What is the difference between a peanut roaster and coffee roaster?

by **zretineo1979** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:17 pm

I have found a smaller (10lb) peanut/coffee roaster. How do these differ between a dedicated coffee roaster? It does have a horizontal drum, and looks like a coffee roaster (This one isnt quite as frilly) It looks to be from the 70s. I do know it is gas, and does not have onboard computers or etc. Would I be fine with a peanut / coffee roaster? Im guessing its roasting capabilities without modifications, might be archaic. What is your experience?

by **Coffee-Mark** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:20 pm

if the price is right i would buy it for the experience and sell it later if your not happy. .. but i love collecting this kind of stuff .. i wish i found it

by **zretineo1979** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:22 pm

I would for sure have to figure out a better cooling system and front chute. Not to mention a sampler thing-a-ma-jig. I know my technical lingo is amazing. Based on what you see, Could this produce consistent coffee?

by **Randy G.** on Sun Jun 19, 2011 8:53 pm

There is a lot of info on roasting peanuts online. I found this:

Dry Roasting -
Dry roasting is either a batch or continuous process. Batch roasters offer the advantage of
adjusting for different moisture contents of peanut lots from storage. Batch roasters are typically
natural gas-fired revolving ovens (drum-shaped). The rotation of the oven continuously stirs the
peanuts to produce an even roast. Oven temperatures are approximately 430°C (800°F), and peanut temperature is raised to approximately 160°C (320°F) for 40 to 60 min. Actual roasting temperatures and times vary with the condition of the peanut batch and the desired end characteristics.

Based on that, the machine should be capable of roasting coffee.

And the tool is called a trier. They are weighted so when inserted they sit open-end down so that they do not hold beans.

by **farmroast** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:21 am

What does it look like inside the drum?
Is there any kind of air flow potential?
The large diameter but short depth would seem better for peanuts and less efficient for coffee to deal with for proper bean flow and heat transfer.

The drum speed and fins might need changes.
Would think you could make something useful with a lot of reworking modifications and access to scrap.
The whole unit design is pretty cool. Bet it roasts a great peanut.

That Royal? in the shed behind is the typical type I've seen for peanuts.

by **CoffeeRoastersClub** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:48 am

For one, peanuts do not produce anywhere near the amount of roasting smoke that coffee beans do. This leads to the question of how does that roaster you are looking at handle smoke evacuation?

Also, where did you read about peanut roasting temps and time of roasts? I drum roast shelled peanuts all the time at no where near those temps and times. 5 lbs. peanuts roast at 450F for about 20 minutes, if that. Shell on peanuts a bit longer and have a different roasting procedure (soak peanuts in shell in warm salt brine for about 1/2 hour prior to roasting), then roast at same temp. Water evaporates and "steam roasts" peanuts leaving behind salted nuts in shell.

Len

by **Randy G.** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:06 am

CoffeeRoastersClub wrote:Also, where did you read about peanut roasting temps and time of roasts? ....

FWIW:
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch09/...s10-2b.pdf

Had better things to do that cross reference the details on this one... :wink:

Besides, my elephant ran off last week....

by **CoffeeRoastersClub** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 11:12 am

Thanks for the link, Randy. When I read it in its entirety I get the impression that they are providing the 800F temp info as it relates to huge batches of "goobers" as they call them. (quite different than the "goobers" we laughed about as little kids ...). I can see that as an environmental temp in a huge roaster when dealing with a very large mass of raw peanuts. But still the 320F for an average of 50 minutes seems awful long, unless there is alot of moisture they are dealing with when roasting that huge amount of beans. I know that if I roasted 5 lbs. that long my goobers would be pitch black. Eww...

Still

by **Randy G.** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 12:07 pm

The only basis for comparison I have was the time I roasted some raw cashews in my Hottop. I learned that:

1 - They need a LOT less heat than coffee beans.
2 - They roast a LOT faster than coffee beans.
3 - I should have done some research to have an idea as to how to roast them and when to stop.

They were a bit over-roasted but still were very nice freshly roasted.

by **CoffeeRoastersClub** on Mon Jun 20, 2011 1:19 pm

Same with the peanuts I roast, as I mentioned for us less temp less time. Another thing, first time I roasted them it surprised me how much noise they make after the roast. Snapping and cracking for about 10 minutes or so after dumping them. My wife and I go through alot of peanut butter, love the stuff and simple to make with a food processor. We found a great place to get the raw peanuts (and other nuts too, like cashews): http://www.nutsonline.com

We save quite a bit by buying in bulk.

Len


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