Behmor First Roast

[Gum]

Well, I umm'd and aah'd for some time before deciding to upgrade from my popper and buy a Behmor Roaster from Andy. Finally, on Friday afternoon I ordered the Behmor through Beanbay. Surprise, surprise, it arrived early Monday morning in Sydney.

Fantastic service. Thanks, Andy.

With very little delay I checked the controls, did a burn-in, whacked in some PNG beans I've been wanting to try and Presto!

For those that know the machine, 300g@1lb:P2:B

With 10 minutes left on clock first crack began. At the very first sound of second crack, two minutes later, I hit cool. Opened the door for a few secs to aid the start of cool but closed it pretty soon after.

Roast looks great. Very even. Next time I'll let it go a bit darker, I think. Like others, I took seriously the warnings about going too far into second crack.

I like my coffee about a week old so I'll report on the taste test at that time.

First impressions of the machine are positive. Quiet and sturdy.

[lemoo]

those look good gum!

did you roast straight after the burn in?

If so, do not be surprised if your next roasts take a slightly longer as the behmor would take a little while to warm up (unless you preheat in which case ignore this)

I use the same settings for a 300g roast of greens and usually hit 1C about the same time as well. sometimes longer depending on beans and ambient temp

[Gum]

Yes, lemoo, I pre-heated for 90 seconds.

The photo above was taken immediately the beans came out of the roaster. It is now a couple of hours later and the beans have darkened just a tiny bit. They really do look close to perfect.

I am sooo impressed with this first attempt (it's the machine, not me) that I can only imagine how it might go with a bit of practice. I already think my popper coffee is better than most coffee shops so this will, I'm sure, be superb.

[lemoo]

yeah i love my behmor

[Dimal]

Absolutely beautiful looking roast there "Gum"...

The little Behmor is certainly a champion roaster. Don't forget to come back with your taste impressions...

Mal.

[Andy]

Great looking roast!

Fantastic service. Thanks, Andy.

Always happy to provide great service and amazing product, that's what we do at CoffeeSnobs.


Enjoy the journey to better coffee.

[Lasanmarcomelb]

Behmor First Roast

I'm onto roast #7 on the behmor. It's a great machine. A little concerned about the increase in my coffee consumption though, damn good coffee

[phrostyboi]

no need to worry yourself about increased consumption, all good greens come from andys place

even if you drink 4 times as much it probably works out at the same price or cheaper than buying roasted anyway

[Gum]

Tasting Time

Finally … it's time to taste.

I usually drink my coffee in the window between ten days and two weeks after roasting because that's how I like it. So, if we are to compare the results of roasting with a popper to those achieved with the Behmor we must be consistent. If you're looking for instant gratification then coffee roasting is not for you :-)

Ten days after roasting the beans still look fantastic.

Firstly the grind. The rich colour seems uniform right through the bean. It is a lovely, dark brown. The grinder is also making a slightly different sound; seems like it is doing a little less work (Compak K3T).

Here goes, let's pull a shot …

Hmmm. Seems to pour much the same. Looks similar in the glass. Perhaps the crema is a little denser (this coffee doesn't produce great crema). Let's taste.

Ah, now there is something different. You can definitely detect more flavours. The coffee is more rounded, if that makes sense. This coffee, when roasted in the popper, is more one-dimensional. Now I can detect different flavours giving a fuller experience. More depth of flavour.

I do not profess to understand the chemistry which takes place during roasting but I would guess that by applying heat more gradually and evenly than the popper the sugars caramelise more gently to a point of sweetness and remain at that point without over-cooking.

The coffee is now gone and we are into after taste. This is more mellow to that experienced with the popper. Yum.

So, is it worth buying the Behmor? Absolutely. Here are a few reasons that spring to mind:

1] Beautiful, even roast. You can take the beans to a darker state than with the popper and not burn them. Don't know why this works.

2] Batch size. One batch with the Behmor is about five or six batches with the popper. Therefore there is a considerable time saving with the Behmor (my popper has a thermostat so once you turn it off you cannot do another batch for about five minutes, thus prolonging the process).

3] Taste. Say no more. Isn't that why we drink the stuff in the first place?

This is only my first roast so I am confident that subsequent roasts will improve. In the mean time I have prepared a second roast. The result is just fantastic. Can't wait to try it. Have a look at the photo.

I hope my early experiences with the Behmor may have helped anyone considering their roasting options.





[lemoo]

i think the roast quality AND the picture of that pour pretty much sums up another happy behmor customer

[phrostyboi]

that pour looks damn fine, wish I could get them that good consistently...

[AtomicGrog]

Am looking to repeat the experience

Got my Behmor Wednesday (Thanks Andy ) and did a roast, compared to my iroast colours it's underdone but the smells say another story.