FYI, in manual mode you can hit C on first crack to set the timer to something like 3 minutes, and if you need to extend it more, you can just hit C again, so you won't be running into timer issues.
Hi Sam, thanks for your comment. Yea, I wasn’t using that feature but you are right, it is very helpful to be able to extend the time. That give me more flexibility when choosing the batch size setting which in turn influences the fan start time. Thanks for sharing Sam!
Hi Paul, thanks for that reminder. I don't think I ever used the "C". I would just hit the + button a couple of times. I don't usually run out of time. For the longest time I would roast a 1/2 lb using the 1 ls setting which would give me 18 minutes which i never would reach. Thanks for watching and for your comment. Happy Roasting!
Thanks for making these Behmor videos. I was gifted one a few years ago and have really only used it a couple times. Today I roasted a few pounds out of it using the auto settings, I was going for something to use in an espresso machine and was half concerned because the roasted beans didn’t appear as dark as I expected but they look really close to what you roasted here and your explanation was eye opening. Looking forward to learning more about this machine and trying the ‘recipe’ used here, thanks again.
Hi Kris, thanks for watching and subscribing. Yea, checkout my Behmor playlist to learn how to roast in the manual mode. Also, even though many of my videos use other roasting machines, they are still helpful for Behmor users because I include basic roasting concepts. Let me know if you have questions as you learn.
Just ordered a behmor due to being in the northeast and it’s cold outside with my hive which I love. Digital dome also helpful but anxious to use the behmor hear great things and wanted a bigger batch size. As always your channel rocks mike! Great video most helpful. You are an asset to so many I wish you continued success. Roast on my friend!
Hi Jeston, thanks for your kind encouraging words. Both the Hive & the Behmor are great roasting devices. There is so much flexibility with the Hive you can pretty much do any type of roast with no limitations. The Behmor is a great value and roasts some great coffee. It does have some limitations as far as shorter roast times. I really pushed the limits of the Behmor on the Espresso roast do get that shorter dry time. As long as you approach the Behmor knowing it isn't perfect, and understand it's limitations, you will really appreciate it. I guess that applies to any roasting device ? Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for the in depth video! I just bought one second hand and am trying to get the best espresso roast for my setup. I saw the moment the exothermic point started because my temp jumped up instantly and I started to hear 1st crack. As soon as that went, so did my smoke alarms so I set it to cooling mode and went to open all of the windows. I got a pretty good looking result from it and am excited to try it after degassing.
Congratulations on your roaster. Yea,if you have a lot of heat, first crack will hit all at one time and before you know it, your rolling into second crack. Just before first crack lowering your heat will help slow down the roast and help you go through a controlled, less intense first crack. Sounds like you like your coffee pretty dark. Did you have oils appear on the beans?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I used to enjoy dark roast but I'm moving towards light/medium which is what these came out to be. There were a few dark ones in the batch but they didn't affect the outcome. The espresso that came out of them tasted fruity today which is what the tasting notes said they would be
Thanks!!!! This is exactly what I was looking for! I will try this out in my next roast on my Behmor 2000 AB +. I just finished roasting a few days ago 2 lbs of Sweet Maria’s “Espresso Monkey Blend” so it will likely hold me up for a few weeks before I roast again. Thanks again!
Hello Eduardo! You are very welcome. You are still watching my videos! Yes, it only took me 6 months to do the video you have been waiting for. Keep in mind that using a different coffee may cause some differences in the way it roasts. You will also want to adjust your development time to your liking.
I just found your channel after placing my first ever order of beans from Sweet Maria's. Looks like I have alot to learn - Thanks for this video!! I'm subscribing!
Hi @Planet Fabulous welcome to the Virtual Coffee Lab. I would suggest taking a look at my Behmor playlist. Also, the most recent video "Coffee Roasting In The Auto Mode" will be helpful as you get into the roasting journey with your Behmor.
Im thinking about buying a wired mesh and after opening the door to cool down process attached this mesh to prevent shaft flying around!It wont trap heat inside ,but helps with mess
I've suspected all along my Behmor is defective and now I know. (1600 plus) The max heat mine reached on full power is 305. I've had nothing but dull baked coffee from this machine. I hate it. ( Both flat coffee and this p.o.p. of a machine. Thanks to roasting lessons from your channel I plan to purchase an air fryer with rotisserie so I can have better control of roasting, but without the max expense of a pro roaster
Sorry about your power issues. Are all of your quartz elements turning orange at full power? Are you using an extension cord? Is the wiring in your house old? These are a few questions to ask. You can also contact Behmor for a recommendation. Also, if you are roasting dark, or have not cleaned the inside of your roaster this could impact the temperature readings. Let me know how the air fryer works for you.
Thanks for watching @fcastro91. One of my points in this video was than a roast for espresso doesn’t have to be really dark. The Behmore did a nice job.
Tried two different beans with this method in my Behmore. I'm hitting the first crack at 8:30 and it is hitting the second crack at 10:00. It is hard to tell when the dry end happens. Maybe at 6 minutes. I guess I need to reduce the heat, or try another bean. Both types are listed as "good for espresso". Definitely burning the beans.
Your machine must be more powerful than mine or you are using fewer beans? So, you can still use the same settings up to the dry event and then move down to P4 to extend your time. Another option would be to use a lower pre-warming temperature.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I had another thought. If I'm choosing the 1/2 lbs setting should I be using more weight to account for the beans losing weight during roasting?
@bluebirdski, the more beans you put into the roaster (charge weight) the longer the roast will take. The 1/2 lb setting vs the 1 lb setting might impact the auto mode button profiles but the roast we're doing is a manual mode. P5 in the manual mode is 100 percent power. Based on what you shared you are going through the roast after the dry event at too high of a power setting. You should lower your power once the coffee is dry to extend your time between dry and first crack. I would suggest you watch my Behmor playlist and notice how I address my power settings and changes during my roast. It could be your higher altitude that is playing a part in this so you need to rely on your senses to know what is happening with your roast. It is hard to determine color change with the Behmor. That yellow light sure doesn't help. Use an LED light, crack open the door real quick and look to see when the coffee is no longer green but yellow. Also, if you lower your power too much you will loose your momentum. I would recommend you put a meat thermometer probe inside the roaster. You can get these on amazon for 15 bucks. lay the probe in the chaff tray where the drum won't catch on it. Then you can pay attention to the internal temperatures and stay within a good range of temp to maintain enough momentum.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Started at 185 this time and roasted at P5 the entire way through. Browning and development were still about a minute fast but dry end was awesome at six minutes. Used a flashlight this time. I'll use P3 just before browning on my next attempt. Hopefully that will lead to perfection! Thanks again.
Thank you for this, and all your other videos. I haven't had my Behmor 2000AB Plus very long. I have a few roasts under my belt, and my temperature control is still very much a work in progress. My inclination when the exhaust fan kicks in has been to overcompensate. One roast from this past weekend is, shall we say, well done. I like dark roasts, but it's a little dark for my taste. With another roast from Monday I managed to stay more towards the medium roast range, but it tastes a little flat. I need to work on stretching browning and development, which I think this video will help with. I made a little progress in that direction with a roast last night before seeing this video. I haven't tasted that roast yet, but it smells sweeter. Home roasting is going to be an interesting journey. I wish the Behmor had an option to switch the timer's direction so that it would count up instead of down. I keep forgetting to start an external timer until shortly after I start the roasts, so my times are usually at least fifteen to twenty seconds or so off. It would also be nice if Behmor would upgrade the light bulbs they install in the roasters.
Hi Kevin, welcome to home roasting and the behmore world. You are already ahead of many Behmor roasting enthusiasts. Recognizing the timing and tasting the difference will lead you to some great coffee. You have identified a couple of the weaknesses of the roaster. The fan is an obstacle but can be used to your advantage. Depending your your roast profile the 1 lb setting will turn the fan on at 7 minutes, while the 1/2 lb setting causes the fan to kick on at 5 minutes. Consider how that might help you slow your roast down to stretch out the middle phase a little. The light is another weakness. Some users have placed an led daylight bulb inside. Enjoy your journey!
Hi Bill. Thanks for watching my video. I did show the roasted beans at 18:45. That was the main point of the video. I'm guessing you mean the coffee inside the mug? I did show quick glimpse of the brewing process (which was a moka pot) at 17:17. Can you clarify "the finished product"? Thanks again for your comments. I do appreciate your comments :-)
@@VirtualCoffeeLab you're right, I meant the finished beans not the coffee. I must have blinked. 😉 I did use the app you showcased today while roasting a Pea Berry from Kenya and it turned out great!
