Last weekend I roasted 1kg batch each of Colombian, Indian and Peru for a total of 3 kg on my KKTO using a KK inspired heat shield modified Cookwell turbo oven on a fine 18 degree saturday. The KKTO was also fire blanket insulated. Previously it was double insulated. This time it,s four layered to double the effectiveness. Four holes was created on the heat shield using the holesaw. For some reason the holesaw did not achieve the desired result. It just could not cut through and only created smoke and sparks. Perhaps the heat it created actually made the metal tougher. I finished the job using the biggest drill bit available and butchered each hole until the desired effect. Not quite as refined as KK,s but was the right diameter. A ET (environmental temperature)reading was made using a probe via multimeter. Fully heated, the temperature stabilized at 252 C with the tip of the probe down where the beans would be. This was with the oven also directly plugged into the wall and no extension cables nor power boards used, just in case there would be any voltage variations. After 10 minute warm ups, each 1 kg batch of greens were loaded at full heat, went through what seems to be a loong stretched out roast. They all reached first crack at 19.5- 20 minutes and start of second crack 5 minutes later for a 25 minute roast. No burping used and full heat was used right through. The appearance of the finished results look good and does not look baked. Cupping them today after a few days rest resulted in a smooth, medium bodied, chocolatey, medium acidity but somewhat flat and origin character muted. The inherent sweetness however was there and never saw the need to add sugar. My next mission is to remove the guard completely and see if the roast can come down to around 20-21 minutes. If not, then will look for a more expensive oven. So far I am still enjoying the KKTO, but it feels there,s more tweaking to be done and room to improve so that the roaster environmental temperature can be increased.[emoji6] Any recommendations or advice?
