So, I picked up three new customers last week and needed to roast for them, others and myself this weekend. My wife, Camille, woke up ill this morning so me missed church. She is fine.
I set about to get to roasting in the Gene Cafe. Many coffees on the list for roasting today: Guatemala Huehuetenango, Ethiopia Sidamo, El Salvador Las Ranas Decaf, Mexico Oaxaca Decaf, French Roast Blend, Harar Decaf, Harar Lot 30, Zimbabwe Dandoni, El Injerto, etc., all Sweet Maria's coffees.
Fired up the first batch of Guatemala in the Gene Cafe and proceeded through the profile ramp; last stage, then I notice the temperatures taking a nose dive and watching a 1/2 lb of Sweet Maria's Coffee going to that famed place of heat in a rocket sled. Tried several things then aborted, disassembled, tried again to no avail.
I was losing time and had a lot to roast so I finally shoved the Gene Cafe into the corner in a heap; I hope I can remember how to put it back together. Backed the wife's Jeep out of the garage (it was quite cool today, ), wheeled out the brand new grill in place of the Jeep, installed grates, placed heat diffusers (received this week), drilled, bolted and used voltmeter with thermocouple; set up an RK Drum in about 30 minutes and had it heating to burn in.
Ran some Nicaraguan coffee (donated by extended family returning from Nicaraguan mission trip) through the roaster to prime it / burn it in. The first pound reached 1st crack in five minutes flat and second crack in 6 1/2 minutes. The next one pound batch was a little more on target with respect to times and ended at Full City.
The following two pound batch was a bit unique. After just a couple minutes I noticed quite a bit of smoke, but then I heard some cracking and saw a lot more smoke. Here's a tip for future RK Drum users: USE THE COTTER PIN TO LATCH THE DOOR SHUT! When I opened the grill there was coffee everywhere; there was also fire everywhere.
Things ran the gamut today:
1. Killed a roaster and premium coffee beans (Sorry Tom)
2. Built an RK Drum in short order; about 30 minutes (Ron, is it a record?)
3. Set fire to coffee
4. Broke wood handle on rotisserie rod
5. Ran to auto parts store for parts to fix it
6. Fixed handle and roasted some more
7. Rearranged motor setup
8. Burned forearm really good (badge of honor, I wear it proudly!)
9. Wasted two pounds of Tom's Guatemala Huehuetenango learning (Sorry again Tom)
10. Somewhat dialed in on 1 & 2 pound roasts
Finally, several batches of coffee got roasted decently, including decaf coffees, I think; bean munch says yes. Everyone is getting coffee this week! Not as originally planned, but I did get the Huehue, Sidamo, French Roast blend and all three decafs roasted.
Sincerely, I am glad this happened this way for a few reasons including that fact that I learned and grew a lot today with respect to roasting and my volume / time improved dramatically. Also, I happen to be working very hard on writing a product review of the Gene Cafe and this is a perfect time to work something like this into the review.
For those that can't wait to poopoo the Gene Cafe, I will state that I am quite impressed with the amount of abuse it took from me. In seven months I ran 422 batches through this roaster, which adds up to 221.5 pounds. I will be giving Tim Skaling a call this week to get it fixed.
For those that love the RK Drum, I have to say that I am now one! The bearing setup that I used did quiet the operation and I can really hear first and second crack quite well, even at a distance, which is great as I do have a hearing deficit. However, the rhythmic swishing of the beans is a narcoleptic's nightmare; I should know, I am one. I even considered moving it to the bedroom to help me sleep at night! Batch size and flexibility is great! Again, batch size and flexibility is great! I roasted some two pound batches and didn't even begin to tax the grill at all.
Update on o4/11/2007
The heater box (replacement part) for my Gene Cafe roaster arrived today. After roasting 6 1/2 pounds in the RK Drum, it took me maybe 15 minutes to replace the part; four screws and two wires. Put the whole thing back together and fired it up to check.
It reached maximum temperature (482F) in 4 minutes 48 seconds from a cold start. For those of you that don't know, that is really, really good for a Gene Cafe.
I wish to thank Sweet Maria's for referring me to Tim Skaling. He is a great guy! I talked to him for just a few minutes and he sent me a new part that arrived in two days and my Gene Cafe is fixed. The old part is going back to him tomorrow for quality control review. Tim Skaling's Contact information is below:
Freshroast Contact Information:
Tim Skaling
Phone: 435-940-1616
Fax: 435-940-1964
Email: skales@tfb.com www.freshbeansinc.com
alternate #s: 435-940-1616, (888) 757-2326
Fresh Beans Inc.
6436 Business Park Loop Unit G
Park City, Utah 84098
or ship to
Fresh Beans Inc.
PO Box 982410
Park City, Utah 84098
Friday, April 20, 2007
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