When I moved from an SR500 to the 800 a few years ago, it was immediately apparent that the 800 did not do as good a job of catching chaff and keeping it in the lid. I have fixed this issue by sanding down the raised, rounded ridge on top of the center hole of the bottom half of the lid. This provides a little more clearance between top and bottom half of lid and lets chaff blow over the top of that hole and under the screen to where it’s supposed to go, instead of getting jammed up and falling back down into your roasted beans. It made a world of difference, and three years in has not caused a problem.
One tip that I think will help get repeatable roasts. Your first roast of the session, preheat the empty roasters until the thermal mass is good and warm. I think the time of heating the unit will delay the roasting by a significant time. If you take notes on your notes - and you must if you’re going to learn and improve - you need to start at the same temp as your second roast of the session. It doesn’t have to be super hot because your roaster will have gone through the cooling cycle. This is particularly important if you’re in a cool environment, but a good habit to get into. Note that the big boys absolutely pre-warm. Of course they have large thermal masses to pre-heat, and 30% or so of their heating of the beans is by contact with the drum and about 70% convection or air induced. Our SRs are probably 98% - just a guess. That would be by contact with the little perforated bottom of the chamber. Cheers!
I've looked at many, if not all, tutorials on this machine (a beginner). Most are very good. But I found this one to be the best. It has great logic as to the sequence of the roasting steps. I have the SR540 but makes no difference. Just completed a roast using this method and got good results--a very even roasting. Will rest the beans for a few days and then make a cup. Many thanks Captain Coffee!
This video is 2 years old, My first of yours to watch. I ordered my roaster and beans from your store and within hours reviewed my tracking number. Thank you for your informative videos and great customer service. I watched many more before coming back to comment.
Something that I found to help out with reducing the amount of chaff that can fall back in at the end of the roast was to give the top cap a few taps during the cooling phase as it seems that the chaff basket can get a bit plugged at the inlet and the tapping seemed to break that up a bit so that more chaff would actually make it into the collector
Excellent tip, I will have to try this! Also, if you have some oven mitts or thick gloves: turn down your fan to 1 during the last 20-15 seconds of cooling and remove the lid while air is still blowing out but not enough air for the beans to jump out. I didn't want to mention this in the video as it might get some folks burned if they weren't careful!
@@TheCaptainsCoffee I will have to give that a try as well not sure what I have been doing would be good if you were using the extension tube due to the extra length and possibility of accidentally turn the machine over and breaking your chambers
Thank you for this video. I tried my first batch at the factory settings and had beans burning and smoke pouring out. I watched this video , turned the fan up and heat down and have a usable roast.
I have to admit I wasn't sure I wanted to watch an 18 minute video. Often, RU-vidrs ramble on with such unnecessary color. However, every word spoken by the "Captain" was spot on and useful. It's worth every second. Thank you from a newbie.
This was so helpful! Iv roasted about 6lbs so far and this was great! Iv mostly been starting with drying the beans fan 9, power 3-5 (2-4minutes) then cranking the heat to 9 and slowly decreasing the fan. Would love to see a light roast done as well as taking some beans to the darker side!
You might try starting on 9-1 and let the heat do its thing. Then start increasing air heat by lowering the fan by a notch or two. Things may be different for you as I have an SR540 with extension tube which gives me head room to let those beans really bounce without getting caught in the lid. But I would use the air more to regulate rate of rise than just cranking heat. I don’t think I’ve ever had my heat above 3 or 4 and my first crack is around 6:30 more or less, and end around 8:30-9:00.
Thank you for this very helpful information. I just upgraded from a Nostalgia air popper and attempted my first roast. Not knowing what I was doing I had eventually cranked the fan and power to maximum and was very disappointed when I couldn't even reach first crack after 15 minutes. Annoyed and figuring I was doing something wrong, I watched your video and learned I was just blowing away all my heat! I had no idea about drying time, how fan speed relates to heat, etc. My second roast came out almost perfect. Now I understand what's needed for my roast, how to make the machine do what I want, and what factors I need to consider. Thank you very much!
Thank you so much. I just purchased a FR SR540 which is set up the same. I was using a Fresh Roast Plus, purchased about 20 years ago. It was working fine, until I dropped it and broke the chamber, and since it was so old, getting a new chamber was next to impossible. Anyway, I found all kinds of videos on how how to use this new machine. They all briefly mention that the knob controls all three functions, but none of them (except you) explain how to switch between the different functions... no directions were included with my brand new roaster 🙄. Anyway, Thank you... I love fresh roasted coffee, there is nothing like it and being that my last Fresh Roast roaster lasted for 20 years, I trust this brand.
