VERY helpful! I was gifted the 540 for Christmas and am just beginning to learn about roasting at home. I was initially so excited- until I started researching how to actually roast.... I've honestly been overwhelmed with all of the variation that can go on between times/temperatures/fan speeds/bean variety/etc., and disappointed with how my batches were turning out. I've watched a LOT of videos, but yours helped me really wrap my mind around the process. Thanks so much for taking the time to organize this so well- the split screen videos and the chart at the end were just what I needed to get started with a little confidence. Thanks again!
I bought a 540 a few weeks ago and definitely recommend it. Keep the load around 130 grams and you will be able to make a wide range of roasts. It is very easy to use.
dude thank you so much for this video, it helped me a lot, I have a sr540 too and I was starting at like fan 4 power 2 and I was having trouble getting to first crack now from u I have learned to bump up the heat
Thanks for the vids. I've roasting for several years. But recently got a Freshroast. been very happy with the roaster. However, I've never really roasted coffee at lighter roasts. I'm due to roast some in the next couple of days. I will have to use your methodologies.
I found with any electric roaster (besides maybe some smart roasters with a ton of sensors) in North America at least with 110-120v outlets some outlets ARE better than others and it does affect heat levels. Ambient temperatures contribute as well. If you find your roast times are too long or temperatures are too low, the best outlet to use are the ones on an electric stove, I don't know if a lot of newer models still have it but older models will have outlets on the stove, and because the stove uses a higher amp plug with less or no shared outlets (dedicated line) I think it gets the most power that way. If you use an extension cord just make sure it's a heavy duty high power thick gauge one!
Well done & informative! Just getting started home roasting and of course considering the FR sr540; wondering if you are happy with it and also if you have experience with previous models......
Thanks. Yes, happy with it. Some years ago, for a short time, I used the 300, but not the 500/700. I've also used many air poppers, Behmor, and Quest. I really like air roasted coffee so the 540 seemed like a good choice for me.
Great videos, Very helpful to know about the fan speed. i found it super intuitive after knowing that to notice that the temperature had stopped rising and to just lower the fan speed a little bit. i would never have guessed that on my own, so thank you! Do you know any way to "set it and forget it" to achieve a medium roast?
Thanks for doing each. Very interesting in the natrual you roasted to med. Couple questions if I can ask 1. How do you think this applies to the SR800 with 50 more grams to start off ? I am thinking just each step might taking a little more time ( maybe a 1minute ? ) 2. I see a minute after 1st crack begins you add heat by dropping the fan for the final minute. Is that do to the roast stalling ? Thanks
From what I've heard about the 800, it's similar but with larger batches you may want to preheat the machine (like fan 5 power 9 for a couple minutes), change to fan 9 power 9, drop in beans while it's running, then start reducing fan as soon as you see decent bean movement. Keep reducing fan every minute or so, or even faster...basically get the fan as low as you can as fast as you can without making the beans stop churning.
I start at 8/1. I've tried this method and it isn't for me, though I do decaf so that is in there. Either way I found ramping up during the dry phase slowly pays off with more control before 1st crack
All three of your videos are very helpful! I also have the Freshroast SR540. I have never used any of the bigger roasters like the Behmor or the Hot Top or Quest. Do you think the main advantage of those is bigger batch size? Or can they give better flavor, body, etc? I just ordered some Yemen Haraaz Red beans and would like to get the most out of them. Do you think the Freshroast can do the job. If so, for a light to medium roast(city+) which of your profiles would you recommend trying first? Thanks!
Thanks. I also have both the Behmor and Quest. Personally I prefer the flavors with the Fresh Roast. I also like variety so smaller batches are fine, I usually roast 4 to 6 batches at a time, different beans.
Very helpful but the beans still look greenish after roasting and still in the SR540. Must be the colour balance of the lighting. Colour looks must better in the trays.
Just upgraded my old SR300 to the SR540 and having trouble duplicating results. Was roasting about 4.5 minutes for light roast with the SR300. Do you know what settings on the SR540 might correspond to the fixed settings on the 300? Have you tried different heat settings on the 540 and find best results by just leaving it at 9? Thanks for the great video!
I think the settings I use for the light roast in the video are going to be the closest. Most other profiles I've seen for the 540 go longer in overall roast time, not shorter. Only other suggestion is to leave heat at 9 and reduce fan to 8 at 2 minutes, then fan 7 at 3 minutes, that would shorten the time.
Thank you! I realized I could just use a digital thermometer to compare the two units and will share the results here in case anyone else is interested. The carafe from the SR540 fits onto the old SR300 so I used the same one on both machines. The SR300 (single setting for fan and heat) temperature fluctuates between 350-360F with the top off and the temperature probe suspended just above the bottom of the carafe. Several variations provide the same temperature range in the SR540. At 9,9 (fan,power) the SR540 runs at a constant 350F with the top off. Other results, each one measured after 2 minute run: (8,9) 367F; (7,9) 376F; (9,8) 350F; (9,7) 345F; (9,6) 336F; (8,8) 358F; (8,7) 355F; (8,6) 350F; (8,5) 341F. Will need to experiment to see how the larger carafe size affects the outcome but (9,9) seems a good place to start to duplicate the SR300.
