3 Tips For New Home Coffee Roasters 

My Behmor 2000 AB Plus arrived 4 days ago. I attempted my first few roast following the instructions using in the first 4 roast only 100 grams on P1. The first time was a total flop! I didn’t complete the roast properly and the first batch didn’t reach 1rst crack, the beans didn’t roast. I had to send them to the garbage! The other three 100 gram batches were much better. I was able to get the 1rst crack and the second crack to finish the roast. The last three small batches came out at least in appearance ok as medium roast. I roasted those on February 10 and today I tried 20 grams of the Brazilian beans in an espresso. It was ok, not great! I will try them again over the next few days! Today I roasted three new batches. I roasted 175 grams that I had remaining of some Guatemalan beans and two batches of 135 grams of the Brazilian beans. The Guatemalan beans I roasted came out as a light to medium roast. The first batch of the Brazilian beans I went to far into the second crack because they started smoking and came out very very dark roast. I don’t think those came out ok. I will try them in 5 or 6 days in espresso. The very dark Brazilian bean roast might be ok in a milk base drink but I don’t think straight espresso is going to be drinkable on that batch. The second batch of the Brazilian came out much better, no smoke of any significance and appears as a medium roast. I have only use P1 in automatic. I just saw your video and don’t know how to determine where I am in each roast! I have followed the instructions to pre heat the Behmor for 1:30 minutes and then roasted in automatic. I read that I am not supposed to open the door of the Behmor to cool it down. I had bought a small fan devise to take the beans out and cool them down but I have not used it since I am not supposed to open the Behmor when it’s cooling down? How do I determine in which phase of the roast I am with the Behmor?

@@EdGodoyPlana - First, congratulations on your new roaster! So, you are using the automatic mode on P1. That means your roaster is adjusting the heat and changing it at differentr points in the roast based on that predefined profile. First I will answer your question and then offer a few tips to help. "How do you determine which phase of the roast I am with the Behmor?" THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION. There are several ways you can quickly determine where you are in the roasting phases: 1. Sight - Look at the color of the beans. I know this can be difficult with the Behmor lighting but as shown in my video here, you will see beans displayed on the video. During the dry process the beans will go from a green color, to a pale green, to a dull yellow and then you will see the bean color warm up in color tone barely towards a brown. There will be no more green. That is the end of the dry phase and the beginning of the middle/brown phase. 2. Sound - First Crack is the audible sign that the Beans have COMPLETED the middle phase and the development phase is started. First crack is NOT the first cracking noise, but a series of cracking, when you can confidently say you have reached that phase. There will always be single cracks a little before you are into the real first crack. So, once that happens you record that as "first crack". 3. Smell - During the dry phase you will begin to smell grass, hay and even bread or pasta. These are signs your roast is in the dry phase. Then you will begin to smell some sweetness during the middle phase. The sweet smell along with any acids can be detected. It will be more difficult to smell notes like fruit, vannila, etc.. because you can't get your nose right up to the beans because of the design of the machine. A couple of tips with the Behmor. 1. Pay attention to how long your roast takes to get to dry and also first crack. Starting out with the Behmor and trying to break down your roast into those 3 roasting phases will be a huge learning experience and it won't be easy to time just right. What you will find is you may need to change the profile (read the instructions behmore includes about what each profile does) AND you may need to change the batch size you are roasting to help you achieve those roast times. 2. Tricks that give you a little more control in the automatic mode - You can help move your roast along OR slow it down by doing a couple of things with the Behmor. First, increasing the drum speed will create air movement and can increase your roast progress. Second, always set your "batch size" on the behmor to 1 pound when you are first learning about the Behmor so the machine won't end your roast too early. The 1 lb setting changes your total roast time to 18 minutes. If you go to 1/2 lb, the roast time goes to 12 minutes etc.... You don't want to run out of time!!!! That is why i suggest you select the 1 lb setting for now while you are learning so there is no pressure about running out of time. You can ALWAYS hit the cool button to end your roast whenever you see appropriate. The fan can also help speed up the roast, acting as a "convection" type heat by moving air. Watch the bean temp readings so you can monitor the rate of increase in temperature. 3. Go into the manual mode and take control of the roast - If you need more energy, follow the directions from Behmor to give you 100%. Then if you need less energy to slow the roast down you can reduce the amount of power. In the manual mode P5 is 100% power, P4 is 75% power, P3 is 50% power, P2 is 25% power. It is the opposite of the automatic profiles!!!!!!! In auto mode, P1 is the most powerful mode. Eduardo, this is a lot of information and for a new roaster, it will be overwhelming. Remember, the less coffee in the drum, the faster the roast will progress... So, it's best to pick an amount you will be roasting and keep it the same. Then you can experiment with the fan, drum speed and power settings. I hope this has been helpful.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I need to digest all this information! Should I always then use 1/2 pound of green bean on all my roast? Should I then select 1 pound setting even though I will be using only 1/2 pound? The Behmor instructions indicate I should use P1, P2, P3 etc depending on the type of green coffee I am using. It suggest using P1 in automatic until I feel confortable with the settings. Should I set it at 1 pound, use only 1/2 pound of green coffee and leave it for now on P1? I am pre heating the Behmor for 1:30 minutes. Should I start it in a slow drum speed until the end of the 1rst crack and change it to faster speed after 1rst crack or should I change the speed to faster once the 1rst crack starts? I am going to print your instructions and read it multiple times! Thanks again! I really appreciate all this information!

