I'm worried that my HWP may be under-powered. I'm roasting the brand new SweetMarias Espresso Blend - Classic Italian on the 10 setting and isn't getting dark or oily. Some beans can still roast rather quickly (Kenya), but this espresso and Malabar refuse to darken up. Is it the bean? The HWP? I suppose I could test the beans in my FR, MA, WB1, or WB2 later, but I thought I'd get others feedback first. After all, the HWP is my favorite child. Most of the coffee I roast tends to me on the light side, so I don't see the problem very often. Does anyone have a preferred roasting method for darker roasts? I'm thinking about getting a Whirley-Pop. thanks, mas homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
I've found the key to dark roasts in a hot air device to be two things, 1) good line voltage and 2) high ambient temps. My PII won't really make a dark, oily roast unless it's at least 70 degrees outside and I've got it plugged straight into my 121 volt wall socket. With the disabled thermostat, it roasts HOT, and will get a smokin', oily second crack roaring along in about 6 minutes. It's really too fast, so I modulate with the heater switch I added. Normally, I like to roast in the basement (60 to 65 degrees) and use a longer extension cord to get me by my window for exhaust. It adds about 2 minutes to the roast time, and I really can't get a *dark* roast, but then I'm not looking for that, usually going for Full City + as a max, with a light sheen of oil before hitting cool, and then oil spots appear after a day or two. About an 8 minute roast time gets me there. I've not tried the Classic blend, but roast Monkey and Moka Kadir regularly. Chris homeroast wrote: <Snip> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today athttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast">http://webmail.netscape.com/homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
Michael, I've had no problems getting dark roasts (Monkey Blend, French Roast Blend) out of my (vintage 3/01) HWP. I roast in the garage, plugged directly into a 20-amp outlet. I do notice the roast takes less time now that spring has brought warmer temperatures. (I didn't know what people were talking about when they said the fan speed varied, until the temperature in the garage got above ~70--I thought the HWP had gone into "cool mode" prematurely, but before I could re-hit the start button, the fan slowed down again.) --On Thursday, May 17, 2001 12:44 PM -0700 Michael Allen Smith wrote: <Snip> Fulton Martin __=o&o>__ roseview San Diego, CA N32 43.956, W117 05.874 homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
On 17 May 2001, at 12:44, Michael Allen Smith wrote: <Snip> My uneducated opinion is it's either 1) the electrical current (low voltage, perhaps?) or 2) the HWP. On my HWP anything roasted at over 6.5 will come out fully charcoaled - most beans are charcoal at 6.2. Anything under 5 won't make it to first crack. This applies to all of the 20-something varieties I've roasted so far. What setting does it take for a dark roast of your Kenya? If it's 6 or 7 then maybe the problem is the Espresso beans. If it's 8 or higher I'd lean towards the voltage or HWP being at fault. I roasted Kenya AA Egads (I know that's spelled wrong but it's appropriate) this evening at 5.4 and 5.7 - the former being nice midrange between 1st and 2nd crack and the latter had started to slow down the 2nd crack sounds when the cooling cycle kicked in. The blend you're using is a very dark roast bordering on overdone at 6.0 on my machine. <Snip> I'd be interested in hearing what the results are. I like the convenience of the HWP and especially the ease of cleaning, but am annoyed at how narrow the good roasting range is (less than 1 point between under- and over- done). It's very difficult to fine-tune and duplicate a roast when the range is that tight. Sharon homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
The results: 1 - I immediately discarded "Ambient temps" being that I'm roasting mid-day in Southern CA. 2 - I'm rather cetain that it isn't a voltage issue since my house is just 9 days old. So is my HWP under-powered? Today I roasted the Classic Espresso in the WB1 and it DID get to a darker color. It wasn't oily dark brown, but it was a few shades darker than what the HWP was able to achieve. I guess I'll be using the HWP strictly for lighter roasts. I'm still considering the Whirley-Pop as a way to handle dark roasts. mas homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
At 09:13 PM 5/18/01 -0700, you wrote:
<Snip>
Your HWP maybe defective - check the temperature with one of those
thermometer that SM sells. The actual temperature is not all that
important because I am only interested in seeing if the temperature
continues to go, while roasting, or is going down when the cool cycle is
activated. Still, all of my roasts with this thermometer will be
terminated before 450 F - or at least that is what I have
observed. Another possibility is that there are some fluorescent lights on
and that can affect the HWP.
