I think that not all SR540's are created the same. It also depends on the outlet you plug into in your home. After 6 months of trial & error, I've found best results from keeping power at 1 and fan at 9 for first 4:00 minutes (drying stage) or so and then decreasing fan to 7 and gradually ramping up power every 30s to 1 min. My best roasts come out when I hit FC around 8:00 (typically around 405-410* F on the machine's built-in environmental temperature gauge) and then allow for 1:00 - 1:30 of development time before initiating the cool-down. It can be challenging but once you get the hang of it, it is extremely enjoyable so stick with it!
I find it fun and rewarding to roast at home because you can experiment with the process endlessly and find flavors that are satisfying to you. One person's defect is another's favorite flavor, and I think it is wonderful that so much diversity of flavor can be achieved. I have enjoyed using a whisk and a pot on the stovetop. I have had some good roasts and bad roasts, gradually finding what worked for me. I like to combine a light-medium roast with beans that have barely begun to brown, making two separate batches and putting them together.
Thank you for this video, I have been looking for this info, since I took a course in roasting with a big drum roaster and haven't been able to replicate what I learned there since I got the fresh roast for home roasting! I had the same problem of not getting to a complete first crack on my first 3 attempts, I will apply this knowledge for my 4th today and check back! hope to see more of these videos
I wear ear protection when using my ancient SR500 roaster and still roast by sound and color more than anything else. A laser thermometer and a cookie sheet are my trusted companions. I have yet to ruin a roast in over 4 years. Ethiopian beans are my favorite. I also own a Behmor roaster but have yet to use it as the instructions are long and tedious and took all the fun out if it.
When you purchase your beans, do you get the ones for the type of roast you like best of do you just roast them to your preference no matter if the bag says light, med, City or full City + ?
Now I'm on the fence about roasting coffee at home, love the video but still the process looks intimidating. Also I'm already over the top about coffee according to my family 😅.
Haha you will never find the end of the coffee rabbit hole my friend! Roasting is certainly a big step, but it's super fun. Also best if you can look around first to find a local roaster who is willing to sell you green beans consistently. It's no fun to buy all the gear and realise you've gotta pay a premium to ship green beans to you! I've got a shop that sells me 2lb at a time for 8-10CAD per pound. Still more expensive than they are probably buying it for around 5-7 a pound. But STILL half the price of a roasted bag of beans for sure haha anyway something to consider
@@CoffeeTimeJR That's right coffee is a never ending adventure 😀. I already buy form my local roaster and they sell green beans as well so that shouldn't be a problem. Roasted Coffee cost around $5 usd dollars per pound (pretty affordable). Maybe if I'lldo it myself isn't as cost effective but could be worth it at the end. Also on the note here in Mexico a bag of specialty coffee ($10 to $17 per pound) cost less than a bag of Lavazza ($18 per pound) or other famous commercial brands like Illy ($20 per pound) that's so expensive here that people think is nice coffee.
@@Needletalk woah interesting !! Perhaps it isnt as cost effective where you are... so I would look instead on building up your brew bar and getting all the fancy gear :P if there are good roasters you like, then you just make sure you do the brewing well and let the pros roast if it cost too much!
@@CoffeeTimeJR Yeah, I'm happy with my setup at the moment but definitely is room for improvement, I'm not a pro barista by any means so my skill set also has to get better. And imports are expensive as hell as well, so for instance a Gaggia Classic Pro here cost around $650 dollars wich is a lot more than the original retail price so is also a little bit of a hassle to buy the nicer gear. 😅. Pd: You should have a IG account for the channel, should be more interactive than YT 🙂. Appreciate a lot your advice 👌.
Great video, thank you! I'm going to try a 3-5 day rest as suggested. I've been storing beans in mason jars brewing day after. What is your method for resting/storing your roasted beans?
Hey! Thanks for watching :) Typically I store my beans in an airtight container away from sunlight, moisture, etc. It's very unlikely that the pressure of Co2 offgassing will explode any storage containers, including glass or plastic. So i think using mason jars is all good! It's nice though to open it once in a while and displace some of that built up Co2 if you don't have a valve to get rid of it. Letting it rest and have some exposure to oxygen can still be crucial to flavor
Oh boy... I've always wanted to brew beer!! Perhaps too many hobbies though haha. Perhaps you could justify it by saying you want to roast coffee to infuse in your beer ;) trick it in to 1 hobby!!
