Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

[Dimal]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Absolutely mate,

Using Propane as a fuel is way more efficient that electricity for heating (where several energy conversions are taking place before we get to use it at home). Im starting to think longer and harder about refining that fluid bed roaster I cobbled together a couple of years ago.... Think it will be worth the effort in many ways. :-?

Out of interest Chad, have you noticed a slight change in the taste of the coffee when roasted this way? From memory, my few roasts tasted slightly more intense and seemed to have a little more body too. Dont know why this should be as the profiles I used were the same as those Id used before? Just dug my notes up on these to double check and sure enough, thats what Ive highlighted.

Anyway mate, I think youll have another convert here soon. Good one Chad... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Mal.

[seedlings]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

After about 10 roasts with the torch, Im liking this method.  I start with the lid closed initially and heat pretty aggressively (through the hole in the lid) in the beginning.  The ambient thermometer reads 150-200C from start to end of the roast.  Once it becomes difficult to keep the ambient temp below 200-220C, I open the lid to finish.  Final air temps may be close to 260C, not unlike a BBQ roaster.

The roasts are pretty even now.  With 0.5kg, first crack is rolling by 12:00 and second  starts snapping at 15:00.

A bonus is how little fuel is required. The little 1kg bottle of propane has felt "almost empty" since the first roast... how long will it last....?

CHAD

[Dimal]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Rather than a flame what about one of the infrared gas burners like those in some of the newer BBQ spits? Use one of these with a fan directed down into the bin for circulation might work better than what is more a point source such as a torch.

Belindas right though..... Pretty hard to go past the HG as a complete package that we KNOW does a good job already. As far as the flame I used being a point source, it surely wasnt.... It would have been about 75-90mm just where the flame colour disappears with the "paint burner" tip that I used. Lots of different burner profiles around bean, just a matter of getting one that suits I guess.

Im still not convinced that a straight burner is going to do the job properly though, you really need that air to get into the bread-pan along with the heat. Made a jury rigged setup from some thin-wall s/s pipe scraps that a plumber mate scrounged up for me a while back, just to prove the principle that a gas torch coupled with a blower will make for a pretty decent home roaster; in fact, a genuine fluid bed roaster along broadly similar lines to the ones that Rob of NZ has made. It all worked ok and was quite controllable in a basic way, given the cobbled together nature of the prototype I made. When the workshop is available again, this will probably be where Ill spend more effort and time (well, after I finish off the Bezz that is ) as I think its got more promise than trying to squeeze more out of my Corretto.

Always something to do....

Mal.

[Corretto]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Rather than a flame what about one of the infrared gas burners like those in some of the newer BBQ spits? Use one of these with a fan directed down into the bin for circulation might work better than what is more a point source such as a torch.

Maybe, but the above experiment showed that nothing beats the good old heat gun

It has an inbuilt fan and extremely adjustable heat source (well the Bosch HG does).


Belinda

[beanflying]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Rather than a flame what about one of the infrared gas burners like those in some of the newer BBQ spits? Use one of these with a fan directed down into the bin for circulation might work better than what is more a point source such as a torch.

[Dimal]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

That was with my original rectangular BM which 5 minutes in to the roast would seize up and the beans would catch fire and or the torch would get blown out.

Ive got an old burner that spreads the flame out into a sort of fan shape Belinda, think my Dad used to use it for stripping paint off external walls. Anyway, after buggering up the first two roasts, the next few went alright and I just used a small fan blowing in the general direction of the bread pan which seemed to encourage most of the chaff to leave.

I think if I was going to try this again, Id probably grab a new torch with a flexible hose and a decent regulator to help me control the gas throughput properly. A light-weight hand held torch would be a lot easier to mount on something for height adjustment, etc. I couldnt really control the flame well enough with my gas bottle mounted burner but a decent regulator may fix this issue. Hope to have my workshop back sometime into the new year so might have a more thorough attempt at a real solution then.

Cheers mate,
Mal.

[Corretto]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)


I tried this a year or two ago but didnt have much success. That was with my original rectangular BM which 5 minutes in to the roast would seize up and the beans would catch fire and or the torch would get blown out.

I found that the fan from the HG was necessary to keep the air flowing and get the chaff out. Glad to see you have it working Chad. Looks like the square BM is better for this.


Belinda

[seedlings]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

This batch was about 0.5Kg.

I have a TC mounted above the green level. Once the beans expand, its usually in the top layer of beans. I use that to get an idea of air temperature. With the torch, the temperature can double in 2 seconds if the torch gets a couple of inches closer to the beans. A second TC near the bottom of the beans gives better bean temps. I try to keep the difference between the two TCs about 37C (100F) so the beans dont scorch.

Tasting some of the first batch (with divots and a few french roasted beans from the uneven roast) and its very nice!

CHAD

[yeeza]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

That breadmaker is turbocharged!!

[Dimal]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Yeah, the gas torch works great.... [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Tried it a few times when my second heat gun (1600W) just wasnt putting out enough energy. After I got a new heat gun everythings back to normal. If you can rig up something to mount the torch on, so you dont have to hold it, and then include a facility to adjust the height, I dont see why a gas torch wouldnt be as good as and maybe even better than using a heatgun. Certainly a good backstop to have in case the HG breaks down though... 8-)

Mal.

[Thundergod]

Re: Breadmaker and Torch Roasting (BMT)

Those beans really do move!
How big was the batch?

[seedlings]

Heatgun died yesterday, so I grabbed the propane torch.  Works pretty well, but you have to be REAL careful because that flame is HOT!  You can easily jump a hundred degrees with the flick of your wrist.  First try I had a few divots on some beans... this is the second try.

Heres some :10 videos:

Green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_NnOQ5B-m8

Drying: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37e-cyuq5Q

First Crack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2j2LuCxDF0

And the City roast restlts (Colombia Supremo Los Naranjos from OurCoffeeBarn.com)...

CHAD