Does anyone have experience of these? I see Hasbean have them on offer until Christmas for £250 which seems pretty cheap. But it might not be the bargain that it seems if consensus is there are better options available. I'm in no rush to start roasting but will want to give it a go at some point, so might be some sense in picking one up at this price if they are reasonable.

@"Gagaryn"#p141 It seems a very good price considering the Behmor on it's own is listed on their site at £380 and everywhere else, it's considerable more expensive, even in the USA! The first Behmors many many years ago were bigged up immensely but had a lot of issues, one hopes many of those were resolved with this model, but I don't know? I guess the question to ask is….why is it that cheap as a Christmas bundle, they must be selling them close to cost price, or even at cost price. However, for £250 it's probably worth a go, and I am sure people here would benefit from any feedback you have.

I’d buy one if I were in the market for one. Some members on CF uk have it and enjoy it.

I imagine they are either dropping Behmor completely or there is a replacement model in the pipeline. I think it's probably worth a punt, I'll have a look at reviews and make my mind up.

I saw that deal and my reaction was identical - either clearing stock prior to stopping doing them, or prior to a replacement model. However ,,,, does that matter? Certainly, I'd argue in the latter case, not much … unless the new model (if there is one) has some must-have, killer new features. In my own case, I was hovering between Gene Cafe and the Behmor, but I am starting to thing either the Sandbox or something like the Ikawa might be a better bet. Yes, a lot more expensive and yes, limited capacity but that limited capacity means roasting more often. And that is both an advantahge and disadvantage. The more I investigate, the more I feel the need to learn about roasting, and THEN doing small batches and being able to keep almost all parameters fixed and consistent (via profile) makes it much easier to learn the effects of changing just one parameter. Also, the bigger the batch, the more expensive any batch-ruining cockups will be. I can stomach the extra up-front cost if I need to, but avoiding the hassle of buying the wrong machine and having to sell and buy again is important for me to avoid. But the whole thing is so new to me that picking the right TYPE of roaster, never mind brand/model, is not easy.

I think you are reading my mind. Was just back looking at the Sandbox, seems the Bella Barista 25% discount offer is no longer valid. But if the Ikawa produces decent results the lack of hassle would be worth the extra expense I think.

I think (note - THINK) the BB offer is still valid but it wasn't entirely clear, I grant you. It isn't on the "current offers" bit, but I did find a page with a date suggesting it was still on. If I decide on Sandbox obver Ikawa (and am leaning that way) I'll ring and ask them. The decision between Ikawa and Sandbox is closer if it isn't still on.

I've had a Behmor for about 5 months now and have been enjoying using it a lot but I don't have anything else to compare to as it's my only experience with roasting. I like the fact it's really quick to preheat and get to roasting, it takes me about 20-25 mins to roast 400g from start to finish. It's got a bit of information on temperatures, exhaust and "drum" (though it states it a thermostat near the drum and not in it) so I can now judge when beans are about to crack pretty well and have had a few consistent roasts recently! The pre-set profiles seem to be working nicely too, and there's the option to adjust things on the fly, but I've not ventured that deeply, yet.. I dislike the drum. It's a absolute (can we swear here, I won't just in case…?) twit to get the drum out sometimes unless you have a thin heatproof glove (which I still don't so it's slightly self inflicted) which makes the cooling process a tad clumsy at times. Also, the cooling function is a bit useless as it stays really hot for a fair few minutes so I always dump the beans into a separate cooler (AliExpress, £44, brilliant!) Happy to answer any more questions, and I'm roasting later on so happy to take photos etc if wanted.

> @"Del_UK"#p219 into a separate cooler (AliExpress, £44, brilliant!) I’ve been recently doing this with the Gene, to finish off the cooling process. I made the cooling with a cardboard box and a colander, attached to a Henry hoover. Gets rid of chaff and cool down pretty quickly. I’ll take a photo later, as having trouble uploading images at the moment.

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p223 I did have something that I lashed together using a 6 inch extractor fan, but after it began falling apart and nearly took the tip of my thumb off, I decided £44 isn't that much to spend.

@"Del_UK"#p225 - have you a link to it?

Behmor Roaster

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam How were the cups from 1 and 2.? Notes and after taste?

What’s difference, which necessitates 3 and 4 requiring a resting period ?

Thx

MediumRoastSteam

LMSC - cups 1 and 2 were every much the same in my opinion.

@LMSC In general, coffee tastes better after resting for 5 days or so. Some more, some less, specially for espresso. If you drink too early, you notice lots of crema, very foamy, which dissipates rather quickly. It indicates freshness, but you don’t want it too fresh. 3 and 4 were roasted today. The others were roasted last week.

I’m starting to think this particular coffee I’m roasting is not high grade or good quality. Hence why you are seeing me seasoning the roaster.

LMSC

MediumRoastSteam coffee tastes better after resting for 5 days or so.

Yes! We rest the bags for two.

MediumRoastSteam 3 and 4 were roasted today. The others were roasted last week

That explains!