@@CoffeeTimeJR We do grow our own hops,there's a farm that grows grains they sell to the local beer supply store and we've used local coffee roasters beans to make a coffee and donut stout. That's about as close to shopping local as you can get ☕🍻🤟🏻
Hey! For coffee in general, I often start with Reddit. It has great communities like r/coffee and r/espresso. They are usually open to any questions or comments. For a more in depth coffee experience you could consider becoming a patron of Coffee ad Astra which is run by Jonathan Gagne. You get access to his discord where they talk nerdy coffee science. For roasting I am not too sure... I've used reddit, but ive also watched videos on youtube by Sweet Marias that I found useful
It's actually from a coffee shop here in Vancouver, BC called Revolver. It's very subtle but there is actually a little "R" after the "Coffee" on the shirt, and it's their logo
I've been following guidlelines set down by virtual coffee lab youtube channel. He shoots for a 4 minute dry phase, another 4 minutes to first crack (FC), followed by 1 to 2 minutes after FC. The long dry phase was confusing to me at first, mainly because I didn't understand why you'd need a dry phase lasting that long. But apparently there are maillard reactions that begin at around 284 degrees. So those reactions are taking place during the dry phase. I'm still working on trying to get the dry phase to last that long. High fan and low heat (heat setting of 1) will give you the longest dry phase, but even then it's not lasting 4 minutes. I'll admit I have not done a taste test of a roast with a shorter dry phase compared to a longer. Just going by what virtual coffee lab suggesst and the fact that maillard reactions are occurring during this phase. Has anyone out there compared shorter dry phase with longer on the SR540?
I have experimented with letting mine run without the lid for the first few minutes and the fan on 9, heat on 1. It's about the only way I could get the drying phase to close to 4 mins.
@@optimisticpessimist. yes, that's what I do. I actually always have the lid off. I do the roast outside the house on the patio in the backyard because I'm not a fan of the way the house smells when I roast indoors. I use temperature on the SR 540 as my guide. Dry end should occur at around 330 degrees F, so I shoot for that to occur at the 3 to 4 minute mark. Then I try to get the temp to around 400F at around the 6 1/2 to 7 minute mark because that's the temp that First Crack begins. Once FC is going I try to keep the temp between 410 and 420. I usually go only 1 minute into FC, sometimes 1 1/2 minutes if I want a darker roast. I mark the beginning of FC when several cracks happen close together, not when I hear the first crack because that single crack or two is often an outlier and the real FC may not begin for another 15 or 30 seconds. I find Sweet Marias Roast Color Card to be helpful for determining roast degree, not just the colors on the card but also the percentage weight loss. I use the latter for determining the roast level. The way I manage the heat is I start at Heat 1, Fan 9. When I need more heat (need temperature to move higher), I increase the Heat number. I'm usually at Heat 9 when the Temp hits 370 or 380, so to get more heat at that point, I reduce the Fan to 8. Sometimes I need to go down to 7 or even 6 to get the Temp to 410 to 420. Having to reduce the Fan speed to get the temp hot enough may be due to my roasting outside with an extension cord. But it works this way, so I'm happy with it.
@@optimisticpessimist. yes. I'm outside, so no need to use the chaff collector. I just let it blow out the top and into the backyard. Also I made an extension tube of sorts by using a can that tomatoes came in. I used the can opener to take both top and bottom off the can. It fits right on top of the glass tube. I was a little loose, so I put a layer of aluminum foil around the bottom edge of the can to make the fit between the can and the glass a little more snug. I don't know whether the extension tube is needed. I don't believe the fan is strong enough to blow coffee beans over the top of the glass tube, but with the extender on, I don't need to worry about that.
@@pimacanyon6208 interesting. Your temps are pretty much in line with what I'm getting. I also driled a hole in the lid and I stuck a digtal candy thermometer inside to be able to get a bean temp measurement.
Yes that's what I've been doing recently. It's also what most other people are recommending, even Sweet Maria's. Tends to work better than having a super hot machine and dropping the beans where they get scorched
@@CoffeeTimeJR Once commenter stated that the SR540 should be cooled 30 minutes between batches. Perhaps the reason is for achieving a desired flavor profile versus limiting damage to the machine.
@@CoffeeTimeJR yes. I have the sr800 and the 12 inch razzo extension. I am going to use it for my first time very soon, just looking for tips and a general good method for it :)
@@adamwolff9260 That's so exciting!! I would definitely recommend for these types of air roasters that you be careful with the amount of coffee you use. It is hard to guess with the extended tubes from Razzo, but you'll find what works for you eventually. If you use too little coffee the fan doesn't actually build up enough heat, and if you use too much coffee then the beans don't move and they are roasted unevenly. Just find that sweet spot where beans move continuously but also where you can easily get the heat to at least 410-420
Usually I'm around 5-6 minutes. It's a decent time for a small batch, although I'd maybe consider going a little longer if I was able to stretch out the roast but not burn it.