I agree, I should have highlighted the beans more. Thank you for that input Bill. I'm glad the timer is helpful. I wish the click was bigger but that's my old eyes i guess.
I thought once you have roasted your beans, don't you have to let them rest and off gas at least 3 days? Other then that I have been learning a great deal from your videos. The attention to detail to what is actuating going on within the phases. Learning so much. It is a lot of fun doing this at home. Nice work
Thanks for your comments and for watching my video! Yes, these beans did rest for 2 days before i brewed them. i recorded the roasting and then 2 days later recorded the brew/followup-taste. Rest times vary from 1-7 days depending on roast level and density. These variables influence the off gassing of CO2. This is a well developed medium/dark roast so that a darker roast. It all comes down to taste. I have roasted a lot of coffee and then brewed it the next day and it tasted delicious. Give it a try. Roast some coffee and then brew it each day starting at day 1 and see how the flavor develops. Brew method can also influence the rest time factor. James Hoffman just did an interesting video on this last week. Check it out.
That was really interesting! I’ve never seen a behmore in action. I just ordered 20 kg of an organic Guatemala coffee a few days ago. Sounds delicious. You mentioned espresso but it looked like you used a moka pot and not an espresso machine. A moka pot doesn’t achieve pressure’s high enough to be actually called espresso. They’ll taste much different. Anyways, love the vids!!
Hi Jason. Yes, I did use a Moka Pot to make the coffee. My espresso machine is kind of crappy and I I got a Moka Pot for Christmas so I used that. The coffee roast applies to either. The Espresso is about 9 bars of pressure and the Moka Pot is about 2 bars. So, the concept is similar but yes, they are different and the Moka Pot is not an espresso maker. But, I've got to say it sure creates a nice brew. Thanks for your comments and for watching my video Jason! Let me know who your organic guatemala turns out!
A friend upgraded from a Behmor 1600+ and gave it to me. I have yet to use it but I'm learning all I can from your excellent videos. Thank you for making all of this content freely available to us! I recall Behmor or someone else saying that you can damage the roaster if you open it and remove the drum to cool the beans more rapidly. Is there a risk of damaging the roaster by introducing too much cool air into the interior too quickly?
Hi Chris, yes, the behmor manual says not to open the door during a roast. The warning seemed to caution being burned. Later it does say “It is imperative you allow the system to perform as designed for optimal performance and longetivity.” So don’t turn off the roaster power after a roast has been completed, the the cooling cycle function to cool the roaster so your electronic systems will live longer. You can open the door. You should not turn it off and leave it off. They might even say don’t turn it off at all, not even for a second. In my video I did turn off the roaster to remove the from. It was off the a few seconds and then I turned back on the cooling mode. I am not recommending you do what I did. You will have to decide. I would recommend you read the manual. It can be found online with a simple search. Thanks for your comments and for watching!
I like to end my roast by removing the roasting chamber than restarting by hitting the cool button to cool the roaster. I spread the beans on a cookie sheet and cool outdoors in front of a fan.
I have been roasting 150g of green beans using the 1# setting in my Behmor 1600+ and getting a good roasting profile with a total roast time of 10-12 minutes
Hey Mike, thanks for the great video as usual. Your videos have helped me out significantly and I appreciate them greatly! I recently bought a behmor after doing a bit of research and watching your videos along with some from sweet marias and a few other places. I'm trying to achieve a certain roast profile that's similar to what I was getting from a commercial roaster prior to roasting my own beans. This particular commercial roaster uses a lot of honey processed coffee in their blends and single origins and their coffees are always excellent when I brew it as espresso. So much so that I was paying about $100/month in roasted coffee before getting the behmor. I figured it might take me a while to get coffee that’s nearing the taste of theirs, but I have been getting some decent results just by watching your videos along with some of the others that are out there. Anyways, I was just wondering if you have any tips or tricks for espresso roasting profiles specifically on the honey processed coffee. So far, from what I can tell, the color seems to be different on the honey process coffee that I’ve roasted from that of the washed coffee (my behmor came with 10 half pound samples and I split them up into quarter of a pound roasts) if I were using weight to determine roast level. I currently have 23 quarter of a pound roasts under my belt and I’ve been very diligent about taking notes and recording events like you suggest in your videos. Happy to share some data with you and others if there is a good place to do so. I know roasting has so many variables, but my behmor is inside, so it's always around 70 degrees F as an outside temp and I record my specific bean, green weight, roasted weight, and all major events, times, and the B temperatures.
Hello Kevin, thanks for watching my videos. What is the green coffee you are roasting? Also, I'm curious about which roaster and origin you were buying your roasted coffee from. I have a similar situation. Proud Mary roasts some amazing coffee and their "curious" roasts as well as the "wild" roasts usually use a honey process. The result is a coffee that is sweet, fruity, and overall unlike anything else I have found. The roasts seem to be around the medium range, definitely not dark. The beans look as though someone has soaked them in sugar BUT I know that isn't true. There have been no additives, just a great roast with a single origin. With regards to your brew method, "espresso" roast doesn't necessarily mean dark roasted coffee. So my question to you pertains to how you are currently roasting your coffee. Can you share your total roast time, as well as phase times and percentages? Also, please share your end color/roast level as well as how the coffee tastes. Based on what you share I might be able to offer some feedback.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Hey Mike sorry for the delayed reply. I'm kind of bouncing around roasting different green coffees. They are all annotated in my spreadsheet. In short, my first 20 roasts were of the sample beans that came with my behmor and they were all washed beans, but when I placed an order to get more beans I tried to get a variety of other types. Here's my spreadsheet and most roasts have pictures: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jKEpNcMXe9f7DYySb2Ra32Eql2Vp0-iVVdw0Dgh9YFU/edit?usp=sharing The roaster that I really like is Dark Matter Coffee out of Chicago. They do all kinds of experimental coffees but they seem to do a lot of honey processed. The coffee from Dark Matter also seems to not be as dark like you mentioned from Proud Mary. In my spreadsheet it will have dry end, drop, and development times and percentages. I may need to increase my batch size so I can get to higher temperatures. At the quarter pound, the fan in the behmor kicks on at 3:30 and you can see it in my graphs. The roast levels (based on weight) and the roast colors are actually depicted via pictures in my spreadsheet for most roasts. As far as taste, I normally make Americanos with my espresso. I haven't found anything overly bitter or sour. But nothing so far has blown me away either. I'm just now getting into tasting the honey processed because I tend to let my coffee rest for 4-10 days to de-gas. Also, I didn't see this in your video, but are you using the behmor at regular drum speed or do you increase the drum speed (by pressing the D button) during the roast? I can't really tell from the video because of what's' being shown there at the beginning. I've found that if I use the increased drum speed, it also impacts my time to first crack and the overall speed of the roast by speeding it up a bit.
Kevin, I approved your last comment with the link. I looked over your spreadsheet and it seems like you are getting some pretty short roast times for the Behmor. This is due to the lighter batch loads. You are doing a great job with different roast profiles. It seems as though you have good control of your roaster. One thing you should consider is to roast the same coffee using all of the information you have. Stick to a similar phase percentages BUT try some longer roast times. For example, let's say you are roasting an ethiopian coffee. You find you have a nice result with a 50/30/20 phase percentage at 9 minutes. Consider doing that same roast but extend the total roast time to 10 minutes. See if you can taste the difference. What you will find is there will be a difference. Depending on your coffee, you will want to have different total roast times. Maybe an ethiopian washed might by 9 minutes, while a colombian coffee might be 11 minutes. Some of this has to do with the density of the coffee. A Brazil that might be a lower to medium density coffee may have a better outcome at 12 minutes. So, consider getting 1 specific coffee and experiment with the total roast time. Nice work & thanks for sharing!
What are your thoughts on "espresso roasts" being determined on drying and browning time rather than development time / roast level? This may just be a fluid bed roasting concept since it already goes so quickly. The thought process is that an air roaster can roast to full city / medium in 4-5 minutes, but that roast might not be good for espresso due to uneven roasting between the outside and inside of the bean. Shorter dry & browning may work for drip and bring vibrancy, but would be unpleasantly magnified in espresso. Conversely longer dry & browning might make for more balanced espresso but might make for dull drip coffee. Anecdotally I brewed a light espresso (purchased) that was too bright for my taste as espresso, and the V60 was quite dull! I'm going to play with this as I'll be getting some greens in. Two roasts, both to full city with the same drop temp and development time, but one with a short dry & browning and one with long, then make a V60 and espresso with each. Curious to see if it matters! Keep up the interesting content!