MediumRoastSteam

@SteveBRS @Del_UK have any of you ever tried to cool the beans inside the Behmor? I tried the beans today - my previous post - and I can’t tell much of a difference, if at all, compared to cooling down externally immediately. Would be interesting to know what you guys think. My next roast will be P5 (full power) all the way, even into first crack, rather than set it to P3. It seems to me everything just taste the same and looks the same even applying different methods. I want it to be different, within the roast level I like :)

SteveBRS

MediumRoastSteam No, I haven’t cooled the beans inside the Behmor. Firstly because my external cooling method with a dust extractor hose is very fast, but also as I’m usually doing 3 back to back roasts (about 300gr each). This takes up to an hour incl. clean up, final cooling, chaff sieving, bagging and weighing to get to the roast loss %. That yields me enough beans for our home use for 10 to 14 days. I do get different roast results, as I’m roasting different origins in each session, though when I think I have hit the sweet spot with a particular one I will of course try to replicate it according to my notes. But I have noticed different roast lengths for 1. crack for the same beans by as much as 2 minutes, perhaps due to different starting temps, though I try to keep those similar. I accept that the Behmor will never give you as much repeatable control as a more advanced roaster, but then I am also a HX espresso machine enthusiast, and used to certain variables I might not always be fully in control of. But I enjoy the ride while it lasts 😁

Del_UK

I cool externally as the first few roasts, before I got a separate cooler, tended to overshoot a tad though that could be down to being a bit green (pun intended) at roasting.

I’ll maybe try to cool in the roaster next time to see if I can see any difference.

MediumRoastSteam

Del_UK I’ll maybe try to cool in the roaster next time to see if I can see any difference.

It would be very interesting to hear your thoughts there!

Del_UK

MediumRoastSteam

Just roasted up 2 batches of Columbian, 400g on program 5 and cooled in the drum and the same but cooled externally, being taken out/starting the cooling cycle 30 seconds after first crack (so a decent amount of popping has taken place). I think there’s a slight variance in colour, with the Behmor cooled batch being a bit darker, but only slightly, I’d still class it as a light-medium roast. I’d photo them but it’s getting dark and under artificial lighting they look identical through my camera!

I’ve recently ditched taking a ton of notes and being overly analytical with the roasts and seem to be getting just as good of a cup from them. I find the Natural Nicaraguan does well on a gentle ramp-up and the Washed Colombian likes a blast from the start.

MediumRoastSteam

Del_UK - Thank you! That’s very interesting. So, in a way, if taste wise is similar, maybe anticipating the end by 30 seconds may mean cooling inside is not such a bad thing after all? I’m doing exactly the same at the moment, and I am have both side by side (one cooled externally, one internally). If you put on a blind test, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which one is which, but, because I know, maybe the one cooled inside the behmor is, like you say, a shade darker and has a tiny hint of bitterness. But I might just be biased. I’ll keep tasting it, and thank you for taking part in the experiment.

I have an Ethiopian Natural I’m roasting at the moment. Any tips? :-) I’m going to go P5 (full power) from the start and into F/C next time, just increasing the drum speed as I approach first crack. And see what happens.

My subsequent one will be P4 (rather than P5) from the start, and then P3 into F/C. If the above works well, I might just try P4 (75% power) all the way instead.

Del_UK

MediumRoastSteam

I’ve got the best results from P2 for the natural beans I have; full blown strawberry milkshake. 400g at the 400 setting will crack at about 2:50 and I’ve been cooling in the tray as soon as it cracks. The beans are pretty massive though, had to take the NFC disk out of the Niche to actually get them to get to the burrs!

MediumRoastSteam

Del_UK I’ve been cooling in the tray as soon as it cracks

As soon as you hear first crack? Or do you wait until it rolls? Or do you wait until it’s over?

Del_UK

MediumRoastSteam
I’ve tried both letting it all crack and pulling almost immediately after first crack and have not really noticed a difference. I may be wrong but I was told by a local roaster (who ironically doesn’t roast much light stuff) that the crack isn’t that important and a bean taken right up to but not beyond first crack will taste mostly the same as one that is just past it.

Side note; the greens Facebook group is in the process of making some orders!

MediumRoastSteam

Del_UK - thank you! I’ll pay them a visit! And thank you for the tips!

MediumRoastSteam

Today another roast. Like I said, I went full power all the way.

very interestingly, the Behmor seems to be a very consistent roaster. First crack happened at the exact time as last time - just this time I didn’t bother reducing to P3, 50%.

A very pronounced first crack. I left for 30 seconds, and hit cool down. 1 minute later I opened the door and cooled externally.

It’s darker than the previous one - which makes sense. so it seems that reducing temperature will keep the beans at that colour, but won’t carry on caramelising and browning them. Kinda makes sense to me, and sorry if this is obvious to more experienced folk. 😊 - I’m learning.

Next time I’ll try to approach FC more gently, maybe reducing to P4 a minute before and then P2 through it.

Left: today’s. Right: last week’s.

Joe007

Im wondering guys ,roast profile for lighter roast ?Did anyone manage roast fruity naturals?I know sweetmarias videos,but im wondering from your experience.

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