After having read the messages about cooling beans with vacuum cleaners, and
being the lazy guy I am, I decided to forego the coffee can contraption and
just use the vacuum itself.
I usually roast 100 grams (by weight) at a time. I took a spare 18" section
of pipe (cleaned) from the vacuum and wedged a piece of wire mesh into the
flared end. I then attached it to the "handle".
When the beans were finished roasting, I merely sucked them all into the
pipe and let the air run over them...Cooled in about 45 seconds.
Improvements:
a) After sucking up the beans, hold the end of the wand over something cool,
like a frozen marble slab, or a jar of frozen marbles......
b) Put the section of pipe in the freezer for a few hours..
c) Combine A & B
I don't think condensation is a problem, as the air going over the beans
will wisk away whatever the heat does not burn away...
I have a Eureka canister model and it picks up every bean....A ShopVac might
be able to pick up more ...your mileage will vary..
Ciao,
Angelo

Great idea! I mean, it really sucks, but its a great idea...
I had to say that  8^)
Ted
<Snip>

I must also admit to trying faster cooling, but in the refrigerator. I first
make space in the fridge. The roasted beans are then spread out on a cookie
sheet and placed in the fridge for about 2 to 3 minutes until just warm to
the touch. I cannot say whether this has improved the taste.
Soon I will try other cooling methods, the vacuum pipe has definite
possibilities. The pipe should be wide enough so that the depth of beans
does not overly restrict the volume of air. One should be able to judge this
by the sound of the vacuum.
--
Ken Mary - Aromaroast - whirlyblade - decanter
----------
<Snip>
<Snip>

For those using the Alpenrost- May i assume that you are waiting for the 
beans to dump into the collecting tray before you employ other means of 
cooling the beans down?  I've used a handheld wire mesh-like collander, 
shaking and applying my shop vac to the under side.   This seems to cool 'em 
fast.  I made a blend for the first time 2/3 dark roast columbian and 1/3 
medium roast sumatra- tastes great.
Again- I am VERY much enjoying my new purchase of the Alpenrost- the Salter 
scale arrived yesterday, so now I can employ and more scientific approach to 
my roasting!
-Todd L., Alp

Todd,
Yes, I'm allowing the Alp to complete its full cycle.  If you spread the
beans out on an 9by13 aluminum pan (single layer), they cool quite fast and
I haven't seen the need for anything more.  I've found the aluminum really
absorbs the heat from the beans quite well within just a couple of minutes.
I'm not an expert on the time required for the best cooling, but the Alp is
doing a good enough job combined with my pan method to suit my needs.
That scale is really important to accurate measurement versus using a
measuring cup to get 8ozs of beans.  For example, weighing 8oz's of Tom's
Sulawesi Toraja Rantapao (the tan colored bean) with a digital scale will
fill a measuring cup to about the 13oz level.
Coffenut  :^)

I've been using the reverse of the vacuum method for cooling.  Hot beans go
into a fryer basket, and get tossed gently in front of a fan.  Cooling takes
only 30-45 seconds, and has the added benefit of removing the last of the
loose chaff.  I roast and cool outside, so the fountain of chaff doesn't
cause a mess.
Tossing beans in the basket without benefit of the fan yields much slower
cooling, with noticeably degraded flavor.  The coffee isn't ruined, it just
loses a lot of the distinctive flavor of whatever bean was roasted.  I'm
convinced that rapid cooling is important.
-Anthony

Todd, and all,
Been reading about cooling and did a bit of a comparison this past 
Wednesday. Made three batches of LaMinita. First batch I let the 
Alp do the cooling. Took the beans from the collecting tray and put 
them in a collander and shook every few mins until room temp. 
Then put the roast in a canning jar.
With 2nd roast I did something like you describe below with a shop 
vac.
With 3rd batch I stuck in the freezer for three minutes (as 
recommended by Fresh Roast directions.
Been brewing and tasting since Thursday night...grinding with Solis 
and brewing in Chemex. So far, we can not tell a difference 
between the three batches.
Granted, we did not time to the exact second, but all three were 
roasted very close...2-1/2 mins past the first crack we heard.
What differences are you folks experiencing with these cooling 
methods? Just wondering if this is our palates or a case of 
subjective tasting.
Mike
On 1 Sep 2000, at 23:46, OligoNuk wrote:
<Snip>

To really see if there's a difference, you'd need to get the beans out of
the alp (or whatever) as soon as the roast is over - protect your hands and
dump the beans and agressively cool without waiting for the slow cooling the
alp does.  If there's a difference, that's how you'll find it.
Bob C.
rcantor

Bob, you mean you are unplugging it before it dumps to the 
collector???   Mike
On 2 Sep 2000, at 13:30, Robert Cantor wrote:
<Snip>

I think what Bob C. just said is that, if you want to try a cooling
experiment, the cooled beans must come from the same batch, i.e. take some
out of your Alp, and leave some in.
The differences you can get in roast profile from batch to batch can account
for a significant change of taste, which could easily mask the relatively
small effects of different rates of cooling.
As far as cooling is concerned, the most important step is to stop the
pyrolosis promptly at the proper point.  Otherwise, "the roast goes on".
After that, the rate of cooling is a matter of debate, but the effects are
much more subtle.  JMO,
Hugh

Hugh, ok, good idea. Shall try the same experiment early next 
week, using beans from the same roast.  Mike
On 2 Sep 2000, at 12:03, Hugh Solaas wrote:
<Snip>

Splitting the sample is a great idea, but to really see the effect of rapid
cooling you need to get the beans out of that drum and cool quickly.  That's
cooling from the 4 hundred-some degrees down to room temp in about a minute
or so.  It's too late if you let the beans take the 5 min the alp takes to
get them "cool".   As soon as you've reached the roast point you want I'd
open the lid, lift the drum up, pour out about half into a wire mesh
strainer and cool any way you want.  But I'd lift the lid and dump the beans
as soon as the cool cycle starts, not letting the beans sit in the alp for
even 10 seconds after the roast stops.
Bob C.
rcantor

Bob, you'll never get beans to cool down from 400+ degrees to room
temperature in  anywhere around a minute, unless you are very fast at
dumping and have a flash freezer.  The important thing is the RATE of
cooling, not getting down to room temperature.
As I pointed out in a previous post, the primary thing is to stop pyrolysis,
if you're going into second crack.  If you're not into pyrolysis, then
cooling is not as important, but it doesn't hurt to stop the roast as
quickly as possible.
Best Regards,
Hugh

This is fine as long as you realize that it's opinion and it's exactly this
proposition that would be tested.
Bob C.
rcantor