Behmore 1600 Workout
- Thread starter mouscacha
- Start date
Interesting question. I have no special knowledge about the Behmor, but I think the most important rule is to wait 45 minutes between roasts for adequate cool down, so you are looking at a little over 1 hour for each one. Of course one should follow the normal cleaning procedures after 5 roasts, and for added safety I would not start so many back-to-back roasts without doing one of those more thorough cleaning cycles. So roasting 12.5 lbs at 3/4 lbs each time would make for a long weekend, but doable. As you know this is not a commercial grade roaster, but I would expect it to handle a few days of roasting like this.
And maybe it will be motivation for you to add a few more grams of beans each time to find the max load for the given roast you are looking for. Or maybe you can make a blend out of a city, full-city, vienna roast of the same beans. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out if you do it.
And maybe it will be motivation for you to add a few more grams of beans each time to find the max load for the given roast you are looking for. Or maybe you can make a blend out of a city, full-city, vienna roast of the same beans. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out if you do it.
- Thread starter
- #3
Good idea on the mix of different roasts, but same bean! I think I'll try that.
Was planning on making different roasts and giving away as an experiment of sorts. Wanted to see the look on people's faces when they tried a freshly roasted city+ instead of their beloved french roast!
Thanks for the recommendation of cool down times. I think I'll work this over a few days instead of just one weekend.
Was planning on making different roasts and giving away as an experiment of sorts. Wanted to see the look on people's faces when they tried a freshly roasted city+ instead of their beloved french roast!
Thanks for the recommendation of cool down times. I think I'll work this over a few days instead of just one weekend.
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- #4
Just finished my 16th bag of coffee and I'm pooped. I've been roasting for 3 days and it's been an interesting lesson.
Lesson #1. Do not preheat the Behmor longer than 1 minute or you could get into the non-reheat stage. I accidentally left it going for 6 minutes and decided to turn it off to continue on a 1lb setting. It only wanted to cool down, which led me to my next lesson.
Lesson #2. You can't reheat beans. After the 6 minutes were up, there was no way to continue the heating process after the cooling process completed. It was funny how the beans had no real smell to them!
Lesson #3. Roasting a pound of coffee at the 1lb setting can let you achieve a pretty dark roast. At the 1/2lb setting, I could never get past full city.
Lesson #4. Whoever invented the shopvac is a genius. That thing cleaned the inside of my machine pretty well!
Stillshaving, thanks for your help. My Behmor seems fine after all that roasting. It was a tough 3 days, but it was well worth it!
Lesson #1. Do not preheat the Behmor longer than 1 minute or you could get into the non-reheat stage. I accidentally left it going for 6 minutes and decided to turn it off to continue on a 1lb setting. It only wanted to cool down, which led me to my next lesson.
Lesson #2. You can't reheat beans. After the 6 minutes were up, there was no way to continue the heating process after the cooling process completed. It was funny how the beans had no real smell to them!
Lesson #3. Roasting a pound of coffee at the 1lb setting can let you achieve a pretty dark roast. At the 1/2lb setting, I could never get past full city.
Lesson #4. Whoever invented the shopvac is a genius. That thing cleaned the inside of my machine pretty well!
Stillshaving, thanks for your help. My Behmor seems fine after all that roasting. It was a tough 3 days, but it was well worth it!
Glad your roasts worked out well. Perhaps by now you have found out who appreciates freshly roasted beans, versus those who do not.
Regarding your comment about successfully roasting 1 lb batches, I have read similar comments on other coffee forums, Where a few folks reported getting better results (flavors, aroma, etc) when roasting 1 pound as compared to a smaller batch. I do not know if the 1 lb profiles are better calibrated, or if there is a better balance between the output of the heating element versus bean mass. Most of my roasts have been roughly at 1/2 lbs, so I can't really comment first hand on that.
Regarding your comment about successfully roasting 1 lb batches, I have read similar comments on other coffee forums, Where a few folks reported getting better results (flavors, aroma, etc) when roasting 1 pound as compared to a smaller batch. I do not know if the 1 lb profiles are better calibrated, or if there is a better balance between the output of the heating element versus bean mass. Most of my roasts have been roughly at 1/2 lbs, so I can't really comment first hand on that.
I gave my Behmor a pretty good workout over the holidays, but not as much as you did. I enjoyed roasting the coffee for family and friends, but I also enjoyed the break from roasting when it was over.
Mike
Mike
For whatever reason, 1lb of beans on the P1 setting maxed out with a 1 minute "pre-heat" gives me a perfect full city+ like clockwork, and with the right bean, makes for a particularly lovely espresso.
- Thread starter
- #8
You are right, the Behmor must be better calibrated to the 1lb setting.
You could always throw your 1/2lb roasts at the 1lb setting and just make sure to stick around near the 10min. mark. With mine, it starts the 2nd crack around 11-12 minutes with a 1min preheat.
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