Hottop Temperatures (Basic Model)

[Bertie_Doe]

I was always under the impression, that the basic Hottop didn't have a roasting profile : i.e. I assumed it was simply a timer, which could be overriden with added +20sec options and the ability to dump/abort at any time.

I've been using a Taylor meat digi thermometer, with it's probe tip placed in the bean entry hatch, with some kitchen foil pinched around the top of the hatch to reduce heat loss. A large split pin is fixed at the other end of the probe (forming a cross) to prevent the probe, fouling the drum.

The Hottie takes about 5 mins to warm up, then 'beeps' signal you to load the beans. The following figures represent the roast times, after loading. Minutes/temperatureC. This was one of yesterday's roasts in the garage with 225g HB Haraar, which looked great. Ambient 25C and RH 76%. 1st crack 16min. 2nd at 18.5min. Dump at 19.25min. French roast/Light Vienna, surface sheen, one or two oil spots on some beans :-

1/100 - 2/110 - 3/120 - 4/127 - 5/134 6/139 - 7/144 - 8/154 - 9/164 - 10/167 - 11/169 - 12/171 - 13/175 - 14/184 - 15/190 - 16/200 -

In a previous roast of HB monsooned ,the results were similar i.e. when the fan kicks in briefly at 8mins and permanantly at 13mins, there is a sharp increase in temperature. Ok it's not an adjustable profile, but it's a profile.

You will note that the Taylor is 200C max, plus I am under pressure for it to be returned exclusively for kitchen duties. I ordered a TSP572 from the States, 5 days ago. It's got a better spec than the Taylor and a bit cheaper than the scientific quality ones with thermocouples. Subject to the Royal Mail strike, I'll keep you posted when it arrives.

Quentin

[psychomansam]

Interesting. Thanks Quentin - shall look forward to further results. Do you have any old filters? Would be interesting to see if/how blocked up filters affect temp. Would also be very interesting to see the affect of pulling off the entry hatch during roast to slow things down...

[Bertie_Doe]

Interesting. Thanks Quentin - shall look forward to further results. Do you have any old filters? Would be interesting to see if/how blocked up filters affect temp. Would also be very interesting to see the affect of pulling off the entry hatch during roast to slow things down...

I have a spare filter, but I haven't used it in the last 9 months since new.
Ref leaving the hatch open, it really depends on the type of bean. Leaving the hatch off completely, baked a couple of of batches of Barahona. It is the one bean I have the most difficulty in roasting.

Marcy (Bean_believer) sometimes favours leaving a small gap in the hatch, towards the end of the roast. This is a big improvement over hatch off completely. However, I haven't tried it for 6 months as I've been concentrating on 3 or 4 single origins. In concentrating on just a few favourites and also keeping a roasting log, you develop a good 'feel' for the bean and you start getting repeatable roasts.

QC

[psychomansam]

thanx 4the reply. Indeed, i was referring to just removing it for a few seconds at a time as an attempt to slow things down as opposed to leaving it off. I'm roasting my way through 2kg bags of cachoeira, la vega and yirg, all from hb, which gives enough time to get a bit of a feel for each - but i'm not roasting at the moment and impatient to restart in a few weeks.

[Cas]

Hi there

I've just used your info to roast 225g of Harrar. My times were way different from yours, which makes me think that I should try roasting without an extension lead next time, perhaps this is causing the long roast times.

After the initial warm up, first crack wasn't until 19.30 and so I had to extend the time, second came 1.30 minutes later and I dumped the beans after another 20 seconds. Total time was 21.20.
The roast looks more uneven than the blend I roasted a couple of days ago.

[Bertie_Doe]

:-) thanx 4the reply. Indeed, i was referring to just removing it for a few seconds at a time as an attempt to slow things down as opposed to leaving it off.

Leaving the hatch off for a few seconds, won't make an aweful lot of difference IMO, as the beans are at fairly high temperatures, towards the end of a roast. Like in all things coffee, try small changes at a time. You could try adding 10g to your next roast. However, if it tastes great, I wouldn't change.

Hi there

I've just used your info to roast 225g of Harrar. My times were way different from yours, which makes me think that I should try roasting without an extension lead next time, perhaps this is causing the long roast times.

After the initial warm up, first crack wasn't until 19.30 and so I had to extend the time, second came 1.30 minutes later and I dumped the beans after another 20 seconds. Total time was 21.20.
The roast looks more uneven than the blend I roasted a couple of days ago.