The ground coffee forms a high, dry dome in the blooming phase. There seems to be a lot of gas. The coffee is invariably undrinkable. What temperature is first crack usually at?
@@mvetrano in my experience, its because the more beans there are the more the airflow is restricted. I find this has an effect of suffocating the heat source, and if it's harder to pump out the air then it seems to increase heat. This is my guess for what is happening though. Same sort of idea when you reduce the fan speed. The beans block the airflow more, spend more time lower in the chamberand the buildup of heat is being expelled less, causing heat to rise
@@mvetrano but also I realized 411 should still be enough to cause first crack.. are you reaching that temp early enough? Try using lower fans and max heat until you reach 410 and coast for a bit. Drop temps as you hear cracking. I hope it works for you!
If you roast at home, tell me about your favorite roast of all time!
Thank you for making the great video. Can’t wait to use my roaster.
Barbara
I think that not all SR540's are created the same. It also depends on the outlet you plug into in your home. After 6 months of trial & error, I've found best results from keeping power at 1 and fan at 9 for first 4:00 minutes (drying stage) or so and then decreasing fan to 7 and gradually ramping up power every 30s to 1 min. My best roasts come out when I hit FC around 8:00 (typically around 405-410* F on the machine's built-in environmental temperature gauge) and then allow for 1:00 - 1:30 of development time before initiating the cool-down. It can be challenging but once you get the hang of it, it is extremely enjoyable so stick with it!
How much do you roast at a time?
What dryend temperature ?
I find it fun and rewarding to roast at home because you can experiment with the process endlessly and find flavors that are satisfying to you. One person's defect is another's favorite flavor, and I think it is wonderful that so much diversity of flavor can be achieved.
I have enjoyed using a whisk and a pot on the stovetop. I have had some good roasts and bad roasts, gradually finding what worked for me. I like to combine a light-medium roast with beans that have barely begun to brown, making two separate batches and putting them together.
Thank you for this video, I have been looking for this info, since I took a course in roasting with a big drum roaster and haven't been able to replicate what I learned there since I got the fresh roast for home roasting! I had the same problem of not getting to a complete first crack on my first 3 attempts, I will apply this knowledge for my 4th today and check back! hope to see more of these videos
Thank you! My SR 540 is on the way, and thanks to your comprehensive video, I feel well prepared!!
Awesome! Have fun with it!!
I wear ear protection when using my ancient SR500 roaster and still roast by sound and color more than anything else. A laser thermometer and a cookie sheet are my trusted companions. I have yet to ruin a roast in over 4 years. Ethiopian beans are my favorite. I also own a Behmor roaster but have yet to use it as the instructions are long and tedious and took all the fun out if it.
Thanks so much for this video. Very straight forward and perfect starter tips. I’m about to order the SR800 w/factory extension. Well done sir!
Thank you Scott! I hope you have a great time roasting. It's a real joy to drink your own roasts each morning. Something extra special!
Thank you! I really appreciate this :) small roaster here
Thanks for watching!
I am on the list for the 800 when they release the new production next month I hope.
Thank you for the valuable information.
When you purchase your beans, do you get the ones for the type of roast you like best of do you just roast them to your preference no matter if the bag says light, med, City or full City + ?
Thank you for the video!
Now I'm on the fence about roasting coffee at home, love the video but still the process looks intimidating. Also I'm already over the top about coffee according to my family 😅.
Haha you will never find the end of the coffee rabbit hole my friend! Roasting is certainly a big step, but it's super fun. Also best if you can look around first to find a local roaster who is willing to sell you green beans consistently. It's no fun to buy all the gear and realise you've gotta pay a premium to ship green beans to you!
I've got a shop that sells me 2lb at a time for 8-10CAD per pound. Still more expensive than they are probably buying it for around 5-7 a pound. But STILL half the price of a roasted bag of beans for sure haha anyway something to consider
@@CoffeeTimeJR That's right coffee is a never ending adventure 😀.
I already buy form my local roaster and they sell green beans as well so that shouldn't be a problem. Roasted Coffee cost around $5 usd dollars per pound (pretty affordable). Maybe if I'lldo it myself isn't as cost effective but could be worth it at the end.
