Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Sam,
I use recycled moccona jars and the jam jars that have the big rubber seal and lock down clip (after they have degassed for a bit). With the last bean purchase, I also picked up some of the foil vacumm seal bags that come with a one way valve.
Anything to keep light, moisture, oxygen and odours away.
I have spied some jam jar style containers made out of ceramic, which would work. That way I wont have to hide the beans in the cupboard. ;D
Boris
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Sam
Indulge yourself witha tin of Illy Coffee beans and then once consumed the tins have a one way valve in them... perfect for coffee
FB
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Hi Sam
Dont seal the beans for at least 4 hours as they give off CO2 and may pop whatever you put them into.
I use moccona jars and find that even after a day the lids will pop on their own accord sometimes.
Glad that everything went okay
Mick
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Guest repliedRe: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
that is entirely up to you.
the Sumatran is realy good after about 2.5 hours but the Bali the flavour seems to develope over a few days.
Try it as soon as the beans are cool and compare the taste after a 2, 3 or more days. You will be surprised as we were.
Rich
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
one more thing....
how long after cooling should i let the beans sit before jarring them? for my first lot ill just leave them out over night since its getting late, & grind them up in the morning.
ideally, how many hours should you leave fresh roasted beans before grinding them? ???
sam
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
hey guys.
well ive just done my first heat gun roast 8).
i think i was too rar away with the end of the nozel because i deliberately took my very first roast to charcoal to experience the whole shebang & it took 18mins!
Anyway I have done one since then using brazilian cerrado alto caramelo, thanks to mick, & got 1st crack in 8 mins, backed off a little & got 2nd crack in 11 mins. I did experience a slight amount of smoke but as they have been sitting/airing for 1/2 hour or so now, they smell brilliant! I cant wait to grind them up in the morning & go nuts
.
I used my bosch heat gun on full blast approx 8 - 10cm off the beans & stirred like crazy. I am very surprised that I managed a good roast first up, i just hope i can manage to do it consistantly. im building a variation on the turbo bean cooler using a blower/vac so ill post some pics of it soon if it all works out.
thanks everyone for your inspiration & thanks again mick for the beans
i can see what you mean about the smokey after-smell on your clothes, ive now gotta hit the shower or i have to sleep outside 
sam
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
The "nutty" description is excellent, especially when very freshly roasted. "Smokey" it isnt. A lovely, mellow, sweet coffee. I wouldnt put milk up to it if it is unblended as the milk will tend to overpower it. Enjoy as is, for what it is!
Regardez,
FC.
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
re Brazilian Cerrado
Im still on my first bag of Cerrado which was purchased months ago and was I think the alto caramelo or similar. This is a very mild bean, quite sweet and used as a base for espresso.
Im surprised to hear your cerrado described as smokey. Is this the yellow bourbon variety and has anybody else who has tried this noted differences to the first variety received?
Im on hols and only took a small stash of beans so I cant do any trials!
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
The Cerrado is very nice blended with Kenyan. Puts a bit more bite in the cup.
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Im fairly sure Ive licked the roasting thing now. I reckon Ive done about 8 roasts in succession and each has come out just fine - I feel that I was actually in control the whole time. I can easily pick 1st and 2nd crack and am achieving 12 - 13 minute roasts with 300gms.
The smokey flavour that I was picking up appears to be one of the characteristics of the Brazillian Cerrado (maybe smokey isnt one of the descriptions one would use when cupping coffee but it describes how it tickles my tastebuds ;D maybe I should say it tastes like nuts to me ;D
I think that Ill try a darker roast on the Brazillian Cerrado and if the taste still doesnt sit with me - I just wont get any more
I find its okay in milk but really dislike it as an espresso. Still got 4kg left 
Mick
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Sounds great Mick.
I have been using a collander sitting in a stainless mixing bowl. Im hoping this provides insulation of sorts and perhaps the hot air is radiating back from the bowl, therefore heating the beans from underneath.
Are you setting your gun and leaving at the same temp for the entire roast? I am at the moment. My heatgun allows me to set a temp, very roughly mind you, but I usually set it at approx 350C guessing that the temp at the beans surface will be lower.
Another thing I do that doesnt seem to be a bad thing so far... is to attach a heat spreader (kind of vacuum cleaner triangle head thingy) which extends maybe 3cm from the heatguns nosel. During the roast I ocassionally use the heat spreader to stir the beans. It doesnt seem to be a bad thing thus far but time, and many many roasts, will tell.
Anybody else dipping their nosel into the beans... :
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Ive done several roasts now that have come out well.
Ive switched to a 2Ltr SS Saucepan instead of the colander and have found that the copper bottom + no holes makes the job easier as it tends to concentrate the heat better.
The only drawback Ive found is that it gets pretty hot on your hands as the heat comes back at you more.
Did some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (250gms) just until rolling 2nd crack 2 days ago and Ive already drank it all (damn). I think that at the moment the Yirg is my current favourite
Mick
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Ive finally done a roast that Ive been happy with
13 minutes from start to rolling 2nd crack by thinking about where I when wrong last time.
I backed off with the HG - about 7 - 8cm off the beans and kept moving the gun and the whisk the whole time.
No hint of smokiness this time - mind you I think I may build me a rig like Kopi-Os turbo wok so that my arms dont end up out of proportion with the rest of me
Thanks everyone - Im not an expert but Im a lot more comfortable with what Im doing.
Mick
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Hi Mick,
I bet you assumed your HG is running at 500c because it says so on the side. Mine is the same, but I stuck a thermocouple in front of it, and guess what. 300c. I read somewhere that the ideal roasting temp. is 400c, so Im not sure how Im going to achieve that, but my HG still seems to do the trick, just a little slower than most.
Nick.
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Re: Am I doing the HG thing wrong
Thanks for all the feedback everyone.
Ill not get chance to do another roast until the weekend so I wont be able to let you all know how Ive gone until then.
Im fairly sure I have the cooling down part fine - my beans are cool in less than 1 minute - probably closer to 30 seconds.
Ill back the HG out to reduce the heat on the beans and see if I can extend the roast - in theory this increases the body if Ive got that bit right - but will take extra care not to singe any beans on the way there.
Ill also keep the beans moving more.
Thanks
Mick
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