Thanks for your comments. Seems like you have a good understanding of the impact of roast profiles and their impact on flavor. So it comes down to personal choice. You indicated you didn't like the bright coffee used for espresso and a shorter roast with short development doesn't work well with your tastes. I think that a more developed coffee will be more to your taste when brewing and espresso. So, speaking in terms of air roasting times for espresso, a longer development seems to be the right direction to experiment. I don't have enough experience as an air roaster to really give a definitive response but it would be worth experimenting. It seems to make sense. So instead of a 4-5 minute roast, it might look more like a 6-7 minute roast. Do a slower roast to get that even development. The longer time will knock down the acidity. As far as the V60 comment, you might want to brew using immersion (clever dripper or french press) just for kicks to see if you notice a difference in your "dull" V60. I really learned a lesson about my "marginal" grinder and how that influenced my brewing results. My point in mentioning that is unless your grinding/brewing is really spot on, the V60 might give you varying results. An immersion method removes much of that so you can see what is happening with your roast. You might not agree with that and I could be wrong, but I have experienced it myself and suggested others to try when they are trying to determine if it is their roast or brewing and they were surprised with the results. I really love immersion brewing. :-) Thanks for the kind and encouraging words and for your comments!
Hi Stanley, Thanks for your question. I did not use the faster drum speed on this roast for a couple of reasons which I'll share in a second. If you look at the comments area of the "behmor recipe" video I did a while ago, you will see some interesting discussion about the effectiveness of the drum speed. The conversation led to the topic of the beans being pulled up the back of the drum for the radiant heat to roast the beans faster. I had not really thought of this before that discussion. I was using the drum speed to promote convection. So, I'm a little torn/confused about how and when I should use the drum speed based on my roasting objectives. Having said that, let me give my reasons why I didn't change the drum speed for this particular roast. 1. I usually increase drum speed after dry. I didn't this time because I had a lot of heat already pushing the roast along and needed to slow it down as I transitioned into the browning phase. I wanted to get my 30% time in that phase and if I turned up the drum, i could have potentially sped up the roast and I didn't want to do that after dry. 2. I didn't use the faster drum during dry because I wanted to be sure I wasn't just roasting the outside of the beans with the IR light. Again, that whole "dragging the beans up the back of the drum" thing was on my mind and I didn't want to "toast" the outside of the beans with the IR heat. I wanted to ensure a fully developed bean rather than a dark bean on the outside and underdeveloped on the inside? Am I right in my thinking about this? I don't know, but that was what I was thinking at during the roast. Will I ever increase the drum speed on my behmor again? Yes, I will used it as a tool to help me keep on track with my roast times. If I am behind and i need a little push, I will increase the drum. What do you think?
Great video Mike, thanks so much for presenting this. When you started the roast, you pressed 1/2 (batch size), P1 (auto profile), then START. Why did you need to press P1, especially if you were going to be doing a manual roast? On the 1600, do you have to specify an auto roast before you can go manual? On the Behmor 2000 AB+ if no auto profile is pressed (i.e. just pressing 1/2 then START), it will use P1 by default. P1 is just a 100% power for the entire roast time. Maybe the 1600 and the 2000 work differently? I know they do with regard to over-heating. From tests I have run, if the B temperature tries to go above about 320 F, the 2000 will automatically begin duty-cycle heating. Continuous full-power (100%) heating will not occur again until the temperature drops to a certain point (275 F seen on my tests).
Hi Lou, the 1600 plus manual says: "Begin a roast (Weight - desired, then Press Start), once a roast has begun at any point press either P1 - P5 to go into Manual mode" So, in order to start the roast you have to select the weight and then press a p button. Then the roast starts in that selected profiles auto mode. Then, with the roast already started you press one of the P profile buttons to go into the manual mode. I'm second guessing myself, I thought if I don't press a profile button it won't let me.... I'll double check. As far as 325 goes, i could find no temperature mentioned in the manual BUT I have experience the roaster displaying the Err code and ending the roast when I go over that point. Maybe it is my roaster?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Yeah, it might just be that the 2000 is a little different from the 1600. I'm thinking Behmor probably thought the modulation would be a better alternative to shutting down a roast when the temp got too high. My manual for the 2000 mentions neither a maximum temperature, nor a point where heating modulation occurs. The 350 F and 275 F I mentioned above are just what I observed after running some tests. Sometime I'll have to pass along the graphs I recorded when doing those empty drum temperature tests.
@@moorejl57 thanks for sharing. It might have done that out of habit I guess. I want to make sure I am in the auto mode and then switch to P5 for the manual mode....
Did you let the beans degas before you ground and used them? I roasted Columbian decaf beans by using a recipe in one of your other videos and was wondering how long I should wait before grinding the beans! Thanks for the video! In inherited a behmore 1600 plus and roasted beans a while ago and they were horrible. I didn’t have to confidence to try again until I found your videos! Thank you!!
Thanks for watching ctatis0917. Yes, I usually wait a day or 2 before I drink my roasted coffee. Ultimately it depends on the coffee type and the roast level. Higher density coffee takes longer to degas as well as lighter roasts. How dark did you go? That would depend on rest time. Honestly you could start drinking the coffee the next day if you like. Just about every coffee I roast can be drank the next day. It might not taste as good as it would in another day or 2 but it's not like it will be bad, maybe just a little thin and flat. Let me know how your coffee tastes? How did you like your roasting experience following my video? Did your roaster perform the same? There will always be some differences between roasters including temperatures, roasting environment and of course the beans themselves. Adjustments will always be necessary.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks so much for the response! I couldn’t wait and tried it this morning. It was delicious!! I followed the roasting recipe video you posted a few months ago. I roasted 2 batches: Columbian decaf and Guatemalan. I used Guatemalan beans I ordered from sweet Maria’s. It took about 6:30 for the first crack and then I stopped it maybe a min after. The light in the behmor was a little on the warmer side, so the beans looked darker than they were. I tried it this morning and it was absolutely delicious! Very very smooth, albeit a little flat. But it was still a very tasty cup of coffee. I can’t wait to try more tomorrow. The Columbian decaf beans were roasted until they were darker than I was expecting, but that coffee was just as delightful. I believe it performed well. The roasting time was 7:30 for 1/4 pound of coffee (I didn’t want to go more than that, as I’m trying to get the hang of it). Thank you for the very detailed videos! I can’t wait to roast the espresso blend (sweet Maria’s blend)!
hello tommy. the temperatures I share in this video are in Fahrenheit. I have done a couple of behmor videos that include both Celsius and Fahrenheit. here is a link to one of them - th-cam.com/video/cxEkrtmIXfY/w-d-xo.html
We should suggest to the app developer to add a 'Dry' button and at the end calculate and display the percentages of the time spent in each of the three phases. Also wondering was the the double-warmup done to lessen the stress on the unit from restarting the machine to roast without a cooldown vs the simpler method of just letting the machine warm up to 250 once? Was that done on a haunch (for longevity of the machine) and what do you think of just a single warmup to 250 for less hassle?
Hello Andraio, it would be nice to see the event and phase percentages feature on the Behmore but I doubt that will ever happen. As far as the warm up goes, I do a double to 250 to make sure all of the insides are really hot. This gives me a head start as far as a “charge temperature”. I always include the chaff tray in my pre warm but not the drum. I don’t go over 250 for warm up because it is hard on the machine . A single warm up is good. Try both and see if it makes a difference for you.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I meant a 'Dry' button on the phone app, not the Behmor. That would be easy to code and could calculate and instantly show how much time the middle (browning) phase should last given (either assuming a standard percent for dry, say 50 % or add up/down arrow widgets(buttons) to nudge the dry percent up or down a few percent) the different optional percentages like it shows for the development phase and ofcourse at the end it could then display the percentages of all three phases) you calculated by hand at the end for you.. As far as the warm up I was just curious how you decided two warmups, first to 200 then to 250, is better than just letting it heat up to 250 once..? Is this based on some science or you just felt it would heat up the machine more substantially than one warmup to 250 and do you believe two ramped-up warmups are gentler on the machine than just one? Thanks as always and enjoy watching your videos.