Also on the note here in Mexico a bag of specialty coffee ($10 to $17 per pound) cost less than a bag of Lavazza ($18 per pound) or other famous commercial brands like Illy ($20 per pound) that's so expensive here that people think is nice coffee.
@@Needletalk woah interesting !! Perhaps it isnt as cost effective where you are... so I would look instead on building up your brew bar and getting all the fancy gear :P if there are good roasters you like, then you just make sure you do the brewing well and let the pros roast if it cost too much!
@@CoffeeTimeJR Yeah, I'm happy with my setup at the moment but definitely is room for improvement, I'm not a pro barista by any means so my skill set also has to get better. And imports are expensive as hell as well, so for instance a Gaggia Classic Pro here cost around $650 dollars wich is a lot more than the original retail price so is also a little bit of a hassle to buy the nicer gear. 😅.
Pd: You should have a IG account for the channel, should be more interactive than YT 🙂.
Appreciate a lot your advice 👌.
Are you still roasting with the SR540?
Great video, thank you! I'm going to try a 3-5 day rest as suggested. I've been storing beans in mason jars brewing day after. What is your method for resting/storing your roasted beans?
Hey! Thanks for watching :) Typically I store my beans in an airtight container away from sunlight, moisture, etc. It's very unlikely that the pressure of Co2 offgassing will explode any storage containers, including glass or plastic. So i think using mason jars is all good!
It's nice though to open it once in a while and displace some of that built up Co2 if you don't have a valve to get rid of it. Letting it rest and have some exposure to oxygen can still be crucial to flavor
My big hobby is brewing beer which I've gotten quite good at. I think my wife might snap if I take up another hobby😒🍻🤣 Thanks for the video ☕
Oh boy... I've always wanted to brew beer!! Perhaps too many hobbies though haha. Perhaps you could justify it by saying you want to roast coffee to infuse in your beer ;) trick it in to 1 hobby!!
@@CoffeeTimeJR We do grow our own hops,there's a farm that grows grains they sell to the local beer supply store and we've used local coffee roasters beans to make a coffee and donut stout. That's about as close to shopping local as you can get ☕🍻🤟🏻
@@donk026 that's incredible Don! I love shopping local and making thos connections. So worth it
Could you please suggest some groups online that are best to discuss roasting, tasting coffee etc.
Hey! For coffee in general, I often start with Reddit. It has great communities like r/coffee and r/espresso. They are usually open to any questions or comments.
For a more in depth coffee experience you could consider becoming a patron of Coffee ad Astra which is run by Jonathan Gagne. You get access to his discord where they talk nerdy coffee science.
For roasting I am not too sure... I've used reddit, but ive also watched videos on youtube by Sweet Marias that I found useful
@@CoffeeTimeJR Thank you!
Where's your Tshirt from? I like it!
It's actually from a coffee shop here in Vancouver, BC called Revolver. It's very subtle but there is actually a little "R" after the "Coffee" on the shirt, and it's their logo
I've been following guidlelines set down by virtual coffee lab youtube channel. He shoots for a 4 minute dry phase, another 4 minutes to first crack (FC), followed by 1 to 2 minutes after FC. The long dry phase was confusing to me at first, mainly because I didn't understand why you'd need a dry phase lasting that long. But apparently there are maillard reactions that begin at around 284 degrees. So those reactions are taking place during the dry phase. I'm still working on trying to get the dry phase to last that long. High fan and low heat (heat setting of 1) will give you the longest dry phase, but even then it's not lasting 4 minutes. I'll admit I have not done a taste test of a roast with a shorter dry phase compared to a longer. Just going by what virtual coffee lab suggesst and the fact that maillard reactions are occurring during this phase. Has anyone out there compared shorter dry phase with longer on the SR540?
I have experimented with letting mine run without the lid for the first few minutes and the fan on 9, heat on 1. It's about the only way I could get the drying phase to close to 4 mins.
@@optimisticpessimist. yes, that's what I do. I actually always have the lid off. I do the roast outside the house on the patio in the backyard because I'm not a fan of the way the house smells when I roast indoors. I use temperature on the SR 540 as my guide. Dry end should occur at around 330 degrees F, so I shoot for that to occur at the 3 to 4 minute mark. Then I try to get the temp to around 400F at around the 6 1/2 to 7 minute mark because that's the temp that First Crack begins. Once FC is going I try to keep the temp between 410 and 420. I usually go only 1 minute into FC, sometimes 1 1/2 minutes if I want a darker roast. I mark the beginning of FC when several cracks happen close together, not when I hear the first crack because that single crack or two is often an outlier and the real FC may not begin for another 15 or 30 seconds. I find Sweet Marias Roast Color Card to be helpful for determining roast degree, not just the colors on the card but also the percentage weight loss. I use the latter for determining the roast level.