Hi Keith, Very nice and informative video. I got an SR800. Any suggestion about the set up for a medium roast Sumatra FTO. Each batch 8oz. Thanks a lot
It's hard to give really specific recipes due to different line voltage, but try starting fan 9 power 9, reduce the fan one setting about each minute until you get to the color you like (or when you get close to second crack). This might be too fast but will give you a starting point or base line on how your roaster and outlet respond.
Thank you! Maybe someday I will. Best advice I can give is to work out a profile you like for a light roasted regular washed coffee (or whatever your favorite profile is, leaning toward light). Then on roasting day, run the regular bean through first to make sure nothing funny is going on with your power supply. Make sure you write down time and settings along the way, when you changed fan and power, when you ended the roast. Then assuming all goes well, run the decaf bean through and only use the time and settings, including ending the roast at the same time. Don't change the settings based on what you see and hear (or don't hear, decafs sometimes have a quiet first crack for example). So end the roast at the time and setting you normally do, not based on sound or color. Don't keep going because you didn't hear first crack, you may not hear anything. Don't pass judgment or change settings until you've brewed it and tasted. If it's a Swiss water the ending roast will look dark and kind of a non-shiny, matte type surface. If it's an EA sugar cane process, it will look a little marbly dark a D light brown and usually appears shiny, even though there may be no oil. Neither will produce chaff.
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I roasted a batch the other day (haven’t tried it yet), and NEVER heard a crack, so I’m glad I’m not crazy. Also no chaff threw me, so glad to have that verified also! 😁 I will follow your directions, and I’m sure it’ll be great because you really know what you’re doing. I have a few Costa Rican regulars and a few decafs but of course none the same, but hopefully the region at least should produce a similar result. I will update…again…thanks so much! I probably would have made a mess of a bunch of beans without your helpful videos! 👍🏻
I've done a honey gesha using the light profile basically. Started F9P9, got to about 380F on base unit display at 1 min, 400 at 2 min, let it stretch a little to 4 minutes, then did F7P7, got me up to about 450, hit cool just one minute into first crack. Came out really nice.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Thanks for the advice. Santa Sofia Gesha today - wasnt able to reach 450' at P7 (almost 20sec at 447-8 so I went to P8 to get to 1C) stayed there about 1' after. Iyo, would it have been better to Drop F6? Thanks again.☕
@@Heoi_Bikuni I like to make my last fan reduction just before crack starts. But, if I've done that, and I'm just a few degrees off target, I like to fine tune with power rather than fan. On my setup, each power setting changes temps around 8 or 9 degrees, but the fan is more like 15 to 18 degrees.
COFFEE @@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Thanks Keith. 👍Your info is on point. ☕. I'm a noob, gifting this for my In-laws. Im just trying not burn down the kitchen😂
I have my first beans arriving today a LB of Ethiopian and a LB of Colombian. I am going to do the Ethiopian the same way you did the light roast. When you say COOL from 5:00-5:30 do you mean you press Cool and leave it in for 30 seconds? Or did you take the beans out and dump them at 5:00
I mean depending on the bean and how it's progressing, I usually hit the Cool button somewhere around the 5:00 to 5:30 minute mark, give or take (using all stock equipment). You need to listen for cracks and watch the color to really decide. After I hit cool, I usually leave the beans in the roast chamber but lift off the chaff lid using gloves as soon as I can. I then let it run at Fan 9 for about 1 minute.l of the 3 min cooling cycle. After the first minute of the cooling cycle I dump beans onto a baking sheet and let it cool under a fan.
Hi, do you have any recommendations if we want to roast 2 batches of beans, what is the time interval between the 2 batches? If we roast 2nd batch without cooling down the machine, will it cause the power drop?
Multiple batches work well for me on the SR540. Just be sure run the full 3 min cooling cycle at the end of roasting. Your next batch may heat quicker since the roaster has warmed up.
The base unit display temp is usually 450 if it's a faster roast (like 5 to 6 minutes total) and maybe 425 if longer (7 to 8 minutes). When I use a bean temp probe it's about 425 to 430, with first crack around 405.
I have a similar roaster my problem is that roasting is not homogeneous some beans are partially darker or totally darker than most beans My question is can I rely upon such kind of roasters in espresso?
Hard to say without tasting. Generally speaking, air roasters have shorter overall roast times vs drums, so to get proper extraction in espresso, you might need to experiment with different profiles that go longer and maybe a bit more developed.