Great demo but it doesn't convince me that I need one. I've been roasting in my flat air fryer that has 2 chambers in it, oven on top and air fryer on bottom. I can get a half pound of beans single layer in the basket when green. I start the batch on the bottom air fryer and keep it there for 6-8 minutes and then finish on the top where the heat is higher. Every 3-5 minutes I give them a stir and redistribute single layer in the basket. I found stirring more frequently prevented the heat from building. Chaff collection doesn't happen during the roast, but when pulled out shaking the basket outside removes most of it and a hand vac from the top does the rest. I get a pretty consistent roast, there is some variation, but it tastes great in the cup. My wife rolled her eyes when I said I was going to try it but now thinks it is better than any store bought, even fresh roasted store bought. The best part? My only cost in this venture was the beans themselves. No equipment, no expendables. I made coffee in the morning and Buffalo wings in the evening in the same basket. It's stainless steel too so it cleans easily.
I'm a DIY'er by nature, if you've got a method you're happy with, more power to ya! I'm curious, can you hear the cracks in your air fryer? Other than that, my issue has always been max temp - my air fryer only goes to 400F and coffee requires 450 to 500F to get a well developed roast in a reasonable time period to prevent baking. I assume your air fryer must run hotter than mine!
@@TheCaptainsCoffee My replies don't show? Except this one did. Anyway, the top gets up to 450 but the bottom air fryer gets to maybe 400 on a good day. I can hear the cracks when it is in the top section but the fan is still running anyway. It is the Ninja double oven variety. I think when I include the link it doesn't show.
@@bklyncyclist ahhh gotcha! Yup, that makes more sense if it can reach 450. RE: disappearing comments: yeah YT doesn't like outside links. I guess it's meant to reduce folks spamming, but it can be frustrating at times
Thanks so much! I took over from Ben (the gentleman in the previous vids) about 6 years ago but didn't know anything about video. I decided recently it was time to teach myself and start making vids for TCC again! I'm self taught and learning more everyday
Thank you! Enjoyed the video. Just starting into the coffee roasting world with my wife and we like your demeanor… we learned a lot! Will keep checking your videos. Subscribed!! 👍
Hi Dave you make some good points about temp and fan speed that's the real limitation of small hot air roasters (when you turn the fan up enough to get adequate churning of the bean mass it lowers the heat too much, air roasters don't have much mass to hold heat but preheating the roaster will help a little). Watching your roast I noticed a very uneven level of drying (some green some yellow even some brown beans initially) due to the low fan setting and resulting low churning of the bean mass you used to start. The solution is to first get enough fan to rotate the bean mass just enough to get even drying/roasting, then get enough heat if your roaster does not have enough heat at that fan setting reduce the quantity of beans you roast until your available heat will hack it. It's true as the beans lose moisture the fan will churn them better (and you may need to make a fan reduction at some time to keep from going to the other extreme) - but you want even drying from the beginning to get even roasting. In general with a small hot air roaster you will get your best results with about an 8 to 12 minute roast terminated at the desired temp or the first sign of oil on any bean which ever comes first, starting with high heat for drying and a reduction in heat at dry end and another small reduction just prior to first crack and then a final reduction prior to cool. I would find the fan setting that gives you good rotation of the bean mass then crank the heat to high, reduce the amount of beans you roast so that fan setting and high heat will get you to dry end in aprox 4 to 5 minutes then you will have enough control over heat to finish the roast without a stall. Like you said when you change the fan speed you are also changing the heat level. Try to keep the variables down by not changing things you don't have to change.
All excellent points, thanks a ton for sharing! You know the last year or so I've roasted almost exclusively with the Fresh Roast extension tube (and occasionally Razzo's tube) and those solve SO many of the frustrations with small hot air roasting. I'm planning on doing an updated version of this video sometime in 2023 and I'm sure I'll hit a lot of the points you shared!
@The Captain's Coffee I just upgraded from the sweet maria popper to the sr800 with the extension tube. Tip: Some downloadable roast profiles would help you get subscribers!
Hypothetically, could you take the beans through the drying phase with a hot air popper, then transfer the beans to the Freshroast for browning, crack and development?