@@EdGodoyPlana Don't focus on trying to achieve the times for the roast phases while you are learning how to use the roaster. Especially since you are starting out using the automatic functions. Many people never use anything else but the auto functions. The best advice I can offer is to pay attention to your roast progress and try to recognize the different roasting phases as you learn. Then, when you are comfortable, you can begin to experiment with the roasting phases, knowing what your roaster is capable of doing and how to do it. For now, until you get more comfortable with the Behmor and the overall roasting process, roasting 1/2 a pound of coffee while setting Behmor to 1 pound is a good idea. Watch what happens to the time when you select the different weight settings (1/2 pound vs 1 pound) By selecting the 1 pound setting the amount of time increases. 1. It will give you enough time to roast coffee without ending early. 2. It will provide enough power to allow you to decide, when you are ready to hit COOL, rather than the roaster forcing you to cool. Is Behmor recommending you pre-warm the roaster? If yes, are you turning off the roaster after pre-warm, and then starting a fresh cycle with the drum and coffee? Don't worry about the fan and drum speed while you first begin to use your roaster. Once you become comfortable, then change one variable at a time to see how that influences your roast.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab the instructions suggest to pre heat it by putting it on 1/4 P1 and when it reaches the count down from 8:30 to 7:00 minutes remaining ( after 1:30 minutes) to then turn it off. That’s what I have been doing. Then open the Behmor and putting the drum with the beans and then starting my roast. Thanks again for all your suggestions! I really appreciate it! PS I just purchased the Clever dripper after I saw your video and I love it!

You are welcome @Andre' Avon!

You are welcome Matthew. I'm glad they have been helpful for you!

Joro, Thanks for your encouraging words. What country in the Caribbean? What type of roaster are you using?

I appreciate that Jim. Thanks for watchingI'm glad my videos have been helpful.

Glad it was helpful Collin. Thanks for watching!

Thank you very much for the encouragement Conor. What are you roasting on?

Hi Raj, yes the Hive roaster looks like a super cool roasting device. Rob Hoos was a guest on a video a month or so and he talked about a great roast he had using the Hive. He said that to help slow the roast, he elevated the hive a little as he kept moving the coffee beans around. Same thing during development, moving it a little further. Thanks for your comments.

Hi Osama, thanks for your comment.

It’s cool to see you finding ways to manage your heat with stuff laying around. The popper is a great upgrade from a popcorn popper but it takes some practice. Nice job Jay, thanks for sharing your creativity and ingenuity while roasting.

Thanks for watching P Jones. It sounds like it takes a while for your roaster to ramp up its temperatures, then by the time you’ve got enough momentum you can’t slow the roast down and if flys through first crack into second crack. Once you hit dry end / yellow, reduce your temp and aim first crack to take place for 30-35% of your dry phase time. Once you hit first crack, reduce temp a little more and roast to your preferred development level. The coffee roasting timer which is free to use ( do a web search) will help you monitor your development temp.

That’s pretty cool Nicholas. Where did you get the seeds to grow the plants? I think the reason why your Coffee is roasting different is because of the processing you did after you took the beans out of the cherry. 🍒. Normally, after washed processing, the beans are laid out for as long as two weeks to dry in the sun. I would consider doing something similar before you attempt to roast.

I bought the plant from a Whole Foods near my house a while ago. Even though they don’t roast the same the coffee tastes good.

But I think your theory might make sense. They had been sitting for a while before being roasted but only sat out to dry for a few days until the little shell could be removed.

Thanks for watching Alexander. What type of coffee roaster are you using?

thank you for watching my video. I'm glad my video was helpful for you.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks you so much and I am beginner level of coffee roasting.

Thanks for sharing @pima Canyon. Those are all great ways to help cool down the roaster temp. In my video, I was referring to having more control over the roast ... during the roasting process. Popcorn Poppers are great roasting devices but unless they are modified, changing the popper temps with precision during the roast is challenging. The new Sweet Marias Popper is the solution to that issue. I've done quite a few roasts with the new Popper, being able to control temperature and airflow. It's a pretty cool roaster. Roasting at home is a great hobby and it sounds like you are really enjoying your popper Pima. I'm glad you are having success! Thank you for watching my video and for taking time to offer some really helpful suggestions. Happy Roasting!

@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks. yes, I'm having fun playing with it. I've looked at the Popper vid's, both yours and Sweer Maria's. I may eventually get one, but I'm thinking of waiting till my trusty popcorn popper dies. (I guess I'm a bit of a Luddite, or maybe I'm just cheap!) I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has. I'm starting to watch more of your videos, great information about the phases of the roast, something that I will pay more attention to on my next roast.

Thank you very much. I’m glad they have been helpful 😀

Hi Gus, thanks for watching my video. I have several Behmor roasting videos. Checkout my playlist here: ru-vid.com/group/PLe757VIiQrPb3aXj2kNhI67dlDYkJrHMi Have you seen these? Were they helpful? Let me know how I can help.

Hi Rachel. Glad the videos are helpful. I’m hoping to finish a video on how I use air in my rosy process. As far as phases go, the best video to start with is my “3 Tips for new home coffee roasters” where I break down the phases and give a target roast profile to start with based on percentages. We all have different temperatures, roasting devices, environmental conditions etc.. but the percentages should be a pretty good guide. There is another hottop roaster that has asked questions (mike) pertaining to artisan, air and how that affects the roast. Sounds like you are both in the same place. Thanks for your encouraging words and question.

