As a noob roaster having roasted 6 times with my new/used purchase, I am experimenting roasting Kenya AA Green beans. The iRoast is a great machine to learn with but since we drink 1 to 2 pounds of coffee a week I find it is too labor intensive! The iRoast can only roast 150 gm at a time and only once daily. There to fill my coffee container for the week I need 3 to 6 days roasting every day. Although my roast times are not very long I find it a real hassle to have to roast only once daily. It would be nice to be able to do back to back roasts. If I were to let the machine rest a couple of hours would it be OK to do 2 roasts in 1 evening?

Also I found myself overroasting the coffee. I am now trying a batch where I stop the roast at 9 minute. My profile is 355 degrees for 3 minute, 400 for 3 minutes, 450 3 minutes then 400 for 3 1/2 minutes. If I go over 11 minutes the coffee tastes burnt. The beans are REALLY light weight. The first cracks are heard at 5 minutes. I stop the roast when I first hear second crack. I know that it is early and we will see what the cupping results will be.

I have ordered a digital K thermometer to measure bean temperature and relate that to my profile. Question I have is do you feel that I am ending the roast too early? How would you alter the profile?

In general, that's a good spot to end roasts, but Kenyas tend to be boring at this roast level. If you don't have a thermometer, use this guide:

Light Roasts: Thirty seconds after the first crack ends
Medium Roast: First pops of the 2nd crack
Dark Roast: The peak of he 2nd crack to fifteen seconds further
Too dark roast: anything darker than that.

Kenyas tend to be better at light or dark roasts than at medium roasts. Not sure why.

With my first experiences with the Kenyan beans that I bought from Greenbeanery.ca , when roasted very dark for espresso they had a sour aftertaste. Lacked the sweetness. I guess some say that the Kenyans are too acidy for espresso so I just use them for drip. As a drip coffee even the ruined toasts(IMHO) were passable. The lighter roasts seem to have more flavor and are more lively.

It seems that coffee roasting has so many interesting degrees of flavor that can be affected not so many variables. For instance , how long should we take to ramp up the temp to first crack? How long should first crack last? What about the ramp up to second crack. Should the temp after start of second crack be brought down a bit? At what point do we end the roast. And which beans do best at a lighter roast or darker?

I am planning to learn with roasts for drip coffee. After getting a better feal for the roasting process then I can try different beans and different roasts. As a new home roaster, there is so much to learn. Identifying first and second cracks. Degrees of roasts, etc.

docdvm wrote:...The iRoast can only roast 150 gm at a time and only once daily.

Hey doc
I have 2 of the ''beasts'', and I assure you that you can do back-to-back roasts till the cows come home with no negative repercussions, overheated units or consequences (other than more coffee). I've been roasting in a pair of them for 2 years now, and routinely do 4 roasts back-to-back-to-back stopping long enough to dump the chaff, re-select the profile and hit ''roast''.

I roast by 1/2 cup measure, not by weight, but I'm guessing I do more like 170g per batch (depending on the bean of course). One of my unit's fan is stronger so it's load is a little bigger, the other I do 1/2 cup minus one layer of beans.

I have been roasting 1.5 - 3 pounds a week for 2 years with them and the pair of iRoast2s were a vast improvement over three Fresh Roast units all going at the same time (each on it's own circuit and each on a Variac).

I like the iRoast2s, but they are noisy devils. I don't count on hearing 2nd crack, so I wear earplugs when roasting with them. I use both at the same time all the time, and two of them on my workbench are able to generate some decibels. I use my eyes (and a bright flashlight) and my nose to know when beans arrive at the point I hit ''cool''...

You can promote better cooling and create a longer break between first and second crack by opening the little screened-lid on top. I know where the break is programmed on my profiles, and backing down the temp and opening the lid is how I back them off for space. Trust me, they recover from 320°F to 405°F in less than a minute once I retighten the lid and the new profile (from 350°F to 400°F) kicks in.

It spews a bit of chaff depending on the bean, but I'm in a garage working on the workbench and my handy-dandy shop vac is right there to help clean up. You can even nudge the bottom section of the lid over for extra cooling. That small a load of beans reacts to temp more quickly than a drum roaster.

I also always loosen both lids (not remove, just loosen) during the cooling cycle and the beans are close to room temp at the end of the cooling cycle...