Hi Andraio, sorry I missed your reply. The warm up done twice was based on my experience with warming up my drum roaster. The roasting chamber and chaff tray are sources of heat at the beginning of the roast. My drum roaster idles at around 400 degrees so the metal chasis, drum and other parts can soak up the heat. On the Behmor I will do a warmup to about 250, hit the stop button, let it sit for a couple of minutes with the door closed and the chaff tray inside and then when I am ready to do my roast, do the second warm up and then charge the roaster. It sure can't hurt AND I know that opening the door to install the drum will cause some heat loss. If you watch my most recent roast with the Behmor, notice the "B" temp just after the roast starts. Not too much temperature loss 🙂
Thanks for your message. I’ve never had to replace mine. I do use a led flashlight to see better inside. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Have you contacted Behmor?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes, it turns out that LED bulbs can't stand the heat, so I', mounting an LED goose neck magnetically on the top so I can have a continuous LED flashlight effect
Hi Mike. I find your videos very helpful as I journey along in my home coffee roasting experience. So I'm noticing that while I'm watching you roast on different roasters, that there is a big temperature variation between the different style roasters. Like on your Bemohr you can only get up to 320F but on your drum roaster you get up to 400F+ and on the air roasters the temperatures get closer to 500F. My question is; Do the different temperatures on the different roasters affect the end cup?
That is a great question Theo AND a very good observation. Let's assume those temperatures are accurate. I think if there is a different in the cup it is because of roasting profiles and length of roast. Air roasters roast quicker. I've experienced this personally. Behmors and some other home roasting machines roast slower. This will affect taste in the cup. There is a debate about air roasting vs drum and if there is a difference in taste but again, I think most of this comes down to time over temperature within the roast profile. That will affect the end cup. What are you roasting with?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I am roasting on kind-of-a-Bemohr. I have an oven and it's got a rotisserie option, so I mounted a drum in it. It works great, except the drum speed is like 5-10 rpm and I think that gives me a little uneven roast. But the coffee still tastes very good. I can get it up to 500F but I've stayed in the 400F range. I'm wondering why it takes me just as long at 400F to roast 120g of beans as it takes you on the Bemohr to roast ½ a pound @ 300F. I charge at around 400F. Could you explain more about time over-temperature, please?
ok, that context is helpful. Heat is delivered very differently in the behmor. It uses those orange quartz coil type elements to provide heat. Imaging the old foot warmer type portable heat units for a small room that run off your home electric. This is very similar and generates a "radiant" heat that heats up the roasting environment BUT also applies radiant heat directly onto the beans. This intense radiant heat is on the beans as well as heat in the air inside the behmor. So the beans are in that hamster cage type drum and the radiant light/heat is shining directly on the beans. On your rotisserie, there isn't the same type of intense radiant heat so that is a pretty big factor why you see 320 on the temp. If I were to stick a real thermometer in the behmor I think you would see much higher temps. As a matter of fact I know that to be true because I have done it. I would not focus on directly comparing temperatures, but use them as a reference to understand increases and decreases within your profile. Does that help address your question? Let me know. Just to add the time over temperature part of your question, the general idea of roasting beans and crafting how they taste is based on how you apply heat over time..... both total time of the roast, time within each of the phases and ultimately the final drop temperature (roast level). You have already observed in a couple of my videos how the temps are all different based on the device I am using BUT looking past that at the total roast time spent in a particular video and how the phase percentages differ is really what matters when it comes to taste. I talk about this in my video "how to roast sweet and flavorful coffee".
Yes, that answers my question. Using the temperature as a tool and not getting too hung up on what the numbers say is something I've learned from watching roasting clips. So long as the coffee tastes good. The only temp reference I have right now is the temperature adjustment dial. Where would be the best spot to place a probe? I can't put it inside the spinning drum because that wouldn't end up nice.
Normally the probe is in the bean mass. Because of the design, that isn't possible so placing the probe close to the same height as the beans within the roasting environment would be my guess. At least you would see temps your beans would be exposed to.... How are you able to control your phase times? You might need to consider doing some tests with your temperature dial. Try and get your heat to maintain the same temp so you can get your beans to dry in say..... 5 minutes. Mark that setting on your dial. Then lower your heat so it takes 3 more minutes to get your beans to first crack. Then, lower your heat just a little more so it takes 2 minutes for a 20% development. These marks are now reference points and you can use your temp probe and those marks as references to guide your roast. What do you think?
Hi Mike,I was just wondering if I follow your numbers and times and percentages that you have shown,would this formula work with a Jamaican blue mountain bean? I own Behmor as well.Thanks
Hi Joe, with all of my roasts, phase percentages are really important. Total roast time is equally important. So, generally speaking yes, if you follow my video, and hit the phase times and total roast time. When you roast a different coffee, there will be some differences how the beans react to heat. So, your roast temps and times will vary and so will the results. Plus, some coffees will require a different approach to optimize flavors. Does that make sense?
For this roast, did you have to let it rest for a few days or so before brewing? Is there a difference in time between roast roast brew date when roasting for espresso brewing? I’ve roasted in my old Behmor 1600 Plus for years but never knew how to change my recipe for my espresso machine.
I usually let my coffee rest for a couple days. Darker roasts usually require shorter rest periods than lighter roasts. This specific roast is a fully developed medium/dark roast. You could drink this coffee the next day and it would taste good but it might taste better on day 2 and best at day 3. It Might be interesting for you to try and taste the difference on each of these days and let me know what you experience. Enjoy your coffee Lori!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Ok, awesome! I fired up my ole Behmor 1600 Plus we bought new in 2015. But the last couple of years I literally put it on the back burner because the display panel numbers starting going out and I had no idea what numbers were on it. Half of the light bars were just gone and I didn’t want to hassle with replacing the control panel. I drug it out today, did a hard burn refresh. Roasted 1/4 lb. of Colombian today but it two P2 cycles to reach medium roast. It does smell nice though, kind of chocolatey. It’s sealed up tight in a mason jar resting. I just wanted to test the ole Behmor out but too frustrating. So I caved in today and ordered the newest one, the 2000AB Plus. It better be worth it! 🫣 lol
Thanks for your question. In the auto mode, P1 you are using a lot of heat. This in combination with only 200 grams of beans will cause your roast to move quickly. This in combination with the chaff coming off could be part of the issue. Are you roasting a dried process coffee? These tend to have more chaff. Are you roasting into second crack? This is another contributor to seeing these types of events. Are you seeing embers or is your chaff collector catching fire?
Would I use similar temps to roast on a Gene Cafe? Just wondering if it would be different since it's convection vs radiant heat in the Bemore. My wife and I primarily drink espresso and I'm learning to roast on the Gene Cafe.
Hi Jay, thanks for watching my video. The short answer is i don't think so. I don't have any direct experience with the genie cafe but the concept of good development for espresso roasts and even my percentages for the roasting phases can apply. You should experiment with your times and temperatures for dry, browning and development and then manage your temps over time and then get busy roasting :-) Let me know how it goes.
Generally speaking, I approach a decaf in the same way I do a dry process coffee. They can be a little more sensitive to heat because they are more Portia because of the processing the beans go through. So if we are talking a preheat on a behmor, it’s not that critical. What are you currently pre-warming to for a dry process? How long are your roasts taking?
The app used in this video is the "Coffee Roasting Timer" which is free and displays the development time and percentages so when you hit first crack you mark that in the app and it calculates the development phase percentages and times. Here is the app link coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
The app is to be used in your phone browser. For IOS, click this link coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/ and you will have the timer displayed and ready to use.
FYI, in manual mode you can hit C on first crack to set the timer to something like 3 minutes, and if you need to extend it more, you can just hit C again, so you won't be running into timer issues.
Hi Sam, thanks for your comment. Yea, I wasn’t using that feature but you are right, it is very helpful to be able to extend the time. That give me more flexibility when choosing the batch size setting which in turn influences the fan start time. Thanks for sharing Sam!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes exactly :)
if you run out of time, you can always press C to reset the "rosetta stone". on a half pound roast, it will reset the timer to 2:10
Hi Paul, thanks for that reminder. I don't think I ever used the "C". I would just hit the + button a couple of times. I don't usually run out of time. For the longest time I would roast a 1/2 lb using the 1 ls setting which would give me 18 minutes which i never would reach. Thanks for watching and for your comment.
Happy Roasting!
Thanks for making these Behmor videos. I was gifted one a few years ago and have really only used it a couple times. Today I roasted a few pounds out of it using the auto settings, I was going for something to use in an espresso machine and was half concerned because the roasted beans didn’t appear as dark as I expected but they look really close to what you roasted here and your explanation was eye opening. Looking forward to learning more about this machine and trying the ‘recipe’ used here, thanks again.