Just got the 540 and tried my first run with it using the fan 9 and power 9 on the medium roast you showed. Did not get anywhere near the darkness in over 20 min. I cut it off at 25 min after just reducing the fan to 8 with the power still at 9. I did not hear first crack and did not get much chaf at all. Maybe I got a dud roaster or something
I've never hit first crack at fan 9 power 9 either. I usually drop to fan 8 by around 2 to 3 minutes, then fan 7 if needed to go fully into first crack around 4 minutes. When roasting spin the dial to get temp readout. Try to get to 400 degrees on base unit by around 2 minutes and 420 by 3ish minutes, then get it up to 450 or so at 4 minutes to push into crack. You do this with fan reductions. You can leave power at 9. These machines are sensitive to line voltage and ambient temperatures. You may need to go as low as fan 6 or lower. Good luck.
Are you using an extension cord? I made this mistake initially which greatly increased roasting time (~20-25min) due to the power drop through the 100ft cord. Switched to a short cord 12gauge and roast timers match this video.
I’m curious how you would change the formula if you observed first crack coming a bit later. Specifically, for the light roast, if frost crack came 30 seconds later than what you have listed in the chart, how would you change the times for decreasing the fan and starting the cool? Would you just leave it at 99 for an additional 30 seconds?
You can adjust times based on your actual experience. Beans and your power supply will change how everything progresses. If things seem sluggish reduce fan more in order to add more heat. If crack comes sooner then just end roast based on your desired color.
I believe some roasters key off of first crack like this: They will continue roasting for 1 minute after first crack begins. Or 1 1/2 minutes, or 2 minutes, depending on roast level they are trying to achieve. Those who roast this way count the beginning of first crack when they hear several of the beans popping at once. You may get an outlier that pops early, but they don't consider first crack to have started until several beans start popping. But as Keith said, the real key is color, ending the roast when the beans are at the color that indicates the roast level you want.
I noticed that when I use my own roasts for pour over, the bloom is very large - no slurry, just a dry dome. No matter what technique I use, the end result is undrinkable. There seems to be a lot of gas left in the beans, even after a week or two. How long does it usually take for beans to degas to the point where the coffee is drinkable? I have used a few varieties with the same result. Also, would you kindly share your recipe for pour over? Finally, what is your preferred method for your morning cup? Thank you for your attention!
It might be the roast like you said, I don't have that issue of dry dome and undrinkable. On the 540 I'm normally getting the machine temp up to 450 to 460 during first crack. My usual morning coffee is made with an Aeropress using the Tim Wendleboe recipe, it's on TH-cam but basically 14 grams coffee to (200?) grams water. For V60 I like doing a 30 second bloom then use the 'several small pours' method where water level never gets high up in filter, just do 50 to 75 grams of water each pour to keep grounds level and keep adding small pours so you don't see the coffee bed until the end.
I find it to be extremely difficult to roast with this roaster. I get inconsistent results. I’m either stopping to early, or the last time I used it I let it go too long and threw out the beans. I also have a Hottop and a Behmor and far prefer them. I watched this video, and will be watching others to get more tips on managing the roasts from the SR800. It is so loud it is hard to hear the cracks. There also isn’t much time between first and second crack.
Have you tried using the chaff lid expander? I had some of the same troubles you are having, especially at the end of the roast, where chaff gets clogged in the chimney. Also make sure you make note of the display temp on the machine. If a roast is too dark, next time make sure roaster is running 10 degrees or so lower, then just keep trying batches at lower temps until you have a good result.
The beans move faster or slower but more importantly the temperature goes up or down. On my roaster if I decrease fan 1 setting the temperature in the roasting chamber goes up about 15 degrees F.
You just have to try pre-heating vs starting cold and taste and see which you prefer. For consistency some people always preheat at least 30 seconds or so.
Weird I ran those settings and never heard any cracks, I kept adding time to well over 10 minutes and no cracks, I think I have a lemon. Only time I can get first crack in the 4 minute mark is fan 6 power 9. Wth
These roasters are very sensitive to line voltage and ambient conditions (temp and humidity if roasting outside). In summer at my house my profiles all need more fan reductions than usual for example. Having said that, fan 6 is pretty low to hit first crack.... what does the display temp show (in base unit) when you hit first crack? What temp does your roaster show if you run Fan 9 Power 9 for 3 minutes with no beans, chaff lid on like normal? Mine shows about 370F currently but has been as high as 385 in non-summer months.
Hey Keith excellent video! I recently purchased a Fresh Roast sr800. My first batch was a Mexican coffee. I preheated my roaster to 350 f and charged the roaster 200g (80% capacity). My target was a 10-11 minute roast achieving city plus. I reached full yellow @5 min and began the development stage. I hit first crack @ 8:30 and dropped the beans @ 10:30 just at the end of FC. I was really happy with the color, evenness and fragrance. The first cup I brewed was surprisingly good for a first try. Roasted peanuts, cookie dough, green apple acidity. Very bright. Unfortunately after a couple of days the flavors seemed to disappear and the acidity increased to the point of being intolerable. I brew with a Hario V60 pour over. Not sure what went wrong. I would have roasted a little longer but I didn't want the beans to get any darker. Any thoughts? Thanks so much in advance!