I have drilled 3 half-inch holes in the center of the chaff collector so more air vents during roasting, and I make sure the screen in the top lid is very clean since it will build up too much heat if it gets plugged tightly. These babies really get up and move when they are going full force (over 400°F).

If you have not roasted with an air roaster, the rule of thumb is more-beans more-mass more-heat quicker-roast (until you choke the unit or overheat it with too big a mass of beans) and vice versa less-beans less-mass takes a bit longer. If you want them to roast quicker use more beans - but you must not exceed the roaster's ability to keep them churning and you must not get such a large mass of heat that the heat builds up & trips the thermal overload.

The LCD is useless for knowing actual temps, and it is merely a good guide. I have several profiles for different beans and conditions in mine, and I reevaluate and modify them fairly routinely. No one profile fits every bean or weather condition.

Hope this is not wasted info (you may very well know all this already). I'm pretty intimate with my pair...

I'm hoping when the Behmor gets here it will give me bigger batches with less noise and more uniformity.

Very informative tj. I am always learning and am very new to roasting. Also great to hear that I can roast a few batches in one evening. If 1 blow 1 batch then I don't have to wait a day for the next one. If they work out then I have beans for a few days of coffee.

I have the iRoast under a homemade vent and fan. When the fan is on I have trouble hearing the cracks. When off I can hear first crack and, I think, also second crack. I usually measure 150 gm beans so that I consistently have the same weight. Eliminates 1 variable. At between 8 to 9 minutes seems to be the right roast time for my profile. Seems short to me but the beans look and smell very good. They are much sweeter smelling than the ones roasted longer and darker. Those smell burnt.

Now upgrade to a Behmor? With your roasting style and control wouldn't you prefer the control of the HotTop? The Behmor gives you fewer ways of varying your roast. Or is that what you are looking for. More automatic.

mike wrote:Now upgrade to a Behmor? With your roasting style and control wouldn't you prefer the control of the HotTop? The Behmor gives you fewer ways of varying your roast. Or is that what you are looking for. More automatic.

Hi Mike...
You'd think so with my history, huh...maybe I just want a break...

Naw, probably more the GeneCafe would fit my tweaking side since it's just raw controls and infinite adjustment...but right now I'm being constrained to spend less time on my coffee roasting and more on the preparation and enjoyment of it.

The need to roast 2-3 pounds per week and to be able to produce consistent roasts in all weather conditions with a minimum of hassle & and to handle larger roasting loads (3/4 pound as opposed to 1/2 pound) won out...for now.

I retire in 3 years, 10 months and 16 days (but who is counting), and I may very well grab either a GeneCafe or it's comparable equivilent then, or maybe even one of the Quest M3 for continuing into retirement once we relocate. We plan to sell our current home and move closer to the grandkids and secure a home and remodel it for our retirement (a smaller ''last house'' outfitted the way we want it).

Then I'll have more time to ''play''.

Having considered all the options, I really think the Behmor is flexible enough to do what I want... What I lose in infinite adjustability, I regain in larger loads, and ease of use. I'll also keep one of the iRoast2 for backup and send the other to my son who has been using the FreshRoast we gave him 5 years ago...he will be thrilled...and our workbench will be quieter.

My wife and I moved closer to the kids 2 years ago but I am still working and plan to work as long as I can. I do enjoy my profession as much as my hobbies. As for the reasons I am usig the iRoast, I bought the unit used for $50.00. Feel it is a good way to get some experience roasting and to decide whether this is what I want to do with my time. It truly only takes a few minutes to roast a small batch and in fact less time tan heading out to a local roaster in Ottawa to pick up some beans. Ordering from the net often results in me having to do to the depot or post office to pick up the parcel. Also time consuming. Therefore timewise and expensewise it is a benefit to home roast. I understand your reasons for the Behmor. Out f necessity you have tweaked your profiles and found a comfort zone. There is less ability to tweak the Behmor and so most likely more consistency if the Behmor does not change over time and with varying voltages. I just thought that the HotTop would suit your style or what you have become accustomed to doing. The question I have always asked myself is what if I get tired of the hassle of home roasting and just want a simple way of roasting a 1 week supply of coffee beans. At , say, 1 pound of coffee a week, is the Behmor the way to go for you? I also agree that at 150 gm. or thereabout, it will likely become a hassle to roast 4 batches for a every week. That is over 200 roasts a year at least, not taking into account ruined roasts.

