Any home roasters living in Western Sydney?

West_Village

Hi guys,

Anyone home roasters living around the western Sydney area? I'm feeling a bit lonely out here so I thought I'd put the feelers out for any like minded individuals who may be keen to share some roasting experience etc out this way? May be a good way to swap roasts, experiment in different roasters and roast techniques and generally chew the fat about life in general

I myself have only been roasting for about a year now with a behmor. I've completed about 60 odd roasts and every time I roast I feel there is so much more to learn!! I love roasting African beans but sometimes struggle to get the fruitiness and sweetness out of them. Well that's my current challenge I'm dealing with at the moment.

Brett_H

Hi mate... I'm hoping you get some takers. Back when a few of us were on CS we had some great get-togethers! Unfortunately not every person that attended was a card-carrying CS member/sponsor so it resulted in some harsh words and member-bans. That's why we're here. Not so much to rock the boat or kill categories but to chat and learn with like-minded people without fear of supporting the wrong coffee-machine or coffee supplier. Also, if for instance our forum sold coffee machines, accessories or beans and we thought the were poor value, we can say that here. We don't slander or defame but we share our experiences openly and with a good sense of fun. Breville discovered the the hard way taking their bat, their ball and going home. Coffee Forum is good... get amongst it mate! I've pretty much retired my Behmor 1 for the KKTO. I reckon you should play with a popcorn popper for a bit just to watch in quick time the change of different beans during roasting. The popper won't taste as good as th other methods but it's fast, fun and most instructive. if you've mastered the Behmor and it's producing great coffee than it's time to blend. Now here's a dark art and not for the faint hearted!

West_Village

Thanks for the tips Brett. I've got a popper downstairs which I picked up at a garage sale but I've never had chance to use it as I'm still living in a unit. My neighbours aren't to impressed when I hit 2nd crack in my behmor either! But then I invite them for coffee and they love the idea of it so all is well. I'm just about to move to a house and have always wanted to give coretto roasting a go but have never had the electrical nous to make one. But I think that is where I'd like to experiment along side the popper to learn a bit more of the nuances and cup results of both those style of roasters. Sorry if this is a silly question but what's a KKTO? Is it similar to a coretto? What are the advantages of a KKTO over some of the other methods? Batch sizes?

Brett_H

A KKTO is the brilliant implementation of a couple of regular household items that can roast a kilo of greens brilliantly. I had the green light from my wife for a 1kg drum roaster for the shed but have stuck with the KKTO. A google search will give you the design and plans all courtesy of local legend KK!

Koffee_Kosmo

I'm sure you will find a like minded person WV As for a KKTO - have a look at this thread on how to build one https://coffeeforum.org.au/roasters-different-roasting-equipment/i'm-building-a-kkto-for-a-member/ I'm here to help if you choose to give it a try - if not I will still help with any other roaster design KK

askthecoffeeguy

Ditto a corretto - rip the lid off a bread maker bhiu get from the op shop for ten bucks and get yourself a heat gun and a hair dryer with a cooling cycle and you're pretty much sorted !

West_Village

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think the coretto is within striking distance for me regarding competence levels to build. Are there any thread recommendations I should read for brands re heat gun and bread makers? Have there been any recent hacks or modifications made to the coretto setup over the years which really improve the roasting process that I should prioritise my efforts on? Also does anyone know of any good green bean sellers in the Sydney area to save on shipping and to try out a few different beans from other online green bean sellers

mycuppa

WV, I doubt you will find many sellers of raw coffee that don't charge freight, even if they are in Sydney. It's probably unrealistic to contemplate a range of quality raw coffees available to buy over the counter, like meat. There are not many sellers in this segment and those that do it need to have some elements of efficiency in order to remain viable, which means not wasting time and money resourcing a retail outlet to serve a small number of ad-hoc customers, hence the reason why freight is an important component of many product offerings. The costs of serving someone face-to-face are escalating to levels that few people truly appreciate. Freight is a necessary and vital cost of doing business when you want something unique or special..........and I'm afraid those that try their best to avoid paying for freight only end up limiting their options, or missing out entirely on the experience.

askthecoffeeguy

I get most of mine from CS and the freight is very reasonable P