The way I manage the heat is I start at Heat 1, Fan 9. When I need more heat (need temperature to move higher), I increase the Heat number. I'm usually at Heat 9 when the Temp hits 370 or 380, so to get more heat at that point, I reduce the Fan to 8. Sometimes I need to go down to 7 or even 6 to get the Temp to 410 to 420. Having to reduce the Fan speed to get the temp hot enough may be due to my roasting outside with an extension cord. But it works this way, so I'm happy with it.
@pimacanyon6208 so you leave the lid off for the entire roast?
@@optimisticpessimist. yes. I'm outside, so no need to use the chaff collector. I just let it blow out the top and into the backyard. Also I made an extension tube of sorts by using a can that tomatoes came in. I used the can opener to take both top and bottom off the can. It fits right on top of the glass tube. I was a little loose, so I put a layer of aluminum foil around the bottom edge of the can to make the fit between the can and the glass a little more snug. I don't know whether the extension tube is needed. I don't believe the fan is strong enough to blow coffee beans over the top of the glass tube, but with the extender on, I don't need to worry about that.
@@pimacanyon6208 interesting. Your temps are pretty much in line with what I'm getting. I also driled a hole in the lid and I stuck a digtal candy thermometer inside to be able to get a bean temp measurement.
Excellent :)
Thanks for watching !!
Are you saying that you should start with a cold machine, and drop the beans in the chamber before starting it?
Yes that's what I've been doing recently. It's also what most other people are recommending, even Sweet Maria's. Tends to work better than having a super hot machine and dropping the beans where they get scorched
@@CoffeeTimeJR Once commenter stated that the SR540 should be cooled 30 minutes between batches. Perhaps the reason is for achieving a desired flavor profile versus limiting damage to the machine.
@@portlandreviewer6582 yea! I think it could be both. But probably has a lot to do with consistency
Where did you buy the FreshRoast SR540?
I bought mine here: www.pre-umber.ca/products/freshroast-sr540
If you want the extended tube modification, you'll need to find Razzo Roasting on Etsy.
@@CoffeeTimeJR Thanks!
Going to get an extension tube?
Mine in the video is an extended version yes! Are you thinking about it ?
@@CoffeeTimeJR yes. I have the sr800 and the 12 inch razzo extension. I am going to use it for my first time very soon, just looking for tips and a general good method for it :)
@@adamwolff9260 That's so exciting!! I would definitely recommend for these types of air roasters that you be careful with the amount of coffee you use. It is hard to guess with the extended tubes from Razzo, but you'll find what works for you eventually.
If you use too little coffee the fan doesn't actually build up enough heat, and if you use too much coffee then the beans don't move and they are roasted unevenly. Just find that sweet spot where beans move continuously but also where you can easily get the heat to at least 410-420
How long your roast ?
Usually I'm around 5-6 minutes. It's a decent time for a small batch, although I'd maybe consider going a little longer if I was able to stretch out the roast but not burn it.
I need to be able to roast outside in cold temps, my corn popper isn’t cutting it. Anyone with experience in colder temps with these roasters?
This is a tough one! I wonder how a Behmor might do with retaining heat inside and not losing it
I can't get the roaster over 411. Consequently none of the beans ever rash first crack:( is there a setting to increase the heat?
Hmm beyond 9? No.. but you can try dropping the fan earlier on, and try using a larger batch. Both of these things will cause more heat.
@@CoffeeTimeJR I was using 130 g, but the instructions said 113 maximum...how is it that a larger batch will yield higher temperatures?
The ground coffee forms a high, dry dome in the blooming phase. There seems to be a lot of gas. The coffee is invariably undrinkable. What temperature is first crack usually at?
@@mvetrano in my experience, its because the more beans there are the more the airflow is restricted. I find this has an effect of suffocating the heat source, and if it's harder to pump out the air then it seems to increase heat. This is my guess for what is happening though. Same sort of idea when you reduce the fan speed. The beans block the airflow more, spend more time lower in the chamberand the buildup of heat is being expelled less, causing heat to rise
@@mvetrano but also I realized 411 should still be enough to cause first crack.. are you reaching that temp early enough? Try using lower fans and max heat until you reach 410 and coast for a bit. Drop temps as you hear cracking. I hope it works for you!