Sorry Rachel, I couldn’t see which video you were commenting on so I guess you have already watched the “3 tips video”. The most recent video I did was an interview with Rob Hoos. I would recommend you check that out because we touch on air and some other helpful topics.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab I watched the Rob Hoos interview shortly after leaving my comments and found so many good nuggets of info in there as well. Your channel is proving to be a great find!! Thanks again for sharing and putting out your content!

Great information @Sting . Thanks for sharing. Yea, not being able to control the heat temp on the popcorn popper is the biggest issue with control. Sweet Marias started selling the new Popper roaster last year and you have control over both fan and temp. Also, the capacity is twice as much as a popcorn popper. If you haven't seen it you might want to checkout my videos on the popper or go to sweet marias website. Are you roasting with a popcorn popper now? Are you considering a different roaster? Just curious.

I timed my dry phase at 2 minutes today on my hot air popper. Yes that is too short. I think I am going to try an experiment hooking up my variac and try to lower the temperature to get the phase to 4 minutes. The problem I might see is that it will also lower the blower speed which keeps the beans moving. I will comment further…developing. I roast for espresso to fullcity+ . I use a bbq probe to monitor my roast temperature and this has allowed me to get a consistent result every time.

You are very welcome Larry. The coffee roasting journey can be frustrating and confusing at times. I'm thankful you have seen my goal not to just teach a rules, time or temps, but concepts to help us work through the process. I know i'm not flashy or hip or whatever and some people just want a quick fix but I hope my videos will remain "evergreen" for the home roaster who really wants to figure it out, regardless what type of roasting device they use. Thanks you again for the encouraging and kind words Larry.

Hi Sean, Thanks for watching my videos! Varietals and blends are one way of choosing beans. I actually roasted 3 different varietals from the same farm and they did have some different characteristics. Another way other than varietals is learning what type of coffee flavors do you like? Dark, earthy notes or herbal tea like with some floral and fruit notes? I ask that because you can target certain coffee's based on your flavor preferences. There are several great coffee sites that offer great information for the home coffee roaster. A site like sweet marias has some of the best info from tasting notes to farm information, all of which will help us determine how we want to roast our coffee. Some even go as far as suggesting how to roast it based on the device we have. I have a future video planned that talks about these points by the way. By the way, not only does the varietal influence your coffee notes but the climate (temps, moisture, altitude) has a great impact on your notes.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thanks Mike. To be honest with you the coffee flavours that I was experiencing previously were always masked with milk and sugar. Undertaking the roasting process will be a venture into the unknown. What is has allowed however with background reading is an increase in knowledge as to the different offerings green beans from different locations from around the world bring to the equation including your point about the altitude that beans are grown at. Look forward to reading through the Sweet Marias site and keeping tabs with future video releases from The Virtual Coffee Lab.

Thank you for watching. I’m glad it was helpful!

Hello Vishal, Thank you for watching my video. Yes, the tart lemon could be a short browning phase. What are you using to roast with? How long does it take to get through your dry phase? Do you have too much momentum/heat at the end of dry where you can't slow down your roast and then end up with to quick of a browning phase? Learning to roast coffee can be a little challenging but once you understand the concepts of phases, then spend time watching and learning what is happening to your coffee while you roast it. Roasting coffee is all about time and temperature during the roast. One thing that will really help is to smell the coffee, watch the color change, see the bean change size during the roast, and write down when you see these. This will help you learn what is happening to the coffee beans during each of the roasting phases. Then, pay attention to how long it takes for you to get to the end of the dry phase. Consider how you might adjust the temperature to speed up or slow down this phase. Use this same thinking for all 3 phases.

Hello sir, I use a simple oven ( the small ones) to roast my coffee. I didn't had money to invest in an expensive roaster. I have tried drum roasting in the same oven on a spinning rotisserie, it took too much time with no control nor visibility of the roast. Then I tried roasting on a baking tray with a baking paper on it ( to stop conduction), it worked out best for me. Now I am on a stage where I can identify and control the speed of the three phases by adjusting the temperature by the oven knob. As I said in the previous comment I will try working with different temperatures. I did, and here are some observations, results and some questions I sincerely hope you could help me with-- Observations- - Dry phase - oven temp.(210 cel) - time( 4:30 min)- At the end of dry phase, beans were totally yellow, pungent grassy smell totally over and a sweeter smell was there. - At 4:35, very little browning was there so I reduced oven temperature to 195 celsius. - Middle phase lasted for 3: 38 min. - After the first crack I allowed the beans to develop for 2: 30 minutes. RESULT- --Roasting- - In the development phase, the cracking was not very uniform, as it used to be ( when I used to set the temperature at 200 Celsius and just leave it), beans cracked throughout the development phase (some cracking started, it stopped and then again it started and stopped) and I don't think it was over when I dropped the beans. It could have gone on if I would have let them rest in the oven for some more time. - Grinding the beans caused a little bit of problem as some beans were not developed enough. --Tasting- - It was the SWEETEST, MOST PLEASING, Cup off coffee I ever roasted, with very less Tartness (which was the major issue before). QUESTION- How can I fix the development phase NON UNIFORM CRACKING?

