IMEX CR-100 HELP

[SamR]

One of my coffee suppliers was kind enough to give me an Imex CR-100 home roaster, which he trialled a few times but has no further use for. I havent used it yet but plan to in the next few days & itll be interesting to see how this compares with my Breville "Crazy Popper". Can anyone who uses the Imex provide some advice....in particular whether I should turn the dial all the way to the 13 minute mark? Also, does the 13 minute mark generally coincide with the second crack? Its my understanding that the fan noise makes it difficult to hear the cracks, particularly the second crack....so with this in mind I was curious about how to know whether the second crack has already occurred at, say 11 minutes, & am I now roasting 2 minutes after the second crack. Also, if the second crack hasnt occurred within the 13 minutes & the cool down cycle is completed (or has commenced) can I re-roast for another minute or so?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[fatboy_1999]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Sam,

I used an Imex for quite some time before moving to the BBQ roaster. I still have it, and it does a serviceable job, but you really dont have much control over the process.

The timing marks are somewhat arbitrary. Like a popper and other methods, it is affected by ambient temperature. So a 13 minute roast on a warm day might reach 2nd crack, on a cold day it might not.

Yes, the cracks are a bit hard to hear, but you do get attuned to them.

I would suggest for the first few roasts, you use colour as one of your indicators. You might end up going a bit darker than you want, but it should be a fairly good indicator.

Keep the glass lid clean. It gets dirty pretty fast and makes it hard to see the roast in progress.

You can re-roast. What I would do was keep an eye on things and if the heat cycle was about to end without the roast getting where I wanted, I would just turn the timer a bit more whist running.

I never put much stock in the cool down part of the timer. I preferred to dump the beans into something else and fan cool them.

If you got the measuring cup that comes with it, use it! Dont go over that amount, it really works best with just that amount. If you didnt get the cup, it holds around 170g.

Hope that helps.

Brett.

[coffeebreath]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Hi ya Sam.
Ive recently got one of these myself.

How does it compare to a popper? Its vertually identical, except more "user friendly".

My (limited) experience with it is that you will hit 2/C before 13mins.
I usually hit 1/C in 6 mins(or so) and then hit 2/C at 10-11mins depending on the bean.

As Im only roasting 100g at a time, I usually do a batch for about 9 1/2 mins, a batch for about 10mins and a batch for about 11mins. I then use the results as a guide for future roasts (in my case in my BM/HG set up). There is a bit of trial and error involved with the IMEX, but not much wastage due to small roast quantities.

Fan noise does make it hard to hear 2nd crack- but Ive always been able to hear it, just listen for the faint "ticking" sound that gathers momentem at around 10-11 mins.

I cant see you having to exceed 13mins, but if you do, make sure you reset the dial before the cooling cycle starts- or your beans will go into thermal decline (drop in temp) which will all but kill the flavour of your roasted beans.

Anyway hope this is of some help. There are a few IMEX users who are way more experienced than me with it who kick around this site, so you might get some less general/more specific advice from one of them.

Cheers, Good luck and happy roasting
Anthony

[SunnyCoaster]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Hi Sam

I have been using an Imex for some time now and am happy with the results.

I have found that 150g (carefully weighed) is optimal for me. Lower weight gives  to fast a roast and to high a weight makes it difficult to (a) get bean movement and (b) reach desired colour.

Depending on bean type and ambient temp. FC has been between 6m30 and 8m30. From there on I roast by colour, stopping usually as CS 9/10. This is depending again on bean/ambient temp, at between 13m and 15m.

I have a temp probe which is placed in the bean mass but have found the readings to be inconsistant and not reliable.

I have just roasted 150g of Ugandan Bugisu this morning. Ambient temp was 24C, FC at 8m20s, stopped at 15m, used the cooling cycle then cooled by hand. Result was 126g of evenly roasted beans at CS 9/10. Bagged in oneway vent bag and stored in cupboard. I will wait 5-6 days before using.

I have done over 50 roasts so far without any failures (touch wood). So far I have roasted various South and Central American, several African and some Indian beans and enjoyed them all.

Hope there is some thing helpful for you

Cheers
SunnyCoaster

[coffeebreath]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Thanks Sunny Coaster- That certainly helped me!, even though I was not the intended target. I"ve been doing 100g roasts, getting 1/C at around 6 mins, 2/C at around 9-10... Ill be trying 150g. Thanks!

ohh, and Mmmm,... Ugandan Bugisu!

[SamR]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Thanks to everyone for your advice. My experience was somewhat different...it was a cold day and I roasted outside and it went about 30 minutes without hitting the second crack. Got to a mild roast, but despite this the taste (after 48 hours degassing) is very nice. I think Ill try a towel under the roaster next time (with supervision of course) just to retain more heat in the roaster (a tip I read somewhere).

[SunnyCoaster]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

I always roast in my garage. If the outside temp is low all doors are closed, the Imex is put in a corner of the bench and on a towel. If outside temp is high then doors open, Imex in middle of bench and raised. I generally try for an ambient temp of 25c. I have not yet roasted in real cold weather so this may be a challenge.

I have read were the Imex has been modified by blocking some of the cold air inlets. Also check this modification http://www.flickr.com/photos/abstractgourmet/70793419

SunnyCoaster

[mbg963]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

If it is a cold day I place a cardboard box on its side and put my Imex inside it. The trapped heat helps keep the temps up. With the box lying on its side I have good access to the Imex when the roast is complete in order to dump the beans (HOT HOT HOT).

[kbc]

Re: IMEX CR-100 HELP

Thanks for all the info here.

Roast times with my popper have been too quick at about 3 minutes to FC and 6 minutes to SC.

I will be upgrading to the Imex CR100 shortly - mostly to get a longer roast.