I think it's a case of my roasts being a bit short, in fact very short when you consider that I go at least 45secs into 2nd with Haraar. A number of TMCers have been quoting 21.25 roasts, so I wouldn't worry. You may find the uneven colour goes in a day or two.

One of the charms of Haraar is it's wild nature. I suspect the farming is a bit haphazard, you rarely see uniformity in bean shape or size. Last years crop was good, but I think this years is better. I'm getting much more choc in the aftertaste. If your nerve will stand it, try and go 30+ into 2nd.

QC

[bruceb]

As to the clogged filtre: I did 102 roasts (mostly well into 2nd crack) before changing the fan filtre. The filtre looked like one would expect it to, but I noticed that the fan still blew air through it so I basically just ignored it.

Last week I received a couple of replacement filters from HB and immediately tried one to see what the difference was. I roasted a 225g batch of Columbia Huila to rolling 2nd crack and ejected there. The times were:

1st begin - 16:10 min

1st end - 18:00 min

2nd begin 19:00 min

2nd rolling 19:30 min

eject at 19:30 min

I then put the old filtre back in and repeated the run (after 2 hrs. cooling period) and got the following times:

1st begin - 16:00 min

1st end - 18:00 min

2nd begin 19:10 min

2nd rolling 19:20 min

eject at 19:20 min

The results were identical and variations are no greater than I see whenever repeating a roast, without changing the filtre, so as far as I'm concerned filtre clogging is a non-issue.

[psychomansam]

Thanks for the thoughts Q, i've tried playing with weight a little(though some decent scales are high on my to-buy list) but was just wondering more for the sake of possibilities than necessity. As you say, "a few seconds" would probably not do much, i was thinking 10-30 secs might do something, anyway....

Thanx very much for that bruce, nice to know that it shouldn't really be a variable. Sometimes it's nicer to eliminate variables than discover them!

[bruceb]

BTW, I've also tried to "quantify" the different roast profiles of the HT, but couldn't really figure out what they were doing. They seem to be rather random and I'm not sure what the variables are.

I just changed to the digital (not programmable!) control panel, so now I'm really just doing things manually. On the digital panel all you can change is the time to end of roast, which makes me think that the HT makers decided the old 1-7 profile settings weren't very useful. I always set mine on "7" and ejected manually in any case.

[Cas]

Morning all

I tried the Harrar today, water temp 94 - bitter. Tried again at 93 and 92, still bitter. I'm really disappointed in this one. My first 2 practise roasts tasted far better.
Can anyone shed any light on why this could be?

Caroline

[HughF]

If by any chance it's roasted too light it might be worth trying higher temperatures in the Techno. Were any tiny droplets of oil showing on the beans?

Cheers,

Hugh

[GeorgeW]

It may be under-roasted Cas. Cut a bean and have a look to see if it is roasted all the way through.

[Bertie_Doe]

Cas, I agree with Hugh and George and may be under-roasted. When you grind, is the colour lighter than the outer bean shell? You may also get hints of acidity with the bitterness. Try again and hope you strike oil (spots).

The TSP572 thermometer arrived today. I compared it against my old Taylor model and they both agree up to 200C, testing them in the kitchen oven. Big plus with the TSP is it's max range up to 300C and has a very large display. It dosn't have an 'off' switch, which is a bit annoying. This is acceptable in a desk top model, but not in a unit designed for accasional use in the Sunday roast. It's all plastic, so constantly removing the 2 x AAA batteries, would probably knacker the hinges. I'll use it with the Haraar and Monsooned on Friday and report back.

QC

[bruceb]

Hi Quentin. The circuitry in a digital thermometer is such that the current draw is minimal. I would guess that the batteries will last 1-2 years with constant use, so it's probably not worth removing the batteries. It is a shame they saved the pennies on a switch, however.

[Bertie_Doe]

Yep you're right Bruce, the minimal current draw means it's longevity is pretty close to it's shelf life. No doubt the designers will claim, that there's a good chance that a plastic on/off switch, could fail in the 'off' position - sods law!!

I'll delay mating the TSP572 with Hottop until Sunday/Monday, I seem to have more roasted in my stash, than I had thought possible.

OT, humidity is dropping in the kitchen, now down to 53% and the espresso seems to be improving. Less static on the exit grinder chute, drier pucks and longer pours. It may of course, be just a coincidence. OTOT I haven't tried Lukas's suggestion of combating popcorning by placing a tamper on the beans. Tobacco in a sig drink is one thing, but shards of an aluminium tamper in me early morning gargle!! - only kidding.

QC