum and chaff tray in) until the chamber wall temperature (press the B button to get this reading) reaches 200 degrees. Stop it by pressing the “Off” button.
• Immediately insert the drum with the beans and the chaff tray.
• Press the 1/2 pound button, then start the roast.
• Immediately press the P5 button (which sets the heat at 100%, so it doesn’t change the current heat setting, but what this does is it takes it out of auto mode into manual mode).
• Press the D button to change the drum speed to the faster setting.
• Oh yeah, turn on the internal light so I can see the beans!
• Be mindful of the Behmor’s slightly annoying but for-your-own-protection “unattended alert”. At 75% into the roast time, a warning will appear on the screen and you have 30 seconds to respond to it or it will send it automatically into cool-down mode.
• At first crack (generally around 8 minutes in, but it depends on the bean), I’ll press the P2 button to turn the temp down to 25%.
• A minute later, I press the P3 button to turn the temp up to 50%.
• About a minute after that, I’ll stop the roast, hitting the “Cool” button. I also crack the roaster door open a bit to help with the cooling. Some chaff will fly out, but I’m ready to clean it up.

4. I get that should start with single source beans to figure out what I’m doing. Have you had good results with blends?
I haven’t played around with blends at all to be honest, but this is something I would like to start experimenting with at some point.
**
5. What is your typical roasting amount? Seems like the Behmor maximizes at a pound but most on line reviewers rate it at less than that.**

Answered above, but with the Behmor, I’ve found my sweet spot is around 6oz. I have tried a pound, but I don’t think the Behmor is quite up to it, to be honest. But again, at Coffee Geek, there are people who seem to regularly do a pound at a time and are happy with the results.

6. Anyone use the upgraded control panel

The Plus model IS the upgraded control panel. The method I described above can only be accomplished with the upgraded panel that gives you access to manual controls.

Supposedly he’s coming out with an even more upgraded panel at some point soon, that will allow control from smart phone devices.

13

Years. Long enough that it’s never been a concern for me.

14

I’ve never used the hot air popcorn machine, but it’s very common, and often mentioned as a very low-cost way to start. The main advantages of a dedicated machine are consistency, and with machines like the Behmor, having some level of control over the heat supplied to control the roasting profile.

15

The roasters themselves are damnably expensive, purchased an iRoast or somesuch years ago and it crapped out fairly quickly. They work OK, but the roast yield is tiny, a 1/4 or 1/3 of a pound at a time. Roasting time should be an every couple few weeks kind of a thing, not daily.

16

I agree that you shouldn’t go over 1/2 a pound with the Behmor… whenever I try a full pound, it comes out medium roast at best, and usually not an even roast with some of the chaff still stuck to the beans. You can only add a couple minutes to the roast time, so if it’s not enough time, you just wasted a pound of beans.

AAAUGH How annoying is that? And it’s completely undocumented! Wasted a half pound of beans that way, too.

The main thing I would add that probably carries over to other roasters and isn’t listed in the doc for the Behmor: when to hit the Cool button. The doc says if you want a dark roast, wait until “second crack” and hit cool. I find that if I do that, I get that medium roast above, but with a half pound, it’s at least an even roast and the chaff is gone. If I want a dark roast (and I do), I have to wait until it’s popping like the final big burst of popcorn in the microwave. According to the doc, this means that I am flying on the ragged edge of disaster since it can go not only from dark to burnt in just 15-20 seconds, it can go from dark to on fire, and that’s kind of hard on the roaster. I haven’t had that happen yet, but I keep pushing that envelope.

17

You must have some really big popcorn poppers in the US to do HoneyBadgerDC’s million pound a week roasts.

18

Yeah, I like my beans roasted Full City or Full City Plus, and depending on the hardness of the beans, the Behmor can’t really achieve that unless I cheat.

I roast 10-12 ounces at a time, but I use the one pound roast setting, use the most aggressive/longest roast profile and add as much time as the profile will allow.
I then watch the roaster beginning at the 6 minute to cool down mark. I usually get to or just before 2nd crack using this method, but never beyond 2nd crack.
It’s a bit of a hassle, but this works for me.

I always roast outside on my deck, and ambient temperature seems to affect the roast as well. For some reason, the colder it is outside, the faster the roast will progress.

I had one problem with my Behmor (after 2 years) that required the main circuit board to be replaced. The board cost $25 and I did the replacement myself.

19

I’d wager that that’s more of a humidity issue than temperature…

The roaster I bought from my sensei had had all the electronics replaced or repaired several times each (my sensei’s a gadget freak, very handy with electronic repairs). He also gave me the PREVIOUS Behmor he had bought in the first place, to be used as parts for the second one. I scavenged it for parts to fix the second one until something broke that was broken on the first one, then I bought a new one.

Expect things to break from time to time on these; so long as they’re under warranty, the company has good service and instructions on how to fix things assuming you’re okay with a screwdriver & wirecutters kind of repair. Even if it’s out of warranty, they’ll still send you the instructions for free and replacement parts seemed to run $15-30 apiece.

20

It is pretty annoying, yes. I lost my first attempt of a roast because of it, and I think I lost another at some point when I wasn’t completely focused. It actually IS documented, at least in the copy of the manual I have, but no, they don’t exactly make it very clear. When I went just now to find where it is in the manual, it took me a few minutes to even find it again (page 8, under “All the time: Auto or Manual”).

Joe Behm, the inventor, posts from time to time on the Coffee Geek forums, and this feature has come up many times. He is very adamant that it is an important safety feature, and I don’t get the impression it will ever go away. It IS annoying, but I’m used to it by now. I do wish there was at least a small chime or something, so if you weren’t staring directly at the machine, you’d be alerted to it, but I think he feels that would defeat the purpose of it in the first place.