Re: Note to home roasters

[Arny Krueger]

"George M. Middius" > wrote in message

> Several RAOers (you know who you are) are home coffee roasters like
> myself. Before I take this to alt.coffee, I thought I'd try it here.
>
> Lately I've gotten a few over-roasted batches. Yuk. This has happened
> before, and only in winter. I tried compensating by switching off the
> roaster's heating element a few seconds earlier. That helped but it
> didn't completely resolve the problem.

Probable cause - excess reliance on measurements. I mean this is an
important admission - Middius uses measurements when he roasts coffee!

> The possible causes I thought of were lower humidity in the
> atmosphere and higher voltage in the electricity supply. Lower
> humidity because the heating is on a lot and the windows are closed.
> As to the higher voltage, I have no idea why that would be the case.
> If it is, and if the roaster is running hotter as a consequence, the
> solution might lie in overriding the roaster's heating cycle
> manually. I actually tried this once but it confused the roaster and
> the batch of beans came out terrible.

This all sounds something like that dreaded science that Middius is always
ranting about.

> Any thoughts please....

Middius, if you're as competent at coffee roasting as you are at audio, it's
a wonder you never burned your house down!

[Robert Morein]

"George M. Middius" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Several RAOers (you know who you are) are home coffee roasters like
myself.
> Before I take this to alt.coffee, I thought I'd try it here.
>
> Lately I've gotten a few over-roasted batches. Yuk. This has happened
> before, and only in winter. I tried compensating by switching off the
> roaster's heating element a few seconds earlier. That helped but it didn't
> completely resolve the problem.
>
> The possible causes I thought of were lower humidity in the atmosphere and
> higher voltage in the electricity supply. Lower humidity because the
> heating is on a lot and the windows are closed. As to the higher voltage,
I
> have no idea why that would be the case. If it is, and if the roaster is
> running hotter as a consequence, the solution might lie in overriding the
> roaster's heating cycle manually. I actually tried this once but it
> confused the roaster and the batch of beans came out terrible.
>
> Any thoughts please....
>
My guess: humidity.
The heat of vaporization of water is 539 calories/gram, which is equivalent
to .539 dietary Calories [sic] /gram.
In summer, the beans may absorb water from the atmosphere, which slows down
the rate of temperature rise. A certain temperature is required for roasting
to begin, which is an internal transformation of the chemical structure of
the bean.
The phenomena known as "bean roasting" is actually a form of destructive
distillation, which is the decomposition of sugars and other organic
substances, in the absence of oxygen, to form tarry residues, as well as a
witches' brew of thousands of unknown substances.

However, the real question is whether you are looking at the cup you drink.
Notable studies have indicated that the drinker is influenced by the
seductive effect of brand, as well as the appearance of the brew. High end
brews have a sheen reminiscent of the "bead" of fine liquor, while low-end
brews exhibit the flat black of "instant."

You may be overbuying, when your taste buds would be adequately sated by a
cheaper brew, or even instant. In order to determine this, a device has been
constructed using a lot of rubber tubing and aquarium pumps. It permits the
user to switch instantaneously between "Brand A", "Brand B", and a squirt of
"hooch". The ABH tester also incorporates an automatic mouth lavage devised
from a dental suction device.

Middius really shouldn't be talking about this, because unless he has
performed the ABH test, he doesn't really know whether he can taste coffee
at all.

Postum is all the average coffee drinker needs.
[*&^P(()//rotlfi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MINe 109]

In article >,
George M. Middius > wrote:

> Several RAOers (you know who you are) are home coffee roasters like myself.
> Before I take this to alt.coffee, I thought I'd try it here.
>
> Lately I've gotten a few over-roasted batches. Yuk. This has happened
> before, and only in winter. I tried compensating by switching off the
> roaster's heating element a few seconds earlier. That helped but it didn't
> completely resolve the problem.
>
> The possible causes I thought of were lower humidity in the atmosphere and
> higher voltage in the electricity supply. Lower humidity because the
> heating is on a lot and the windows are closed. As to the higher voltage, I
> have no idea why that would be the case. If it is, and if the roaster is
> running hotter as a consequence, the solution might lie in overriding the
> roaster's heating cycle manually. I actually tried this once but it
> confused the roaster and the batch of beans came out terrible.
>
> Any thoughts please....

Not a roaster myself, but how are you storing your beans?

Stephen

[MINe 109]

In article >,
George M. Middius > wrote:

> MINe 109 said:
>
> > > Any thoughts please....
>
> > Not a roaster myself, but how are you storing your beans?
>
> They're in spiffy canisters on the shelf at room temp.
>
> You will note that the dryness appears to be a seasonal phenomenon, note.

I read some rants about coffee grinders and bean conditions. Too bad
roasting your own doesn't eliminate all those problems. I'd guess I'm
off track and the bean problem starts before you buy them; even if
stored by scattering on the kitchen table, there wouldn't be time for
much change.

sweetmarias.com says, "it's better to taper off a little after the
crack." Good advice for anyone, roaster or not.

Stephen