As a newbie who was spent endless hours researching tips for the FR SR800, this is by far the most helpful video I've seen. THANK YOU! Newbie question is there such thing as a temperature guide sheet anywhere? I love how you touch on the fan and heating AND temperature gauges - that is extremely helpful. Please, keep them coming.
@@TheCaptainsCoffee Thank you! I roasted about a total of 2lbs today with your suggestions and wow! The best results I’ve had thus far. Think the same suggestions from your video could apply to the 12 inch extension tube? I just ordered one and nervous about not getting the same results.
@@LosAmitydelnorte hard to say, I haven't done any testing with that tube yet, I'm testing the fresh roast one for a video right now. Eventually I'll pick up one or two of the razzos to compare! In the meantime, the extension tube video we're working on now probably has a lot of similarities, look for it in the next week or so!
@@LosAmitydelnorte David’s temp outline on his website is one of the better ones that I have found I have it wrote down in the front of my roasting notebook good luck with your roasting
Nice video .. good to explain about the power requirements.. It should not be used on a normal 15A circuit.. I thought the roast looked pretty light for full city.. you won't have any shine (slight oil) on those beans. I found I had to be more aggressive in the stock chamber and get the temp up to about 450-500 .. I actually dry for about 4 minutes on F9P3 .. then drop fan to 7 .. You are right the stock chamber really makes it impossible to roast outside in cooler weather in winter.. But roasting inside, I always set off the smoke alarm.. so need to actually create a small 4" pipe to vent outside (kitchen hood does not vent outside). I also found the stock tube doesn't get quite enough movement for uniform roast. There is a tube by Razzo Roasting that helps with that.
Thanks for sharing your tips, Dave! Also Fresh Roast themselves make an extension tube! I'm doing a lot of testing on it this week actually working on a guide for it. I'll eventually get a Razzo to compare
I like my coffee dark and oily so I would turn the heat up high and roast quickly. I had a Fresh Roast SR500 years ago but it did not last very long. Since then I have been using a very large heavy stainless steel frying pan. I put it on my electric stove at full heat with a wire grill under it and stir with a stainless steel spatula. When I'm finished I cool it in a stainless steel bowl in my sink with cold water, stirring constantly until cooled. Maybe I'll get the SR800. It will be less work.
My iRoast 2 finally died. It’s served me well for several years. Unfortunately, it’s out of production so I’m looking for an alternative and I think I just found it. Thanks for the great video.
@@TheCaptainsCoffee I will definitely be in touch if I decide on the Fresh Roast 800… I’m also considering kicking it up a notch and purchasing the Behmor 2000. Do you also carry the Behmor product line?
@@lbovee We used to back when their flagship was the 1600+. Sadly that roaster fell out of favor with us for a few reasons. I haven't investigated the 2000 yet, though we may carry it once we research it thoroughly! Until then, I don't think I can comment on the 2000 with any authority
@The Captain's Coffee I just upgraded from the sweet maria popper to the sr800 with the extension tube. Tip: Some downloadable roast profiles would help you get subscribers!
@@conradcrisafulli8269, for what it's worth I'm quite happy with the sr800. It's not without its flaws.... Probably the biggest issue I've been having is beans getting caught in the chapter. I'm actually quite surprised that nobody has done a video about what a nuisance this is. Still... I'd buy it again.
Hmm I think of 2nd crack as sounding the most like rice crispies while the 1st crack sounds more like popping popcorn. Both cracks occur during the development phase which begins with 1st crack! The only phase after development is charcoal 🤣 I hope that helps! The other videos in our SR800 playlist go in to a bit more detail on roast phases
Thank you for making this video. I'm a regular coffee drinker wanting to get into roasting and seriously considering this model. It was also nice to see a roast from start to finish. I'm curious how long it usually takes a beginner to make something comparable to fresh roasted store bought, and how the flavors compare(Maybe this is too subjective)
Haha yeah that's a pretty subjective question but I understand where you're coming from! It really does depend person to person. If you have a solid background in coffee and you're an intuitive learner, it'll take you much less time than others! I like to think of it like learning an instrument. Most folks can learn the basic chords on guitar fairly quickly (maybe a month), but it takes a lifetime to truly master an instrument. But along the way you'll have a blast and make music! The important thing with roasting is the same as with music: practice practice practice
Just finished my first roast. Went great until i lifted it and the base stayed behind. I'll have to fix that, which won't be difficult. Just something for new users to watch for. It does appear that my SR800 with extension tube is a great upgrade from the Barwell, my previous roaster, which served me well as a starter.
