will ask brand next time I go to Bodhi, but I don’t think it did a pound like Behmor.
in the drum roasters I believe most people consider the gene cafe the next one up and still lower than the Hottop.
I have done some research on the new control for the Behmor and its not expected for 3 months now plus or minus.
I read up on the coffee forums and the reviews comments are pretty mixed. Many more were positive about roasting for coffee vs espresso.
It does seem that the new upgrade is welcome but since only a few beta testers are posting, it will have to hit the market to know if its REALLY better.
Joe the owner of Behmor has a residence in incline village, about 20 miles from my house. I reached out to him via facebook to see if he had one he would demo me. If I get to see it, I will let you guys know.
It seems the host there is having issues with email servers and took down registration until they can resolve it, maybe another month or so…
I think the cheapest next step up from a $200-500 drum roaster is something like a Sonofresco: http://www.sonofresco.com/ You can likely find one used for about $1k and it does about 1.4 lbs per batch. I own one but have mixed feelings. The roasts are good but at the base model you can’t adjust the profile much, so some beans work much better than others.
Another option is converting a BBQ to a roaster. Many have done so with success, and I’ve been tempted to give it a try as I really like the body and development from drum roasts. Probably the best vendor for drums: http://www.rkdrums.com/index.php/en/
nailed the last roast: Brazil Bobolink Brown. Wife says it is the best coffee she has tasted in years. Glad I am taking notes so I can get reproducible results.
Alan; I don’t know if you have an ipad, but there is an app called roastmaster that allows you to record your roasts, keep an inventory of your beans, print labels, etc…
An example, if you roasted 8oz of that Brazilian bean at P3D this week, the next time you enter 8oz of the Brazilian bean at P3D, it will graphically show you when it hit 1st crack, etc… the last time or all of the times.
Nice. What profile, etc. did you use? I have some of those beans coming this way.
1/2 lb, p2, B +30 seconds, ended in what I would guess was about halfway into first crack.
I went to Bodhi Leaf Monday–floor to ceiling with burlap bags of coffee from so many places–they estimate more than a million pounds of coffee were there that day! I was impressed.
Thanks, Alan. I roasted some Bobolink Blue earlier today… it did take a while to reach first crack. Brown should be here Friday, along with the Bolivian Vicopex email specials.
A million pounds of coffee in one shop? Ay caramba!
hooks up to a thermometer which must also be bought, no? Looks interesting. Thanks.
let me know how that tastes, David!
I love this thread and I don’t even know why. 
Alan, nothing to buy other than the app. Another positive is that Danny, the app developer, is a great guy. Very responsive and helpful.
I roasted 1/2 lb of Rwandan beans on P3 for 18 minutes. I have never used P3 before, but did so because it is recommended for African beans.
My beans were roasted to a Full City+ level, but the chaff partially remained on a number of the beans. The roast seemed less even than in previous batches too.
Any thoughts on what I did wrong/might do differently?
did you go well past first crack? Chaff seems to come off mostly during cooling. Haven’t done Rwandan, but haven’t had “chaff retention” issues, though some beans have a lot more of the stuff. Haven’t done a P3 roast, just P1 and P2, mostly the latter.
I think this is the nature of some beans. I get the same thing with dry processed Ethiopian beans.
Easy way to get rid of any remaining chaff is to dump the roasted beans into a metal strainer and the just move them around a bit preferably over a trash can or sink. It rubs what ever is left off in just a few seconds.
Thanks Brian, I’ll throw them on a colander.
Alan, I went into second crack, as is my norm. I generally prefer a full city+ roast and I don’t think the beans are anywhere close to that after first crack.
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Update: don’t love the beans. Maybe they need to sit a little linger. Glad I only have a pound.
Had the Bobolink Brown this AM (roasted to City+ on Friday ). Very chocolatey, and remarkably different from the Blue. The listed coffee varieties and growing elevations are the same for both, but the Brown is processed using a “pulped natural” method, while the Blue is organically grown and processed with the simpler “natural” (dry) method. The organic designation of the Blue would seem to imply a dfferent piece of land as well. At any rate, we’ll be restocking the Brown in quantity.
enjoying the hell out of roasting, really dialing it in after 15 roasts. Getting well into first crack which, depending on the bean, can be very subtle.
Just bought 5 more varieties, 3 Brazilian and two Guatemala.
Has awakened a real coffee interest.
Lots of beans to try, cheap, fresh, and roasted the way I like it. I will never go back.
Exactly the reasons that make me wonder why home roasting isn’t more popular. I’ve been roasting for at least a decade and I can’t imagine ever quitting. I no longer drink coffee that I have not roasted as it no longer taste good to me and if as happened last week I forget to roast and runout if beans I will drink tea instead.
how are you guys preparing your coffee (that you roast)?