Observation

[Scarecrow]

I much prefer fluid bed over drum roast.
That is all.

[Ascholten]

The visual aspect is much better.  You can see whats going on with a FB, not so much with a drum.
As for the taste, that's the old  Chevy .vs. Ford argument there.
Some say one is brighter than the other, however I have not really noticed that, and altering ones roasting technique can easily account for flavor nuances more times than not.

I do however prefer the FB myself as well.

Aaron

[Scarecrow]

I've noticed an aftertaste to the drum roasted that I don't care for.

[Ascholten]

Is your drum clean? did you set any fires in it or burn the hell out of a roast and perhaps not clean it well afterwards.
I have heard of people saying the coffee taste a bit different but first time I heard of an aftertaste.  That might be something to do with your drum and you can clean that out etc.  If you are using a BBQ  ie an RK setup or something there could be flavors there too.

Interesting though

Aaron

[Scarecrow]

It's not just ones I roast. I've been buying coffee to compare samples for my roasts.


I did a comparison of the same beans with someone else's roast (drum), my drum, my frankenroaster, and my air.


Both of the drums had a sour after taste, and when the coffee cooled it was even more pronounced.  Neither of the other two did that.

[peter]

Confirmation bias?

That sounds like a pretty small sample size of drum roasters to say you don't like them. Like Aaron said, I've never heard anybody ascribe a sour aftertaste to drum roasting. It would be easier for me to say the two people abusing the drum roaster we're not proficient.

[Scarecrow]

Mine I could see. They have a great reputation.  I'm wondering if maybe my tastes have changed after doing my own so long.
I'm going to a class next weekend and will get to try about 20 roasts. Maybe that will help figure it out

[bigtuck76]

I know that when I was researching FB roasters Sivetz made a lot of claims that drum roasted coffee leaves an aftertaste and blamed the carbonized chaff that was not expelled from the roasting chamber for this.  I've never noticed this aftertaste that he claimed, but then again he was trying to sell FB roasters!  I too use a FB roaster, but I also enjoy well roasted coffee from a local roaster that uses a small commercial drum roaster.

[Ascholten]

Sour can often accompany grassy.
Meaning you possibly

A:  Ramped up the heat too fast, especially noticeable on softer beans.
B:  Under roasted them.  ie  Pulled them in the middle of first crack, etc etc.

I have seen drummers fire them up like a hibachi to get the temps up and put too much heat into the beans before.  Its harder to gauge in a drum since it's harder to get a thermometer into the bean mass to see what the temp really is.  Not saying impossible but a bit more difficult to master.

Not to be a dick, (although I generally am   ) but I still have to say procedural error or dirty drum  .vs. the overall method giving sour notes.   I have used a Behmor for years.  (A drum roaster that can be a real temperamental bitch)  and have nailed COE Roasts dead on with it, and no sour notes.  If I didn't trust a roaster's ability to do the coffee I'd NOT be throwing 20 dollar a pound coffee's into it.

Just an observation.

Aaron

[Scarecrow]

Hmm,
Not B as these were med/dark roast

Gassy - they were 5 days from roast

Clean drums.

May be A and procedural error. I dont rule out user error, especially since I am more in tune/experienced with the air and frank units vs drums.

More experimentation is needed!

(I think its psychological because I want an artisan so bad. Lol)

[brianmch]

Hi Amy,

I think Aaron said grassy, not gassy.  Grassy being fairly easy to achieve in a drum when you put too much heat into a roast too early and have to cut heat too fast.  User error for sure. 

If a drum roast leaves a bad aftertaste and the roast is medium on the outside, I wonder if the center of the bean is darker than the outside which will give a crappy taste.  That is user error and roasting defect, not roasting machine error. 

Next, fan/exhaust in a drum will have a definite effect on taste.  If the bean temp is crashing someone reading artisan on their drum will keep fan speed down to slow the ROR fall.  This will result in a less clean cup. 

I had some sublime drum roasted coffee this weekend at the US Roasters championship.  I've had some sublime coffee from a Sivetz as well.  Never been able to compare the same coffee between them.  I honestly can't taste a coffee and tell what machine it was roasted on.

[Ascholten]

The
Artisan is a good choice of roaster that's for sure.  But do know that you can easily over shoot the temps on that too.  If you crank it up to say 7 kw on a 1 lb roast, you'll have roasted coffee in about 4 minutes,  along with the expected flavors.   The Artisan can go up to 10 Kw or so, I've pushed mine that hard on a 7 lb roast once.  In retrospect, while it roasted I probably could have kept the heat down a kw or so, towards the end it wanted to race into second and i had to tone it down fast.

Aaron

[brianmch]

How do you fluid bed roasters run your gas and or fan?

On my Huky we raise heat early and then cut steadily through the roast, typically raising fan as the roast progresses in opposition to heat.

My popper that I used a few times was fixed heat and fan.  I know others modify these features. 

The reason I'm asking is that I don't know how easy it is to move back and forth between the two. 

[Joe]

FB Gas and ignition such as on the Sonofresco and I assume artisan (if it is gas) are controlled by a controller like a central heater. there is and ignitor and gas on off valve controlled by a computer. Electric versions I have seen are much like a blow dryer or toaster it achieved the heat by overcoming the temp of the fan which is constant, fan speed does not change on all the FB roasters i have seen. the heat is cycled on or off to maintain or ramp up heat. it is shut off to cool the coffee.

on a side note: I prefer both for different reasons but the sonofresco is an amazing value for what it does. I still have mine...

[Ascholten]

The Artisan 6 which I am using to roast with, the heat and the loft / air are two totally different controls.
You put your beans in, you adjust your loft to get the  beans moving where you want them, you may need to tweak a few times during the roast due to them lofting more as they smooth out during roast etc etc.

You adjust the heat with a rheostat to where you want it at.  I have a wattmeter on mine, and it has a built in thermometer.  I can dial it in to probably 10 to 20 watts if I fiddle enough with it.  I have posted a few videos of me roasting on the thing in case anyone is interested.  Need more heat, turn the knob up, need less, turn it down.
https://bit.tube/play?hash=QmfVWNLmATFGjC1TtgxVyskMV2XJcYspFRJMM9M3uwyYeS&channel=24261

Fan and heat fully controllable.
Needless to say, I like the Artisan 6.

Also, for those with their own websites etc and interested in the BitTube Monetization thing, you can go here to get more info as well.
 https://bittubeapp.com?ref#!2JP398B04
great alternative for those who like to post vids and are tired of youtube screwing or censoring them.

I do not think they are doing the Artisan 6 anymore, they have a 3.5 which is a bit smaller and works the same, and a 9 which is much larger and does the same really.  The 6 can roast down to 8 oz and up to id say 7 Lbs I put in it though it's rated for 5, with it's power handling it can easily do more.


Aaron