FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Welcome Sidoney,

I find even when i have done numerous roasts, i still get divots, tipping and uneven colors, so i put it down to the way  the heat gets put through...conduction rather than convection or fluid bed.
Am sure someone will correct me if i worded it incorrectly. 

With your motorized version, dont forget to pick it up and give it a quick shake every 30 seconds or minute to distribute the beans, as those drums dont have winglets to agitate.

Try for 8-10 minutes for 1st crack then anywhere from 3-5 minutes til 2nd crack.

Full heat to start, then turn it down to half flame just before 1st crack, then just slightly above minimum heat from rolling 1st to 2nd crack.
Cool asap after dumping. 

Gary at G

Good thing you chose the Peru. They are a easy bean to roast.

[shapeshifter]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Oh good on you sid, to me they look great, this coming from a beginner roaster too Nice light roast. Glad you are happy with your decision and Mark is sooo generous.

Cant wait to see how you advance as you go along

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I was looking up "tipped beans" and "divots" and came across a forum post where someone said this:
"If theres more than about 1% moisture left in the beans, youll get divots too."

That made me remember further back in this thread where someone said that the different way of roasting resulted in a less drying roasting method (than hot air). I wonder if there is any connection.

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hi, thanks for your comment. I am going to have to look up "tipped beans" and "divot". I read a thing on the web yesterday that said some bits popping out of a bean was part of second crack. Thats what I thought that was (the sort of pit thing).

[TC]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Congratulations on your first roast Sidoney!

All looks good, but I think I see some tipped beans and a divot. This can occur if there is insufficient agitation and/or too much heat applied.

I hope you enjoy the baby roaster and the journey to home roasted nirvana!

2mcm

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I took delivery of one of these yesterday. It was going to be a manual one but thanks to a packing error and Marks generosity I have a motorised one.

I have never roasted a coffee bean before. I read this thread before trying it.

Yesterday I did my two sacrificial roasts. The first one to "burnt offering" stage. They were "Peru Casa de Selva Estate" from the beginner sample pack. Today a larger quantity of that arrived and I did my third roast, the first "real" one.

Yesterday I had some trouble distinguishing the stages but today it all seemed very clear. I could hear first crack, then a gap of no cracking, and then second crack. I took the beans out shortly after the start of second crack.

I am going to have to be less cautious with heat, instead of ten/fifteen minutes, first and second crack were closer to fifteen/twenty-odd. I didnt closely time it, just kept an approximate watch on the time. I really LIKE the interaction with the roaster and the beans. I also like the small roast quantities, because it means being able to learn and change instead of having to commit to a lot at once. (And I have a lot to learn!)

I had a cup of coffee from it. And I have to say, if this is just the beginning, I am looking forward to the journey!

I took some photos. These were taken in sunshine. I did take some in shade, and shade with flash, too. Not sure what is the preferred lighting source for posting. They do look different depending on the lighting. I hope I can get one of the colour comparing cards soon.

(Have not posted photos to this forum before so I hope this works.)

[flynnaus]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thats exactly the method I use.

Yes I know. When I read that you bought a Baby and was using the flick method, I thought I would give it a try.
Mark had mentioned it in a post earlier in this thread.

[gronk62]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I used the flick back and forth method rather than constant turning. Each turn is still about 360o either way. I still gave it a shake every minute or so but very briefly. I didnt bother opening to check the roast until after FC.

Thats exactly the method I use. Not tiring at all and all over in less than 12 - 13 mins ... and always excellent results.

Too easy!

[mcsblues]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Interesting!

I took the plunge in rather a panic last week (thought my Crazy Popper had expired - but after I pulled it apart and reassembled it it came back to life ... for now ...)

Anyway a call to Chris at Talk Coffee who referred me to (sorry I think it was Alan?) at Coffee Roasters - both very helpful, thanks - and a baby was delivered here this afternoon (rather rough looking storks you guys use! )

I did a seasoning roast with a bit of Mexican Yeni Navan Typica - and sorry Gary ... couldnt bring myself to do the "full city roast" so although there are a few burnt ones, but I may try that later! Second roast of some Peru Ceja de Selva was a bust as the sea breeze sprang up mid roast (typical!) - I did think of some sort of wind screen, but decided to move things to the sheltered front porch - backed the flame off quite a bit but still too quick to FC (just starting about 4.30) backed the flame right off but 2C arrived with a rush at about 8 minutes and the sieves, the fan and the wind were still on the other side of the house! - had to put down my glass of wine!! - and a mad dash inside with smoking baby (not sure if there are any catholics here but you could suggest to your priest he could dispense with the incense ...  ) and the result ...