mike wrote:There is less ability to tweak the Behmor and so most likely more consistency if the Behmor does not change over time and with varying voltages. I just thought that the HotTop would suit your style or what you have become accustomed to doing. The question I have always asked myself is what if I get tired of the hassle of home roasting and just want a simple way of roasting a 1 week supply of coffee beans. At , say, 1 pound of coffee a week, is the Behmor the way to go for you? I also agree that at 150 gm. or thereabout, it will likely become a hassle to roast 4 batches for a every week. That is over 200 roasts a year at least, not taking into account ruined roasts.

Hi Mike
I will have the Behmor on one of my spare Variacs for stability (still have the three that were managing my FreshRoasts initiallly). I've been doing double batches back to back twice a week for several years now. For the expense involved in a HotTop one could own a Quest M3 and have all the control (similar sized roast to the HotTop) and an actual total hands on experience.

The HotTop looks too automatic to me. I'm not looking to push the button(s) and walk away till I hear the beans fall into the tray...

What's it all about...this coffee roasting thing?
Roasting is a cathartic ''exercise'' for me, and I enjoy the time I spend with my roasters...feeds something creative in me. And being able to share the benefits with others and upgrade my coffee supply in the process is a real joy. I'm sure the switch to the Behmor will produce good results as it has for many others.

Having said this, I've so enjoyed every phase of my coffee roasting from popcorn popper to FreshRoast to my Galloping Gourmet/Stir Crazy improvised rig (though I could have passed on that failed AlpenRost), and finally the iRoast2...

Each had it's quirks and charms which fed my knowledge base and satisfied the urge for great coffee. And I'm sure the Behmor will feed it different and interesting information. It's been a great decade of learning to roast, and getting to meet local area roasters and chat with them for ideas. They have been helpful as well...

I think you have made a bit more sensible choice to begin than I did with your iRoast2 - it will put out a good result with the required attention and without extensive modifications. All my early ones required extensive modifications to get the results I extract from the iRoast2s. The only thing which drives me in another direction at this point is having to trick it in our cold environment this year to get decent roasts during the cold spells.

As for ruined batches, I've only lost 4 in the last 2 years, and two of them were from making ''stupid'' mistakes, so I don't feel like that's even a factor.

In fact I've enjoyed drinking the ''mistakes'' over the years, or sharing them with friends. We have a friend who likes his beans roasted ''black'' so if I've gone a bit too far, he ends up with those and loves them. And except for the Alpenrost which would spontaneously shut down before reaching 1st crack I've not ruined many loads...have an enjoyable holiday, and roast-on brother Mike!

We order our green beans about 30-40# at a shot and have them delivered to the door - no going to the post office to collect them. Much more convenient and in the lower 48 very reasonable shipping charges from the sources we buy our green beans from...not a lot at all.

Your $50 sounds like a great investment - and you cannot begin to imagine what a great adventure this can really lead to... Keep us posted on your results.

I've used an Iroast 2 for several years now, and am quite pleased with it. To establish the roast profile I want, I program four phases with an understanding of the "gap" between programmed and actual temperature. Then, using a digital thermocouple, I record the temperature every 30 seconds (don't pay any attention to onboard readings). Then, based on this info, I tweak the program to achieve the roast curve I want. Once I get the curve/ramp I want, I rarely need to monitor temps any longer. Assuming relatively stable roasting conditions (room temp, amount of beans, moisture levels, same outlet), I have found these ramps to be INCREDIBLY reliable - within a few degrees of each other on every 30-second measurement, every time. Even when there are small variable changes, the "shape" of the curve remains pretty much the same.

I have had no problems roasting several times a day, but I do give the machine at least 30 minutes to cool off between roasts.

Once I get the curve/ramp I want, I rarely need to monitor temps any longer. Assuming relatively stable roasting conditions (room temp, amount of beans, moisture levels, same outlet), I have found these ramps to be INCREDIBLY reliable - within a few degrees of each other on every 30-second measurement, every time. Even when there are small variable changes, the "shape" of the curve remains pretty much the same.

I was curious what one of your profiles might look like (time / temp) compared to the presets, as well as the weight of a common roast