My first heatgun roast

[technojock]

I read up on heatgun roasting over the weekend, borrowed a friend's heatgun and set to with some green beans that I had lying around.

I’d wondered what to use as a roasting chamber. Tradition dictates a dog bowl, but I didn’t have one so I decided to use the colander in a pan approach which I’d read about. It was a windy day and I figured this would help with heat retention.

I fired up the heatgun, dropped 100g of Sidamo into the colander, and things started moving along. First crack came loud & clear at the 7-8 minute mark, second crack came (also loud and clear) about 2-3 minutes later. I stopped the roast after about 12 minutes. Sorry, no precise times. HB says “give it some oils (only a little though)” so that’s what I aimed to do. I might have been over-cautious.

I’m really pleased with this roasting method. The roast duration has increased 300% over my Prima popper roasts, and I’m hoping that translates into an improved cup. It was really nice being able to see the beans easily, as well as being able to increase or back off the heat just by moving the heat gun nearer/farther away respectively. I’m not sure how much the heat trapped under the colander affects things, but there was certainly a lot there; the pan was hot to touch by the end of the roast.

The beans are currently degassing, but here’s a photograph taken just after the roast…

[Neo]

Do you have to stir the beans or the heated air will just blow them away? the batch looks pretty even

[zapty]

Hey technojock, looking real good and dark enough IMO.....Congrats on this first heatgun attempt...

[technojock]

Do you have to stir the beans or the heated air will just blow them away? the batch looks pretty even

I only roasted 100g so the beans were close to one layer thick thoughout. The heatgun was easily able to blow them around so I didn't need to stir although I would if I planned to roast a larger volume.

I only managed to blow away a couple of beans, I'll try harder next time

[Neo]

Do you have to stir the beans or the heated air will just blow them away? the batch looks pretty even

I only roasted 100g so the beans were close to one layer thick thoughout. The heatgun was easily able to blow them around so I didn't need to stir although I would if I planned to roast a larger volume.

I only managed to blow away a couple of beans, I'll try harder next time

wt about chaffs? flying around?

[technojock]

Hey technojock, looking real good and dark enough IMO.....Congrats on this first heatgun attempt...

Thanks, zapty. They've degassed now so I tried some in the Aeropress. Massive bloom, great taste. Fantastic.

:D wt about chaffs? flying around?

Yeah, they fly around. With that and the roasting smoke it's an outdoor activity.

[Bertie_Doe]

Well done, that's better than my first two attempts with a heatgun (my Hottop backup). I'd agree with Neo and Zapty, the roast looks pretty even - you could be right, placing the colander in a large sauce pan, may inject more heat under the beans.

Colourwise, your batch is exactly what I try to get from the Sidamo, I'm roasting at the moment and makes great espresso. If you increase your batch size, you'll need a wooden spoon handy.

Paul

[Garybt3]

:D wt about chaffs? flying around?

Yeah, they fly around. With that and the roasting smoke it's an outdoor activity.

I have roasted with a heat gun/dog bowl setup in the past, but I was experiencing a caffeine contact high afterwards! I tend to roast at night, and I was so immersed with this method I failed to realize that my face was too close to the roasting process, and as a result I would not be able to sleep until 3am, which was a bad thing as I had to get up @ 5 am to start work the next morning. BTW, I can drink a regular cup of coffee an hour before I go to bed, and have no trouble sleeping. This is definitely an outdoor method!

Since then, I tried out the heat gun / bread machine method, check out:

http://coffeecrone.com/roasting/breadmachine.htm

The method is really great for 1 to 1.5 pound roasts.
My BM is nearly identical to the one that Vicki aka coffee crone uses.

Gary

[lukas]

Umph, I also experienced this no-sleep-after-roast-syndrome several times now, but I think it's related to inhaling too much smoke and the body getting too much co2 or something similiar rather than to caffeine. So I guess it's not the healthiest thing to do, but given that I stopped smoking a while ago this feels like an adequate alternative ...

[Garybt3]

Umph, I also experienced this no-sleep-after-roast-syndrome several times now, but I think it's related to inhaling too much smoke and the body getting too much co2 or something similiar rather than to caffeine. So I guess it's not the healthiest thing to do, but given that I stopped smoking a while ago this feels like an adequate alternative ...

I quit smoking back in '91 !
I really like the smell of roasting coffee, however my wife does not allow me to roast in the house. I built a ventilated roasting cabinet in my shop, as the winter wind and temps make conditions too hard outdoors. I still like to go outside and roast, and my neighbor stopped me the other day to comment on how good it smelled!