My new roaster - Corretto

Spoony · August 2012

I have just retired my old Cornelius popcorn maker that I used for a couple of years and did an untold number of roasts (probably well over 100) ... it got to first crack in about 7 mins and then 2nd crack happened about 30 seconds after 1st crack finished which was always way too quick. I could only do 100 grams as well which was always a little annoying having to do numerous roasts in a session.

Now I have bought a new coffee machine (Breville DB) I'm drinking a lot more coffee sooooooo ... I have now built this new setup:

Scored the bread maker off gum tree for $30, heat gun was purchased using birthday Bunnings vouchers (I love Bunnings vouchers). The aluminium chimney and top were old scraps from work. The cooler is the old bucket and exhaust fan trick (cost a whole $27) as my wife let me use an old sieve that had been in the cupboard and been used a whole zero times.

The temp probe was the most expensive bit ... but I always enjoy buying silly little gadgets

Only done 1 roast so far in it (a 600g batch which yielded 500g) ... took about 13 mins to get to first crack (it stalled for a minute or so at about 130

Spoony · August 2012

Oh ... I also have a 2 stage chaff collector ...

They run around chasing and eating all the chaff which is great :P They are still alive so I assume it isn't bad for them!

lemoo · August 2012

grats on the new roaster spoony! the corretto's have the potential to produce excellent batches also be careful with your dogs and coffee. they dont go well together http://dogs.about.com/od/dogandpuppyhealth/tp/toxicfood.htm A: Can dogs drink coffee? Safe answer--No. Caffeine and theobromine (found in chocolate) are methylxanthines which are toxic to dogs. While a dog would need to drink a lot of coffee for it to be toxic it is probably best to say dogs should not drink coffee.

Spoony · August 2012

They aren't drinking the coffee per say ... just eating the chaff (I'm not sure what the caffeine content of chaff would be). Maybe I will have to look at some way of catching it all (maybe a cage or something on the exhaust).

lemoo · August 2012

I don't know if chaff has any caffeine content but it was more of a cautionary tale You could just get some flyscreen and cover up the holes on the bucket to stop chaff flying everywhere

Brett H · August 2012

Great setup Spoony! May enjoyable hours of roasting fun ahead of you! :thumb:

Koffee_Kosmo · August 2012

Happy roasting :thumb: larger volumes here you come KK

UNM · August 2012

great to see a coretto roaster on the forum. I don't like that type of roaster due to the chaff dispersal, but they can work well. Nice to see a bit of variety too.

beanflying · August 2012

Nice neat setup :thumb: I actually feel I have missed out on part of the journey by never having built one of these. Great way to roast for not a lot of $$

JamesM · August 2012

Spoony, looks a lot like my rig! 600gm is about the max you'd want to put in it. Makes a good half kg roast! 400gm is about the min, any less and I find the beans just fly everywhere. I really need to rig up a neat lid like yours, I'm using a bathroom tile at the moment. One thing I did which you might want to look in to.. I drilled my breadpan from the underside, so the probe sticks "up" in to the bean mass. It makes ejecting the pan really easy and fast without having to remove the probe first. fun times!

Spoony · August 2012

on 1346125363:

One thing I did which you might want to look in to.. I drilled my breadpan from the underside, so the probe sticks "up" in to the bean mass. It makes ejecting the pan really easy and fast without having to remove the probe first. fun times!

That is a definite need ... I managed to bend the probe when I ripped the breadpan out ... and I can't imagine it will be the last time :D

UNM · August 2012

on 1346130496:

That is a definite need ... I managed to bend the probe when I ripped the breadpan out ... and I can't imagine it will be the last time :D

I think that is by far the most common mistake with coretto roasters. You will almost certainly do it again. I recommend you do like JamesM and get a hole in your bottom pronto.

garyw · August 2012

Here is a video of a complete roast done in a breadmaker. Nothing special but shows what it can do. My Probe is inserted through the side of the bowl and angled upwards so will pull out in a hurry when the mixing bowl is removed without bending.

garyw · August 2012

Looks nice and neat for the lid part. If you find that the gun gets a lot of reflected heat, you might want to remove the plastic cover so it doesnt melt. Also, in the event of the heat traveling further up, perhaps a little piece of metal surrounding the nozzle to be a heat deflector. I have my gun tightly held by the lid itself to stop the melting issue. You can see in this photo, the gun plastic has been melted by just placing over the Corretto and reflected heat. I have done roughly 10 batches without the cover which caused me to make a temp lid (this one) I have another more professional lid now, and the melted plastic was a result of those 10 batches. In this machine I have logged 122 roasts (as of 26th August 2012) and the gun hasnt suffered any more heat damage. I love my breadmaker coffee. We have pro units in the shop but I test and cup from this baby to get an idea as to whether we want to sell the coffee or not.