Hard to say. Peanut sometimes is a sign of underdevelopment and/or unripe coffee cherry in the mix. Try brewing it cupping style (no filter) and see if the good flavors are still there, it might be a brewing issue if it tastes good. If not so good maybe next time you roast start with higher heat. Two minutes development time is normally plenty.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Yeah I think underdevelopment may be the case. I'll definitely try it cupping style. Thanks so much for the feedback. Cheers!
Not a lot of smoke but a good amount of fumes and particulates you can't see. With enough roasts the oils in the fumes will build up and produce a film. It's pretty common for folks in apartments for example to set off smoke alarms, not because it's really smoky but probably the build up of fumes. The fumes/residue also have caffeine so try not to roast just before bed.
Based on the recommendation, roasting time should be minimum 5 minutes. Is there a difference in taste quality between 5 minutes and 10 minutes roasting time?
I'm sensitive to baked flavors and I tend to start picking up on baked if total roast time exceeds around 7 to 8 minutes. This is for the Fresh Roast. I also have a couple of drum roasters (Quest and Behmor) and they can go longer, I'd say up to 10 min.
I did 130 grams at 9,9 for 20 min and it still didn’t look dark. Couldn’t hear the crack with the noise. Is it because I didn’t lower the fan? I’ve gone as far as 30 min on 9,9 and still not as dark, medium at most.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 I’ll try that, so far even on 30 min at the highest setting the coffee has been kind of crappy so I’m definitely doing something wrong.
I don't like the smell lingering in the house for days, so I use a heavy duty extension cord and roast outside on the patio. But I live where I can pick a time of day when it's 70 or 80 degrees outside. Another advantage to roasting outside is I don't mess with the chaff collector. I just let the chaff blow out the top.
5-7 minutes roast time? There isn't enough time for it to develop after first crack. The ROR is way too high, isn't it? These beans will most likely lack body, and will have sharp acidity.
I think it depends on what you like and what you are sensitive to. For small batch air roasting (like Ikawa, Fresh Roast) roasts can be fully developed, sweet and juicy, with pleasant acidity, in 5 to 7 minutes no problem. Personally I'm more sensitive to baked flavors, and I tend to notice them creeping in after about 7 minutes. I've done several versions of light roasts closer to 9 to 12 minutes, and nearly every one has crashed RoR type baked notes (flat, dull, hollow, roasty, papery, not sweet). Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes a lot. You just have to try several profiles and taste side by side to see what you like.
I was gonna say the same thing, people using recommend drawing out the time, drying phase at lower temps until the beans start moving then gently raise temps for first crack, this is just blasting with heat (although fan being high should limit heat buildup). It would be interesting to experiment with, fast roast vs long roast.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 That's why you're supposed to start at lower heating intensity, and slowly increase the intensity, so your ROR increases too, to stop it from having baked effects son it. Anyway, enjoy your roasting and stay caffeinated. Cheers.
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VERY helpful! I was gifted the 540 for Christmas and am just beginning to learn about roasting at home. I was initially so excited- until I started researching how to actually roast.... I've honestly been overwhelmed with all of the variation that can go on between times/temperatures/fan speeds/bean variety/etc., and disappointed with how my batches were turning out. I've watched a LOT of videos, but yours helped me really wrap my mind around the process. Thanks so much for taking the time to organize this so well- the split screen videos and the chart at the end were just what I needed to get started with a little confidence. Thanks again!
You are welcome!
You did a great demo! That is very helpful to a noob like me who wants to get started and not screw up too many times with trial & error.
Thank you very much for sharing useful settings and end product data!
just getting started, super helpful - thanks!
Awesome breakdown with metrics. Thank you!
Great video and good editing. Thanks for doing this.
Your videos are very helpful! Thank you so much!
I bought a 540 a few weeks ago and definitely recommend it. Keep the load around 130 grams and you will be able to make a wide range of roasts. It is very easy to use.
Looking at getting a 540 or 800 soon, this was a very informative video, thanks!
Thanks for sharing. This is a great video that helps me with each roast type (I just bought the roaster). Best I've seen on TH-cam.
Thank you!
Very informative. Thanks!
Very cool video. I just got this machine as a present and created my first roast. Lots of fun. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you!
Thanks so much for the videos!
good job I really enjoyed the video
I’m impressed. You really seem to have done your research on this one and are very knowledgeable.
Thank you!
Great idea to compare them all
The Nicaragua looks tasty!
Great job, nice video montage !
