FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

[Ausnadian]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Not quite the same thing, but I did try going a bit more for a while, and I can advise against it. I did 6 - 300gm roasts, they were always uneven and of all the roasts turned out worse in the cup, while the roasting process seemed fine, it just didnt reproduce my 200gm roast quality in the cup. The first roast back to 200gm was spot on. I have since moved up to 230gm green which produces 200gm roasted, and it seems to be my sweet spot for getting what I want from it.

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thank you! I think Ill try 100g and go easy on the heat.

[Bill]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks for your response! Have you noticed any differences in the outcome - in the flavour and so on?

No, havent noticed any difference. Its been quite a while since Ive done any 150gm roasts though. Was mainly doing them when I first got the roaster so as to not waste as much coffee while I was learning to use it.

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks for your response! Have you noticed any differences in the outcome - in the flavour and so on?

[Bill]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Has anyone roasted less than the recommended 200g beans with this?

Yes, Ive done 150gm roasts, but it does heat up faster so you dont need quite as much flame than with 200gm.

[sidoney]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Has anyone roasted less than the recommended 200g beans with this?

Id like to roast up a bunch of individual beans for comparison (e.g. Ethiopians head to head comparision, etc.) but with only me drinking them, 200g of each is probably a bit much. Im thinking its going to change things though - with a lesser mass of beans, they are likely to heat up faster - perhaps use a little less heat? Also there is likely to be less humidity in the drum. Id like to hear from anyone about this.

Ive recently changed how I roast a little. I do it on the stove and the medium burner just wasnt quite hot enough, I was going 15 mins to first crack, which while its not terrible, I was reading that ten minutes to first is probably better. So I do the first stage on the big burner at a setting that gives me ten minutes approx to first crack, lowering the heat a bit when it starts smoking, then when first crack is established, move to a medium burner on a lower heat and aim for second crack about five minutes later.

I recently received some Monsoon Malabar and I did read on this forum that I should extend the roast times of that and so I did, and it looks OK. I waited until I could hear that it was into second crack rather than first snaps of second. The taste will tell. Im going to leave it for a bit - should I leave it the full 10-14 days out of this roaster or will the MM be rested sooner like most beans seem to be?

I dont have any way of measuring temperature so its still pretty seat of the pants, going by what I hear and what I see more than anything.

Edit: Heres a pic of the Monsoon Malabar

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Thanks for posting and sharing your experience ausnadian.

I will try your profile on familiar beans and post results.

As well, i will try your chaff removal system.

My current roast profiling is full heat on the medium size stove burner til just before first crack, then 20% and maintain all the way through til before second crack.
Some coffees lately i have been enjoying their origin fruit characteristics when roasted til C8 which is 2-3 minutes after end of first crack.

Thats the great thing about this roaster.You can roast it light, and enjoy the bean character, or roast it well into second crack and enjoy a dark roasted bean that does well in milk drinks or as a full bodied italian style espresso.

The appearance of the beans roasted on this machine may not be as even as other alternatives, but the flavours and lingering finish still makes me look into the empty cup and proceeding to make a second cuppa.

And a whole lot of fun!

Gary at G

[Ausnadian]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

I use on of these to roast on and have found a basic profile that works well with most for the Melbourne climate

100% flame for 3 minutes
Reduce to 60% until first crack establishes itself
then reduce to 10% until the I am ready to pull

While it sounds standard, and I have changed up things a little on occasion, I almost always get first crack in the 5:30 to 7:00 and depending on when 1st starts, I pull at either 13:00 to 14:30. I get very even roasts and rarely have issues anymore.
When I change it up I let it go a little more if I want to hit 2nd crack, though I only do that for a few beans I like that dark.
The only other specialty tip I can give (if no one has said it yet) in the second photo you can see that I sometimes hold it vertical over the garden and rotate the top to remove a bunch of the chaff, I only do this to chaff monsters though, and it has helped with getting more even roasts, usually done not long after first crack and only for 5 seconds or so as to not keep it off the flame for long.