It would be helpful to list the observed TEMP in addition to the Fan/Power settings. Question: After the drying phase, what TEMP range is typical, like 410F to 460F? Just trying to get a feel for the lower/upper bounds that ithe SR800 should be operated at.
In our other videos after this one I made sure to display the roaster temp! As for temp after dry phase, it depends on the setup I'm using. With the stock chamber I usually try to stay about 50-75F ahead of the assumed bean temp (so if the beans are mid-browning, I'll keep the roaster around 400-425, etc) and with the extension tube I run about 75-100F ahead of the beans. But this varies depending on my roast target once I hit 1C so the answer is...it varies :) Best practice is to stay well ahead of the bean temp tho so I'd say by 1C you should be at 450-475 roaster temp and increasing from there especially if you're pushing into 2C
Tried this instead of what I usually do - which is higher fan/higher heat settings. Turned out a bit more smoky in the taste... Hmm. Maybe will return to it later with other beans to see.
Thanks so much for let me know.p about the power consumption. I just ordered one. And now, I believe I need to cancel the order and looking for the lower power consumption model
Sooooo good! Very informative! I brew and drink lots of coffee, but roasting will be very new to me. I’ve heard in the past that it’s good to let a fresh roast degass for about 5 days before using the beans to make coffee. Is that accurate, or can they be used sooner? Any truth to the degassing part? Thanks again for the amazing video.
@@TheCaptainsCoffee thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question… and to create the article! Wish me luck, I should start roasting by next week. First beans will be from Costa Rica. All the best.
Switching from settings to temperature - wait! Wait until the setting stops blinking (takes a few seconds) before spinning the dial to get the temperature. Otherwise you just keep moving from one setting to the next.
One tip is to leave the fan going while flipping the lid over so as to keep the chaff out of the beans. I roast decaff so I have no chaff. I have an sr540 with an extension tube and at fan 5 or 6 it throws 6 oz of beans way high. Should I keep the "toss" down low like you have it?
I mention that trick in a later vid, thanks for mentioning it! Think of it more like you "can" keep it low if you need the extra heat to push the roast. Since less fan means more heat, if you've got a ton of movement and need more heat, down the fan goes. Gentle agitation is all that's really necessary for even roasts!
This was incredibly helpful - I just made my first roast! So, you never go higher than 6 on power? Also, should the roast sit out for a bit, or immediately go in an air tight container?
Great questions! I definitely go higher if I'm shooting for a darker roast or the origin is a really dense bean. Maybe I'll do another video down the line to showcase a few different profiles! Ideally you'd want the beans to off gas for 24-72 hours. Easiest way is put them in your air right container and once or twice a day crack it to let CO2 out. If it's a flexible container, squeeze any oxygen out before re sealing
I'm hesitant to recommend a protocol because I can't remember if the manufacturer recommends b2b roasting (make sure you won't void your warranty if you care about that lol), but I'll tell you what I do: add 1 extra minute to cool cycle (4 mins total) dump beans, load the next batch and go. It only gets a bit hairy if you add an external cooler. If you are dumping straight to an external cooler, I still recommend running the machine on a cool cycle for at least a couple minutes before loading up the next batch. Big variations in temp (70F beans touching 500F glass) can break glass. Still, 2 or 3 minutes of downtime is nothing when b2b roasting
Thank your for posting! Just bought mine the other day, and for some reason, I’m receiving an E5 code with the fan not running. This is the second time I’ve attempted to roast beans. First time, I didn’t realize I should’ve done a full load of 228 grams, so maybe that ruined it?
I can't remember what E5 is but I'd reach out to the manufacturer, they're awesome and will guide you through or replace since you're still under warranty! homeroastingsupplies.com/contact
Some folks pre-heat, but I usually don't find it necessary. As far as a soak, if you follow my general profile recommendations, you'll be soaking! The first minute or so involves very high fan with very low power (heat), this is comparable to a soak phase in drum roasting.
