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Sono Fresco Report from Northern Cal
seedlings
Top  #26 Print Post
Posted on 01/09/2012 9:09 AM
This sounds like a very fun discussion for a thread in the -->Roasting Coffee<-- area! Rather than re-direct this awesome Sonofresco thread!

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
kgraham63
Top  #27 Print Post
Posted on 01/14/2012 5:36 PM
I have been doing French Roasts on the Sono Fresco against my better judgement but the smoke level during 2C is too much and it lingers in various "altitudes" from the ground.

This morning while doing another per a person who requested that roast level which I refer to as "Standard Starbucks Roast", we placed the hose from my shop vac in the flu and as it approached 2C and during vacuumed it into the shop vac. The hose got hot but it did not compromise the integrity of the hose.

Between this and building a home made air scrubber, I think I have solved the problem of smoke being released to the environment. Also, my neighbors in my town home community said they love the smell but I don't want to take the chance of offending one person. I am also giving out samples of my coffee to my neighbors and they seem willing to take it. smile

The Sono Fresco is working well but my coffee was described as "very tasty but somewhat flat" by a person that roasts only in a drum. I am investigating the San Franciscan Drum Roaster as my first 1 lb drum machine.

Anyone here roast with one of those?
 
seedlings
Top  #28 Print Post
Posted on 01/15/2012 7:26 PM
Flat, huh? How long does it take for the greens to turn yellow on the Sonofresco? How long from yellow to first crack? Are you and he roasting the same origin of coffee? Resting the same amount of time? Lots of variables!

CHAD
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
kgraham63
Top  #29 Print Post
Posted on 01/15/2012 8:40 PM
Chad,

The person that told me this probably has a vested interest in me not doing well. I did sell over 20 lbs of the blend this past week and no one but him reported it as flat.

From the point of START and the beans fluidizing, in the first 15 secs or so you can see moisture on the caraffe as its being driven from the bean.

4 mins or so, the beans begin to yellow

4-5 mins later is First Crack.

The sensor definitely has to be kept clean so the Sono Fresco does not go into darker roasting.

I truly detest doing a French Roast..its just a bunch of smoke and more time and it kills the bean.

I am delivering a batch tonight to a person who says that he LOVES the coffee and when I asked him if it was flat, he said NO WAY.

The beans I am getting are SINGLE ORIGIN and ORGANIC. I am about to start buying bags from Royal as well.

-Ken
The Greenest Bean, The Freshest Roast, The Liveliest Cup!
 
seedlings
Top  #30 Print Post
Posted on 01/16/2012 8:51 AM

Quote

kgraham63 wrote:

4 mins or so, the beans begin to yellow

4-5 mins later is First Crack.



That sounds pretty good. I wonder... there are a couple of similarities between the SF and a popcorn popper: you can't change the heat and you can't change the air flow. In a popper, if I want to stretch the roast a little bit I add less beans, which drops the back-pressure and lowers the overall temperature. If I want to speed up the roast, add more beans for the opposite effect of more back-pressure and increased temperature. There is probably a limit with the SF, but if you want to speed up the roast in the first 4 minutes (which would be helpful if you're taking the roast into 2nd crack), 1) preheat the SF and 2) add slightly more beans... maybe 10% more (I dont' know). If you want a slower 'drum-style' profile, reduce the amount of beans. It's worth trying!

Another idea: you may be able to profile a little bit by recirculating some of the hot air at points during the roast.

CHAD
Edited by seedlings on 01/16/2012 8:53 AM
Roaster: CoffeeAir II 2# DIY air roaster
Grinder: Vintage Grindmaster 500
Brewers: Vintage Cory DCU DCL, Aeropress, Press, Osaka Titanium pourover
 
kgraham63
Top  #31 Print Post
Posted on 01/16/2012 10:13 AM
This machine is certainly also a candidate for temp monitoring and either a TC4 or Artisan or something. Sono Fresco tells me in a new machine it will VOID the warranty which tells me they don't want people figuring out its operation and possibly diverting their program. In this machine, which is 11 years old with new parts, I feel it's a candidate for further experimentation.

I am going to open it again in a month or so and clean out the burner really well. I did clean as much as I could when we were replacing parts.

I would also like to record pressures if possible based on your thoughts.

Have to head out, going to go help a roaster install some commercial equipment..so, my dream of working in coffee came true but I feel the HOMEROASTING movement is definitely where it's at too!!

-
The Greenest Bean, The Freshest Roast, The Liveliest Cup!
 
kgraham63
Top  #32 Print Post
Posted on 01/18/2012 12:25 AM
Here is the video from roasting Kona bean the other day. It has been suggested to stay away from certain beans with the Sono Fresco. The air roaster did an excellent job of taking the bean through all stages of roast and while it's an expensive bean at $11.00 per pound cost, it certainly was not a mistake to let it develop in in the fluidized bed environment.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3xyXsm04vw&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Edited by kgraham63 on 01/18/2012 12:26 AM
The Greenest Bean, The Freshest Roast, The Liveliest Cup!
 
kgraham63
Top  #33 Print Post
Posted on 01/18/2012 12:33 AM
Here is another video I shot tonight. I keep forgetting to tilt the camera to a 16x9 screen..nevertheless, this side shot method also shows the roasting chamber well.

The machine is the discontinued Hearthware. It roasts a whopping 3 of coffee bean and is an excellent way to show the concept of fluid bed roasting on a desktop or kitchen.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpX9mRq9tSE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
The Greenest Bean, The Freshest Roast, The Liveliest Cup!
 
kgraham63
Top  #34 Print Post
Posted on 02/20/2012 12:41 PM
I have been away from Home Roasters for a bit working on adding a new roaster to the mix here in my garage operations.

As of yesterday, I added a new 2 lb Sono Fresco that I found from a person that purchased it about a year ago from Sono Fresco. This gave me an awesome opportunity to see what the newest technology from Sono Fresco was like and it does impress!

I was told a year ago that bean carmelization could not be achieved with an air roaster. After doing a 2 lb roast with it yesterday and seeing all the telltale signs of the Maillard Reaction and the bean going through its stages of pyrolysis, I knew that the argument saying only a drum roaster could achieve bean carmelization was untrue.

The 2 lb Sono Fresco also behaves more like a pro machine and it seems to stabilize the bean better. Also, even though it's a larger machine, it is actually less noisy. My 1 lb refurbished Sono Fresco represents 11 year old "Alpha" technology while my 2 lb'er represents the current state of the art with the Air Roaster paradigm.

I will also work on getting some videos up of it in action. Sorry I haven't been here..I have just been roasting away like a mad scientist and having a blast in the process.

I also have two bags of green in stock from Royal Coffee. Again, if you go to my website you can also read up about that fun and educational experience there last week.

Hope all is well with all of you and happy Presidents Day!

-Ken

PS: Here is the video on the 2 lb model:[video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ6fBYDXVwE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Edited by ginny on 01/15/2014 7:47 AM
The Greenest Bean, The Freshest Roast, The Liveliest Cup!
 
SmokNmirz
Top  #35 Print Post
Posted on 01/15/2014 7:18 AM
From the direction this Thread has gone it appears that the SonoFresco is strictly a commercial roaster and not a "Home Roaster".

I contacted SonoFresco and they claim that the 1 lb model will roast a 120g batch by switching something. They were not very clear about it and from the answer I received it did not sound like the loads could be varied from 120g up to a pound.

Does anyone else know about roasting something like 1/2 pounds loads in the one pound machine?
L-1p, HG-1-motorized, Monolith Flat, (ordered) mini500Plus.

If whatever you do does not put a smile on your face then rethink what you are doing.
 
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