@@heloveshateshimself736 First, let me congratulate you for working so hard to try and figure this out. The baking paper seemed to help reduce roasting defects. I am glad you are able to control your roast through all 3 phases. Nice Job! As you have experienced, the length of time in the middle phase is critical for allowing development of the complex flavors and carmelization of the beans to give you sweet and flavorful coffee!!! That is what I talked about in the video "how to roast sweet flavorful coffee". No now you have very little problems with the roast except the uneven beans during cracking. This could be for several reasons. You will have to experiment with each of these options to try and figure out what is going on.... So, here are the possibilities that I can think of. 1. Your beans are different sizes, some very small and some very large and this is causing some of the uneven roasting? 2. Your bean density for your beans is not consistent. The amount of heat that is able to penetrate into the bean is different for the more dense beans and less dense beans? 3. Your bean moisture content is inconsistent between beans, so maybe your quality of beans or the age of the beans might be a factor. Are they fresh? 4. You lowered your oven temp a little too much during the development phase. So, you lost momentum and are dragging your roast through development. The beans need a little more of a push through first crack. This is an important point . If you get your temp to the point where the beans crack but the temp is only barely enough to crack, then some beans won't crack. I would take a very close look at your temperature just before first crack. Looking at your development time of 2:30, assuming you are roasting a medium roast, you need to apply a little more heat and shorten that development time to about 2 minutes. You need to be very careful not to apply too much energy or else you will move too quickly through first crack and into second crack. Does that makes sense? I hope my comments have been helpful. Congrats Vishal, your getting really close......

Thank you sir for helping me out. Yes, My roast has no major defects. No scorching, no tipping ( very few beans seem to have tipping like 1 in 10 beans). I watched your video on roast defects. According to my perception 1, 2 and 3 points does not seem to be the problem with me. While point 4 is intriguing. You say beans need a liitle bit of a kick just before the development phase. I have tried this before and it does seem to increase the frequency of popping. It's just that when I looked at one of your graph ( the graph where you roast gesha beans ), the ROR does not seem to increase near the development line. Therefore I discarded the idea. Although, if the increase in energy might have been subtle I would have missed it on the graph. Also slowing the momentum of the roast in middle phase is something I need to look into. It might be possible I am lowering the temperature too much to drag out the middle phase. Could you help me with the best possible way out of this? Once again thank you very much, you are the architect of my roast journey.

Vishal, the increase in energy would have been to avoid a crash in my ROR. There are several events that are taking place around first crack. The beans begin to release their pressure and go exothermic, where they actually begin to give off heat. I think the important point with regards to "a kick just before the development phase was because of the flick and crash that often occurs when roasting coffee. That is caused by the release of pressure from the beans, the cracking, and the release of heat caused by this event. With regards to the toaster oven you are using, I think the best you can do is to make sure your have enough momentum in your roast so it won't stall. That means the temperature increase over time (ROR) is enough to keep the beans getting hotter and allowing first crack to take place. If your temp gets lower, then you end up baking the coffee and you loose all of the flavor and complexity. So, if you find your first crack is "lazy" and isn't an event that begins and ends but instead it starts a little and then goes away, you need a higher temp, you have lost too much momentum. Watching your time during the browning phase will help you stay on track. If you are not able to start first crack within 30 - 35 percent of your total roast time, then turn up the heat just a little and see if that helps. Does this make sense?

Michael, great question. you are right, the video doesn't talk about total roast time. You didn't mention what type of coffee you are roasting or what your preferred roast level is. How dark are you going? What is your end goal for the type of coffee you are roasting? Generally speaking your total roast time does affect flavor. My goal in this video was to give people a starting point in their roast. It was also to bring light to roasting phases and how they impact the cup. With regards to total roast times, and flavor , my experience has been the following. You can do a 7 minute roast and a 9 minute roast and the coffee will taste differently, most likely because the beans are a different color and the end temperature is different when comparing these two roast times. Even if bean color is the exact same between the 7 minute roast and 9 minute roast and the temperature is the same, they will still taste different. Not necessarily bad, just different. You will notice a difference in body, sweetness, acidity and complexity between these two different roast times. This is because of the length of time spent in the middle/milliard and development phase and the temperatures while the reactions are taking place. Pretty crazy variables huh? The dry phase has little to do with flavor development because the bean really doesn't start reactions until you are near dry end. So, the two really big time factors are the middle phase and development phase. So, first pay attention to bean color and temperature. Then also watch how long you spend in the middle phase and the development phase. When I made that video I had not had much experience with air roasters other than a hot air popcorn popper. I believe the information in that video is still really helpful to get people thinking about the different phases of coffee roasting and how they impact the overall roast. So, roasting on an air roaster like the SR540 and 800 roasters is a little different than a drum roaster. The dry phase will be shorter on air roaster. Roasting with air generally results in quicker roasts. Depending on how long or short you are roasting your coffee, a better approach might be to consider the time spent in the milliard and in the development phase. When I wanted to take a profile I did on the drum roaster and apply that to my air roaster it never turned out that close until I started to focus just on the milliard and development times. Watch my more recent roasts with the PNG coffee. I used several different roasters with the goal to try and have the coffee taste the same from roaster to roaster. So, if you want a starting point you could try a 2:40 milliard and a 1:36 development and tweak your time in the middle phase, see how that influences your roast. Personally i think the 2:24 middle phase might be a little short. You could also start with a 3 minute Maillard and a 1:50 and see how that impacts the flavor Let me know what happens. Thanks for watching my video and for your comment.

Jim, I did a video about this with the pro model. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-puAdHc2MpXo.html I’m not sure exactly how your roaster operates compared to the pro model. Sorry about that

Thank you for the prompt reply. Can the 50/30/20 roast stage ratios be applied to this method of roast too?