Definitely experiment and try different settings yourself, that's what it's all about! This was just meant to provide a baseline. Also lighting makes it very difficult to see the real end result, it was quite even I assure you! A few quakers here and there but that's to be expected
thank you! net weight varies by the beans you're roasting and the roast level, but you typically lose anywhere from 12-18% of the gross weight (the lighter the roast, the less moisture weight lost). So I usually net ~188 to 198g on average with a 225 gram charge
Great detailed video! Thank you!! I have a question to ask. I enjoy dark roasted beans and the reviews I’ve read and in the SR800. Say it’s a great medium roaster but not great for dark roasting. Being a home roaster. What can I buy that will successfully roast the beans into a Vienna roast at minimum? I appreciate your help.
That's surprising, I've used every roaster out there under $1k and I actually find that the 800 is the best for dark roasting, especially with the extension tube! The only times I"ve had issues are when roasting dark outdoors in sub 60F temperatures and when my roaster wasn't getting enough power due to bad/under powered circuit. Even in those cases, the extension tube overcame those issues no worries.
Since you used washed beans, regular non washed beans will be lighter, right. And therefore this process will take less time for each phase? Thank you. Great videos.
Hey Captain, I just found your channel today. What a well done video! I've been considering (finally!) upgrading from my numerous popcorn poppers to a SR800, and I think after watching your video I'm going to do just that. Hey, one little tip... your video quality is great, and overall, so is the audio, but... The music between chapters comes on *much* louder than the rest of the video. Unfortunately, I found this out while wearing headphones! ; ) Maybe consider doing a volume equalization pass during editing? Great stuff, though... thumbs and subs!
Glad to inspire you to upgrade and thanks so much! Excellent feedback on audio. This was my very first video actually and I think I've done a better job mixing the audio in later vids. Check em out and see whatcha think!
Have you pulled the trigger on the SR800 yet? If not David sends 6 pounds of coffee with the purchase of roasters and free shipping! It's a great time to buy and stock up on coffee! Happy roasting!
This video was extremely helpful for a beginner like me! One question I have is how do you make sure the roast is even? I wouldn't say mine is too far off, but I don't think it's as even as I'd get from a specialty roaster or even the beans in this video. I've used 7-8oz for my first few batches of light roast Ethiopian and have the same issue with each roast even though I've made minor tweaks to each to see if it would help any. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated!
glad you found it helpful! An even appearance of roast will depend on many factors, the most important of which is the coffee being roasted. Natural processed Ethiopians (and natural coffees from all origins) are particularly likely to roast unevenly due to the nature of the processing. Fully washed coffees, on the other hand, are the easiest to roast evenly! Don't sweat your Ethiopian being too uneven, especially as a beginner. Even pro roasters will have slightly uneven roasts when roasting natural processed coffees more often than not. If it really bothers you, one thing that can help is using a slightly higher fan setting, but you'll need to increase the power setting accordingly to make up for the loss of heat so it's a trade off. It's much easier to do this using the extension tube, which is why I always recommend it! Check out our SR540/SR800 playlist for extension tube vids
Ah that's good know! I appreciate the feedback. Roasted one more batch once I saw your comment and let it continue developing for about a minute and a half after the apex of first crack and I liked the results! Thanks for making videos for simpletons like myself!
I have a modern approach to espresso so I think of espresso as a brew method and not something you roast special for! But no matter which way you choose to think of espresso, this roaster can handle any type of roast level you wanna throw at it :)
No need, it's super simple! Once you've finished your roasting cycle, instead of cooling the beans using the roaster's cooling cycle, just dump your hot beans into the cooler and they'll cool much faster there. Just be sure to 1. use gloves or oven mitts, that glass is hot! 2. go ahead and run the roaster's cooling cycle anyways as it's better for your roaster long term.
I've been following your template with very good results. Again, many thanks for this video. My 1st crack comes quite a bit earlier than what you have here. I'm assuming it's because I'm using the 540 and the amount of beans is much less (110 g). Also, perhaps the bean makes a difference?
So glad to hear that! You are correct on both counts. I would expect quicker times on the 540 due to it's smaller size batches and the beans indeed do make a difference! Less dense beans and natural processed beans need less heat, so you could experiment with dialing back your settings slightly to prolong your roast time if those are the sorts of beans you're using
You make a valid point Ed! I certainly could have pushed it a little harder and usually I do, though just by a smidge. I wanted to showcase to folks that they don't need to crank the SR800 all the way up unless they're going for darker roasts (higher than full city +). That's assuming of course that it's being operated under the ideal conditions I mention in the video! The single most common mistake I see folks make is using an under powered circuit or poor quality extension cord
@@TheCaptainsCoffee Mission accomplished. I have probably been pushing my roast too hard. This is based on a tip sheet I got with my roaster. I have more exploring to do with this thing. You showed you could get to first crack in 7 minutes without going to turbo mode.
