ChemistryNerd Senior Member Joined: 20 Dec 2010 Posts: 128 Location: Nebraska Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Classic Grinder: Rancilio Rocky Doser Drip: Aeropress and French Press Roaster: My Local Roaster(s), and...
Posted Thu Feb 10, 2011, 12:53pm Subject: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
It seems that roasters here and other websites make the jump from Air Poppers to the Behmor/Gene Cafe without mentioning the breadmaker heatgun setup. I know at HB, it was acknowledged during the roasting competition, but it doesn't get enough attention in my opinion. I was able to get a great setup for around 30 dollars with a Breadmaker with dough setting from goodwill, a cheap heatgun (the cheapest available), a candy thermometer that goes up to 500 degrees fahernheit, and some colanders. I think the roast is higher quality than that of an Iroast, and even more consistent and controllable.
I am successfully able to roast to City, City +, Full City, and Full City+. I haven't tried to go darker than FC+, because it gets smoky and burnt smelling. First crack always takes about 9 minutes to achieve consistently, and every 30-45 seconds from there on out, the roast level changes. The longest I have gone is 12 minutes. This is comparible to a drum roaster in length, and doesnt roast nearly as fast any air popper.
I attached some pictures of today's roast: Panama from Sweetmarias. Roasted at City+ and Full City+. Going to degass 24 hours in those containers with a loose lid, then rest for another 24 with tight lid, then I will cup them.
I am really excited that I can achieve a quality roast with this equipment and limited modifications. The equipment is cheap and easily replaceable, and I roast up to 1lb at a time, so I see no reason to upgrade to a Behmor (which I almost did because I was tired of messing around with a Poppery II). I can also roast in ambient temperatures of Zero Degrees and achieve a great roast.
click here (Flickr.com) You should be able to see the other few photos.
Posted Thu Feb 10, 2011, 1:18pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
My personal feeling is that the project of making one is a bit more involved than most people wish to undertake.
Len
"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674
jkoll42 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2010 Posts: 465 Location: Pennsylvania Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: VBM DD V3, Gaggia Baby Class Grinder: Cimbali Max Hybrid, Bunn... Drip: Technivorm, Chemex Roaster: Honey Badger 1K, HG/BM
Posted Thu Feb 10, 2011, 1:22pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
Well, I have been using BMHG and am very happy with being able to roast a full # and can easily control roast profile with the router speed control. I think you may not see many posts as it has been around for a bit, everything has been ironed out and it is so straight forward there isn't much to talk about. Most people start w/ poppers as they are easy, self contained, cheap etc. I think you see more posts re the behmor since you have roast profiles to program.
Certainly not a formal pole, but if you look at Coffeesnobs pole you will see that poppers, HGBM, and behmor are all equally popular.
Posted Thu Feb 10, 2011, 2:29pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
Maybe because it doesn't look like a proper roaster, with a drum that spins and all? It's one of those 'put together thrift store roasters'.
The HG/BM has all the potential for making a great roaster. Mechanical bean agitation and a good convection heat source. Some thermometers, heater control, and enclose to prevent heat loss from the bean mass. The only magic left is from the operator.
farmroast Senior Member Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 1,417 Location: Amherst MA. Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Oly:Cremina,Maxi. MCAL... Grinder: Majors, Dienes Vac Pot: Hellem10 Drip: CCD, and more Roaster: 1kg. DreamRoast
Posted Fri Feb 11, 2011, 9:31am Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
Belinda at CS started the "Coretto" BM/HG in '06(a very capable roaster) at the same time that I was working on my first BM/TO roaster. As Frost mentioned it has all the possibilities of a good roaster with good agitation, heat control and temp monitoring with the proper modifications.
Posted Fri Feb 11, 2011, 8:02pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
I've been using the same Coretto setup for close to 3 years now. I started out with a Freshroast 8, was not satisfied with quantity, switched to HG/DB, was not satisfied with quantity, then upgraded to the BM. My sweet spot is 400g of green, which lasts my wife and me about a week. I've managed to get rather tasty and consistent results. What really helped was setting up the shopvac/colander/bucket cooling method. On these cold-ass Oregon days, it takes about a minute to cool them all down. It does take a bit of tinkering and patience to do the rewiring to bypass the electronics for a straight-up off and on motor in the BM but is way worth it. I'm surprised that my heatgun has lasted me for so long...
TOTHETUNE Senior Member Joined: 15 Jan 2008 Posts: 44 Location: AZ Expertise: Just starting
Posted Fri Feb 11, 2011, 9:21pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
I just hit 3 years on my setup also. Breadman machine and Makita HG1100 heatgun. I roast one lb. at a time out on the patio. I got a Digisense thermocouple on ebay for bean temperature monitoring. It was a little tricky drilling the holes for it. I built a detachable mount for the heatgun on the bread machine. This Makita is a real workhorse and has great temperature control. I buy most of my coffee from the Green Coffee Buying Club. For cooling I have a large tray with a screened bottom over a fan. This is important here in the summer when it hits 115. I am quite happy with the quality of my roasts. I'm surprised also that more people haven't explored this method.
Posted Fri Feb 11, 2011, 9:32pm Subject: Re: Why is coretto (BM/HG) roasting overlooked?
TOTHETUNE Said:
I just hit 3 years on my setup also. Breadman machine and Makita HG1100 heatgun. I roast one lb. at a time out on the patio. I got a Digisense thermocouple on ebay for bean temperature monitoring. It was a little tricky drilling the holes for it. I built a detachable mount for the heatgun on the bread machine. This Makita is a real workhorse and has great temperature control. I buy most of my coffee from the Green Coffee Buying Club. For cooling I have a large tray with a screened bottom over a fan. This is important here in the summer when it hits 115. I am quite happy with the quality of my roasts. I'm surprised also that more people haven't explored this method.
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