Coffee Roaster for WFO

[jeeppiper]

If anyone is interested in roasting coffee beans in their oven, I attached plans to make a simple coffee roaster (at least I think it's attached). It is easy to make and very inexpensive (less than $20). Unroasted coffee beans will cost you about $ 6/lb.

I started roasting coffee over a year ago and cant stop!!! It is a lot of fun and makes for some good bonding time with your oven. Oh, and the coffee is fantastic!!! However, it does get expensive when you end up giving all of your fresh roasted coffee to all your friends, neighbors and family.

[mrchipster]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Very nice graphics, it might be worth a try, how hot do you think your oven is when roasting? If I heat saturate for 2 hours and then still have live coals I will be in the 800F range.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Chip,

It is pretty hot in there when I roast...probably about 750-800 sounds right. How big is your oven? One thing you have to be careful of is to keep the coffee from getting to close to the open flame.

I have a 42 inch ove, so there is a lot of room to put the fire around the perimeter. If you have a smaller oven, you may not want to have the live flame going, just glowing coals.

[mrchipster]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Mine is also 42 inch so I could follow your plans quite closely. Thanks for the heat update.

Have you thought of using some type of stand to make it easier to hold the basket off the floor and still be able to rotate it?

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Good idea.

Originally I planned a rotisserie, but quickly realized that I needed to be able to quickly take the basket in and out of the oven to check on progress....You will find that when the beans begin to roast, there is a short window of opportunity.

I just rest it on a log in the entrance way as kind of a fulcrum. It works fine and I since abandoned the idea of a rotisserie (will just get in the way).

BTW, thanks for your interest. I am hoping to recruit some coffee roasters here on the forum...I thnk it is a great application for an oven and it really is a lot of fun.

Let me know how it turns out. I just roasted 5 pounds of coffee yesterday and this batch is fantastic.

You will need to get yourself a coffee grinder if you dont already have one. I bought the KitchenAid...works great for me.

If you like stong coffee, espresso, or cappacino, you will want to get a "Bialetti 6800 Moka Express Stovetop Percolator"....they call it a poor-mans espresso maker and it costs around $30...great little device.

[davemartin88]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Neat idea, might have to give it a try but not sure I need another hobby, lol.

[Brad English]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Great. Obsessions crossing can be dangerous!

[Furci]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

This sounds awesome. Thanks for the detailed plans. I cannot wait to try it out and have been wondering for some time what it would be like trying coffee roasting in the oven. Now that winter is here in New York I need that coffee to keep me out by the oven.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

I had a sample of roasted beans evaluated and "scored" by a professional......based on his recommendations, I am going to revise the design of the roaster and (1) add an agitator inside to help move the beans around the basket. (2) revise my technique to try to rotate the beans more...maybe a support like mrchipster suggested above....maybe add a spit motor. most important, reduce the heat. I had suggested an active fire..this might be too hot after all. ..maybe just glowing embers. Cant wait to roast again with my new-found knowledge.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

I was thinking of making up 2 little tripods that you could put inside the oven that you could rest a tandooried chicken on a skewer on
2 removable 3 legged metal stands one front one back with a u shaped top.
Something like this would work to rest your roaster on and spin it in.
Just need a bit of straight metal extending from the sieves.
Possibly just using one at the rear so you could move your roaster in and out to check progress easily.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

I took a sample of roasted coffee to an experienced coffee taster....he was "Brutally honest", but had some good suggestions.
1. I have been roasting too hot/too fast. I usually have an active flame going, but it turns out it burns the beans outside, and doenst roast inside.
2. At "first crack", lower the temperature. For a WFO, that means move the beans closer to the entrance down low where the cool air is coming in.
3. They are roasting more on one side than the other.

I am installing a digital thermometer in my roaster with a thermocouple that extends into the basket. Also Im going to make some sort of "agitator" to mix the beans more....also will probably do something like TropicalCoasting and mrchipster suggest (above). He also said that he believes my beans are over a year old, based on what he knows about the crop cycle. There is nothing wrong with that, but this didnt surprise me. I have some beans coming in this week from Sweetmarias.com. slightly beter prices, but longer to ship.

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

I fitted my coffee roaster with a digital thermometer. Now I can monitor the temperature inside the basket while roasting. I roasted a batch with a modified technique. I kept the temperatuer at about 500F until the first crack...then moved the beans toaward the entranceway of the oven where temp was about 400.....beans roasted slower and evenly. Coffee tastes much better.

[Brad English]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Pictures! Pictures!

[jeeppiper]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

Ok...Here are a couple of pics....I got the digital thermometer from amazon. You also need to get a thermocouple that can handle the heat. Below are the part descriptions from Amazon:

1. Digital Thermometer (Amazon)
AGPtek Dual Two Channel Digital Thermometer 2 K-Type Thermocouple Sensor 1300?C 2372?F

2. Thermocouple (6" probe with 2 meter long wire): Amico K Type 15cm Long Probe Thermocouple Temperature Sensor 0-400 Celsius


Total Cost: $32.50

I used steel hose clamps to mount everything....also rigged up some brackets out of a piece of brass. I dont need to tell you this, but make sure everything can handle the heat.

[logman]

Re: Coffee Roaster for WFO

If you can get a copy (mine was courtesy of the local beer store) Imbibe magazine sept/oct 2013 issue has a good article on wood-fired coffee roasting. The author favors longer times (22-24 minutes) at lower temperatures. His brother is the master roaster for Mr. Expresso which does 1 million lbs per year wood-fired. He stays at about 500 degrees....