My HWP is always set at 10 and then controlled manually. My first two
roasts with SM's Italian Espresso Blend were taken 2.5 minutes into 1st
crack and that could easily be into the beginning of 2nd crack. With the
HWP, it is just hard for me to hear 2nd crack most of the times. The
subsequent shots were dark, but variable due to my continually evolving
poor espresso techniques - very difficult to control the variables time and
again and make it repeatable. I sensed that these two batches had a
burned taste to them, but there were definite bittersweet, dark chocolate
fundamentals sitting in the cup. The next two roasts were taken only 2
minutes into 1st crack and have yet to be espresso'ed.
At any rate, I doubt that I would dare let the HWP run to 10 minutes before
activating the cool button. Most of my terminations fall somewhere between
six to eight minutes plus from the start of the roast. With the five
minute cooling cycle, total times, so far, are going to always be less than
14 minutes.
Carl
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Just because your house is new doesn't mean you have good wall voltage. You need to actually measure it while the HWP is running. See if you can borrow a good voltmeter and measure the socket voltage (be careful, of course). With all the California power problems, I wouldn't be surprised if they are screwing with the system. You're lucky you don't have to pedal a bicycle powered generator to roast your coffee!!! Chris homeroast wrote: <Snip> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account today athttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast">http://webmail.netscape.com/homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
Send it back. You should be able to go as dark as you want w/ an HWP. jmr <Snip> homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
<Snip> This is my 2nd HWP and I'm past the warranty. I will buy another one, but not until it croaks. One of the benefits of having a slightly underpowered HWP is that it excels at slow light roasts. mas homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
<Snip> You need to actually measure it while the HWP is running. See if you can borrow a good voltmeter and measure the socket voltage (be careful, of course). With all the California power problems, I wouldn't be surprised if they are screwing with the system. You're lucky you don't have to pedal a bicycle powered generator to roast your coffee!!! <Snip> Sounds like another Home Depot run! For the voltmeter... not the bicycle-powered coffee roaster. :) mas homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
Yeah, typically in peak high demand summer months power co's drop voltage. So given the CA problem it would not be surprising. Also beware of line dimmers (according to Hearthware). john on 5/19/01 10:02 AM, Michael Allen Smith at mas wrote: <Snip> homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
Quoting "Michael Allen Smith" <Snip> I'm on my third, a recent way-past-warrenty replacement for one which suffered meltdown which in turn had been a replacement for one which had the erratic start-stop ailment. The HWP reliability problem is for me outweighed by it's convenience and the totally friendly and responsive attidude of the folks at the other end of their customer service1-800 number. Scott Odell homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |
There is variation from HWP unit to unit, but the variation should be
within 1 setting though:
I have 2 units currently running on the same circuit and one is at cupping
roast (city) at 5.5, the other is 6.2 . Its a little annoying but I think
that minor differences in the thickness of the heating element and in the
thermister are going to do this. But the air flow compensates and I timed
it: both roast within about 15 seconds of eachother to acheieve the same
roast. This is one reason why I emphasis the sounds of the roast in the
reviews, rather than giving roast instructions in dial numbers.
...And I also upped the recommended settings recently to make 6 the
baseline roast, because I think that works for more people than the 5.5 I
had on the tip sheet.
Anyway, I think Sharons roaster is way too hot! That roast range is too
narrow. But I have to add that the Eaagads is an unusual coffee to roast. I
think you see in the review that it is touchy, turns dark quickly and has a
darker roast color than a comparable coffee at the same degree of roast. So
thats not the best one to benchmark the roaster with.
As far as the classic espresso, the robusta does lag a little behind the
other coffees, and the brazils are another coffee that perhaps
over-represent roast color compared to a wet processed Central. Also, you
really shouldnt necessarily see any oils develop in the roast chamber, but
if you have enteered 2nd crack, they wuill emerge after an appropriate
resting period.
We're testing this Solis Master 5000 super auto espresso machine and the
Classic Italian is awesome in it. I roast it pretty light ...Northern
Italian Style, just about 20 seconds into 2nd crack. I think its actually a
MORE potent blend in the lighter roast than with the darker carbony
flavors...
Tom
<Snip>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Great coffee comes from tiny roasters"
Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting - Tom & Maria
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-=> On Fri, 18 May 2001 21:13:30 -0700, "Michael Allen Smith" said: <Snip> <Snip> I recently moved my HWP plug off a power strip and straight to the wall outlet. Just that one change totally threw off my roast settings. What I used to roast at 7 is now just over 6! This thing draws some serious current (>10 amps), so a power strip or low-current extension cord of any length will impact the heat, even in a brand new and well-wired house. -Steve homeroast mailing listhttp://lists.sweetmarias.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast |