My new Behmor coffee roaster

Coffee roasting is a great way to get a feel for the various coffees from around the world.  You can't beat fresh roasted coffee.  I was taught to roast coffee using a hot air popcorn popper by Stefan on Maui.  He came by to replace our flooring and taught me how he roasted his coffee during his breaks.  The roasting coffee smelled great and the fresh roasted coffee tasted even better.  So I had to run out and get a "roaster."

Note the chimney I had to build for it.  Without it the beans would all fly out.  The chimney is made out of two cans and a wire hanger for a handle.  The small one fits in the popper.  The top edge of the smaller one is then notched at 1/4 inch intervals and folded over.  This gives it a tighter fit when inserted in the larger can.  Combined they provide enough height that most of the beans stay in the roaster.  The roaster can go from 0 to French roast in less than 5 minutes.  However, it can only roast a 1/4 cup of beans at a time.  This roaster has served me well for about 4 years.  I'll have to keep it around when I want to add a darker roast into the blend which is one thing my new roaster can't do.

On to my new roaster.  I have watched home roasters on and off for a few years now and most have been pricey for what they offer.  Typically smaller batch sizes and not worth the price for me to upgrade.  However, I have recently been roasting more coffee and started seriously looking for one to do larger batch sizes.  That's when I found the Behmor 1600.  Very good price point and can roast up to a pound of coffee at a time.  I ordered mine from Roastmasters.com and it included 8 assorted pounds of green beans and free shipping.

Note the size of the roasting drum.  It can hold up to a pound of coffee and continually stirs the beans as the drum rotates providing even heating to the beans.

My first roast using the Behmor was a half pound of Colombia Concordia Santa Monica.  It's a very high altitude coffee making the beans somewhat smaller in size. 

Note how the beans grow in size when they are roasted.  The beans for this particular roast nearly doubled in size.  The Behmor roaster was set to 1/2 lb of beans with profile P1 (the default,) which is the highest heat setting.  I loaded the drum with the 1/2 lb of beans and place it in the roaster.  I pushed the 1/2 lb button and then start.  Easy as that.  12 minutes later I had a full city roast.  The roaster manufacturer said the timing would allow the roast to just reach the second crack and it started 10 seconds before switching to the cool cycle.  Outstanding!  Didn't have to adjust a thing.


Now for the taste.  The slower roasting, compared to the hot air popcorn popper, gives the coffee a more mellow / smoother taste.  Just as the lable states, it has a dark chocolate feel to it.  A very smooth taste compared to the air popper.  Somewhat bland but still much better than store bought beans!

Happy roasting and sipping!
Java