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renatoa
03/25/2024 12:38 PM
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New to roasting (what to buy)
BradHawk13
Hi All,

First post. Just stumble across this site and can't even come to grips with the amount of knowledge within the site...

Little back story, I haven't roasted anything yet... bought my first bag of "green" beans last week and I want to go all it.. Based on about 2 months of research and this COVID lock down I'm absolutely sure I want to roast my own beans and open a small batch local roasting company/coffee shop within the next 5-10 years. What I need is experience and equipment. For now (year 1) i just want to roast... different types of beans and figure out the in's and out's of flavors and sourcing, while learning as much as I can.

My dilemma is two part.. I don't own a roasted at this point and I'll be on a bit of a budget with most of my roasted beans being consumed by me my wife or direct family with no real profits to speak of... I'd like some advice on what roaster I should invest in knowing that within 12 months I would like to be "a roasting pro" so to speak.. I don't want to buy a huge 5kg roaster to start obviously, but I don't want to invest in a new roaster every time I want to "expand" my roasting capabilities. Something in the 500-1000g size that would lend me experience to grow to a larger "Drum" style roaster when the time comes. Something that is going to get me relevant roasting experience on a small scale so I wont have to relearn everything as I grow to my next level.

I know this sounds ambitious and a lot of your are going to read this and laugh at my ignorance... but I'm really just looking for suggestions on a best first roaster that will let me learn to most without investing $5000 into something.. I'd like to think I could get something within the $500 or less range that would accomplish my year 1 goals.. any suggestions would be awesome... and while I'm fully mechanically inclined and capable of building my own I don't see how I would stop myself from trying to over engineer it and spend twice as much as something that is already out there... someday.. but this is not the time for that haha

thank you!
 
8675309
My advice ( worth all of a nickle ):
Find a good source .. I like coffee bean corral .. good stuff good service.
Go low and slow .. learn from your mistakes .. then go bigger.

The best 'roasting' advice I can give, and mind you after 18 months I'm still a rookie and only cook for myself and my dentist ... :

Make sure the temp rises steadily to first crack.
For me 1C occurs around 405-415.
Once in first crack make sure temp continues to rise but at a slower rate.
Never let the temp drop during first crack ( stalling )
After first crack is completed increase the rate of temp rise to second crack.
For me 2C occurs around 452-460..

Now here is the real trick... how far into second crack do you wanna go. I always go into 2C for at least 5 seconds sometimes a bit more. But there are some folks out there that kill the cook as soon as 2C begins.

Beanwise... I like the El Salvador and Guatemalans .. nice full flavor.. and forgiving.

Grindwise: I grind both by hand and by electric grinder... and you can taste the difference.

Enjoy !!
It's bad luck to be superstitious
 
renatoa
Consider building instead buying.
There is no commercial roaster able to roast a pound of greens, under $2000.
A DIY turbo oven based roaster, what I am using for 3+ years, and give me confidence I can roast at pro level, as others already does, can be built for less than $200. And 2 half days of mounting the parts, if you have them all acquired.
If you abandon the plan, you can keep it as family roaster, once you start roasting your own beans, there is no return path, guaranteed !
 
pisanoal

Quote

renatoa wrote:

Consider building instead buying.
There is no commercial roaster able to roast a pound of greens, under $2000.
A DIY turbo oven based roaster, what I am using for 3+ years, and give me confidence I can roast at pro level, as others already does, can be built for less than $200. And 2 half days of mounting the parts, if you have them all acquired.
If you abandon the plan, you can keep it as family roaster, once you start roasting your own beans, there is no return path, guaranteed !


Agreed.

The only options for "commercially built" roasting machines under $500 aren't going to satisfy your 500-1000g capacity needs. Machines like the gene cafe can do about 1 pound but IMO don't seem very relevant or flexible enough to really learn ins and outs for commercial roasting. You may consider buying a 1 lb bbq drum roaster (ebay?) which should fit your budget. A good friend of mine started this way and now runs a successful small scale roastery on a 5lb bbq drum. Only downside is not much insight into temperatures/profiles. You may be able to put some thermocouples in a few places to help.

I have no experience with renatoa's suggested build, but a sub $200/couple day investment build is hard to beat...

Otherwise i would recommend a KKTO build or simple fluidbed for more insight into profiling. Wont exactly translate into a drum roaster profile, but will give you a lot more information on bean temps ROR curves and general profiling for desired flavors. I dont see an easy way to get a BT on a rotisserie oven but renatoa may have a good one or good substitute?
 
renatoa
My suggestion was about the broader class of roasters built using a turbo oven (halogen) lid as the heater.
KKTO is the most known example in this class, but there are many other builds floating around, using other pots/agitators, and technical solutions, all having as common the heat source.

You can see here how well this solution scale up, a double unit roasting "facility", operated by a only one person, perfectly capable to deliver commercial work for a small community, about 5 pounds per hour.
https://sites.goo.../peter4jc/
Edited by renatoa on 04/24/2020 12:32 PM
 
BradHawk13

Quote

renatoa wrote:

Consider building instead buying.
There is no commercial roaster able to roast a pound of greens, under $2000.
A DIY turbo oven based roaster, what I am using for 3+ years, and give me confidence I can roast at pro level, as others already does, can be built for less than $200. And 2 half days of mounting the parts, if you have them all acquired.
If you abandon the plan, you can keep it as family roaster, once you start roasting your own beans, there is no return path, guaranteed !


Are you willing to provide any insight on what and how you built it for around $200?
 
mtbizzle
I'm very inexperienced, but my impression is as others say -- does not seem that anything mimics the professional roasting process for less than $1600 or so. I'm thinking of the hottop KN-8828B-2K+ that allows connection to software like Artisan. Note this only has a 200-300 gram capacity. Prices of course go up from there.

There are cheaper options that allow for some level of measurement and control (Behmor, freshroast, genecafe, etc etc) with varying batch sizes.

If you want to be able to try to roast with software like Artisan for less than the $1600 mark, my guess is that a custom build is the way to go. I'm trying to plan a basic one now.
 
renatoa

Quote

BradHawk13 wrote:

Are you willing to provide any insight on what and how you built it for around $200?


Summary BOM:
$65 the halogen lid
$15 roasting insert
$20 agitator motor
$40 cyclone + exhaust fan
$40 electronics
$20 small hardware
...for details there is a whole subforum dedicated to such builds

cooling is extra, in the $50 ballpark

The peter build from link posted above tells and shows enough, imo.
 
renatoa

Quote

mtbizzle wrote:

I'm very inexperienced, but my impression is as others say -- does not seem that anything mimics the professional roasting process for less than $1600 or so. I'm thinking of the hottop KN-8828B-2K+ that allows connection to software like Artisan. Note this only has a 200-300 gram capacity. Prices of course go up from there.

There are cheaper options that allow for some level of measurement and control (Behmor, freshroast, genecafe, etc etc) with varying batch sizes.

If you want to be able to try to roast with software like Artisan for less than the $1600 mark, my guess is that a custom build is the way to go. I'm trying to plan a basic one now.


hottop is not a professional tool, by any standard. Not everything that looks as a drum, does roast as a real drum roaster. Well said mimics Grin
Also Artisan usage is not a requirement, nor guarantee commercial grade results.
Roasting coffee is anything but not a computer task.
Lost in the marketing driven excitement stage ? Grin
 
Mbb

Quote

BradHawk13 wrote:

Hi All,

First post. Just stumble across this site and can't even come to grips with the amount of knowledge within the site...

Little back story, I haven't roasted anything yet... bought my first bag of "green" beans last week and I want to go all it.. Based on about 2 months of research and this COVID lock down I'm absolutely sure I want to roast my own beans and open a small batch local roasting company/coffee shop within the next 5-10 years. What I need is experience and equipment. For now (year 1) i just want to roast... different types of beans and figure out the in's and out's of flavors and sourcing, while learning as much as I can.

My dilemma is two part.. I don't own a roasted at this point and I'll be on a bit of a budget with most of my roasted beans being consumed by me my wife or direct family with no real profits to speak of... I'd like some advice on what roaster I should invest in knowing that within 12 months I would like to be "a roasting pro" so to speak.. I don't want to buy a huge 5kg roaster to start obviously, but I don't want to invest in a new roaster every time I want to "expand" my roasting capabilities. Something in the 500-1000g size that would lend me experience to grow to a larger "Drum" style roaster when the time comes. Something that is going to get me relevant roasting experience on a small scale so I wont have to relearn everything as I grow to my next level.

I know this sounds ambitious and a lot of your are going to read this and laugh at my ignorance... but I'm really just looking for suggestions on a best first roaster that will let me learn to most without investing $5000 into something.. I'd like to think I could get something within the $500 or less range that would accomplish my year 1 goals.. any suggestions would be awesome... and while I'm fully mechanically inclined and capable of building my own I don't see how I would stop myself from trying to over engineer it and spend twice as much as something that is already out there... someday.. but this is not the time for that haha

thank you!



Your looking too far ahead
Open a shop? Well, if you want to work for $15/ hr and still go under.....maybe.

To roast commercially you have to be efficient. All your time will be spent with packaging, marketing,sales, deliveries...shop work..you need a big roaster.....because you dont have time to roast. But you need a small one you can afford to learn on too.....they wont be same. You still need a small one commercially to workout your profiles on different beans. So in essence, you really need two roasters.

The small inexpensiveroasters actually make it harder to learn I understand..they lack the mass and stability of larger roasters and can frustrate the heck out of people trying to control the bean temperature profile. Just read forums about the quest, huky, etc. but learning through these frustrations actually makes you better with a larger more stable roaster with some better controls and PID s.
Edited by Mbb on 04/26/2020 8:58 PM
 
Mbb

Quote

mtbizzle wrote:

I'm very inexperienced, but my impression is as others say -- does not seem that anything mimics the professional roasting process for less than $1600 or so. I'm thinking of the hottop KN-8828B-2K+ that allows connection to software like Artisan. Note this only has a 200-300 gram
a turbo capacityy. Prices of course go up from there.

There are cheaper options that allow for some level of measurement and control (Behmor, freshroast, genecafe, etc etc) with varying batch sizes.

If you want to be able to try to roast with software like Artisan for less than the $1600 mark, my guess is that a custom build is the way to go. I'm trying to plan a basic one now.


Ive got a turbo oven /heated pot roaster running on artisan . About $350 total with phidgets. The delta BT curve is important , thats all im gonna say. I had most of this stuff laying around so...... I didn't set out to spend that kind of money on a turbo roaster.

Having some fun with this though and wondering how far I can take it. pretty easy to make a bean charge chute and add a small 12v computer fan for more airflow. I could probably rig it to dump and rig a trier too.

Easily roast 1 lb in under 10 minutes
Can bring one pound to first crack in 5 minutes if want
Easily do much more

Turbo oven -$60
Kettle pot- $40
Router controller x 2 $50
Motor $20
Wire agitator $12
Switch, wiring $7
2mm BT thermocouple/fitting $45
China ET thermocouple $5
Phidgets $70
Screws etc $10
Wood for base $9
Silicone tubing $10


images2.imgbox.com/30/90/G3DoqsN3_o.jpg
Edited by Mbb on 04/26/2020 9:22 PM
 
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