Thank you!
dude thank you so much for this video, it helped me a lot, I have a sr540 too and I was starting at like fan 4 power 2 and I was having trouble getting to first crack now from u I have learned to bump up the heat
Glad it helped!
great video!
I love ethiopian coffee ☕☕
You’re not biased at all 😅
PS: it’s my favourite as well.
Thanks for the vids. I've roasting for several years. But recently got a Freshroast. been very happy with the roaster. However, I've never really roasted coffee at lighter roasts. I'm due to roast some in the next couple of days. I will have to use your methodologies.
Great video, thank you!
Appreciated, thanks Keith.
Oh hey. It's Keith! Haha. Just happened to come across your video
I found with any electric roaster (besides maybe some smart roasters with a ton of sensors) in North America at least with 110-120v outlets some outlets ARE better than others and it does affect heat levels. Ambient temperatures contribute as well. If you find your roast times are too long or temperatures are too low, the best outlet to use are the ones on an electric stove, I don't know if a lot of newer models still have it but older models will have outlets on the stove, and because the stove uses a higher amp plug with less or no shared outlets (dedicated line) I think it gets the most power that way. If you use an extension cord just make sure it's a heavy duty high power thick gauge one!
Thanks for information..👍❤️
Well done & informative! Just getting started home roasting and of course considering the FR sr540; wondering if you are happy with it and also if you have experience with previous models......
Thanks. Yes, happy with it. Some years ago, for a short time, I used the 300, but not the 500/700. I've also used many air poppers, Behmor, and Quest. I really like air roasted coffee so the 540 seemed like a good choice for me.
Great videos, Very helpful to know about the fan speed. i found it super intuitive after knowing that to notice that the temperature had stopped rising and to just lower the fan speed a little bit. i would never have guessed that on my own, so thank you! Do you know any way to "set it and forget it" to achieve a medium roast?
Lowering fan speed will actually RAISE the temps.
Thanks for doing each. Very interesting in the natrual you roasted to med. Couple questions if I can ask 1. How do you think this applies to the SR800 with 50 more grams to start off ? I am thinking just each step might taking a little more time ( maybe a 1minute ? ) 2. I see a minute after 1st crack begins you add heat by dropping the fan for the final minute. Is that do to the roast stalling ? Thanks
From what I've heard about the 800, it's similar but with larger batches you may want to preheat the machine (like fan 5 power 9 for a couple minutes), change to fan 9 power 9, drop in beans while it's running, then start reducing fan as soon as you see decent bean movement. Keep reducing fan every minute or so, or even faster...basically get the fan as low as you can as fast as you can without making the beans stop churning.
I start at 8/1. I've tried this method and it isn't for me, though I do decaf so that is in there. Either way I found ramping up during the dry phase slowly pays off with more control before 1st crack
All three of your videos are very helpful! I also have the Freshroast SR540. I have never used any of the bigger roasters like the Behmor or the Hot Top or Quest. Do you think the main advantage of those is bigger batch size? Or can they give better flavor, body, etc? I just ordered some Yemen Haraaz Red beans and would like to get the most out of them. Do you think the Freshroast can do the job. If so, for a light to medium roast(city+) which of your profiles would you recommend trying first? Thanks!
Thanks. I also have both the Behmor and Quest. Personally I prefer the flavors with the Fresh Roast. I also like variety so smaller batches are fine, I usually roast 4 to 6 batches at a time, different beans.
Thanks!
Very helpful but the beans still look greenish after roasting and still in the SR540. Must be the colour balance of the lighting. Colour looks must better in the trays.
Thanks for the video, great job! What are you using to brew?
I usually do a cupping a day or two after roast, then I typically brew with an Aeropress or V60.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489, love my Aeropress! Thanks so much!
Just upgraded my old SR300 to the SR540 and having trouble duplicating results. Was roasting about 4.5 minutes for light roast with the SR300. Do you know what settings on the SR540 might correspond to the fixed settings on the 300? Have you tried different heat settings on the 540 and find best results by just leaving it at 9? Thanks for the great video!
I think the settings I use for the light roast in the video are going to be the closest. Most other profiles I've seen for the 540 go longer in overall roast time, not shorter. Only other suggestion is to leave heat at 9 and reduce fan to 8 at 2 minutes, then fan 7 at 3 minutes, that would shorten the time.
Thank you! I realized I could just use a digital thermometer to compare the two units and will share the results here in case anyone else is interested. The carafe from the SR540 fits onto the old SR300 so I used the same one on both machines. The SR300 (single setting for fan and heat) temperature fluctuates between 350-360F with the top off and the temperature probe suspended just above the bottom of the carafe. Several variations provide the same temperature range in the SR540. At 9,9 (fan,power) the SR540 runs at a constant 350F with the top off. Other results, each one measured after 2 minute run: (8,9) 367F; (7,9) 376F; (9,8) 350F; (9,7) 345F; (9,6) 336F; (8,8) 358F; (8,7) 355F; (8,6) 350F; (8,5) 341F.
