FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

We offered one a few Saturdays ago

Any chance of setting up another demo?

[drewjane]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Has anybody else tried roasting YBI with this roaster?

Im having trouble with chaff sticking to the bean at about cs8-9, I have to go dark before most of the chaff will separate from the bean. If I grab a bean with the chaff still on it and rub it between my fingers the chaff comes off easily. Is there something I need to do during the roast to eliminate this?

cheers

Jaymad

[cksyd]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Has anybody else tried roasting YBI with this roaster?

Im having trouble with chaff sticking to the bean at about cs8-9, I have to go dark before most of the chaff will separate from the bean. If I grab a bean with the chaff still on it and rub it between my fingers the chaff comes off easily. Is there something I need to do during the roast to eliminate this?

cheers

Jaymad

Yep done a few roasts...


findings are way back in this thread here -

http://coffeesnobs.com.au/YaBB.pl?num=1277375158/99#90

Bottom line - coffee tasted great.

As Mark has said all along, dont look at it, try it....

[drewjane]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks Chris... ugly is spot on.

Ive had one cup with the grind setting a little off(tight). tasted ok. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it close.

[NewToEspresso]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Theres chaff sticking to beans, chaff sticking blocking the vent holes, chaff sticking to the frame where the axle sits one, chaff sticking to the sides of where the removable bit comes off...

But the taste, fullness of flavour coming out more than makes up for it!!

[>CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I dont believe that this scenario is likely since the surface temperature of the Drum during subsequent roasts would be high enough to carbonise any remaining oils or solid particles and therefore wouldnt further degrade with time.

No doubt Mark could shed further light on the reactions going on here....

Id agree Mal. Oils build up in every roaster...every now and then just run on full heat for 20 mins and it will burn out...its all carbonised so is not going to go rancid Ive been using mine almost every day for 4 months and havent noticed any negatives in taste or smell from this. Gary made a post from a customer overseas who has been using his for a long time with no problem and I roasted on one over a year old in Israel that produced great results.

Coffee Machines and grinders are different...you have water involved at much lower temperatures with coffee machines and grinders of course are self explanatory. I wouldnt clean the drum but I do clear the holes and vacuum up the loose chaff as maintenance. There is some build on the base stands near the vent holes which I scrape clean every now and then.

OK the instructional video is on the TO DO list. I cant garauntee the editing will be as good as the Coffee Tech one but Ill include commentary instead of the music

Has anybody else tried roasting YBI with this roaster?

Im having trouble with chaff sticking to the bean at about cs8-9, I have to go dark before most of the chaff will separate from the bean. If I grab a bean with the chaff still on it and rub it between my fingers the chaff comes off easily. Is there something I need to do during the roast to eliminate this?

cheers

Jaymad

Just some suggestions....

Maybe try less heat at the beginning and extend the time of the roast a bit. Sounds like too much heat too early and too accelerated browing after 1st crack or may just be the bean. In my oppinion You can maintain the strength of flavour by slowing down the dehydration from start to 1st crack (ie use yellow as a key time to make a temp change down as you are building momentum into 1st crack when things can get away from you ie rolling 1st straight to second). Also it will help with the eveness of the roast and you will probably get a more uniform 1st crack with the beans reacting more at the same time. As it is a small drum sounds are amplified and you can really get lost as to what is happening from 1st crack unless you maintain good control over the heat. I found this out early on.

Some beans are chaffy or can have too much or too little moisture meaning you may have to change things up a bit from what you are used to. I dont have experience with that bean so am just providing some suggestions, dont take as gospel.

As someone said looks are not always a determining factor in taste. You can roast really slow and long and can end up with the best looking bean but with no flavour so dont be too put off. If you use a sieve it will probably remove the remaining chaff if it comes of that easy.

Cheers

[javabeen]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I threw caution to the wind today and did a 300g roast of Ethiopian Yirg in the baby roaster...

[cksyd]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I threw caution to the wind today and did a 300g roast of Ethiopian Yirg in the baby roaster...

and???

Cmon, thats just a tease!!! ;D

[javabeen]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

ok ok....it went better than expected  

To my surprise, the roast came out nice and even. At approx 6 mins into the roast, the beans looked a nice even yellow color. Had a few beans fall out the drum from the handle side that is removable. No big deal.

It did take longer than expected with first crack at 13 mins and the roast pulled 10 secs into second crack (not rolling) at approx 19mins.

Thing is though I ran the same heat/flame settings as a 200g roast. And the bean chew test was promising with the distinct yirg flavors coming through, all be it a little mellow due to the longer roast time.

So next roast, I will add more heat early on to bring the roast times in and see if I can pull this larger batch size off! I reckon it can easily do 250g.

Ill cup it tomorrow and see what the verdict is with the long roast time anyway.

Javabeen.

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hi all.
  Mark, i,m trying to understand this, so the idea is to prevent dehydration from green to yellow stage by  using moderate heat, then reduce heat when yellowing occurs right thru to 1st crack. Is that right??
Then do i maintain the low heat until 2nd crack?
 Does dehydration causes loss of flavour?
Where is this "TO DO" list where the video is?

This grasshopper is confused. :-?