Spoony · September 2012

I find the gun doesn't get hot at all ... the fan blows over the heat gun then over the chimney to blow the chaff away. I did a roast last night and managed to bend the temp probe again ... at least I'm consistent :D I'm off now to figure out how to make it come through the bottom :P

garyw · September 2012

Thats not good. You dont need the fan except for the Chaff. Try a flat lid like in the picture above, but make sure the reflected heat doesnt burn the plastic. My gun is a 2kw and will heat the chamber to 350C easily. gary

garyw · September 2012

Just roasted a kilo of Colombian and a kilo of Brazil Santos in the breadmaker. The Santos was 127 grams over a kilo and it was a touch too much. Some burned ends and a few not roasted. Overall a lovely roast but at the top most limit for size and equipment. One kilo max in the breadmaker and you will have a consistent roast.Took 19 minutes, I allowed 4 minutes till second crack. 650-700 grams is the sweet spot for quick and quality, takes about 12-15 minutes. I needed to do this in two roasts for testing purposes. Although I have a temp gauge for the beans, I use it only to see where I am in the roast and let the beans tell me when They are done. Im happy with this days roasting. I will be stripping the breadmaker down to isolate the motor soon, and will find a suitable large width pot to insert the rotator in. I think I might get more volume of beans in a wider unit but keeping the head height as it is. Depending on the pot, it might go dual heat with the option of a Halogen top or the standard heat gun. I even began to work out heat vs volume and area for a 2 gun system to make a 2 kilo + roaster... Not to mention a rotating drum with a copper pipe venting hot air in middle of it... In my experience the rotation speed of the breadmaker, seems to suit the heat of the gun, even though it looks fast. My beans are consistent with no burning or tipping, (apart from this time on the test). We have a few bags of beans to roast this week in the shop.. Some blends and some single origins. Will be hectic. I still have transition difficulty going from a home roaster to watching 50 kilo in the de stoner waiting to be packed

I once worried that I would stop liking coffee if I worked with it. It hasnt happened

UNM · September 2012

on 1346583242:

650-700 grams is the sweet spot for quick and quality, takes about 12-15 minutes.

I am sure you are aware each breadmaker pan is different and that the sweet spot will vary. Just thought I'd add a note for anyone reading with less experience so they don't just assume the same will hold true for their breadmaker.

on 1346583242:

I will be stripping the breadmaker down to isolate the motor soon, and will find a suitable large width pot to insert the rotator in. I think I might get more volume of beans in a wider unit but keeping the head height as it is. Depending on the pot, it might go dual heat with the option of a Halogen top or the standard heat gun. I even began to work out heat vs volume and area for a 2 gun system to make a 2 kilo + roaster... Not to mention a rotating drum with a copper pipe venting hot air in middle of it...

Keep us informed, sounds interesting and I am sure many of us will be interested in the hybrid roaster development. Don't forget that the shape and material of the agitator is as important as the motor speed. KK has a lot of experience in this area.

garyw · September 2012

on 1346592755:

I am sure you are aware each breadmaker pan is different and that the sweet spot will vary.

Given that we were discussing ratio's above a pound per batch, for the average 1.5- 2lb single paddle breadpan the ratio is pretty even across the board given the design similarities. When the design goes to double paddle flat shape, it brings its own set of individuality to the table. A lot of people like to roast at 450-550 grams for personal control in the profile they prefer. However at, 650 grams you can set the air gun on full (2kw) and it will rise roughly 8-12 degrees a minute, (After drop heat) and hold it at 1st crack for whatever duration you wish, and then finish prior to or into 2nd. I have not found that much variance in manufacturer or paddle shape that alters this figure. This is one of the major advantages to breadmaker roasting. Perhaps it is the definition of the term sweet spot that we are not in sync with? garyw

Spoony · September 2012

I roasted some decaf beans the other day ... it's a first for me. My wife is pregnant and doesn't want to drink too much caffeine. Is there a rough procedure for roasting decaf beans? I heard no cracks at all and pulled them when I thought they might be ready (they were quite dark). They ended up tasting ok in the cup though so I must have done something right I guess ... I'm just not sure what. I must say, the distinct lack of chaff was a nice surprise!

Koffee_Kosmo · September 2012

on 1347017460:

I roasted some decaf beans the other day ... it's a first for me. My wife is pregnant and doesn't want to drink too much caffeine. Is there a rough procedure for roasting decaf beans? I heard no cracks at all and pulled them when I thought they might be ready (they were quite dark). They ended up tasting ok in the cup though so I must have done something right I guess ... I'm just not sure what. I must say, the distinct lack of chaff was a nice surprise!

The procedure is much the same to roast decaf as normal beans Yes it's harder but not impossible to hear the cracks You will notice that you need less time by a few days of degas and rest and they need to be consumed quicker than normal You will notice that from a good well processed decaf that it's very hard to tell the difference ? taste wise from a non decaf coffee Also decaf roasts cleaner with less chaff in most cases KK

UNM · September 2012

decaf is usually much darker when roasted than regular. Don't go by colour alone. Haven't roasted any for a while, but I am pretty sure cracks happen at slightly higher temp than normal. The Brazil Opus one exotic (available from beangreen) is half the caffeine of regular and roasts much as any normal bean. worth considering.

Dry_bean. · January 2015

Thought I would bump this thread. For some reason Corretto roasting doesn't get much mention on this site, IMO the Corretto is the simplest, cheapest and most efficient ways to start roasting. Results are up there with the best. Cheap to set up. Will roast up to 750 grams of green. Do a Google search, lots of info out there.

Brett H · January 2015

I had a Corretto roaster between my Behmor and BZbQ roaster. The trickiest thing is to get used to your bread maker so your agitation is consistent. After that you're good to go! Great cost-effective setup.

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