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.

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks halo - erm shapeshifter!! (shapey??) LOL! (shapeshifter is my coffee adviser/correspondent on another forum)

Thanks for your comments, Gary. Thanks to this thread I did know to regularly shake it. Also thanks to this thread I knew the Peru bean was good one to start with.

I will do what you suggest and give it more heat to start with. I had what I thought was enough but as the time went on I could see I needed more.

"Just before first crack" - is that when you start seeing more than a just a wisp of smoke? It seemed to arrive a bit before I heard it crack. There were little bits of smoke, then there was more like a ribbon of smoke, then it started cracking. If I remember rightly. When it went from gold-coloured to browner. I was trying to look in less often today.

Thanks to this thread (again!!) I knew to turn the heat down when it went into first crack, although I hadnt realised that it should be during "rolling crack". Thats when they start being more continuous, right?

And thanks in advance to anyone who answers my newbie questions. I hope its OK to post them here, I thought it might be since some of them are probably fairly unique to this roaster.

[mcsblues]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

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.

Not sure how you are getting those timings using anything approaching full flame Gary. With mine (much more successful tonight) I find I need to start off at 1/2 or a bit less and then lower it still more as it approaches FC then down to next to nothing (like I think Mark suggested I tried turning it off for a while with the Indian Mysore - and that continued a pretty vigorous RFC with no added heat for a minute or so).

More conventional approach with the last test (Wahgi) and I pretty much matched your timing with that and it looks (and smells) good!

Anyway Im pleased with the progress so far - more to learn no doubt!

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Percentage of flame probably depends on things like the type of stove, where it is, and other factors. Im using my roaster on the kitchen stove - since its MY kitchen I can do what I want in it. And for the burner Ive been using, it needs a fair percentage of its flame potential, at least in the early stages. The only burner on my stove with more heat output is the wok burner and that would be overdoing it.

[mcsblues]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Percentage of flame probably depends on things like the type of stove, where it is, and other factors.

Yes of course. I was rather assuming most people were using the little camp stoves with the disposable gas cannisters (like me) which produce a surprising amount of heat as long as you are out of the wind! (and you are not getting close to empty when the gas pressure drops)

And quick scan through the thread shows Gary also as a kitchen stove roaster. I could do this - not only is it my kitchen, I built it (along with the rest of the house) - but I prefer, weather permitting, to sit outside ... with a glass/cup of something

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Not sure how you are getting those timings using anything approaching full flame Gary.

Aahh, i use the medium size stove burner on my kitchen stove.

Ive experimented on all 4 burners and found the medium one has a flame that covers the base of the roaster, in order to reach start of first around 8 minutes, sometimes 7.

Just before first crack" - is that when you start seeing more than a just a wisp of smoke?

In my case i start to see the first wisps around 5 minutes. The smell is grassy.
First crack its sharp and pungent.
Second crack it smells sweeter.
Yes, rolling first is continuous mass popping.

No air movement in a outdoor setting is a must, otherwise the temperature will rise and fall like a themepark.
Perhaps find a very early time of day to do it, about sunrise, when the sounds of beans popping accompanies the tweets of birds and the air is still.

I once did a roast at Beanbay pick-up as a demo. Sea breeze was blowing. Moved it closer to the house but the end result was much less than perfect, too much stalling.

Gary at G

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to my next roasting session.

[gronk62]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

My first gas canister ran low and the flame dropped right down on my roast last night. It was the first "problematic" roast Ive had since getting the Baby roaster ... and it still turned out great.

I love this thing!!

[KJM]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

My first gas canister ran low and the flame dropped right down on my roast last night. It was the first "problematic" roast Ive had since getting the Baby roaster ... and it still turned out great.

I love this thing!! 

Ive done 5 roasts on the dregs of a cannister we had left over from the last camping trip. I seems pretty economical on gas to me.. Paranoia makes me keep moving the stove the shed with a spare though...

It has taken me 7 roasts all up to get to the point where I have a 200g batch of "KJM Blend" roasted to the right level. Previous attempts were all too dark. To get this right I literally had the flame all but disappeared after first crack. Crook and hard to see - but the occasional bit of chaff coming through the seam up the middle is obviously a design feature to let people know if the gas is still lit ;D

Still going to get one. Hazbean will want his back soon, I fear!

Cheers
/Kevin

[hazbean]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

"Hazbean will want his back soon, I fear!"

Thats OK, hang on to it for a bit longer, its fun reading the running commentary ...

If things get really bad, I can always eat green beans, plenty of those around.

But as it happens there is a temporary surplus of roasted from experiments trying to uncripple the Gene, so no problem right now.

[lu]

FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster - Manual or Motorized?

Hoping to elicit some thoughts on what you are using  :-/

[lu]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hoping to elicit some thoughts on what you are using  :-/

Re: Baby Roaster - are you using Manual or Motorized?

And thankyou Javphile for posting in correct thread, Im new here :

[KJM]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hazbeans is manual. Ive no experience with the motorized one, but the manual one is a doddle to use (IMHO) and permits you to do the roasting without power.... and permits you to vary exactly how you heat the beans..

/Kevin

[mcsblues]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Mine is manual and I agree it is a "doddle" to use, and no need for power cords (although I do use a pedestal fan for cooling) - but I cant imagine a motorised version saves you a lot of work (youd still need to be there and to give it a shake at least every minute or so).

One question I have for those with better palates than mine. I still feel that resting the beans for a day or two at least helps. Maybe its not a taste thing but I have seen a few bubbles in the crema of some freshly roasted beans.

Anyone have any input on how the Baby varies what they might have done with other roasting methods?

[Fulcrum]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I have had my baby for a week now; done 5 roasts.
My first impression of the roaster itself is that it is very industrial looking. I was expecting a more finished product. I got the motorised version and was suprised how much noise the motor makes. Its not a problem as I can clearly hear first and second cracks but again I was expecting something quieter.
My first roast was a bit slow and took 20 minutes to get to 2nd crack. The result was overdone but suprisingly drinkable. I am aiming for 1st crack around 10min and then finishing near or into 2nd crack around 15 min. I pleasantly suprised at how good the coffee tastes at this level as I normally hate a dark roast. Compared to my corretto roasts the coffee just has more character and seems to burst with flavour. I tried a corretto roast and it seems a little bland now.
And being able to use the beans straight away is awesome. I am currently drink some Indian Monsoon malabar 2 days post roast and is pouring like a dream! One thing I do miss is the control I had with a heat gun. The flame on the camp stove has to be set by eye and so is difficult to match with previous settings. I definitely want to get temp monitoring setup so that I can get better control of the roasts.
I have added a switch so that I can run the motor or off a battery which means I can pretty much roast anywhere.
I thought I would still use my corretto on occasions to do bigger roasts but after tasting the results from the baby I can see my corretto gathering dust

Should we be starting a new thread for tips, tricks and techniques on the baby roaster?

Gavin