Will need to experiment to see how the larger carafe size affects the outcome but (9,9) seems a good place to start to duplicate the SR300.
Hi Keith, Very nice and informative video. I got an SR800. Any suggestion about the set up for a medium roast Sumatra FTO. Each batch 8oz. Thanks a lot
It's hard to give really specific recipes due to different line voltage, but try starting fan 9 power 9, reduce the fan one setting about each minute until you get to the color you like (or when you get close to second crack). This might be too fast but will give you a starting point or base line on how your roaster and outlet respond.
Thank you so much.
PLEASE show us how to roast decaf. There is almost no information on roasting this out there…and your videos are so helpful! 😃☕️.
Thank you! Maybe someday I will. Best advice I can give is to work out a profile you like for a light roasted regular washed coffee (or whatever your favorite profile is, leaning toward light). Then on roasting day, run the regular bean through first to make sure nothing funny is going on with your power supply. Make sure you write down time and settings along the way, when you changed fan and power, when you ended the roast. Then assuming all goes well, run the decaf bean through and only use the time and settings, including ending the roast at the same time. Don't change the settings based on what you see and hear (or don't hear, decafs sometimes have a quiet first crack for example). So end the roast at the time and setting you normally do, not based on sound or color. Don't keep going because you didn't hear first crack, you may not hear anything. Don't pass judgment or change settings until you've brewed it and tasted. If it's a Swiss water the ending roast will look dark and kind of a non-shiny, matte type surface. If it's an EA sugar cane process, it will look a little marbly dark a D light brown and usually appears shiny, even though there may be no oil. Neither will produce chaff.
Thank you so much for getting back to me! I roasted a batch the other day (haven’t tried it yet), and NEVER heard a crack, so I’m glad I’m not crazy. Also no chaff threw me, so glad to have that verified also! 😁 I will follow your directions, and I’m sure it’ll be great because you really know what you’re doing. I have a few Costa Rican regulars and a few decafs but of course none the same, but hopefully the region at least should produce a similar result. I will update…again…thanks so much! I probably would have made a mess of a bunch of beans without your helpful videos! 👍🏻
Another great vid. 👍. Have you ever tried roasting a natural geisha on this? Would it follow the the light roast profile?
I've done a honey gesha using the light profile basically. Started F9P9, got to about 380F on base unit display at 1 min, 400 at 2 min, let it stretch a little to 4 minutes, then did F7P7, got me up to about 450, hit cool just one minute into first crack. Came out really nice.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Wow. Very different. Im dumbfounded with all the varying approaches to roasting.🥴☺. Thank you.👍
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Thanks for the advice. Santa Sofia Gesha today - wasnt able to reach 450' at P7 (almost 20sec at 447-8 so I went to P8 to get to 1C) stayed there about 1' after.
Iyo, would it have been better to Drop F6? Thanks again.☕
@@Heoi_Bikuni I like to make my last fan reduction just before crack starts. But, if I've done that, and I'm just a few degrees off target, I like to fine tune with power rather than fan. On my setup, each power setting changes temps around 8 or 9 degrees, but the fan is more like 15 to 18 degrees.
COFFEE @@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Thanks Keith. 👍Your info is on point. ☕. I'm a noob, gifting this for my In-laws. Im just trying not burn down the kitchen😂
I have my first beans arriving today a LB of Ethiopian and a LB of Colombian. I am going to do the Ethiopian the same way you did the light roast. When you say COOL from 5:00-5:30 do you mean you press Cool and leave it in for 30 seconds? Or did you take the beans out and dump them at 5:00
I mean depending on the bean and how it's progressing, I usually hit the Cool button somewhere around the 5:00 to 5:30 minute mark, give or take (using all stock equipment). You need to listen for cracks and watch the color to really decide. After I hit cool, I usually leave the beans in the roast chamber but lift off the chaff lid using gloves as soon as I can. I then let it run at Fan 9 for about 1 minute.l of the 3 min cooling cycle. After the first minute of the cooling cycle I dump beans onto a baking sheet and let it cool under a fan.
Hi, do you have any recommendations if we want to roast 2 batches of beans, what is the time interval between the 2 batches? If we roast 2nd batch without cooling down the machine, will it cause the power drop?
Multiple batches work well for me on the SR540. Just be sure run the full 3 min cooling cycle at the end of roasting. Your next batch may heat quicker since the roaster has warmed up.
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Hi, may I know what the ending temp is for your light roast? It's really tricky for beginners to stop at the right time for light roast
The base unit display temp is usually 450 if it's a faster roast (like 5 to 6 minutes total) and maybe 425 if longer (7 to 8 minutes). When I use a bean temp probe it's about 425 to 430, with first crack around 405.