Hi Kris, thanks for watching and subscribing. Yea, checkout my Behmor playlist to learn how to roast in the manual mode. Also, even though many of my videos use other roasting machines, they are still helpful for Behmor users because I include basic roasting concepts. Let me know if you have questions as you learn.
This is one of your best videos yet. Very understandable and methodical. Thank you!
Thank you Chris. I appreciate you watching and for the encouragement!
Just ordered a behmor due to being in the northeast and it’s cold outside with my hive which I love. Digital dome also helpful but anxious to use the behmor hear great things and wanted a bigger batch size. As always your channel rocks mike! Great video most helpful. You are an asset to so many I wish you continued success. Roast on my friend!
Hi Jeston, thanks for your kind encouraging words. Both the Hive & the Behmor are great roasting devices. There is so much flexibility with the Hive you can pretty much do any type of roast with no limitations. The Behmor is a great value and roasts some great coffee. It does have some limitations as far as shorter roast times. I really pushed the limits of the Behmor on the Espresso roast do get that shorter dry time. As long as you approach the Behmor knowing it isn't perfect, and understand it's limitations, you will really appreciate it. I guess that applies to any roasting device ?
Thanks for watching!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab enjoy your content very much. You are most welcome
Thank you so much for the in depth video! I just bought one second hand and am trying to get the best espresso roast for my setup. I saw the moment the exothermic point started because my temp jumped up instantly and I started to hear 1st crack. As soon as that went, so did my smoke alarms so I set it to cooling mode and went to open all of the windows. I got a pretty good looking result from it and am excited to try it after degassing.
Congratulations on your roaster. Yea,if you have a lot of heat, first crack will hit all at one time and before you know it, your rolling into second crack. Just before first crack lowering your heat will help slow down the roast and help you go through a controlled, less intense first crack.
Sounds like you like your coffee pretty dark. Did you have oils appear on the beans?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I used to enjoy dark roast but I'm moving towards light/medium which is what these came out to be. There were a few dark ones in the batch but they didn't affect the outcome. The espresso that came out of them tasted fruity today which is what the tasting notes said they would be
Thanks!!!! This is exactly what I was looking for! I will try this out in my next roast on my Behmor 2000 AB +.
I just finished roasting a few days ago 2 lbs of Sweet Maria’s “Espresso Monkey Blend” so it will likely hold me up for a few weeks before I roast again.
Thanks again!
Hello Eduardo! You are very welcome. You are still watching my videos! Yes, it only took me 6 months to do the video you have been waiting for. Keep in mind that using a different coffee may cause some differences in the way it roasts. You will also want to adjust your development time to your liking.
I just found your channel after placing my first ever order of beans from Sweet Maria's. Looks like I have alot to learn - Thanks for this video!! I'm subscribing!
Hi @Planet Fabulous welcome to the Virtual Coffee Lab. I would suggest taking a look at my Behmor playlist. Also, the most recent video "Coffee Roasting In The Auto Mode" will be helpful as you get into the roasting journey with your Behmor.
Im thinking about buying a wired mesh and after opening the door to cool down process attached this mesh to prevent shaft flying around!It wont trap heat inside ,but helps with mess
That’s a good idea. Make sure the mesh is not nylon or it could melt from the heat.
I've suspected all along my Behmor is defective and now I know. (1600 plus) The max heat mine reached on full power is 305. I've had nothing but dull baked coffee from this machine. I hate it. ( Both flat coffee and this p.o.p. of a machine. Thanks to roasting lessons from your channel I plan to purchase an air fryer with rotisserie so I can have better control of roasting, but without the max expense of a pro roaster
Sorry about your power issues. Are all of your quartz elements turning orange at full power? Are you using an extension cord? Is the wiring in your house old? These are a few questions to ask. You can also contact Behmor for a recommendation. Also, if you are roasting dark, or have not cleaned the inside of your roaster this could impact the temperature readings.
Let me know how the air fryer works for you.
Very informative video
Will be trying this recipe soon.
Thanks for watching @fcastro91. One of my points in this video was than a roast for espresso doesn’t have to be really dark. The Behmore did a nice job.
Tried two different beans with this method in my Behmore. I'm hitting the first crack at 8:30 and it is hitting the second crack at 10:00. It is hard to tell when the dry end happens. Maybe at 6 minutes. I guess I need to reduce the heat, or try another bean. Both types are listed as "good for espresso". Definitely burning the beans.
Your machine must be more powerful than mine or you are using fewer beans? So, you can still use the same settings up to the dry event and then move down to P4 to extend your time. Another option would be to use a lower pre-warming temperature.
Thanks so much!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I had another thought. If I'm choosing the 1/2 lbs setting should I be using more weight to account for the beans losing weight during roasting?
@bluebirdski, the more beans you put into the roaster (charge weight) the longer the roast will take. The 1/2 lb setting vs the 1 lb setting might impact the auto mode button profiles but the roast we're doing is a manual mode. P5 in the manual mode is 100 percent power. Based on what you shared you are going through the roast after the dry event at too high of a power setting. You should lower your power once the coffee is dry to extend your time between dry and first crack. I would suggest you watch my Behmor playlist and notice how I address my power settings and changes during my roast. It could be your higher altitude that is playing a part in this so you need to rely on your senses to know what is happening with your roast.
It is hard to determine color change with the Behmor. That yellow light sure doesn't help. Use an LED light, crack open the door real quick and look to see when the coffee is no longer green but yellow.
Also, if you lower your power too much you will loose your momentum. I would recommend you put a meat thermometer probe inside the roaster. You can get these on amazon for 15 bucks. lay the probe in the chaff tray where the drum won't catch on it. Then you can pay attention to the internal temperatures and stay within a good range of temp to maintain enough momentum.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Started at 185 this time and roasted at P5 the entire way through. Browning and development were still about a minute fast but dry end was awesome at six minutes. Used a flashlight this time. I'll use P3 just before browning on my next attempt. Hopefully that will lead to perfection! Thanks again.
Thank you for this, and all your other videos. I haven't had my Behmor 2000AB Plus very long. I have a few roasts under my belt, and my temperature control is still very much a work in progress. My inclination when the exhaust fan kicks in has been to overcompensate. One roast from this past weekend is, shall we say, well done. I like dark roasts, but it's a little dark for my taste. With another roast from Monday I managed to stay more towards the medium roast range, but it tastes a little flat. I need to work on stretching browning and development, which I think this video will help with. I made a little progress in that direction with a roast last night before seeing this video. I haven't tasted that roast yet, but it smells sweeter. Home roasting is going to be an interesting journey.
I wish the Behmor had an option to switch the timer's direction so that it would count up instead of down. I keep forgetting to start an external timer until shortly after I start the roasts, so my times are usually at least fifteen to twenty seconds or so off. It would also be nice if Behmor would upgrade the light bulbs they install in the roasters.
Hi Kevin, welcome to home roasting and the behmore world. You are already ahead of many Behmor roasting enthusiasts. Recognizing the timing and tasting the difference will lead you to some great coffee.
You have identified a couple of the weaknesses of the roaster. The fan is an obstacle but can be used to your advantage. Depending your your roast profile the 1 lb setting will turn the fan on at 7 minutes, while the 1/2 lb setting causes the fan to kick on at 5 minutes. Consider how that might help you slow your roast down to stretch out the middle phase a little.
The light is another weakness. Some users have placed an led daylight bulb inside.
Enjoy your journey!
Great tutorial. Thanks for the information and the link to the app. Would have liked to see the finished product.
Hi Bill. Thanks for watching my video. I did show the roasted beans at 18:45. That was the main point of the video. I'm guessing you mean the coffee inside the mug? I did show quick glimpse of the brewing process (which was a moka pot) at 17:17. Can you clarify "the finished product"? Thanks again for your comments. I do appreciate your comments :-)
@@VirtualCoffeeLab you're right, I meant the finished beans not the coffee. I must have blinked. 😉
I did use the app you showcased today while roasting a Pea Berry from Kenya and it turned out great!
I agree, I should have highlighted the beans more. Thank you for that input Bill. I'm glad the timer is helpful. I wish the click was bigger but that's my old eyes i guess.
I thought once you have roasted your beans, don't you have to let them rest and off gas at least 3 days? Other then that I have been learning a great deal from your videos. The attention to detail to what is actuating going on within the phases. Learning so much. It is a lot of fun doing this at home. Nice work
Thanks for your comments and for watching my video!
