Inexpensive coffee roasting

October 25th, 2022, 1:56 pm

What is everyone roasting with?
I got a Fresh Roast 540 this Spring and am starting to get some better results but I do like to compare my roast to the same bean from Happy Mug.

Moderator's note: split from Best AFFORDABLE coffee roasters in the US?

#2: Post by **palica** » October 25th, 2022, 2:07 pm

Maybe you should look at Behmor 1600/2000 which is an affordable roaster that can give not-too-bad to good results, according to what I read. You can easily find it used also.

#3: Post by **ira** » October 25th, 2022, 2:34 pm

While a Behmor will roast larger batches than most other roasters, if you looking for consistency or want to learn to roast, almost anything else is a better choice.

#4: Post by **Milligan** » October 25th, 2022, 4:38 pm

Iowa_Boy wrote:I roast my own at this point, and I agree that many of the good roasters have increased pricing.
When I was previously buying roasted coffee, I thought a good value for blends and single origin was Kaldi's coffee roasters.
It probably won't blow you away, but I thought it was a solid value.
Black and white was my favorite roaster, but definitely about the $20 price point if looking for single origin.

Kaldi is a STL roaster. I've had a lot of their stuff in the past. I tend to think of them as Starbucks at a medium roast. They have very consistent quality and good crowd pleasers but I've never had anything blow me away.

As for the OP, good luck finding much good coffee online cheap these days once you figure shipping and such (free shipping is built into their prices, no way around roughly $5 a lb to ship anything these days...). Pretty much anything speciality is going to be $20/lb or more to your door.

#5: Post by **Milligan** » October 25th, 2022, 4:39 pm

ira wrote:While a Behmor will roast larger batches than most other roasters, if you looking for consistency or want to learn to roast, almost anything else is a better choice.

I second this. Don't bother.

October 25th, 2022, 4:53 pm

How long did you have a Behmor? Why did you conclude this?. I read the newer model has more manual control.

#7: Post by **ira** » October 25th, 2022, 5:14 pm

I own what may have been the best instrumented and most controllable Behmor in the world, www.roasterthing.com/FrankenBehmor , and I was never able to get 2 back to back roasts to come out near the same. And even if you solve that problem, knowing what's going on is near impossible. And while it is possible to get a good roast on a Behmor, In my experience it tends to be a bit random. Yes, you can learn the roaster and improve over time, but you're always just making ever more educated guesses.

#8: Post by **Milligan** » October 25th, 2022, 6:48 pm

howard seth wrote:How long did you have a Behmor? Why did you conclude this?. I read the newer model has more manual control.

I still have my Behmor. It's been in my closet for awhile. I did perhaps 60 roasts or so on it before moving on. As Ira said, the machine innately doesn't offer enough measurement to glean much usable information out of a roast. You only have chamber temperature and, on the newer model, exhaust temperature. However, the exhaust doesn't fire up until far into the roast. At which point chamber temp goes down and exhaust temp starts to rise. So you have to move from looking at chamber to exhaust temps. Exhaust temp doesn't stabilize until nearly FC, so those measurements are hard to rely on.

You never get bean temp measurements. You don't have a tryer so trying to base the development off of color is hard with the yellow light inside. You can shine a bright white light in there but at the end of the day basing development off of perceived color kicks you back into 90's roasting techniques. It doesn't show RoR so good luck knowing how to taper off a roast. The power fluctuates with voltage so you need to make sure it is on a dedicated 20amp circuit or heat output can change without you knowing.

"Manual" control is pointless without proper feedback through accurate measurements. You can spend a lot of time plotting Behmor exhaust and chamber temp to try to narrow down a decent roast but you are only learning how to roast specifically on a Behmor. That knowledge won't translate to other roasters.

The Behmor is fine if you want to poorly roast amazing greens but at that point why not buy professionally, well roasted crappy beans from the grocery store? Pretty much the same thing. My roasts were exponentially better when I stepped up to the Ikawa where I had accurate information to base my roasts off of and, more importantly, the tools to learn how to roast coffee instead of learning to roast a machine.

#9: Post by **howard seth** » October 25th, 2022, 7:33 pm

I have the original Behmor model roaster. I have always roasted by sound: I listen for first cracks - then when a few minutes later when I hear second crack, (or just before) I'll hit cool cycle and open the roaster door (I'm on a porch) That's how I usually go about it. Basic.
I like that I can roast up to 12 oz at a time in the Behmor.
Comparing these roasts to the local groceries or supermarkets - mine taste better - for one thing - Mine is fresher.
Comparing my roasts to Verve - or some other local specialty roaster (with a roast date on the package) Mine are not as good - however I buy green coffee from Happy Mug or Sweet Maria's for $5 - $7 per pound and Verve, these days is going for $17+ (per 12oz.)
It's worth it to me to roast in the Behmor. Once in blue moon I'll buy a bag of specialty coffee as well.

#10: Post by **ira** » October 25th, 2022, 8:11 pm

Sorry, I'm not saying the Behmor isn't a perfectly good roaster if you're looking for what is pretty much a toaster for coffee beans. I used mine for years and was perfectly happy, but once you try to become a good roaster, it turns out to be almost useless.

Ira