Six months ago, I didn't even know you could roast coffee beans at home. All I had was a passion for a great cup of coffee.
I happened upon a lady in a nearby community that home roasts, and got curious about it, so I did some looking on the internet and ordered a Nesco roaster from a company that will remain nameless. The order was back ordered and didn't arrive after 3 weeks. I emailed them and told them where to go with their roaster.
In waiting for that roaster to arrive, I did some more looking on the internet and was intrigued by the Behmore 1600, mostly because of its capacity. Fortunately for me, the Nesco didn't arrive, and I splurged and bought the Behmore instead.
After a few botched batches, I finally got the hang of it. (I found that coffee roasting, at least GOOD coffee, isn't easy to do.) and I quickly found that I have a passion...scratch that...an obsession for roasting coffee.
My wife and I kept detailed records of each roast we did, and the results, so we found some profiles that work well. I recommend doing that. Saved us a lot of money in messed up roasts. We found that roasting 1/2 pound at a time, set at the 1 lb profiles gives a lot more flexibility for the roast.
We've roasted over 60 pounds of coffee since June. We give coffee as gifts to our friends, and they are now calling us, asking for more.
I'm hooked. Help me. :D
At a half-pound at a time, the Behmore has roasted more than 100 roasts for me in less than six months, and at the time I'm writing this, I've got 30 lbs of Columbian and Sumatra on the way. We keep it cleaned and maintained, and I expect it will keep up the pace for at least a few more years. Then, I'll probably move up to something larger.
What a fun appliance and a great hobby. |