[gbatterley]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good resource to understand roasting a bit better? Im not being lazy, I think Ive read most of the threads on roasting but Im still not much the wiser.
After doing around 12 roasts I cannot distinguish at all between first and second crack. Certainly I have not experienced one phase of cracking - the silence - then another phase of cracking. The only way I am able to stop before the beans are cremated is by tipping some out of the drum and checking the colour.
What is rolling crack?
I think I can distinguish between a softer crack and a louder one but these seem to happen at the same time.
I am keeping the faith that I will get better in time but Im finding this a really difficult process for some reason and still not having much luck. Ive had a few good roasts but feel it was more down to luck than judgement.
Its a long shot but if theres anyone in Melbourne who really knows what theyre doing with this machine Id love to take up some of your free time so I could get to grips with this machine.

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I agree with all the points in #205. I started off well with a couple of good results, it was beginners luck. I would also appreciate the opportunity to spend some time with someone who could assist by demonstrating and explaining some of the key indicators I should be aiming for during the roast. I am also based in Melbourne

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Can anyone point me in the direction of a good resource to understand roasting a bit better? Im not being lazy, I think Ive read most of the threads on roasting but Im still not much the wiser.
After doing around 12 roasts I cannot distinguish at all between first and second crack. Certainly I have not experienced one phase of cracking - the silence - then another phase of cracking. The only way I am able to stop before the beans are cremated is by tipping some out of the drum and checking the colour.
What is rolling crack?
I think I can distinguish between a softer crack and a louder one but these seem to happen at the same time.
I am keeping the faith that I will get better in time but Im finding this a really difficult process for some reason and still not having much luck. Ive had a few good roasts but feel it was more down to luck than judgement.
Its a long shot but if theres anyone in Melbourne who really knows what theyre doing with this machine Id love to take up some of your free time so I could get to grips with this machine.

From my experience, 1st crack sounds like popcorn popping, second crack sounds like the snap crackle and pop of rice bubbles. Hope this helps you Gbatterly. With the baby roaster, gauging from others and my observation, first crack seems to flow into second without too much of a hiatus in between.
Again, 1st crack has a lower sound frequency compared to the "snapple" higher frequency of second crack.

Gary

[Bosco_Lever]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Maybe try less heat at the beginning and extend the time of the roast a bit. Sounds like too much heat too early and too accelerated browing after 1st crack or may just be the bean. In my oppinion You can maintain the strength of flavour by slowing down the dehydration from start to 1st crack (ie use yellow as a key time to make a temp change down as you are building momentum into 1st crack when things can get away from you ie rolling 1st straight to second). Also it will help with the eveness of the roast and you will probably get a more uniform 1st crack with the beans reacting more at the same time. As it is a small drum sounds are amplified and you can really get lost as to what is happening from 1st crack unless you maintain good control over the heat. I found this out early on.

As Mark stated, the problem with first crack rolling into second is too much heat applied up front. If first crack rolls into second without a break you have applied excess heat.
Try the following:

For the first 5-6mins apply 80% flame (just under full flame).
Watch for the first puffs of smoke, then inspect the beans, they should have turned yellow.
Turn the flame down to 40-45% (bit less than half way on the dial of the portable stoves).
Let the roast now coast into first crack. This will be identified by popping sounds but more importantly, by lots of smoke.
Open up and inspect the beans, you should hear the popping. They will be a light brown colour.
Turn the flame right down to bare minimum and roast at this level for at least 5 minutes. Shake , rattle and roll every 90 seconds.
Second crack will be identified by lots of smoke and a strong roasted coffee smell. Depending on the bean, it usually sounds like rice bubbles (as stated above). You can turn off the flame completely and let it continue for 30-60 seconds. Too long and you will end up with charcoal. Once second crack starts this is where you also roast out the fruit flavours and acidity. Where you stop depends on what you want to achieve.  Going a bit darker is ok if you do not want the acidic flavours.
I always turn off the heat at second crack as the beans have sufficient thermal energy to continue roasting.

Tip a few beans out during the roast for inspection and tasting, give them a chew and you will see how they gradually harden and lose their moisture as the roast progresses.
This is where your skill comes in, you do not want to "cook" the beans for too long as you will lose flavour, but every bean is different so you are better off sticking to one bean until you have your method perfected.
Keep a close eye on the flame during this period (between first and second crack), not too high or you will accelerate into second crack very quickly. The beans acquire their brown colour during this stage. The slow roast between first and second crack also loosens the chaff from the beans.
Try for at least 5 minutes once rolling first crack has finished (smoke has dissipated at this stage), but experiment with longer times also, especially with some harder beans.
Second crack is very easily identified in this roaster, as lots of smoke will escape from the vents. Once it happens, open it up and check out the colour of the beans. If they are not an even brown colour, let them roast further, but on low heat or even no flame at all.
From here on is when you tip out the roast and cool the beans.

Remember, heat is transferred very quickly in this roaster. Once the beans have reached a certain temperature (eg first crack), they absorb heat quickly. Even moderate flame will accelerate the roast so you have to be very careful with the flame. Very high heat from start to first crack is not recommended, as the beans then tend to roll into second crack quite quickly without developing flavours. They also tend to retain this heat and it is difficult to slow the roast down.

I get best results by gently heating the beans into first crack and following the method above. It worked perfectly on three roasts today (Peru, PNG Wahgi and Kenyan). The roasting times were different for each bean, but I watch for the indicators mentioned, and only keep an eye on the stopwatch.

Have a good read through all of Marks posts in this thread, he has really imparted a wealth of information.
Experiment and enjoy, but do not get hung up on roast times.

Cheers
Stan.

[Beanz.]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks to Gary and Stan for the detailed feedback. I am looking forward to the next roast