I've been itching to roast coffee beans for a while. We prefer dark roast and go through about 5#/month. Your video was great! The SR800 gets great reviews but I see all kinds of package deals. The one I'm looking at has the roaster, extension, and cooler. Do you know what advantages these two accessories add to the SR800 and if they are worth purchasing? Thanks
Hey, glad to hear you're thinking of roasting! (btw, we sell the 800 and extension tube as well!). I think the extension tube is VERY helpful for lots of reasons see: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MlhkU0n_ZxI.html & ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UhL-hDdCGXI.html. A cooler is debatable. I think coolers are useful but not nearly as helpful (some might disagree). They're most helpful when back to back roasting, but I still like to let the SR800 cool down between roasts.
Hi there. Congrats on your video which was amazing. I only wish i watched it before my first try. I am a newbie. So unfortunately i burned my first batch cause i plugged my roaster to an extension. E5 is on my screen and i don't know what to do. I am in panic.... I think i burned the roaster. Any suggestions what to do? Heeelp!!!
Oh no! The good news is your roaster should still be under warranty! Reach out directly to the manufacturer and they'll get you squared away! They can be contacted under the "contact" tab at home roasting supplies . com (no spaces)
Oh my, that was a beautiful roast! I've got a couple of questions. What are the consequences of roasting a smaller amount of coffee (say 5-6oz) to allow more airflow without losing temperature? Because my thoughts are that it would allow for a more even roast and mitigate scorching, but the only con I can think of is that it's less time efficient. Is too much airflow a bad thing? Thank you!
Great question! I actually briefly discuss the pitfalls of increased airflow in our latest video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UhL-hDdCGXI.html. I always recommend folks use 7-8oz if they're new to the fresh roast until they get comfortable. Smaller batches (under 7 oz) can actually be more difficult to roast well due to the increased airflow and require more careful management. If scorching is an issue in full size batches, keep your power low or consider using the extension tube. Honestly, I rarely have issues with scorching with the stock chamber, though
Typically you lose 12-18% depending on roast level and moisture of the raw beans so you'll be left with about 6 and 3/4 oz to 7 and 1/4 ounce out of an 8 ounce roast
Thanks Captain for those information about the roasting technique.. But i had seen some white beans and colored ones after the roasting process is that normal or there are some machine bettter than this for example my friend uses Gene Coffee machine
Some inconsistency in roast color will be present in nearly any batch of coffee out of nearly any roaster! I've roasted on a bunch of roasters including commercial sized. Some coffees will roast more consistently than others (i.e. washed roasts more consistently than natural) but honestly it's mostly an aesthetics thing. The Gene Cafe is a great little roaster! I think of it as a bit more "hands off" than the SR800
hi there, very informative on the roasting. couple of questions. (anyone can answer please) 1. how did you increase the time for the cooling phase? and a question for you how much were the weight of the roasted beans vs prior to roasting?
Howdy! 1. Once the cooling timer has dropped a minute or two (to C1 or C2), you simply increase it back to C3 to restart the cooling timer to 3 mins. 2. This varies greatly by coffee and roast level. For a nice full medium, you might see anywhere from 12-18% weight loss. So for a 225g charge weight, you might see 225g turned into 195g post roast for a 13.3% weight loss and that might be medium, just depends on the coffee :)
strange I just went to your website again and everything is there and the site is completely different. Ha not sure must have been on some other site yesterday. don't I feel stupid.
You're correct, they do sound different! As far as unroasted beans, please see the end of the roast at 17:57. There are no unroasted beans in this batch lol. What you might be noting are the presence of what we call floaters or quakers. These are underripe beans that made it through processing and will appear significantly lighter when roasted than the rest of the beans and can be discarded. But I can only see one or two in that shot, which is common.
How long will this machine last before it breaks. I would be roasting about 4 lbs a month and was just wondering if it would last longer than the one year warranty. Thanks
I've been using my current SR800 for 3 years roasting 3-5lbs per week on average with no problems! It's important to follow the manual and keep it clean for longevity. Also if something does happen after the warranty, the manufacturer has a great "repair my machine" program that's really inexpensive! I haven't had to use it in 3 years though I take good care of my machine :)
Did you modify the sr800 to display temperature or is that a built in feature? I noticed you had a separate video where you installed a thermometer through the top.
