Well, I just answered my previous question re opening the door early (read below).
Okay, I just finished my first roast, so here are a few observations. I used 12 oz Poco Fundo (seemed to be the one others were running with) which roasted out to about 9.2 oz finished. After loading the beans I found that several small beans or fragments fell through the drum screen, so I held the drum over the counter, rolling it in my hands to get out as many as would exit before roasting. Another half dozen got stuck in the screen during the roast and I simply broke them off after the roast, easy enough.
I entered the 1# option for weight, P3 for the profile, and D for timing (23 minutes). I began to worry about the length of time it was taking, and was relieved when the first crack finally hit at 15:45. Second crack began three minutes later, with about a minute between end of first and beginning of second. I hit the cool down button then at 18:45 (since the digital time is a countdown, it read 4:15 remaining minutes in the roast). I'm typically roasting around 12 minutes, give or take, so it will be interesting how this compares for me. I think for my next roast I'll go for P1, which is a bit steeper ascent to peak heat which remains at a plateau. I'd like to experiment with
My instinct was to open the door after two minutes (suggested) to help speed the cool down. I think it did help, with two side effects worth noting. Some of the chaff sneaked out of the corners, and there was some smoke. Now, as home roasters I suspect we're all used to some smoke and I really don't mind it so much since I've been roasting on a screen porch and/or patio.
My first roast looks very even, about FC+. One thing I did miss was the smell during the yellowing/drying phase of roasts; in fact, most all the various smells that correspond to the stages were absent. I suppose this is because of the smoke reduction element of the Behmor, which is impressive, indeed. In fact, I don't think I would have seen much of any smoke at all if I hadn't opened the door to speed cooling. Alas, I roast almost as much by smell as by sight and sound, so this convenience will also be a handicap for me, one that I'll have to get accustomed to for this roaster.
All for now, the coffee has to rest. Me too (midnight).
