Roasting Tips: Roasting With The Freshroast Plus The Freshroast is a very simple and affordable coffee roaster, and is one the most popular roasting machines available today. Because it is so simple and so quick to use, the Freshroast comes in handy even if you have been roasting coffee for a long time and have another, more expensive machine. It is also the roasting machine that most beginning roasters choose, but as a beginner there are many tips and tricks that are not included in the Freshroast manual that will help to make your roasting experience a better one and help to keep your roaster in good working condition. Before roasting your first batch, it may be helpful to review some basic roasting concepts which are just as appropriate to consider when using a roasting appliance as they are when roasting on a stovetop in a frying pan. There are 5 main variables when roasting coffee with the Freshroast: Weight/Volume of coffee: Increasing the quantity of coffee will also increase the roast time because there is more mass to heat. Thus, to get consistant results, always use the same amount of coffee. Weight is a little more accurate than volume, so if you have a kitchen scale, use it. The most common mistake that beginners make when using the Freshroast is trying to roast too much coffee at once. Doing this results in an uneven or incomplete roast, and it also overworks the machine, which may lead to early burn-out. Use the recommended amount of beans, which is 2 rounded scoops (about 2.5 ounces by weight), and you should have great results. Conversely, roasting too small of an amount can also lead to problems such as under roasted or unevenly roasted beans. Type of coffee: Coffee beans vary in density and water content, and this has an impact on roasting time. A new crop very high grown coffee will have a very dense bean and a high moisture content and will take longer to roast than an aged coffee that has dried out over time. By keeping a record, or roast journal, you will be able to duplicate results for a particular coffee. Temperature: The higher the temperature, the faster the roast. If the temperature is too low, the beans cook too long instead of roasting, and flavor and aroma is lost. If the temperature is too high, the beans roast so quickly that the outside is roasted but inside the bean the flavors have not had sufficient time to develop. The Freshroast is pre-programmed with the optimum roasting temperature for a fast, even roast. The roast chamber temperature can be slightly affected by outside temperature. If roasting outdoors, a very cold day may require a slightly longer roasting time. Time: The best coffee is usually roasted for 5 to 15 minutes if using a hot air roaster, which is generally shorter than drum or pan roasting. At the end of the roast the roast color can change very quickly, so accurate timekeeping is essential if you want to duplicate results. Voltage: Although every household outlet looks the same, the actual voltage coming out can vary enough to impact results from location to location. To adjust for this, you may need to slightly reduce temperatures or increase them to adjust for your own particular voltage. To insure consistant results, it is best to use the same outlet every time you roast, if possible. More Freshroast Tips: *Pay close attention to the entire roasting process. The Freshroast roasts very fast, thus it is very easy to burn the beans the first few times if you are not careful. When the beans have reached your desired roast stage, manually turn the knob to the cool setting and note the elapsed time so you will know it for your next batch. Because of the speed of the roast and the very high temperatures, you should never leave the machine unattended during the roast cycle. Doing so could pose a real fire hazard if the beans are extremely over roasted. *Never do back to back roasts. Doing this will overheat the machine, possibly burn it out, and certainly it will shorten the life of the machine. The Freshroast puts out over 400 oF heat continuously. This is like running a hair dryer on the highest setting for 10 minutes. Extreme heat will build up through the base of the machine during the roast cycle. By giving it a rest of at least 45 minutes between batches you will allow the heat from the first batch to dissapate before adding more heat with the second batch. You will have more consistant roast results and your machine will keep working for much longer. With proper care, there is no reason why your Freshroast will not be able to roast 1000 batches or more. We have one at our shop that is up to batch 600 or so and is still going strong! *Dump the fresh roasted coffee into a metal pan after the cycle completes to speed up the cooling process. The roast chamber and the beans are usually quite warm after the cycle completes which allows further cooking of the beans, which could detract from the quality of the roast. Removing the beans from the roaster and keeping the chamber and chaff collector separate from the base until everything cools will alow the machine to cool down much faster, which may help to prolong the life of the roaster. *Let the coffee rest for 12 to 24 hours after roasting before brewing it. This allows CO2 to de-gas from the coffee and the flavors to fully develop. Coffee is at its flavor peak between 12 and 24 hours after roasting. Thus it is better to roast once a day or every other day (depending on how much coffee you drink), than to roast enough coffee for a week on one day. This approach is better for the longevity of the roaster too! *Always clean out the chaff from the chaff collector between each roast. The roast jar does not need to be washed after each use. A slight build-up of roasting oils on the surface is OK. Do wash the jar if enough oils build up to become a fire hazard or if it becomes too difficult to see the beans during the roasting process. Wiping the chamber out with a paper towel is also a quick way to clear out excess oils and chaff and will reduce the necessity of frequent cleanings. *Roasting produces a lot of smoke! If you have a very sensitive smoke detector and you roast indoors, you will need to roast directly under your stove vent hood with the fan turned up high to prevent setting off the fire alarm. Never disable a fire alarm when roasting coffee. If you forget to turn it back on, it could fail to save a life if a real emergency happened! If you experience a problem with the roaster the best option for troubleshooting and/or repair is to contact the manufacturer right away: Fresh Beans Inc. 6436 Business Park Loop “G” Park City, Utah 84098 (805) 504-7731 www.freshbeansinc.com If this does not solve the problem or you have difficulty contacting Freshbeans contact our customer service: Seven Bridges Cooperative 325A River Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (800) 768-4409 www.breworganic.com Want to purchase the New Freshroast Coffee Roaster?:

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