Yes, these beans did rest for 2 days before i brewed them. i recorded the roasting and then 2 days later recorded the brew/followup-taste.
Rest times vary from 1-7 days depending on roast level and density. These variables influence the off gassing of CO2. This is a well developed medium/dark roast so that a darker roast. It all comes down to taste. I have roasted a lot of coffee and then brewed it the next day and it tasted delicious. Give it a try. Roast some coffee and then brew it each day starting at day 1 and see how the flavor develops.
Brew method can also influence the rest time factor. James Hoffman just did an interesting video on this last week. Check it out.
That was really interesting! I’ve never seen a behmore in action. I just ordered 20 kg of an organic Guatemala coffee a few days ago. Sounds delicious. You mentioned espresso but it looked like you used a moka pot and not an espresso machine. A moka pot doesn’t achieve pressure’s high enough to be actually called espresso. They’ll taste much different. Anyways, love the vids!!
Hi Jason. Yes, I did use a Moka Pot to make the coffee. My espresso machine is kind of crappy and I I got a Moka Pot for Christmas so I used that. The coffee roast applies to either. The Espresso is about 9 bars of pressure and the Moka Pot is about 2 bars. So, the concept is similar but yes, they are different and the Moka Pot is not an espresso maker. But, I've got to say it sure creates a nice brew.
Thanks for your comments and for watching my video Jason! Let me know who your organic guatemala turns out!
A friend upgraded from a Behmor 1600+ and gave it to me. I have yet to use it but I'm learning all I can from your excellent videos. Thank you for making all of this content freely available to us! I recall Behmor or someone else saying that you can damage the roaster if you open it and remove the drum to cool the beans more rapidly. Is there a risk of damaging the roaster by introducing too much cool air into the interior too quickly?
Hi Chris, yes, the behmor manual says not to open the door during a roast. The warning seemed to caution being burned. Later it does say “It is imperative you allow the system to perform as designed for optimal performance and longetivity.” So don’t turn off the roaster power after a roast has been completed, the the cooling cycle function to cool the roaster so your electronic systems will live longer. You can open the door. You should not turn it off and leave it off. They might even say don’t turn it off at all, not even for a second. In my video I did turn off the roaster to remove the from. It was off the a few seconds and then I turned back on the cooling mode. I am not recommending you do what I did. You will have to decide. I would recommend you read the manual. It can be found online with a simple search.
Thanks for your comments and for watching!
I like to end my roast by removing the roasting chamber than restarting by hitting the cool button to cool the roaster. I spread the beans on a cookie sheet and cool outdoors in front of a fan.
That is a great way to cool your beans quickly Stanley. How long does it take to cool down the beans?
Less than 4 min once I stop the roast
I have been roasting 150g of green beans using the 1# setting in my Behmor 1600+ and getting a good roasting profile with a total roast time of 10-12 minutes
Nice. Your using the auto P1 setting. What weight setting are you selecting. What type of coffee are you roasting?
Hey Mike, thanks for the great video as usual. Your videos have helped me out significantly and I appreciate them greatly! I recently bought a behmor after doing a bit of research and watching your videos along with some from sweet marias and a few other places. I'm trying to achieve a certain roast profile that's similar to what I was getting from a commercial roaster prior to roasting my own beans. This particular commercial roaster uses a lot of honey processed coffee in their blends and single origins and their coffees are always excellent when I brew it as espresso. So much so that I was paying about $100/month in roasted coffee before getting the behmor. I figured it might take me a while to get coffee that’s nearing the taste of theirs, but I have been getting some decent results just by watching your videos along with some of the others that are out there. Anyways, I was just wondering if you have any tips or tricks for espresso roasting profiles specifically on the honey processed coffee. So far, from what I can tell, the color seems to be different on the honey process coffee that I’ve roasted from that of the washed coffee (my behmor came with 10 half pound samples and I split them up into quarter of a pound roasts) if I were using weight to determine roast level. I currently have 23 quarter of a pound roasts under my belt and I’ve been very diligent about taking notes and recording events like you suggest in your videos. Happy to share some data with you and others if there is a good place to do so. I know roasting has so many variables, but my behmor is inside, so it's always around 70 degrees F as an outside temp and I record my specific bean, green weight, roasted weight, and all major events, times, and the B temperatures.
Hello Kevin, thanks for watching my videos. What is the green coffee you are roasting? Also, I'm curious about which roaster and origin you were buying your roasted coffee from. I have a similar situation. Proud Mary roasts some amazing coffee and their "curious" roasts as well as the "wild" roasts usually use a honey process. The result is a coffee that is sweet, fruity, and overall unlike anything else I have found. The roasts seem to be around the medium range, definitely not dark. The beans look as though someone has soaked them in sugar BUT I know that isn't true. There have been no additives, just a great roast with a single origin.
With regards to your brew method, "espresso" roast doesn't necessarily mean dark roasted coffee. So my question to you pertains to how you are currently roasting your coffee. Can you share your total roast time, as well as phase times and percentages? Also, please share your end color/roast level as well as how the coffee tastes. Based on what you share I might be able to offer some feedback.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Hey Mike sorry for the delayed reply. I'm kind of bouncing around roasting different green coffees. They are all annotated in my spreadsheet. In short, my first 20 roasts were of the sample beans that came with my behmor and they were all washed beans, but when I placed an order to get more beans I tried to get a variety of other types.
Here's my spreadsheet and most roasts have pictures:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jKEpNcMXe9f7DYySb2Ra32Eql2Vp0-iVVdw0Dgh9YFU/edit?usp=sharing
The roaster that I really like is Dark Matter Coffee out of Chicago. They do all kinds of experimental coffees but they seem to do a lot of honey processed. The coffee from Dark Matter also seems to not be as dark like you mentioned from Proud Mary.
In my spreadsheet it will have dry end, drop, and development times and percentages. I may need to increase my batch size so I can get to higher temperatures. At the quarter pound, the fan in the behmor kicks on at 3:30 and you can see it in my graphs. The roast levels (based on weight) and the roast colors are actually depicted via pictures in my spreadsheet for most roasts. As far as taste, I normally make Americanos with my espresso. I haven't found anything overly bitter or sour. But nothing so far has blown me away either. I'm just now getting into tasting the honey processed because I tend to let my coffee rest for 4-10 days to de-gas.
Also, I didn't see this in your video, but are you using the behmor at regular drum speed or do you increase the drum speed (by pressing the D button) during the roast? I can't really tell from the video because of what's' being shown there at the beginning. I've found that if I use the increased drum speed, it also impacts my time to first crack and the overall speed of the roast by speeding it up a bit.
Kevin, I approved your last comment with the link. I looked over your spreadsheet and it seems like you are getting some pretty short roast times for the Behmor. This is due to the lighter batch loads. You are doing a great job with different roast profiles. It seems as though you have good control of your roaster. One thing you should consider is to roast the same coffee using all of the information you have. Stick to a similar phase percentages BUT try some longer roast times. For example, let's say you are roasting an ethiopian coffee. You find you have a nice result with a 50/30/20 phase percentage at 9 minutes. Consider doing that same roast but extend the total roast time to 10 minutes. See if you can taste the difference. What you will find is there will be a difference. Depending on your coffee, you will want to have different total roast times. Maybe an ethiopian washed might by 9 minutes, while a colombian coffee might be 11 minutes. Some of this has to do with the density of the coffee. A Brazil that might be a lower to medium density coffee may have a better outcome at 12 minutes.
So, consider getting 1 specific coffee and experiment with the total roast time. Nice work & thanks for sharing!
What are your thoughts on "espresso roasts" being determined on drying and browning time rather than development time / roast level? This may just be a fluid bed roasting concept since it already goes so quickly. The thought process is that an air roaster can roast to full city / medium in 4-5 minutes, but that roast might not be good for espresso due to uneven roasting between the outside and inside of the bean. Shorter dry & browning may work for drip and bring vibrancy, but would be unpleasantly magnified in espresso. Conversely longer dry & browning might make for more balanced espresso but might make for dull drip coffee. Anecdotally I brewed a light espresso (purchased) that was too bright for my taste as espresso, and the V60 was quite dull! I'm going to play with this as I'll be getting some greens in. Two roasts, both to full city with the same drop temp and development time, but one with a short dry & browning and one with long, then make a V60 and espresso with each. Curious to see if it matters! Keep up the interesting content!