- still a few burnt beans (I feel fairly sure a slower ramp up rather than any issues with twisting/shaking will fix this)

All in all not to bad for a failure - and tasting 30 mins afterwards (pretty damn good!).

[CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Actually misread the before post from Gary...I usually move it finer for my roast compared to my comercial machine roasts. Oh and actually ran it through a grind sieve and it was actually grinding coarser on the same setting compared to a sample (same origin) taken from my 2kg gas roaster (similar roast degree). So meant to say that me thoughts are because of the volume or density remaining in the bean. So sorry Gary...I find the opposite but dont use a Corretto...cheers

[CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Anyway,I do find i have to move my grinder one to two notches coarser compared to the coretto. Not sure why but i guess its due to the moisture and oil content. More clumping happening too.
Otherwise the machine tends to choke.

I find the same as well. I think bean is just more full, not as light...moisture and oil etc. You have to get that pour right...very rewarding if you do but has to run cosistent, no choking and a bit tighter. The espresso will be bright with flavour but also smooth with pleasant aftertaste if you do.

Also the degree to which you roast will be different as colour changes are different and slower than at the same stages for most devices. You can pull well into second and the colour can look as if you pulled just before. An interesting difference that is worth the exploration.

I did some roasting and cupping with Joseph Rivera (Coffee Chemist, food technologist) the other day in the Baby Roaster. He was very intrigued...actually bought one to take back to his lab in the USA and experiment with. Will be interesting to see the results.

[flynnaus]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I roasted 230g of MTE Bin 549 and the same amount of Cuba Turquino. I used the flick back and forth method rather than constant turning. Each turn is still about 360^o either way. I still gave it a shake every minute or so but very briefly. I didnt bother opening to check the roast until after FC.

Both were over in about 13 mins with FC at around 10 mins and stopped shy of SC. The 230g quantity was no problem and the Cuban came out very evenly roasted. A chew on a bean of each batch confirmed a tasty result.

I think Ill continue to use the flick method from now on.

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I wont mention anything about wrist exercises, but suffice to say the whole exercise should be done within 10-15 minutes due to the size of the load  ;D. So u did well for the 14 minutes. That 30 minutes initially must have been a marathon ehh? Sore wrists and eyes watering...

Anyway,I do find i have to move my grinder one to two notches coarser compared to the coretto. Not sure why but i guess its due to the moisture and oil content. More clumping happening too.
Otherwise the machine tends to choke.

Gary at G

[KJM]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Quick note on using the Baby...

Due to lack of brain engagement while doing the trial roasts on the stove yesterday, I somehow forgot my basic physics... Mrs. KJM has a giant extractor widget on the top of the chimney that pulls 1600m³/hr. So there was a gale going past the Baby... As a consequence, the roast time tended towards 30mins.. Enough said.

Today I took the baby and the little camping stove out to the mower shed (aka roastery). It was obvious after a minute or so that this was going to work! 200gm of KJMs house blend, roasted to perfection in about 14mins!

I did the twist-n-shake technique espoused earlier in this thread. The roast is damn near identical in colour to the output of the Gene. Very even, but I was getting a lot of wrist exercise

In keeping with the thesis that you can probably mount this above your grinder ;D, I cupped it 45mins post-roast. Very impressive. Different from the Gene, but very nice. I might never have to so anally plan how much to roast 2 weeks in advance again!

Baby roaster widget goes on Birthday Prezzie list 8-)

/Kevin

[flynnaus]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Wish I could say the same for the FZR Baby roaster Undecided

My colleague Hazbean brought it in today and since I got home earlier than Mrs. KJM I thought Id have a go with some ITM to see how it goes. On "the" stove, with the exhaust fan on full, of course. Ill just say that the Baby and I arent quite on the same wavelength just yet... So experimentation with taste profiles vis-a-vis the Gene and this blend will have to wait till I acquire "the knack"... But I will, I promise!

It is definitely worthwhile persisting with the Baby. For some of the more difficult beans like MTE, it is second to none.

Beans I thought were so-so in a corretto or KKTO came to life in the Baby.

Its also ideal for that quick roast when your reserves of roasted have fallen low. It doesnt need as long a rest period as beans roasted with more usual methods.

Great for manual brewing methods as well.