Hello, and thanks all to who might provide some input here. I am buying a Quest M3 roaster today, with plans to go thru about 40 lbs or more of high elevation Central American ( El Salvador) beans in order to understand its basic usage, before jumping in and trying out the fine geishas I just ordered.

Can anyone help give me a list of add-ons,helpful items to maximize the function and usability of this roaster?

I've heard of a canning funnel mentioned, for adding the beans directly and more cleanly. Does anyone know or have a model # or brand name or source for one, preferably a nice shiny one that will match better?

And as far as temperature measurements. I have a Thermoworks Thermopen for my BBQ hobby, I love their gear, it's very well made and built to last. But I believe they run in the $200-300 range for a wired probe type that would be used to monitor bean temp. So any recommendation as to a reliable alternative that has worked for users would be great! * ( apparently SM/CS has one, I just don't know where it ranks is terms of quality or usefulness) I'm asking what you guys use and like.

Any other suggestions? I have searched the forum, and gathered a good bit of advice on the actual use of the machine. But one other thing that confounds me as a newbie to this level of roasting is some of the acronyms for certain words.

I read BT, ET, MET, and a few more, and I can only guess that the first is bean temp, with a probe somehow touching the beans as they roll around in the drum?

ET, Environmental temp? Measuring the heat inside the drum itself I assume?

MET, no clue, unless it's mean ET, which still leaves me in the dark as to what knowledge that applies to.

Any other units of measurement that a non electrician wouldn't know. If that could be shared, I'd be very grateful.

Thank you all again for any feedback or tips. It's greatly appreciated.

Tom Chips.

PS, yes, I can't wait to get a batch tested out both in the wonderful charity donation method by our own pro, and as well as a local bay area meet up. I missed the last one.

Cheers all.

Hi

BT = Bean Temperature. The temperature of the outer surface of the beans.

ET = Environmental Temperature. A temperature in between the heat source and BT useful to control power. It is similar in function to the temperature setting of a kitchen oven. The ET sensor can be placed inside the drum, outside the drum, or sometimes in the first part of the exhaust depending on the roaster.

MET = Maximum ET. A limit that should never be reached because it could damage the beans. This limit changes with soft (lower limit) and hard beans (higher limit).

I guess, the first gadget would be the adapters to connect thermocouple probes. That would allow you to replace the analog thermometers with thermocouple probes suitable for a digital logging meter. If you get a meter, get one with at least two inputs (for BT and ET). Look in Omega.com for the meters and contact Eric for the adapters or farther information about the thermocouple conversion:

http://www.home-barista.com/member/erics/

There was a recent thread about selecting a meter:

Choosing thermometry equipment for home roasting


Cheers

Thank you very, very much!!!

Hi!
Newbie and first post here.. If it's not to late you might want to consider ordering the Quest with K-probes. That's what I did (actually I ordered both). Saves having to replace the analog ones.

I need to figure out if I can get it that way from Coffee Shrub?

I'll call and ask in a few hours when they open, but I don't know if I want to pursue the effort of dealing with a different vendor, if import duties, excess shipping, etc are included. I can drive over the bridge and have the M3 in my hands in 30 minutes, and not pay a cent in shipping.

Sorry I did not know you where bying it from Coffe Shrub. I can fully understand that you want to pick it up from there. I would have done that to if I had a choice. Still it might be worth asking about it, even if they don't sell it now they might start if enough people ask for it.

TC4 + artisan is a must!

Thanks folks for the valuable feedback. I jumped the gun and picked it up today. It's quite a cluttered countertop at the moment, but it wont sit there for the roasting. I will keep it under my range hood. I just love seeing my coffee mountain of joy grow week by week. My Espro Press should be here tomorrow. Tempted to try Dave's French Pull method until the Espro arrives. My FP has sat idle for 3-4 years now.

Anyhow, I'm off to study the manual carefully and then make a test run tonight. Just one, maybe two 200gm batches of some hard bean Centrals I have on hand, to see how I do.

I couldn't find a decent metal canning funnel at Bed Bath and Beyond. We don't have any good kitchen stores nearby, but I'll be on Amazon tonight looking for a nice shiny one with a one inch opening. Digital thermometry will have to wait a bit till I can learn more how to use them and research more. Your guys' recommendations are a great help!

If you see that little yellow tagged wire thing on my grinder counter right next to the OE aluminum dosing funnel, it's been a little wonder tool as a WDT needle. I had ordered a small set of very tiny cleaning brushes for cleaning out the recesses of the grinder output holes, and all I did was snip off the brush on the tinniest one that I wouldn't ever use, then wrap a very easy to see and grasp little yellow sticker around one end of it. I never loose it and it's easy as heck to pick up and do a quick WDT with the aluminum Orphan Espresso Funnel on top of my portafilter, done in 5 seconds. One less inconsistency with my extractions. They usually are dialed in perfect without channeling, now, and I only have to focus on the grind.

That's a killer home setup.

TomC wrote:
I couldn't find a decent metal canning funnel at Bed Bath and Beyond. We don't have any good kitchen stores nearby, but I'll be on Amazon tonight looking for a nice shiny one with a one inch opening.

Just pour the beans in from the side. I've never had a problem.