Thanks for your comments. Seems like you have a good understanding of the impact of roast profiles and their impact on flavor. So it comes down to personal choice. You indicated you didn't like the bright coffee used for espresso and a shorter roast with short development doesn't work well with your tastes. I think that a more developed coffee will be more to your taste when brewing and espresso. So, speaking in terms of air roasting times for espresso, a longer development seems to be the right direction to experiment. I don't have enough experience as an air roaster to really give a definitive response but it would be worth experimenting. It seems to make sense. So instead of a 4-5 minute roast, it might look more like a 6-7 minute roast. Do a slower roast to get that even development. The longer time will knock down the acidity.
As far as the V60 comment, you might want to brew using immersion (clever dripper or french press) just for kicks to see if you notice a difference in your "dull" V60. I really learned a lesson about my "marginal" grinder and how that influenced my brewing results. My point in mentioning that is unless your grinding/brewing is really spot on, the V60 might give you varying results. An immersion method removes much of that so you can see what is happening with your roast. You might not agree with that and I could be wrong, but I have experienced it myself and suggested others to try when they are trying to determine if it is their roast or brewing and they were surprised with the results. I really love immersion brewing. :-)
Thanks for the kind and encouraging words and for your comments!
Is there a reason you do not us the fast drum speed while roasting in the Behmor?
Hi Stanley, Thanks for your question. I did not use the faster drum speed on this roast for a couple of reasons which I'll share in a second. If you look at the comments area of the "behmor recipe" video I did a while ago, you will see some interesting discussion about the effectiveness of the drum speed. The conversation led to the topic of the beans being pulled up the back of the drum for the radiant heat to roast the beans faster. I had not really thought of this before that discussion. I was using the drum speed to promote convection. So, I'm a little torn/confused about how and when I should use the drum speed based on my roasting objectives.
Having said that, let me give my reasons why I didn't change the drum speed for this particular roast.
1. I usually increase drum speed after dry. I didn't this time because I had a lot of heat already pushing the roast along and needed to slow it down as I transitioned into the browning phase. I wanted to get my 30% time in that phase and if I turned up the drum, i could have potentially sped up the roast and I didn't want to do that after dry.
2. I didn't use the faster drum during dry because I wanted to be sure I wasn't just roasting the outside of the beans with the IR light. Again, that whole "dragging the beans up the back of the drum" thing was on my mind and I didn't want to "toast" the outside of the beans with the IR heat. I wanted to ensure a fully developed bean rather than a dark bean on the outside and underdeveloped on the inside? Am I right in my thinking about this? I don't know, but that was what I was thinking at during the roast.
Will I ever increase the drum speed on my behmor again? Yes, I will used it as a tool to help me keep on track with my roast times. If I am behind and i need a little push, I will increase the drum. What do you think?
Great video Mike, thanks so much for presenting this. When you started the roast, you pressed 1/2 (batch size), P1 (auto profile), then START. Why did you need to press P1, especially if you were going to be doing a manual roast? On the 1600, do you have to specify an auto roast before you can go manual? On the Behmor 2000 AB+ if no auto profile is pressed (i.e. just pressing 1/2 then START), it will use P1 by default. P1 is just a 100% power for the entire roast time.
Maybe the 1600 and the 2000 work differently? I know they do with regard to over-heating. From tests I have run, if the B temperature tries to go above about 320 F, the 2000 will automatically begin duty-cycle heating. Continuous full-power (100%) heating will not occur again until the temperature drops to a certain point (275 F seen on my tests).
Hi Lou, the 1600 plus manual says:
"Begin a roast (Weight - desired, then Press Start), once a roast has begun at any point press either P1 - P5 to go into Manual mode"
So, in order to start the roast you have to select the weight and then press a p button. Then the roast starts in that selected profiles auto mode. Then, with the roast already started you press one of the P profile buttons to go into the manual mode. I'm second guessing myself, I thought if I don't press a profile button it won't let me.... I'll double check.
As far as 325 goes, i could find no temperature mentioned in the manual BUT I have experience the roaster displaying the Err code and ending the roast when I go over that point. Maybe it is my roaster?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Yeah, it might just be that the 2000 is a little different from the 1600. I'm thinking Behmor probably thought the modulation would be a better alternative to shutting down a roast when the temp got too high.
My manual for the 2000 mentions neither a maximum temperature, nor a point where heating modulation occurs. The 350 F and 275 F I mentioned above are just what I observed after running some tests. Sometime I'll have to pass along the graphs I recorded when doing those empty drum temperature tests.
Sounds good Lou. Thank you!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab My 1600+ doesn't require a P button to start. Just weight, start and then P5 for manual.
@@moorejl57 thanks for sharing. It might have done that out of habit I guess. I want to make sure I am in the auto mode and then switch to P5 for the manual mode....
Did you let the beans degas before you ground and used them? I roasted Columbian decaf beans by using a recipe in one of your other videos and was wondering how long I should wait before grinding the beans! Thanks for the video! In inherited a behmore 1600 plus and roasted beans a while ago and they were horrible. I didn’t have to confidence to try again until I found your videos! Thank you!!
Thanks for watching ctatis0917. Yes, I usually wait a day or 2 before I drink my roasted coffee. Ultimately it depends on the coffee type and the roast level. Higher density coffee takes longer to degas as well as lighter roasts. How dark did you go? That would depend on rest time. Honestly you could start drinking the coffee the next day if you like. Just about every coffee I roast can be drank the next day. It might not taste as good as it would in another day or 2 but it's not like it will be bad, maybe just a little thin and flat.
Let me know how your coffee tastes? How did you like your roasting experience following my video? Did your roaster perform the same? There will always be some differences between roasters including temperatures, roasting environment and of course the beans themselves. Adjustments will always be necessary.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab thanks so much for the response!
I couldn’t wait and tried it this morning. It was delicious!! I followed the roasting recipe video you posted a few months ago. I roasted 2 batches: Columbian decaf and Guatemalan.
I used Guatemalan beans I ordered from sweet Maria’s. It took about 6:30 for the first crack and then I stopped it maybe a min after. The light in the behmor was a little on the warmer side, so the beans looked darker than they were. I tried it this morning and it was absolutely delicious! Very very smooth, albeit a little flat. But it was still a very tasty cup of coffee. I can’t wait to try more tomorrow.
The Columbian decaf beans were roasted until they were darker than I was expecting, but that coffee was just as delightful.
I believe it performed well. The roasting time was 7:30 for 1/4 pound of coffee (I didn’t want to go more than that, as I’m trying to get the hang of it).
Thank you for the very detailed videos! I can’t wait to roast the espresso blend (sweet Maria’s blend)!
Decaf seems to look darker than it really is. Glad you are enjoying your roasting experience with the Behmor!
Hello i would like to know you speak about degrees is that in fahrenheit or celsius?
hello tommy. the temperatures I share in this video are in Fahrenheit. I have done a couple of behmor videos that include both Celsius and Fahrenheit. here is a link to one of them -
th-cam.com/video/cxEkrtmIXfY/w-d-xo.html
We should suggest to the app developer to add a 'Dry' button and at the end calculate and display the percentages of the time spent in each of the three phases. Also wondering was the the double-warmup done to lessen the stress on the unit from restarting the machine to roast without a cooldown vs the simpler method of just letting the machine warm up to 250 once? Was that done on a haunch (for longevity of the machine) and what do you think of just a single warmup to 250 for less hassle?
Hello Andraio, it would be nice to see the event and phase percentages feature on the Behmore but I doubt that will ever happen.
As far as the warm up goes, I do a double to 250 to make sure all of the insides are really hot. This gives me a head start as far as a “charge temperature”. I always include the chaff tray in my pre warm but not the drum. I don’t go over 250 for warm up because it is hard on the machine . A single warm up is good. Try both and see if it makes a difference for you.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab I meant a 'Dry' button on the phone app, not the Behmor. That would be easy to code and could calculate and instantly show how much time the middle (browning) phase should last given (either assuming a standard percent for dry, say 50 % or add up/down arrow widgets(buttons) to nudge the dry percent up or down a few percent) the different optional percentages like it shows for the development phase and ofcourse at the end it could then display the percentages of all three phases) you calculated by hand at the end for you.. As far as the warm up I was just curious how you decided two warmups, first to 200 then to 250, is better than just letting it heat up to 250 once..? Is this based on some science or you just felt it would heat up the machine more substantially than one warmup to 250 and do you believe two ramped-up warmups are gentler on the machine than just one? Thanks as always and enjoy watching your videos.
