I just got the Behmor 1600. Last night I used it for the first time roasting Daterra Villa Decaf. I used 1/4 P2 B. The roast was a bit too dark. It probably could have had 30 or 60 seconds subtracted but I just made a cappuccino with it and it was pretty good, and I am not sure it would be improved if it were lighter. We usually like to roast our regular beans lighter...medium brown. Decaf tends to roast darker.

I am a novice. Before the Behmor my husband did all the roasting using a hot air popper set up. He has yet to use the Behmor since I just got it while he's been out of town. I will probably roast him some (regular) espresso before he returns. I may try 9 oz of Brazilian or a blend and use P3 but not sure which letter to press.

My husband has been roasting his own blends by separate origin with the hot air popper due to the different times each type of bean roasts. It seems impractical with the Behmor since your not supposed to roast back to back....I guess this is the downside to this roaster. Should I attempt roasting a blend all at once? Or, maybe I should just do a single origin for the first batch of regular espresso. How are other Behmor owners handling this problem?

Also, I'd like suggestions for roast profiles others have liked using decaf.

Suppose you compare a decaf and regular version of the same coffee. To get the taste as close as possible:

• The finishing bean temperature of the decaf should be about 2 to 3 degrees lower
• The finishing color of the bean should be a shade darker
• The roast should go about a minute faster.

I don't know how to use the Behmor, but these are the general roasting guidelines fro decafs.

Thanks. So, I'll try pressing the cool button when it has about a minute left. I guess it will take a bit of experimentation.

Jim, just curious, faster through all the phases of the roast, or just drying and browning? Thanks much.

The drying part is the same as for a regular bean. For regular sized loads, I'm going at my roaster's speed limit up to the first, so I go a minute shorter afterwards. I haven't experimented going with a lighter load to get a faster roast.

Ah OK. It sounds like the varietal flavors and aromatics must for some reason be more volatile in the decaf. I don't roast decafs much myself and was not aware of that, though it would seem to make sense given the processing they have been through. Thanks for the information Jim.

trix wrote:I may try 9 oz of Brazilian or a blend and use P3 but not sure which letter to press.

1/2# P3 C would normally be what you would use with that profile for 8 oz., and as long as your voltage is OK it should probably work for 9 oz. as long as you are standing around to perhaps hit + a few times at the end. I think even in the early revisions of the roaster you have a minute and a half that you can add on that profile in the half pound setting so you should be fine. The drying phases on P3-5 are already quite long so you probably wouldn't want to add the time prior to starting the roast.

Some folks seen to prefer P2 for Brazilian coffees.

Well, I tried some Daterra Opus 1 at 1/4 P3 C....I should have hit + a couple of times because it came out a bit too light. Opus 1 isn't a really a decaf....it has chaff...I believe it is a Brazilian bean and a profile I some in some instructions suggested that profile.

So, for my first two roasts...one too dark....one too light....hmmm.

My next roast will be in a few days when I roast the full caff espresso...I will read a bit more before I do but I may take your advice on the profile, Sully. Maybe I will roast less for him and just let my husband play with the Behmor himself to get to a profile for one of the blends he likes. I doubt I can get him to read the directions first...

By the way....I want to put in a plug for my source of green beans:
Theta Ridge Coffee. Kevin has a nice selection and good prices.

Since so many mention Intelligentsia/Black Cat etc. and Sweet Maria's etc.....just thought I'd suggest another alternative to check out.

Are you weighing your beans? The Behmor is very sensitive to charge weight, and in fact, given the limited number of ways that you can manipulate the profiles, charge weight is a key variable.

If you weighed your beans and still had trouble with the roast running out of time and the beans finishing too light then you may have a voltage issue. The Behmor is also very sensitive to voltage as an external factor, as are many off-the-shelf roasting devices. Try not to use an extension cord if you can avoid it, or if you must then use the shortest and heaviest extension cord that you have. Make sure there are no other big appliances running that will draw down your supply voltage while you are roasting, like the A/C for instance. Joe Behm has stated on numerous occasions that he restricts his roasting to prior to 9AM because the voltage in his neighborhood drops after that hour when people start using their appliances. (This is just a guideline that he follows... I'm sure he could roast at other times of the day if he wanted to, he is just an early bird and he's learned that his voltage is reliably strong and consistent at that early hour.)

Ambient temperature is less of a factor, although the way the temperature sensor is set up it does lead to slightly longer roast times when it is very warm out... that may be a factor for you down in Florida. I find when I roast with the Behmor at ambient temps of over about 75 degrees or so there are a lot more heater element cycles, the roaster's environment temperature swings more, roast times lengthen a bit, and roast quality goes way downhill. I get better roasts out of it (within the limits of its potential) at ambient temps of around 55-65 degrees. I tend to roast in the middle of the night and better voltage and ambient temps are certainly part of the reason why. YMMV.

With good voltage and a weighed bean load, you should be able to get well into second crack with the stock times on any of the profiles except perhaps P5.

Temp in the house is averaging 78 lately. I do weigh my beans. I have the Behmor under the range hood and nothing else plugged into the outlet which is near by and the stock cord just reaches it.....the refrigerator is a couple of feet away and may be using the same breaker....not sure though...may check.

I have a battery backup in the next room and monitor that voltage which has averaged 117 and 118 while I've roasted. I had the A/C on last night set at 77 so I upped it to 78 so it'd go off while I was roasting. I roasted at 10 pm the first time with a voltage about 118. I am using the smaller grid drum.

I am sure there will continue to be a bit of a learning curve as I find the right profiles for the various beans we roast. My husband has roasted for about a year with the poppery II (I think that is the one it is) so he is a bit more familiar with the cracks etc....so, when he gets back home it will probably go a bit smoother.