FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

[gbatterley]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Im not having much luck so far. Done 4 roasts and results arent much to write home about. In the machine the shot is blonding very quickly and results are sour. Also when ground the coffee looks very light in colour, so Im wondering if my chaff removal technique needs honing a little.

Ive decided to stick with one bean for a while instead of chopping and changing so I can get used to its roasting times.

[flynnaus]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

In the machine the shot is blonding very quickly and results are sour

As Mark has suggested, try dialing your grinder a little finer.

What beans have you roasted so far?
What technique are you using to rotate the drum and agitate the beans?

Also try a plunger brew instead.

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Can you put up a good photo for us GBatterley? Maybe we can tell by having a look at the finished product. Would definitely agree to sticking with the most common/cheapest bean you have there until you get that feeling of " I should have done that in the first place" scenario .

I,m using the manual model. Yes, my fingers getting a good workout.
Better still, get the Aeropress instead of the plunger. It,s affordable and works better.
Dont forget, get an even as possible roast by agitating the drum every minute or so and take your roast to C9 which is right into second crack and you can smell the heady aromas coming out of the drum.

Gary

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

There are some interesting photos on the Coffee Tech Engineering Facebook page showing roasts from the Baby Roaster as pasted

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

And so many Baby Roasters ready to go!!

[javabeen]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Im not having much luck so far. Done 4 roasts and results arent much to write home about. In the machine the shot is blonding very quickly and results are sour. Also when ground the coffee looks very light in colour, so Im wondering if my chaff removal technique needs honing a little.

Ive decided to stick with one bean for a while instead of chopping and changing so I can get used to its roasting times.

Sounds to me like you are stopping the roast to early and not roasting dark enough for espresso.

If youre new to roasting then just char some beans so you learn the phases the roast goes through.

Let us know how your roasts go.

Javabeen

[Dimal]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Im not having much luck so far. Done 4 roasts and results arent much to write home about. In the machine the shot is blonding very quickly and results are sour. Also when ground the coffee looks very light in colour, so Im wondering if my chaff removal technique needs honing a little.

Ive decided to stick with one bean for a while instead of chopping and changing so I can get used to its roasting times.

Might also be a good idea to buy a bag or two of roasted beans from Andy or one of our Site Sponsors, then use these as a guide to help you determine the depth of roast you need to reach. Will also help in dialling-in your espresso machine too (re: early blonding, etc). You will then have something to aim for....

Also, photos of the roast batches may be helpful for us to help you out....

Mal.

[NewToEspresso]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Just did the first roast on the baby and methinks Ive done it way too light. Started with a very low flame and went on to 10:45 before getting FC. Went on a bit but went silent after 2 minutes. At 14:50, heard more snaps and thought that would be second crack. Let it go on for 15 more seconds and then pulled it out and poured it onto a collander. A lot of chaff to get through and it still looked mottled and too light. I think I might have to write this one off as a learning sacrifice... Will definitely start with a higher flame next time.

[Bill]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Might pay to look inside the roaster to check the colour before dumping the beans. With my roasts, when I think it should be close to being done, I take a quick look inside and if it looks lighter than Im aiming for I put it back on the heat for another 20sec or so, then have another look. When it looks slightly darker than Im aiming for, I dump them (as they always look lighter in the cooling tray than they look inside the roaster, to me anyway).

[NewToEspresso]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Did exactly that on the second roast! Couldnt take it so I did another roast on the Baby and this time its pretty much where I like it! Went into rolling second and dumped it to cool very quickly after. Much more even and das dark as I like it to be. Cant wait to taste it tomorrow morning. Why tomorrow and not now? Because it affects my sleep and if I try it now, i wont be sleeping until 3am.
I suspect the lower flame cause it to be uneven as well so this this I upped the flame a bit.
Couldnt quite distinguish where FC ended and SC started but I aint complaining after seeing how the first roast went.

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

1. Put the FZ-RR on a double stovetop layer between its base and the flame,
avoiding the direct contact with the flame.

Can someone please advise what is meant by "double stovetop layer"?

[flynnaus]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Can someone please advise what is meant by "double stovetop layer"

Like it says - "avoiding direct contact with the flame". Stick something underneath the base to raise it up higher if necessary. I just use a lower flame.

[>CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Couldnt quite distinguish where first crack ended and second crack started but I aint complaining after seeing how the first roast went.

Check the volume of smoke. The volume of smoke is significantly more when second crack happens. You will know by getting used to it. 1st and 2nd cracks give off distinctive amounts of smoke which you can tell without having to listen to the beans or look at them. Yellow stage also gives off a different amount of smoke and a distinctive smell that you should look out for as the infication will generally be the same no matter what profile you apply. If you dont rely just on sound you will gain a better understanding of the process and stages. This can also allow for better profiling as it is easier to pick up and mark as a profile point. Practice roasting without having to look at the beans or gradually reduce the amount of times you do...it is easy enough to do and forces you to engage other senses. A lot of people will tend to rely more on the site of the beans but you have a lot more options with this roaster so just make sure you take note of them and try to incorporate into what you are doing.

In the machine the shot is blonding very quickly and results are sour. Also when ground the coffee looks very light in colour, so Im wondering if my chaff removal technique needs honing a little.

The lighter you go the more acidic it will most likely be. If you like a fruity shot then a lighter roast with a tighter pour to compensate can work well. Dont be afraid to over extract as well on a lighter roast. I find as the flavours can be quite intense you can over extract a bit without burning the coffee (or noticing it) on a lighter roast. Also blonding may be because of your espresso machine/grinder or how you are preparing the coffee for extraction. The water finds the easiest route for extraction and the following can cause blonding towards the end of the shot:

- too loose tamp or too coarse grind
- uneven tamp
- poor pre infusion or lack of
- group filter damage
- uneven grind due to blunting grinder burrs

Having control over you extraction temps is also a big plus if you have that in your machine (ie a multibiler setup) as you can adjust for varying degrees of roasts to get better results. But also take into consideration what beans you are using...some just dont work well as a single origin and need to be blended to mellow out some of the bad characteristics.

Just keep practicing, its a manual roaster so you need to practice and find out what works best for you.

Hope this helps.....Cheers

[gbatterley]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks for the advice. My last two roasts were much better. Im realising more how many times I need to shake the roaster during roasting and that I was stopping the roast too early.
Ill keep an eye on the smoke levels as Im also having difficulty distinguishing frist and second crack.

[>CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I shake every 1.30 minutes religiously....but very quick then I drop it back down so as not to interupt the roast. This also gives me a quick chance to have a smell whats coming out of the drum.