How long after roasting did you do the cupping?
Next day after roasting. I've also been tasting since the video, mostly on a V60.
I have a similar roaster my problem is that roasting is not homogeneous some beans are partially darker or totally darker than most beans
My question is can I rely upon such kind of roasters in espresso?
Hard to say without tasting. Generally speaking, air roasters have shorter overall roast times vs drums, so to get proper extraction in espresso, you might need to experiment with different profiles that go longer and maybe a bit more developed.
The Ethiopian coffee is killer
Just got the 540 and tried my first run with it using the fan 9 and power 9 on the medium roast you showed. Did not get anywhere near the darkness in over 20 min. I cut it off at 25 min after just reducing the fan to 8 with the power still at 9. I did not hear first crack and did not get much chaf at all. Maybe I got a dud roaster or something
I've never hit first crack at fan 9 power 9 either. I usually drop to fan 8 by around 2 to 3 minutes, then fan 7 if needed to go fully into first crack around 4 minutes. When roasting spin the dial to get temp readout. Try to get to 400 degrees on base unit by around 2 minutes and 420 by 3ish minutes, then get it up to 450 or so at 4 minutes to push into crack. You do this with fan reductions. You can leave power at 9. These machines are sensitive to line voltage and ambient temperatures. You may need to go as low as fan 6 or lower. Good luck.
Are you using an extension cord? I made this mistake initially which greatly increased roasting time (~20-25min) due to the power drop through the 100ft cord. Switched to a short cord 12gauge and roast timers match this video.
I’m curious how you would change the formula if you observed first crack coming a bit later. Specifically, for the light roast, if frost crack came 30 seconds later than what you have listed in the chart, how would you change the times for decreasing the fan and starting the cool? Would you just leave it at 99 for an additional 30 seconds?
You can adjust times based on your actual experience. Beans and your power supply will change how everything progresses. If things seem sluggish reduce fan more in order to add more heat. If crack comes sooner then just end roast based on your desired color.
I believe some roasters key off of first crack like this: They will continue roasting for 1 minute after first crack begins. Or 1 1/2 minutes, or 2 minutes, depending on roast level they are trying to achieve. Those who roast this way count the beginning of first crack when they hear several of the beans popping at once. You may get an outlier that pops early, but they don't consider first crack to have started until several beans start popping. But as Keith said, the real key is color, ending the roast when the beans are at the color that indicates the roast level you want.
I noticed that when I use my own roasts for pour over, the bloom is very large - no slurry, just a dry dome. No matter what technique I use, the end result is undrinkable.
There seems to be a lot of gas left in the beans, even after a week or two. How long does it usually take for beans to degas to the point where the coffee is drinkable? I have used a few varieties with the same result.
Also, would you kindly share your recipe for pour over?
Finally, what is your preferred method for your morning cup?
Thank you for your attention!
It might be the roast like you said, I don't have that issue of dry dome and undrinkable. On the 540 I'm normally getting the machine temp up to 450 to 460 during first crack. My usual morning coffee is made with an Aeropress using the Tim Wendleboe recipe, it's on TH-cam but basically 14 grams coffee to (200?) grams water. For V60 I like doing a 30 second bloom then use the 'several small pours' method where water level never gets high up in filter, just do 50 to 75 grams of water each pour to keep grounds level and keep adding small pours so you don't see the coffee bed until the end.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 I'll give it a try!
I find it to be extremely difficult to roast with this roaster. I get inconsistent results. I’m either stopping to early, or the last time I used it I let it go too long and threw out the beans.
I also have a Hottop and a Behmor and far prefer them.
I watched this video, and will be watching others to get more tips on managing the roasts from the SR800. It is so loud it is hard to hear the cracks. There also isn’t much time between first and second crack.
Have you tried using the chaff lid expander? I had some of the same troubles you are having, especially at the end of the roast, where chaff gets clogged in the chimney. Also make sure you make note of the display temp on the machine. If a roast is too dark, next time make sure roaster is running 10 degrees or so lower, then just keep trying batches at lower temps until you have a good result.
Sorry and what does adjusting the fan settings do?
The beans move faster or slower but more importantly the temperature goes up or down. On my roaster if I decrease fan 1 setting the temperature in the roasting chamber goes up about 15 degrees F.
Are there advantages to starting up cold?
You just have to try pre-heating vs starting cold and taste and see which you prefer. For consistency some people always preheat at least 30 seconds or so.
Weird I ran those settings and never heard any cracks, I kept adding time to well over 10 minutes and no cracks, I think I have a lemon. Only time I can get first crack in the 4 minute mark is fan 6 power 9. Wth
These roasters are very sensitive to line voltage and ambient conditions (temp and humidity if roasting outside). In summer at my house my profiles all need more fan reductions than usual for example. Having said that, fan 6 is pretty low to hit first crack.... what does the display temp show (in base unit) when you hit first crack? What temp does your roaster show if you run Fan 9 Power 9 for 3 minutes with no beans, chaff lid on like normal? Mine shows about 370F currently but has been as high as 385 in non-summer months.