The phase percentages are a starting point for most roasting applications including air roasters like the ikawa. In my ikawa videos you will notice i roast both the 50/30/20 and a 45/35/20 with different results. You will also notice the total roast time has a significant impact on flavor as well. So you start somewhere, like 50/30/20 and you modify based on your flavor preference and roast style.

Thanks for the tip. I'll get cracking with this and get cupping as well to confirm flavour and roast preferences.

Hi Brian, Thanks for watching my video. That is a great question and you will most likely get different answers from the various people you ask. There are a few ways to determine what your total roast time will be. What you decide from there is personal choice. 1. Your roasting device can limit how long or short your roast is. For example, the Behmor is slow to heat up so it takes longer to get to dry end than my drum roaster. OR, you roast with a hot air system so your dry phase can be much shorter. 2. Your flavor profile may be different than mine and you like darker notes in your coffee. This would influence the length of time. 3. You are roasting a very low density coffee that is prone to scorching and tipping to you have to go slower during the dry phase. There are other possibilities as well but to answer your question, it comes down to those variables as well as others not mentioned. To get past some of the unknown, you can assume a roasting time of 7-14 minutes fits into the normal range of roasting on a drum roaster. Air roasters roast in a shorter time-frame, generally speaking. So, let's say10 minutes for a compromise. Now you have a total roast time and you can break this out into smaller roasting time segments by phase: Dry Phase Brown Phase Development Phase All of the times and percentages you hear me talk about are examples. They are a starting point to help newer roasters get past the flat, woody or sour lemon notes and experience something closer to pretty good coffee. From there you work on control , consistency, and then crafting your coffee to your liking. There is a lot more I could say but I would rather know more about what you are using to roast coffee and how you are roasting your coffee right now. Could you please share this with me?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks very much for you reply. I just started roasting and have the sr 540, and have done a few roasts with a couple different beans. A Brazil that seemed low density ( I like “nutty” coffee) and a Guatemala that seems like a higher density. With the fan and heat settings I have not had trouble controlling the heat, and have tried faster ( 6-8) minute roasts, and longer (10-12) minute roasts. The beans always smell great, but the cup, regardless of the beans or the roast time tastes flat.

PS… just received a hive roaster in the mail that I haven’t tried yet… got it based on your review.

It is great that you are tracking your time for each roast. The flat tasting coffee is most likely due to the amount of time your coffee is spending in the various phases. So, the next thing you should do it write down the time and temperature reading when the coffee turns from green to yellow. This event is called "dry end". Do the same for "first crack" and then when you end your roast. Share those times and temps with me and we can talk about what to change.

@@brianeaton3734 Congrats on the Hive. Which version did you get?

It is possible to roast great coffee without data logging. While data logging using probes and software to track time & temperature, we can also use bean color, times and smells to tell us what is happening to the beans. Logging software would be a better option but it is possible. See this statement made by Rob Hoos from last weeks video answering that very topic. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CyH7sDb556A.html

Hello Ignacio, Thanks for watching my video. depending on the type of roaster you have, my answer may differ a little. Generally, a drum roaster like my mill city 500 gram roaster roasts coffee using both conduction type heat as well as convection type heat to roast the coffee. The use of air flow in the drum roaster helps create that "convection" type heat. So, drum speed moves the beans and as Rob Hoos explained once, the beans are even hurled in the air in a drum roaster. He says that 70% of drum roasting uses convection type roasting. I use my drum to accomplish several things: 1. reduce roasting defects like "scorching" 2. create more "Convection" with an increased drum speed 3. Help remove chaff So, I use a drum speed of around 52 RPM during the first part of my roast. Then, just before dry end, I increase my drum speed to 62 RPM to increase air/convection. I also increase my airflow for more convection. I never lower my drum speed, only have two speeds i use. Others might do differently. I hope that helps answer your question.

Thanks for watching and your comments. Most of examples I give in my videos are to help people roast coffee. It is not the only way to roast. As you said, the 50/30/20 ratio is one that I like to start with. The ratio can vary based on what type of roastery you are using and also the desired type of roast and simply personal preference. The coffee will taste different when you lengthen or shorten the total roast time. I would encourage you to try a 15 minute roast using the same ratios and see for yourself. Also, the type of roaster you have will influence your overall roast efficiency. So, if you use an air roaster, generally speaking your overall roast times can be shorter. This is due to the face that convection heat transfer is quicker than conduction and air roasters are 100% convection type roasts compared to a drum roaster which is about 70 % convection. That means you can have a shorter dry time and still get An even roast as long as you are not overloading your roaster and there is plenty of air movement and bean movement. With regards to the dry time…… As far as I know, the dry phase has little impact on flavors. Only until you reach the point when milliard reactions begin is where you should focus on flavor development. So, what is the point of the 50% you might ask. This is a general starting point as the dry phase ratio especially for those who roast on a drum roaster. It is also a helpful way for many people roasting coffee to learn how to manage their heat and stay in control of their temperatures. So, I guess you could do the 10 minute dry and then a 3 min browning and 2 minute dev. Give that a try and let me know what happens. Just keep in mind yellow is the beginning of Maillard reactions. What’s this helpful?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thank you so much for your reply and teaching. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it now, there is no rule of thumb for a time ratio, total time, or time for each phase. We just need to have adequate time in the browning phase (3 minute minimum) to bring out the intrinsic flavors up to the first crack and then manage the maillard reaction afterward to taste in the development phase (eg. don't burn it). Follow on question. If drying time don't affect taste and don't matter, what is the benefit of preheating the roaster? Is it necessary? Edit: I just learned that the browning phase shouldn't be too short (flavors not developed) nor too long (muted baked flavor). What would you say is a good time range for the browning phase to stay within?

Let’s get more specific. Tell me what roaster you are using. Also share the type of coffee you are roasting as well as your desired roast level. I can then have some context and provide a better answer to your questions about the purpose of dry phase, browning phase times and a couple example scenario’s.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab I'm using Sweet Maria's Popper roaster. The bean is the Caturra from Nicaragua from the Primo Coffee Company off of Amazon. I am roasting for espresso so the goal is a medium roast or a tad darker. TIA.

have you watched my darker roast popper video? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p472YkRZEfM.html. I have a longer development time but the coffee isn't really dark. It is a medium roast, maybe a little darker. Check that out and let ke know if you have a follow up. The popper is a good roaster and you have control over your temps. The roast in that video went a little longer than i originally planned but it was still pretty good. It is a good starting point to consider.

You have made some great observations Dawid. Yes, Yes, Yes. Yes, the temperature drops slowly on the Behmor so anticipate that when deciding when to adjust temps Yes, the 40-45 seconds should be added to your roast time. The coffee is still roasting. Yes, the longer you roast your coffee into development and towards dark, the more bitter notes come out. Great job and thinking this through Dawid. I have several videos that talk about how to roast sweet and flavorful coffee and they all talk about that last point regarding bitterness. You should check them out if you have not already. Thanks for your comments and for watching. Learning how to roast coffee is a lot of fun!

Hello Muhammed, thank you for your comments. Yea, these are very good starting point for roaster to start and then modify percentages based on coffee and toast style and development. Are you roasting like this? What are you using to roast coffee?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab I have used your tips and really enjoyed the coffee, I use my own fully controllable fluid bed roasting machine. Thank you for having such a helpful channel.

Less than 50% + 30% + 20% doesn’t equal 100%. How do you expect anyone to do that?

Hi David, Whirlypop roasters might be challenging to follow the 50/30/20. I also mention in my video that that profile is a "starting point" for you to tweek. How dark are you going? What is your coffee tasting like?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab I tend to medium-dark to dark, and grind for espresso with the Flair. My palette is still a bit sour-bitter blind, but I know I have a hard time getting sweet notes.

OK, so one important thing to consider when you roast. Dark roast doesn't always have to be 2nd crack. Development time can be used to offer the darker chocolaty type notes without going far into the bitter notes. It takes practice but going 20-25% development but not hitting 2nd crack might be interesting to try. That means you will need to manage your heat so you don't have so much momentum is takes your temps into the 2nd crack range. This means you will need to be careful, managing your heat so you get your 30% browning time but then continue to lower your heat, slowing down the roast a little more to extend the development time without pushing your temps up to second crack.

Would you recommend finish at 410F? I think I had a lot of momentum last time, and it hit 430 ish. Thanks!

​ @Virtual Coffee Lab - Home Coffee Roaster

Hi Vince. I have not see this flavoring applied before the roast. After roasting, the coffee is placed in a tumbling drum (not the roaster) and the flavoring is added/misted onto the roasted beans. I don’t know where to get the supplies for that or the flavoring. Sorry.

Thank you for watching and for your comment. I must have misspoke. I should not have said that. Do you have a timestamp for reference? Whatever the percentage of each phase, they need to equal 100% which would represent the total roast time.

It’s in the written graphics.

1:21, 3:42, 11:16

Thanks for pointing that out. Of the 3 graphics that talk about the phase percentages, the first graphic is the one you might be confused about. It should have said "50% of the total roast time. " The other two graphics are correct. Sorry about the graphic.

Thanks for the kind comments @MikeFLHT, I appreciate that. It's great to learn about roasting. I'm planning on doing a video on the browning phase (middle phase) which will talk about flavor development. Glad you are benefiting from these videos!

This was helpful for me to. But I do have a question, without previous roast data, how Can I determine when I’ve entered The browning phase? Basically when it’s no longer yellow ?

I appreciate that! Let me know if you have any suggestions for future videos.

Hi Josh. Are you roasting on a drum roaster? I've roasted short development like you and if it tastes good then it's ok. Are you happy with the cup? Another approach I use has been really helpful for me. I plan my target ROR at First crack so my temperature increase during development is only a 5 degrees. You need enough momentum to continue through first crack without going flat. My ROR number is 8 and then I plan for a shallow decent for a 15-18% development. I don't always acomplish this but i have had some amazing coffee with this approach. You can see me do this in detail on this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ISh4OMHt--M.html I suggest you give it a try and see what happens. Now, if you are using an air roaster then you will need some really good control. What are you roasting with?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab thank you! I am Roasting on the Behmor 1600+

How does the coffee taste Josh? What type are you roasting, how much are you roasting at a time? How much time in development? Share a little more so i can give a helpful response. Also, are you measuring for moisture loss after the roast?

Josh, I guess I should have been more careful in my response. All the comments come into one inbox and sometimes I don't see the video you are watching and then asking questions about. So, to answer your question, Yes, 10 percent development can be fine when roasting light. Ideally it depends if you are happy with the cup or not. If you are taking metallic or vegital notes then the coffee could be under developed. That is why I asked about moisture loss.

Congrats on your new roaster! The time will vary based on your charge weight (batch size), type of green coffee, and your desired roast level. Also, will you be roasting with an extension tube? That will make a difference in your roast time as well. Let me know so I can offer some suggestions.

@VirtualCoffeeLab I ordered from sweet Maria's so I will start with whatever beans they send with it. I did not get the extension tube. As far as roast level goes, I'm really not too picky. I enjoy them all. There are a few tutorial videos out there but they are all different.

Now you have a drum roaster and have some roasts under your belt, some of this content will start to click and make more sense. Glad it is helpful.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab hi Mike, thanks for the reply, your right some of the things you showed me are sinking in, just have too remember them😁

Total roast time does affect how the coffee will taste. The roasting device you use will impact how long your roasts will be. Air roasters generally use shorter total roast times. This is partly due to the fact that most of the heat transfer is convection. The other is because of the smaller batch size and roasting chamber size. Which roaster are you leaning towards or using?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab for me it’s a toss up between the KaffeLogic and the Link. I k ow they have preprogrammed profiles but I do want to understand the theory. I’ve a few of your vids in your playlist so far. Excellent education. I’ve taken notes!!

I may be highlighting the LINK on my channel in the near future. The link is more robust for profiling.

Hi Eric, Thanks for watching. I am glas they are helpful for you. Could you tell me what your max pressure on the guage shows with gas full on. Also, I'm wondering if you noticed you have a very small range of gas adjustment. I am using natural gas and I drilled out my jets to .67. Are you on propane or NG?

Glad you found my video helpful Gary. You are right, these concepts are foundational.

Hello BeerBBQMan, the tips in this video apply to all types of coffee roasting devices. Why do you think this applies to only hot air poppers?

Nice! Good luck with that and enjoy your roaster!

Hi David, Yes, you should try lower heat and to stretch out the dry phase. Yes you should lower heat to stretch out the middle phase. With regards to your comments about 5 minutes and my video, The 5 minute time should be considered in the whole with your total roast time. As you heard me discuss in this video, the dry phase should be less than 50% of your total roast time. So, in theory, the 2 minute dry and the 4-5 minute roast would seem to make sense BUT there are other principles that will influence your flavors. So, for the sake of a place to start, I said "5 minutes". This will give you enough time in the middle phase to let the reactions that create flavors begin. If they only have a minute or two, in my opinion, the reactions don't have enough time to do their work. So, try it for yourself. Slow down your dry time to 4-5 minutes. Then from dry end to first crack, try and stretch it to about 3 minutes. And then at first crack, go for 1:30-2 minutes trying to keep your roast from over developing. If you like a medium roast with flavor and sweetness (depending on the coffee) you should see a difference. Truthfully, my only direct experience with fluid bed roasting (hot air) is a standard, unmodified hot air popper. So, I would love to hear from others who have tried what I am encouraging here on this channel. By the way, if you want a more balanced cup with less brightness, consider stretching the browning phase and development phase an extra 30 seconds and see what happens. If you do what I suggest, I would really appreciate your feedback on the roasting experience as well as the cup. Another video you will find helpful is ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nl6S6RyU_Rg.html "How to roast sweet and flavorful coffee". This covers the browning phase and the topic of flavors. Let me know how it goes. Thank you again for your question.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab this is so helpful thank you. I just tried to hit these percentages and it's pretty tough on the fresh roaster. I'm going to keep trying tho.

Hello @3xarch, in a general sense, without knowing all of the conditions, your roast phase percentages don't seem to be bad. There are a couple of things you mentioned that caused the eyebrow to go up. First, your roasting in a pan. No, i'm not going to be critical of that. I think you're doing an amazing job with your roast times using a frying pan. The reality is there will be several never ending limitations using this roasting method. You will continue to battle with scorching unless your beans are constantly moving. With a temp of say 400 degrees, your beans will scorch after 20 seconds of no movement. Second, you mentioned smoke appearing at the end of dry. This is not a good thing. Smoke should not appear until close to first crack. The drying phase is just that. Moisture is being removed from the bean. If done too quickly you will have tipping which is a roast defect and will influence your nice lightly roasted beans. Scorching does the same thing and you have already said that is happening. So, back to the smoke.... Are you sure it isn't steam you are noticing? This would make more sense. You can visibly see what looks like smoke, but is actually moisture. It might smell like smoke because you are scorching your beans, which will cause smoke.... So most likely, both are going on at the same time. Third, the Lid. Pretty cool thing using the lid to keep in the heat and keep that temp rising during the dry phase. Removing the lid to stir will set you back during that dry phase so I am assuming you are stirring by keeping the lid on and shaking the pan to agitate the beans? Now, after dry end, cracking the lid is actually a really good thing because it will slow down the roast. So, being able to stretch out the middle brown phase for a few minutes will allow the acidity to form and the caramelization to take place during the roast. Lastly, the smoke, if there is smoke, needs to be vented out. That is one of the benefits of air movement during the roast. Not only does air act as a way to cook the beans (convection) but also to move the smoke out so it won't influence your light roasted coffee. Bottom line is you need a way to keep those beans constantly moving. Also, look for roast defects like the scorching so you know what else you need to change. What about trying a whirlypop type device. You can crank and stir the beans? The other option is to constantly be shaking the frying pan like JiffyPop Popcorn. Not sure if any of that helped. I did a video last week on roast defects if you want to dig a little further.

​@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thanks for the detailed response! Yes I am constantly agitating the beans. When the lid is on I'm shaking / swirling them, and when the lid comes off I use a whisk to keep everything moving rapidly. I use a heavy bottomed tall sided saucepan to minimise beans escaping while I'm stirring like crazy. I don't often see tipping - the roast defects I see much more commonly are scorching and a general slight unevenness to the roast. Honestly sometimes I get a super nice brew from my super sketchy setup, but the problem is definitely consistency. The smoke I'm seeing only starts when my beans are becoming quite yellow - I'm not sure it's from scorching as the one good thing about my method is that I have a super close eye on what's happening and it seems like the scorching only starts happening AFTER the drying phase. One day I'll invest in something more professional, but I'm enjoying this nonetheless!