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Good luck on your project kanda, and keep us up to date on how its going.

As far as rpm goes, i know someone stated the rpm of the drum, so you have to either sift through the pages of this topic or just ring Coffee Roasters Australia for the info.
Perhaps easier and faster if you ring.

Keep in mind even though its motorized, you cant leave it unattended.
Apart from the obvious safety aspects regarding heat which may result in fire of any coffee roaster you use.
Another is the monitoring of beans as they change to the colour profile you desire.
Lastly, without any agitators built in, better and more even results are obtained if you pick the drum up and shake it like the maracas briefly every minute.
I tend to do it every 30 seconds.

Enjoy your journey!

Hello backyardbean, and a welcome to the forum,

You either have a very understanding minister of finance or she loves your coffee
Yes, a windless day on the veranda with the camping stove, baby roaster and some great aromas wafting around is one of lifes great pleasure.

Just make sure your neighbours dont have their wet laundry hanging out as they can absorb the smells from the roasting, and that can possibly create tension.
Apart from that, they could very well have a sniff n poke their noses over for a look see.

Good luck to you too.

Gary at G

[backyardbean]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

.Hi all, after reading all the threads on the baby I think its time to finally retire the Popper and go to the next level. I now have approval from the minister of finance (who Ive finally got converted from tea to coffee : ) looking forwards to many good times on the back veranda teasing the neighbours with the smell :P

[kanda712]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hi all

Could some one tell me the RPM of the drum. I will be building a frame and adding a motor to a un used drum that I am getting from Chris.

Cant wait!!

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Into the 4th day cupping.

Still at this stage theres no clear winner, but i do prefer slightly in favour of the conventional roast.
Both of them was drinking nicely with no distinct differences.

In terms of appearances, the "ramped up" beans look bigger, but it does not translate to better in the cup.

Will replicate the test on the coretto and see if theres anything interesting to report.

Gary at G

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Just had four shots of espresso.

Two from each batch.

My mind was expecting the "ramp up" beans to be better but it was the other way round on day one.
Both of these batches produced a viscous shot with bubbles on the crema which indicates they are a bit young, CO2 given off and really give their best in a few days time. But yes, both very nice at this early stage.
Great mouthfeel, moderate acidity and sweetness youd expect from a Peru.No winners as yet.

To be continued tommorow.

Gary at G

[sidewayss]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Cheers Mark

Just fooling with the idea of glass though.

Perhaps the biggest issue is the conduction of heat from glass to the bean itself?

The only other issue is perhaps the pre-heating of glass to get it up to temperature to heat the beans and it has to be thick enough to be strong, take a few knocks and have enough energy, not to mention being too heavy to turn, unless an agitator and motor is involved.
I guess when you dump the beans to cool, the drum being harder to cool down only refers to back to back roasting issues.

Gary at G

Just needs to be done to prove me wrong

[CoffeeRoasters]

Re: FZ-RR 700 Baby Roaster

Hi Gary

Nice roasting...good advice. I go further into second crack on this device as the brighter origin notes remain longer than usual. Also lets you take on some of the darker roast character and balance out the acidity.

The browning is caramalising and Maillards but two seperate things. I think the lighter colour into second crack is due to slower breakdown/burning (pyrolisis) of sugars. Possible due to the difference in air temp and humidity in the drum. Coffee is 30-40% sugar and sugar plays a big part in Maillards (although reducing types) and also caramalisation (particularly sucrose). I get a sweeter and lighter finish at darker roasts than usual so makes sense to me that the pyrolisis of the sugars is slower but just a theory of mine.

Glass would be nice but glass has extremely poor thermal conductivity and double the heat capacity of copper. Copper actually conducts about 400 times faster than glass and carbon steel about 50 times faster than glass. With a high heat capacity once you get heat into glass it is hard to cool it down.

Food for thought