Hi guys,

I started with a Toastess TCP-713 but I can never get the desired result, the beans are usually roasted too fast, the 2c starts usually at 4.5 minutes and by that time the beans are already very dark.

Now I am looking to upgrade my gear, I am thinking about bemour 1600 but before that I want to make sure it can get similar quality as Interligensia's black cat espresso, light brown color, like this:


I consume one pound coffee in about 10 days but I don't mind to spend 15 mins a week to roast some coffee.

Will bemour give me what I want and is it the best choice for its price range?

I don't know about your upgrade but I think another_jim has mentioned before that fewer beans will actually let the air flow out of the popper faster, lowering your roasting temp and giving you a slower roast capability. That means your batches will be smaller and more often, but it might help until you upgrade.

I have recently acquired a drum roaster that is similar to a Behmor. It is a modified Air Fry (like the one from Philco, just another generic brand) that came originally with a drum that can be lifted right after the roast is done (it is attached to the handle on top).

What I would actually suggest is that you get a dimmer. That was my first upgrade from a popcorn popper. I must say that the roasts with the popper came out much better than with the new roaster. I still have hopes to hit the sweetspot of the new gear, but am getting a bit frustrated.

What I like about poppers is that the response is almost immediate. In a Behmor, it will not be as easy. Actually, I think it comes only with a few (4?) preprogramed roast profiles and the only thing you can do is cut the roast short or let it roll longer. With a dimmer/popper you have absolute control. I also used an infrared gun thermometer to log the temperature every minute or so.

As a matter of fact, I was wondering if someone had a few pointers to give me in this switch from popper to drum roaster (sorry to hitchhike on your topic like this, but this might come in handy for you too).

Just make sure you get a 2000 W plus dimmer for your voltage (110v , I guess).

My thermometer is this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Non-Contact-LCD ... 19e8bbf08a

and the dimmer is something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Brand-Adjus ... 233ac2f4af

some people open up the popper and split fan and resistor in order to have dual control. Since I am very bad at those things, I got a model with outlet and plug. I can only control fan and heat simultaneously, but it was plug and play.

As for what roasts you can get. With the dimmer and popper, you can get virtually anything you want: extra light city through vienna.

I guess my questions can be simplified to : How is the result comparing Behmor and Pro roaster shop? With my air popper I think the difference are very obvious when comparing to fresh pro-roasted beans, but what about Behmor, will it give me at least 90% of the pro-roaster result?

anyone?

Either increasing your control over the popper by adding a dimmer for the heating element, or building a heat gun/bread machine roaster, would offer you far more control over your roasts, for substantially less than the Behmor costs. Which doesn't mean that that Behmor might not be good for you; it just depends whether you prioritize flexibility and control, or simplicity of setup and operation.

Personally, I went from a popper, which I modded over time to get more control, to a HG/BM. In the near future I'll be taking delivery on a commercial grade sample roaster from USRC. For my uses and tastes, none of the consumer grade products offered the flexibility and level of control I want.

Hi RS,

I think what people are trying to tell you is that you can get a good roast from any of those. It's been said in a lot of other threads to people looking to upgrade roasters: "The roaster you pick is far less important that the skills you acquire to run it."

It has also been said here by people with experience that pro roasters are very different beasts than air poppers and even small drum roasters like the Behmor or GeneCafe.

It has also been said that you can get very good roasts from these "home" roasters with lots of practice.

and what he said ^^^

I went to a Hottop B from my wife's popcorn popper. (She was glad to have it back)

Basically I selected the Hottop for control, completeness and with an eye towards a larger scale in the future.

Long answer is that the Behmor wasn't flexible enough, the Quest M3 was too new at the time, the Huky requred gas (which is hard to come by in FL) Also, the Hottop is VERY well documented and VERY well understood on these forums. So, if there is trouble with it or you want to mod it, there is TONS of information available.

The result was a huge improvement in my roasted coffee. It was very clear very quickly that the control ability of the machine made the difference.

Good luck
-Paul

I upgraded from my heatgun / dogbowl to a Behmor 1600 about six months back. I've never roasted more than 1/2 lb at a time because this roaster has issues with a full pound, but yes, I can achieve even good-looking roasts with the Behmor. Of course the flexibililty of the Behmor is nothing to brag about, but I'm enjoying my roasts (usually espresso blends from SM) more than my goto roast Redbird.