and made it all the way to the second crack.

Since I am very new and haven't used any other roasters, I will just share my first experience.

After a long wait, the box arrived from California's Sweet Maria.

Pretty straight forward and i read up and knew what to expect.

I was really close to the Iroast, but after Evan recommended the Freshroast 8, I started comparing the 2 and found nothing but praise for the FR and some complaints about uneven roast on the Iroast, but lots of good stuff as well.

The FR is half the price, roasts half the amount and has a fraction of the controls. Since I am pretty much a 1-2 person coffee household, it seemed ok for now.

Reviews calling the FR a workhorse and lots of bigger roasters holding onto theirs for backup and travel was a defite plus.

I just didn't feel right trying the popcorn route and feared I would give up.

For an extra 12 bucks, I opted for the 4 pound espresso sampler, biught a 2 pound bag, and went for the pressure relief jar. All in all, about 110 bucks on my Visa.
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Putting the FR together was a snap and I set up on my patio for my first try.
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Just in case, I put a fire extinguisher within reach and also set up a collander ontop a fan, as I saw someone do.

Now the roasting.

2 scoops in the FR, which is 43cc, and yields 3 ozs of roasted coffee, and they say 14-16 cups of cofee, which I can't personally see....
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4 minutes, in things started getting brown, and the first crack was easy to hear.

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The new FR goes to 8 and apparantly the old one went to only 6, which is 6 minutes, with a 2 minute cool down, leaving the operator to put on another 2 minutes manually for full city plus or French Roast I am told.

The controls on the FR couldn't be asier, just a knob that goes to 8 and you can turn it to cool anytime you want to stop the roast.

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I set the timer to the recommended 6 but at 6, I wasn't satisfied with the darkness and put on the extra 2, but stopped it at 7 minutes, as the second crack just started.
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I was a little surprised at how much chaff was in the beans when I opened it up, but might have put the lid and chaff collector on wrong..
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Once I took it off and threw it onto the collander with the fan under it, the chaff flew all over the lanai and I was glad I was outside.

I will let this rest and try it in the morning, once it degasses a little.
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Please feel free to critique me, make fun of me, tell me to upgrade, or anything else that might help.
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Looks good Pete, let us know how it tastes when you make some.
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Pete,

1) Nice start right out of the box.

2) Are you sure you heard second crack? It's hard to be really sure from the pics, but if my eyes are seeing right it looks like the beans are still a little mottled, and, more importantly, it looks like I can still see (some call it cracks, some lines, some fissures, etc), in the surface of the beans. By the time you are into second crack, generally speaking and this will vary from origin to origin, the beans should be pretty uniform in color, and smooth, you shouldn't see that cracking in the surface of the bean.

I'm guessing you are somewhere between first and second crack, that looks more like a city-city+ roast to me, not even at a full city level yet.

I'm sure Mr. Moo, Norm, and others will be by to weigh in though.

Since you ordered from SM's you may already have seen this page, but if not this is a good pictorial of roasting stages. Sight is only part of the process though, gotta use your nose and ears as well.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.php

Congrats on the new gear!
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Not sure at all, it may have been the end of the first crack.

I am trying to figure it out still and am guessing another couple minutes?

According to the manual, you will begin to get smoke at 2nd crack, and there was no smoke.
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Usually, yes you will get smoke. But some beans, like Sumatran beans, can fool you and there will be no or little visible smoke at all.

Watch, smell, and listen. The sound of first crack is that of popcorn popping, loud, sharp cracks. The sound of second is like rice crispies crackling when milk is poured on them, softer and faster.

The smell of beans changes as they roast, the smell of beans first roasting goes from a bready odor to a sweet smell as you hit first crack. The smell leading up to second crack is more acrid and pungent.

You have to use your peepers as well to keep an eye on the color.

Much easier than it sounds once you get used to it.
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Was that a blend you roasted? It does look like you may have heard the start of 2nd on some beans but I think it could go a tad further unless it was that Bonko.
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It was the Espresso Monkey Blend, part of a 4lb sampler.
They recommend full city to Vienna for the roast.
I'm gonna preheat the roaster a couple minutes and add a little more time to see if I can get it a bit darker.

I went to 7 minutes and really thought I heard a second crack, but could be wrong.
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big big fan of their moka kadir blend.
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None of that in the sampler, but there is some of the Ethiopian Bonko, which must be like the Yirga I just finished because they're describing lemon cookies on the label, and wth is "mouthfeel"???

Gotta be honest, after a few days of lemon cookies, I'm burying the Bonko for a while.
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LOL, you'll get the lingo after a while. Mouthfeel is exactly what it sounds like, I tend to think in terms of body.

Some coffees are thin, some are chewy, some coat your mouth. Yirg is a coffee I would consider on the thin side.

Here, try this link:

http://www.cupofexcellence.org/Whati...6/Default.aspx
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My mouth felt treated well this morning.
First batch was about as fresh of a cup as I can recall. Just awesome.

Interesting how some say after 5 days post roast, coffee can't really be considered fresh anymore and has lost most of the flavors it had just after roast.

I'd be very interested to know the percentage of coffee drinkers who actually drink fresh coffee.

Granted, it's not practical for every busy person to roast, grind, and brew their own coffee, and many chug it for the caffeine jolt only, but so far, tossing a day ot two worth of beans in a small roaster and dedicating 10 minutes every 2-3 days, seems like no big deal.
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This looks like something I will be doing in the near future. I am just amazed, let us know how it tastes as that should be the real test :-)
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Fresh roast, YUM!

Anyone that says 5 days out is not fresh simply doesn't know what they are talking about. :-)

I would stick with keeping it simple for now and developing yours senses (sight, smell, sound) to your roaster, be leery of overcomplicated posts at CG on your roaster and look for those with experience that keep it simple. I like the info a bean mass probe and an accurate environment temp probe give for graphing out roast profiles but this still gets a bit overwhelming and I return to just roasting with the senses for awhile.

No turning back now!
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seemed a bit extreme to me as well.

This is straight from Sweet Marias....

"Coffee is best 4 to 24 hours after roasting. During this time, coffee emits enough C02 to keep the oxygen (that will eventually make it stale) at bay. The essential flavor oils are delicate, and fade or become tainted quickly despite all our interventions. Stored as whole beans in an airtight glass jar in a dark place, coffee can stay "fresh" for roughly 5 days. For those without a good neighborhood roaster, we invite you to discover the simple pleasure of roasting your own coffee."

I can't say I agree with this as I have bought beans from a local roaster and enjoyed them very much 10-14 days after roast.

It's possible I like stale beans, but who the hell knows?
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Let me see the link from SM's, that rings of a sales pitch. I find Brazil's and Yemen's in a drum roaster are a waste to drink (to me) before 4-6 days post roast.
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Great thread, thanks!

I've considered trying this myself. I've got one of those stove top popcorn poppers with the crank and I've heard that's not a bad place to start. Think I may order some beans soon and try it out.
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Excellent place to start, be aware there is smoke when roasting so with out a good exhaust hood roasting outside is great option on a camp stove. Some go as far as removing the handle and putting a variable speed drill to turn it for you.
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Thanks for the tips. I've got a grill with a side burner so that sounds like it would work well... I've got a cordless drill, too. :-)
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Great thread learning a lot as someday I'd like to roast my own.
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