The display on the machine is not a mod, it is built in! It measures the inlet temperature (temperature of air entering roasting chamber). The added probe was to measure the temperature of the beans (bean temp or BT)
@@TheCaptainsCoffee Can I use a temperature probe to get bean temperature without drilling a hole the way you showed? I'm interested in using the artisan software to collect data on my roasts!
@@RedLtdGuitar Not that I'm aware of, unfortunately. The probe needs to be actually touching the beans in order to get that data. You can check out Razzo Roasting on Etsy, he makes a custom chamber for the SR800 that has a hole for a probe built in!
As soon as I was done filming, I opened up all the doors and windows 🤣I don't typically roast inside, but it's much harder to get good video outdoors and I wanted the demo to be easy to watch and see what was happening. I always recommend folks have a good plan for ventilation when roasting indoors!
I live in Northern California and only roast on top of the stove in the kitchen with the exhaust fan on. The roasting process changes in the winter months because of the lower ambient temperature, so I have been told. How can I make adjustments to get the same roasting level as I do in the warmer temps.?
Hey Tony! If you're roasting inside, I would assume you have fairly consistent ambient temperatures. What might fluctuate for you is the ambient humidity since it's usually drying indoors during cold months. Overcoming significant humidity change is debated but the largest impact you might have is a tendancy to roast too quickly if the beans have dried out by moving through the early drying phases too quickly
Contemplating coffee roasting. How does this roaster compare quality wise to others out there? I see the Gene roaster, but it's 400 more and seems to do the same thing. Any advice on my first roaster purchase?
Honest opinion please - I am just now becoming interested in roasting my own coffee but have aspirations in becoming a local roaster (moving to the business side). I have the opportunity to buy a used (about 20 roasts) Aillio Bullet for 2500. Should I go ahead and grab it because it’s such a good deal? Or should I hold off until I gain more experience? Not coming across a deal like this again is the worry, because I have a feeling this is going to go very fast.
Wow, that's a great deal on the Aillio Bullet! I've got one as well and can't recommend it enough. But again, either way that's a huge investment so I don't feel comfortable telling you whether you should or shouldn't, that'll have to be up to you and how much you're willing to risk! I think finding good used deals on Aillios will become more common now that they've been selling more and more of them the past few years, though.
Could you please write all steps with chronologie: exemple step 1: Time = 0 fan number = 2 heat number = 5 Step 2: Time = 2 min 30 sec fan number = 2 heat number = 9 Etc. It would be helpfull :)
Any tips about the chaff not coming fully off the bean. Its very deceiving. I thought I had beans not roast when I stopped it the chaff crumbled off my bean in my hand. I cooled the bean for 4 min in high fan setting
With some beans the chaff is more difficult to get off than others, really depends on the bean. If I notice a fair amount of chaff still on the beans after cooling, I'll toss the beans around in a strainer/colander outside and and let the chaff fall out the bottom holes. You can also pour the beans back and forth between 2 bowls outside and with even a light breeze, the chaff will be carried off by the wind as it loosens up
I'm considering buying the SR800 so appreciate the video. The roast appears to be uneven through the process with yellow beans even up to the end. Although, when you dumped into the tray it looks fine. was the yellow just pieces of chaff? Also, are there no pre-progammed cycles to start the roast?
Hey thanks! Yeah, they are much more even than they appear on the video, my lighting needs improvement! The more yellow bits are indeed either a few pieces of chaff or quakers (rare beans that dont take the heat well, a common defect that you remove manually)
I’ve struggled to get the chaff off in this roaster even at a medium to darker roast. Is this fan speed related? I tend to start around 8 and drop to 5 near the end
During the cool phase crank your fan back up as high as you can (without blowing beans back into the chaff collector), that should help! Otherwise, naturals will sometimes still have chaff left around in the beans. Pour the cooled beans back and forth between 2 large bowls or mixing bowls outdoors with a light breeze, that should separate out the rest of your chaff
I'm upgrading to the 800 from my old 500 which died. The 500 didn't have a temp control, just fan speed and time. Anyone know which temp setting of the 800 I should use to get a rough equivalent?
Hey Don! Hard to say since the 800 and 500 are so different. The biggest variable is the larger size and that the fan and power settings work together to set the temp. With your experience on the 500, you should have it down in no time! And thankfully the 800 has an air temp readout to help make it easy
