when my alp starts its cool cycle, I sometimes open the lid to help out.  I
haven't tested this to see if it really changes things, though.
Bob C.
rcantor

Paul,
I agree with your thought on this.  You have the combination of the fan
drawing all the air directly through the drum while it is rotating and
tossing the beans.  Maybe it's just my experience, but I don't find the need
to do any fancy additional cooling of the beans after the Alp is done.  I
simply spread them out flat into an aluminum pan where the remaining heat
quickly dissipates.  If the beans are continuing to cook, it is so minimal
that I haven't been able to detect any significant change in the bean.
Coffenut  :^)

I do about the same thing, but for 300 bucks we really shouldn't have to 
spread the beans out flat on an aluminum sheet to finish the job the Alp 
should be designed to do. Roast and cool coffee beans. A little mod to the 
chip should resolve this shortcoming.
Terry F
coffenut writes:
<Snip>

But you also have the heating element hotter than the beans acting as a heat
source that must be cooled.  opening the lid gives that heat somewhere to
go.  the air is still drawn through the beans with the lid open, although
it's not as fast.
Bob C.
rcantor

I hear you.  With the heating element slowly cooling down under the drum, it
could take a while to cool the beans if they cooled longer in the rotating
drum.  If the Alp could move the beans away from the roasting chamber, still
spin them while flowing cool air, we'd have a chance at a one stop solution.
On the other hand, does anyone really know that our additional cooling
methods are really necessary?  What would happen if we simply let the beans
finish cooling in the plastic container where they're ejected?  Would we
actually be able to tell that the end result roast was affected because the
beans were allowed to just sit until cool?  I've got to admit that I do the
extra cooling effort in the aluminum pan because of what I've read is the
right thing to do, not because I know it is necessary.
Coffenut  :^)

Agreed.  You've got to get back to enjoying the product before taking on
experiments and even then, unless it makes a big difference, I'd probably
rather just keep cooling the beans in my pan.  I asked the question mainly
out of curiosity to see if someone had actually tasted a difference.  When
you were freezer cooling the beans, what difference in taste could you tell
versus allowing the beans to cool on their own?
CN  :^)

Kathleen,
No more description required...I know exactly what you mean.  It's like you
have the taste of the finest cup(s) of coffee you've ever had burned into
your memory and everything is measured against that level.  I can't describe
it either, but I instantly know when I've come close.  Of the Mexican beans
Tom sells they are some of the ones that seem to touch that level with
consistency (also the Harar Horse).  The neat thing about coffee (that many
people never get to discover) is that there is such a wide variety of
flavors, some subtle and others very distinct.  I'm just glad to have found
home-roasting so that I can explore these flavors and share the results with
family and friends.    Coffenut  :^)