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Drum coffee roasting
Drum coffee roasting
I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
roast.
Bubbacus
I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
roast.
Bubbacus
Re: Drum coffee roasting
Some coffees are like that. And, if it is taking you 20 minutes for first,
I'd say your profile could use some adjusting. Try more heat during the
drying phase (before first crack) and then reduce heat when 1st is done to
lengthen the time between cracks. Dan
<johnson.robertl@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:83b3f552-7c37-4a8a-b29e-53b74eb489ac@j1g2000prb.googlegroups,com ...
>I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
> Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
> Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
> I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
> repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
> Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
> like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
> except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
> the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
> and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
> he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
> have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
> time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
> are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
> kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
> good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
> of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
> roast.
>
> Bubbacus
Some coffees are like that. And, if it is taking you 20 minutes for first,
I'd say your profile could use some adjusting. Try more heat during the
drying phase (before first crack) and then reduce heat when 1st is done to
lengthen the time between cracks. Dan
<johnson.robertl@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:83b3f552-7c37-4a8a-b29e-53b74eb489ac@j1g2000prb.googlegroups,com ...
>I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
> Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
> Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
> I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
> repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
> Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
> like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
> except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
> the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
> and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
> he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
> have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
> time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
> are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
> kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
> good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
> of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
> roast.
>
> Bubbacus
Re: Drum coffee roasting
On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:44:05 -0700 (PDT)
johnson.robertl@gmail,com wrote:
> ... Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this.
I'm not even a novice - just dragged home an old grill for $20 yesterday
and don't have a drum yet - but I'm hoping to get 1st crack closer to
8 minutes. How does it go with smaller amounts, have you tried that?
Do you use bricks or something for heat retention, or is the 10 minutes
at 400F just for the case? I assume you are not opening the lid until
the end?
--
Donn Cave <donn@avvanta,com >
On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:44:05 -0700 (PDT)
johnson.robertl@gmail,com wrote:
> ... Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this.
I'm not even a novice - just dragged home an old grill for $20 yesterday
and don't have a drum yet - but I'm hoping to get 1st crack closer to
8 minutes. How does it go with smaller amounts, have you tried that?
Do you use bricks or something for heat retention, or is the 10 minutes
at 400F just for the case? I assume you are not opening the lid until
the end?
--
Donn Cave <donn@avvanta,com >
Re: Drum coffee roasting
I'm not sure what you are taking your tem readings from, but I'm going out
on a limb and guessing that the temp probe may be reading temps that are
being influenced by direct heat from the flame and not ambient roaster temp.
I say this because the 510F and 20 minutes to first crack don't add up for a
four pound batch in a perforated drum. With a four pound batch, you should
be hitting first crack at somewhere near 13-15 minutes, with a finished
roast absolutely no longer than 20-21 minutes to second crack.
First, I'd shield the temp probe (I use a 6"x6" red quarry tile between the
flame and the probe) and make sure the probe is placed height-wise somewhere
between the center axis rod and the bottom of the drum. The stratification
of temperatures in a grill is several hundred degrees from top to bottom.
If you haven't sprung for a quality thermometer, then now's the time to drop
$20 and get something similar to this...
http :// www .homeroaster,com /P4210994.JPG
I had to drill a 3/4" hole to mount this thing, but it's soft aluminum and
it was no trouble at all.
Second, make sure the beans are shielded from direct flame, or direct heat
from the flame. I use perfed ceramic blocks made to dissipate the heat.
Got them at Home Depot for $12US or so.
I typically roast in 5 pound batches, and although I profile roast at
different temperatures throughout the roast, I never let the roaster
temperature rise above 480F at the end of the roast. I preheat to 350F and
then add the drum, with the flame on high. When the temp begins rising
again, I watch it until it gets back to 350F and then lower the heat so that
the temps rise to around 425F just before first crack. I then watch the
temps again to let it rise to 470F and hold it there through the rest of the
roast. A typical roast finishes to second crack at around 19:30, give or
take 30 seconds.
Your grill and drum are different than mine, as is your typical batch size,
so things will be different for you, but I know for a fact that if your 4
pound batch is taking longer than 20 minutes, and first and second cracks
are merging, then the temps are off.
--
*********************
Ed Needham
"to absurdity and beyond!"
http :// www .homeroaster,com
*********************
<johnson.robertl@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:83b3f552-7c37-4a8a-b29e-53b74eb489ac@j1g2000prb.googlegroups,com ...
>I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
> Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
> Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
> I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
> repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
> Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
> like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
> except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
> the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
> and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
> he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
> have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
> time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
> are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
> kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
> good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
> of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
> roast.
>
> Bubbacus
I'm not sure what you are taking your tem readings from, but I'm going out
on a limb and guessing that the temp probe may be reading temps that are
being influenced by direct heat from the flame and not ambient roaster temp.
I say this because the 510F and 20 minutes to first crack don't add up for a
four pound batch in a perforated drum. With a four pound batch, you should
be hitting first crack at somewhere near 13-15 minutes, with a finished
roast absolutely no longer than 20-21 minutes to second crack.
First, I'd shield the temp probe (I use a 6"x6" red quarry tile between the
flame and the probe) and make sure the probe is placed height-wise somewhere
between the center axis rod and the bottom of the drum. The stratification
of temperatures in a grill is several hundred degrees from top to bottom.
If you haven't sprung for a quality thermometer, then now's the time to drop
$20 and get something similar to this...
http :// www .homeroaster,com /P4210994.JPG
I had to drill a 3/4" hole to mount this thing, but it's soft aluminum and
it was no trouble at all.
Second, make sure the beans are shielded from direct flame, or direct heat
from the flame. I use perfed ceramic blocks made to dissipate the heat.
Got them at Home Depot for $12US or so.
I typically roast in 5 pound batches, and although I profile roast at
different temperatures throughout the roast, I never let the roaster
temperature rise above 480F at the end of the roast. I preheat to 350F and
then add the drum, with the flame on high. When the temp begins rising
again, I watch it until it gets back to 350F and then lower the heat so that
the temps rise to around 425F just before first crack. I then watch the
temps again to let it rise to 470F and hold it there through the rest of the
roast. A typical roast finishes to second crack at around 19:30, give or
take 30 seconds.
Your grill and drum are different than mine, as is your typical batch size,
so things will be different for you, but I know for a fact that if your 4
pound batch is taking longer than 20 minutes, and first and second cracks
are merging, then the temps are off.
--
*********************
Ed Needham
"to absurdity and beyond!"
http :// www .homeroaster,com
*********************
<johnson.robertl@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:83b3f552-7c37-4a8a-b29e-53b74eb489ac@j1g2000prb.googlegroups,com ...
>I recently purchased (along with some friends) 3 bags of coffee from
> Atlas Importers in Seattle. A Guatemalan " Tikal ", a Sumatra
> Mandeling and a yergecheffe. I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting. I realize that with my present set up
> I have limited control over knowing actually bean temps and absolute
> repeatable roasts are hit and miss. I roasted to 4# batches of the
> Tikal today.What I am experiencing is 1st cracks that sound almost
> like 2nd cracks. They are very rapid and sound like a rolling second
> except for loudness and the lack of smoke. Second crack has been
> starting at the end of the first without any time between the two. I
> tried preheating at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then stepping it
> up to 510. I get the first crack at 20:00 minutes or so whether I
> preheat or not and the second follows without any pause. Does anyone
> know what causes this. I am a novice roaster, I have been roasting in
> the drum for about a year and my only training has been from reading
> and experience. Greens that I have purchased from a retailer ( I think
> he get his greens from Atlas also ) have not followed this profile. I
> have always gotten a distinct 1st and second with various amounts of
> time between them depending on the beans and temp at roast. The greens
> are a 2008 crop. Is this related to bean moisture content somehow? I
> kind of stumped as to why this is occurring. The roasted coffee tastes
> good, it's just kind of tricky getting a precise start and finish time
> of the cracks as that is my only way of determining when to pull the
> roast.
>
> Bubbacus
Re: Drum coffee roasting
On Jun 29, 12:44 am, johnson.robe...@gmail,com wrote:
> I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting.
You're using a slow motor, I'll wager. No?
If so, I think that's your problem.
HTH
On Jun 29, 12:44 am, johnson.robe...@gmail,com wrote:
> I use one of the drums form RK and a
> Brinkman barbecue for roasting.
You're using a slow motor, I'll wager. No?
If so, I think that's your problem.
HTH