You should make a video on cupping coffee
This is the method I use, he's a lot more entertaining lol!
th-cam.com/video/0XjaRGlnlz4/w-d-xo.html
Keith Poole / Home coffee roasting ok thanks
Hey Keith excellent video! I recently purchased a Fresh Roast sr800. My first batch was a Mexican coffee. I preheated my roaster to 350 f and charged the roaster 200g (80% capacity). My target was a 10-11 minute roast achieving city plus. I reached full yellow @5 min and began the development stage. I hit first crack @ 8:30 and dropped the beans @ 10:30 just at the end of FC. I was really happy with the color, evenness and fragrance. The first cup I brewed was surprisingly good for a first try. Roasted peanuts, cookie dough, green apple acidity. Very bright. Unfortunately after a couple of days the flavors seemed to disappear and the acidity increased to the point of being intolerable. I brew with a Hario V60 pour over. Not sure what went wrong. I would have roasted a little longer but I didn't want the beans to get any darker. Any thoughts? Thanks so much in advance!
Hard to say. Peanut sometimes is a sign of underdevelopment and/or unripe coffee cherry in the mix. Try brewing it cupping style (no filter) and see if the good flavors are still there, it might be a brewing issue if it tastes good. If not so good maybe next time you roast start with higher heat. Two minutes development time is normally plenty.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 Yeah I think underdevelopment may be the case. I'll definitely try it cupping style. Thanks so much for the feedback. Cheers!
Does the 540 smoke much while roasting?
Not a lot of smoke but a good amount of fumes and particulates you can't see. With enough roasts the oils in the fumes will build up and produce a film. It's pretty common for folks in apartments for example to set off smoke alarms, not because it's really smoky but probably the build up of fumes. The fumes/residue also have caffeine so try not to roast just before bed.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 There i saved a cup of coffee-)
Based on the recommendation, roasting time should be minimum 5 minutes. Is there a difference in taste quality between 5 minutes and 10 minutes roasting time?
I'm sensitive to baked flavors and I tend to start picking up on baked if total roast time exceeds around 7 to 8 minutes. This is for the Fresh Roast. I also have a couple of drum roasters (Quest and Behmor) and they can go longer, I'd say up to 10 min.
You are getting 1st C when beans still look yellow. Is that typical for your roasts?
That's just the lighting and white balance I think. It's about cinnamon color in real life.
I did 130 grams at 9,9 for 20 min and it still didn’t look dark. Couldn’t hear the crack with the noise. Is it because I didn’t lower the fan? I’ve gone as far as 30 min on 9,9 and still not as dark, medium at most.
Yes lower the fan, at least one setting but often I'm down to Fan 7 to get through first crack.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 I’ll try that, so far even on 30 min at the highest setting the coffee has been kind of crappy so I’m definitely doing something wrong.
Roast indoors?
Yes these were roasted indoors under kitchen range hood
I don't like the smell lingering in the house for days, so I use a heavy duty extension cord and roast outside on the patio. But I live where I can pick a time of day when it's 70 or 80 degrees outside. Another advantage to roasting outside is I don't mess with the chaff collector. I just let the chaff blow out the top.
5-7 minutes roast time? There isn't enough time for it to develop after first crack. The ROR is way too high, isn't it? These beans will most likely lack body, and will have sharp acidity.
I think it depends on what you like and what you are sensitive to. For small batch air roasting (like Ikawa, Fresh Roast) roasts can be fully developed, sweet and juicy, with pleasant acidity, in 5 to 7 minutes no problem. Personally I'm more sensitive to baked flavors, and I tend to notice them creeping in after about 7 minutes. I've done several versions of light roasts closer to 9 to 12 minutes, and nearly every one has crashed RoR type baked notes (flat, dull, hollow, roasty, papery, not sweet). Sometimes it's just a little, sometimes a lot. You just have to try several profiles and taste side by side to see what you like.
I was gonna say the same thing, people using recommend drawing out the time, drying phase at lower temps until the beans start moving then gently raise temps for first crack, this is just blasting with heat (although fan being high should limit heat buildup). It would be interesting to experiment with, fast roast vs long roast.
@@keithpoolehomecoffeeroasti489 That's why you're supposed to start at lower heating intensity, and slowly increase the intensity, so your ROR increases too, to stop it from having baked effects son it. Anyway, enjoy your roasting and stay caffeinated. Cheers.
@@BensCoffeeRants see my most recent video, I do this experiment.
the easy way i do it out side, i do it by color not by time . i use a pan to water to cool the beans. Let dry and de= gas wheelchair larry
There is no professional roaster that roasts washed greenbean to light .
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