Hi Andraio, sorry I missed your reply. The warm up done twice was based on my experience with warming up my drum roaster. The roasting chamber and chaff tray are sources of heat at the beginning of the roast. My drum roaster idles at around 400 degrees so the metal chasis, drum and other parts can soak up the heat. On the Behmor I will do a warmup to about 250, hit the stop button, let it sit for a couple of minutes with the door closed and the chaff tray inside and then when I am ready to do my roast, do the second warm up and then charge the roaster. It sure can't hurt AND I know that opening the door to install the drum will cause some heat loss. If you watch my most recent roast with the Behmor, notice the "B" temp just after the roast starts. Not too much temperature loss 🙂
can you point us to how to replace the Behmor light with a white LED?
Thanks for your message. I’ve never had to replace mine. I do use a led flashlight to see better inside. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Have you contacted Behmor?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab yes, it turns out that LED bulbs can't stand the heat, so I', mounting an LED goose neck magnetically on the top so I can have a continuous LED flashlight effect
Great idea Arno. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Mike. I find your videos very helpful as I journey along in my home coffee roasting experience. So I'm noticing that while I'm watching you roast on different roasters, that there is a big temperature variation between the different style roasters. Like on your Bemohr you can only get up to 320F but on your drum roaster you get up to 400F+ and on the air roasters the temperatures get closer to 500F. My question is; Do the different temperatures on the different roasters affect the end cup?
That is a great question Theo AND a very good observation. Let's assume those temperatures are accurate. I think if there is a different in the cup it is because of roasting profiles and length of roast. Air roasters roast quicker. I've experienced this personally. Behmors and some other home roasting machines roast slower. This will affect taste in the cup. There is a debate about air roasting vs drum and if there is a difference in taste but again, I think most of this comes down to time over temperature within the roast profile. That will affect the end cup. What are you roasting with?
@@VirtualCoffeeLab
I am roasting on kind-of-a-Bemohr. I have an oven and it's got a rotisserie option, so I mounted a drum in it. It works great, except the drum speed is like 5-10 rpm and I think that gives me a little uneven roast. But the coffee still tastes very good. I can get it up to 500F but I've stayed in the 400F range. I'm wondering why it takes me just as long at 400F to roast 120g of beans as it takes you on the Bemohr to roast ½ a pound @ 300F. I charge at around 400F. Could you explain more about time over-temperature, please?
ok, that context is helpful. Heat is delivered very differently in the behmor. It uses those orange quartz coil type elements to provide heat. Imaging the old foot warmer type portable heat units for a small room that run off your home electric. This is very similar and generates a "radiant" heat that heats up the roasting environment BUT also applies radiant heat directly onto the beans. This intense radiant heat is on the beans as well as heat in the air inside the behmor. So the beans are in that hamster cage type drum and the radiant light/heat is shining directly on the beans.
On your rotisserie, there isn't the same type of intense radiant heat so that is a pretty big factor why you see 320 on the temp. If I were to stick a real thermometer in the behmor I think you would see much higher temps. As a matter of fact I know that to be true because I have done it. I would not focus on directly comparing temperatures, but use them as a reference to understand increases and decreases within your profile. Does that help address your question? Let me know.
Just to add the time over temperature part of your question, the general idea of roasting beans and crafting how they taste is based on how you apply heat over time..... both total time of the roast, time within each of the phases and ultimately the final drop temperature (roast level). You have already observed in a couple of my videos how the temps are all different based on the device I am using BUT looking past that at the total roast time spent in a particular video and how the phase percentages differ is really what matters when it comes to taste. I talk about this in my video "how to roast sweet and flavorful coffee".
Yes, that answers my question. Using the temperature as a tool and not getting too hung up on what the numbers say is something I've learned from watching roasting clips. So long as the coffee tastes good. The only temp reference I have right now is the temperature adjustment dial. Where would be the best spot to place a probe? I can't put it inside the spinning drum because that wouldn't end up nice.
Normally the probe is in the bean mass. Because of the design, that isn't possible so placing the probe close to the same height as the beans within the roasting environment would be my guess. At least you would see temps your beans would be exposed to.... How are you able to control your phase times? You might need to consider doing some tests with your temperature dial. Try and get your heat to maintain the same temp so you can get your beans to dry in say..... 5 minutes. Mark that setting on your dial. Then lower your heat so it takes 3 more minutes to get your beans to first crack. Then, lower your heat just a little more so it takes 2 minutes for a 20% development. These marks are now reference points and you can use your temp probe and those marks as references to guide your roast. What do you think?
Hi Mike,I was just wondering if I follow your numbers and times and percentages that you have shown,would this formula work with a Jamaican blue mountain bean? I own Behmor as well.Thanks
Hi Joe, with all of my roasts, phase percentages are really important. Total roast time is equally important. So, generally speaking yes, if you follow my video, and hit the phase times and total roast time. When you roast a different coffee, there will be some differences how the beans react to heat. So, your roast temps and times will vary and so will the results. Plus, some coffees will require a different approach to optimize flavors. Does that make sense?
For this roast, did you have to let it rest for a few days or so before brewing? Is there a difference in time between roast roast brew date when roasting for espresso brewing? I’ve roasted in my old Behmor 1600 Plus for years but never knew how to change my recipe for my espresso machine.
I usually let my coffee rest for a couple days. Darker roasts usually require shorter rest periods than lighter roasts. This specific roast is a fully developed medium/dark roast. You could drink this coffee the next day and it would taste good but it might taste better on day 2 and best at day 3. It
Might be interesting for you to try and taste the difference on each of these days and let me know what you experience. Enjoy your coffee Lori!
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Ok, awesome! I fired up my ole Behmor 1600 Plus we bought new in 2015. But the last couple of years I literally put it on the back burner because the display panel numbers starting going out and I had no idea what numbers were on it. Half of the light bars were just gone and I didn’t want to hassle with replacing the control panel. I drug it out today, did a hard burn refresh. Roasted 1/4 lb. of Colombian today but it two P2 cycles to reach medium roast. It does smell nice though, kind of chocolatey. It’s sealed up tight in a mason jar resting. I just wanted to test the ole Behmor out but too frustrating. So I caved in today and ordered the newest one, the 2000AB Plus. It better be worth it! 🫣 lol
Congrats on your new roaster! I'm sure it will help you roast some great coffee.
@@VirtualCoffeeLab Thank you! It should be here Thursday. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Why are my silver skins catching fire towards the end of my 10 min P1 roast on a 200 g ?
Thanks for your question. In the auto mode, P1 you are using a lot of heat. This in combination with only 200 grams of beans will cause your roast to move quickly. This in combination with the chaff coming off could be part of the issue. Are you roasting a dried process coffee? These tend to have more chaff. Are you roasting into second crack? This is another contributor to seeing these types of events. Are you seeing embers or is your chaff collector catching fire?
Would I use similar temps to roast on a Gene Cafe? Just wondering if it would be different since it's convection vs radiant heat in the Bemore. My wife and I primarily drink espresso and I'm learning to roast on the Gene Cafe.
Hi Jay, thanks for watching my video. The short answer is i don't think so. I don't have any direct experience with the genie cafe but the concept of good development for espresso roasts and even my percentages for the roasting phases can apply. You should experiment with your times and temperatures for dry, browning and development and then manage your temps over time and then get busy roasting :-) Let me know how it goes.
Would you lower the charge temperature/preheat when roasting swiss water decaf or peaberry? if so shat temp do you suggest?
Generally speaking, I approach a decaf in the same way I do a dry process coffee. They can be a little more sensitive to heat because they are more Portia because of the processing the beans go through. So if we are talking a preheat on a behmor, it’s not that critical. What are you currently pre-warming to for a dry process? How long are your roasts taking?
What roasting app are you using? What's the advantage?
The app used in this video is the "Coffee Roasting Timer" which is free and displays the development time and percentages so when you hit first crack you mark that in the app and it calculates the development phase percentages and times. Here is the app link coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/
What was the phone app used here?
Hi Gary, thanks for watching. The coffee timer app is free and the link is in the description of this video.
I found the app using your link above. Is this app available for the IOS/iPhone?
The app is to be used in your phone browser. For IOS, click this link coffeeroastingtimer.github.io/ and you will have the timer displayed and ready to use.
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You said degrees but your behmor is in F not C
Hello Coffee Life. Yep degrees can be F or C. So, 32 degrees f or 0 degrees c. I live in the US so we use F.