Hi Duke, thanks for watching my video and your comment. The short answer is NO. the 50/30/20 is a starting point for people who are drying to figure out where to start with their profile. With so many variables like coffee, what process, density, roasting device, roasting level and ultimately the results in the cup, you will want to experiment with these phase percentages and your total roast time. he total roast time makes a huge difference in your flavor profile because it affects the time the coffee spends in each of the phases, especially the browning and development phases. For light roast coffees there are many ways to experiment and again, these will be determined by these variables. What type of coffee are we talking about? What is your preferred roasting level? What are you hoping to achieve as far as your cup (light and bright)? Based on where you are with your roasting experience, your first goal will be to understand the roasting process. Then: - be able to know and mark your events so you can determine your correct phase percentages - be able to use your senses including sight, sound, smell and taste as data which helps affirms your roasting events and adjustments that you will want to make during the roast and or when you taste the coffee - be able to control and modulate your roast to your desire profile. What roaster are you getting?

​@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thanks for the reply! Really appreciate your time and effort. I'm getting "Sandbox Smart R1" Is there any specific type of bean, whether it be varietal/country of origin/altitude/process, that you think is beginner-friendly? Also, which roast level do you think beginners like me should master first? I personally drink many types of coffee. Light for filter. Medium and dark for espresso with/without milk. So I'm ok with any roast level. Just wondering which one would teach me the most. I think I'll stick to one roast level, one amount of beans (100g for my roaster), one type of bean, and master it first before switching to another. Just to minimize the variables, and learn about the consequences and effects of changing temp/time/air first.

@@kittisiri You want a coffee that is not squirrely with heat. Some Kenyans and even ethiopians (usually the super high density coffee) can be a little touchy. I would stick with a washed central american that has tasting notes that can help you taste the range of flavors the different roast profiles will produce. For me that was a guatemalan coffee. Look for some sweet notes, fruit notes. For example, this guatemalan coffee was the first Huehuetenango I was introduced to back in 2015. www.sweetmarias.com/guatemala-huehuetenango-boqueroncito-6846.html Notice the notes sweet marias shows: Supremely sweet Guatemalan brew, complex sweetness, turbinado and honey accent, cinnamon-spiced cocoa, chocolate-dipped raisin, and vibrant lemon acidity in the lighter roasts. City+ to Full City+. Good for espresso. This coffee taste good in almost every roast level. AND, yes, you can expect these notes to change based your roast profile and ending temperature. You will be able to spend a lot of time enjoying this type of coffee as you learn to roast. Hope that info helps.

@@VirtualCoffeeLab Wow! Of course. This really helps me a lot! I'll find some Guatemalan beans and will stick to it first few months then. Again, I really appreciate your time and effort to answer these questions. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

You are welcome. Thanks for watching!

Steve, are you able to control temperature and the length of time of each phase? How long is your roast taking? What roast level are you taking the beans? Sounds interesting

@@VirtualCoffeeLab i can control it very well i have temperature adjustment on the heat gun and artisan hooked up with bean and environment temperature

@@Stevesbe I've watched a couple of videos of people using artisan with their bread machines. Are you adjusting the heat temp with your gun? Did you have to remove the temp probe of the bread machine because it would throw a overheat warning? Looks like a pretty cool process!

@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes I have a Porter-Cable heat gun that I can adjust the temperature the bread machine I pulled out all the wiring and rewired it put a switch to turn the motor on and off

Thanks for the encouragement Dani. What are you roasting with?

@@VirtualCoffeeLab currently with a modified popcorn roaster. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RNkZ6z-AlgM.html a sneek peek if you'd like to see :D

That looks really cool. So you are connected to artisan and I watched your roast. It looks like you can control fan speed and temp? Can you confirm that? I'm curious if you wold be able to hit the different percentages (50% dry, 30% Middle Phase, 20% development) with the modified popper. Looks like you have some great looking beans at the end of the roast. Very similar to where I take the beans.

Yes sir, manual fan control and auto heater control via artisan PID. Virtually you can have any profile you want. But since im very new to the coffee world, i havent got any satisfying roast from it, i tried short to stretched profile but couldnt get a decent roast. I think fluid bed roasting behaves different than traditional conduction drum roasting. Also i didnt get "degassing" Phenomenon since i dont get any bloating on my container at all. Maybe the way im roasting or cooling method. Since i cool the bean inside roasting chamber with heater off and fan on. Any insight on this sir?

@@danirinaldi1044 looking at your roast, I am trying to convert your profile into percentages based on my 3 tops. so, here is what think it looks like: 43.1% Dry 46.6% Middle 12.3 Development If I could ask you to try to shorten your middle phase to 35% of time and lengthen your development phase to 18% you might find a more satisfying roast. I don't know what type of beans you are roasting. The roast color seems to be light but your drop temp tells me it should be darker. This could be because of the air movement being so great, I'm not sure. Your temperatures seem to be on target with both dry end and first crack..... That is a pretty sweet setup you have there with the hot air popper. Especially because it is reproducible and you have full control over heat/air. As for the cooling, how long does it take for your beans to cool in the popper? Is the metal inside the popper cool quickly too?