Coffee Crafters Artisan 6 fluid bed roaster

[kjr55w]

Results from R435 based on Peter's comments. The PDF attached has the artisan Roaster Scope chart but it is a little screwed up because I forgot to reset the sample rate back to 6 sec from 30 sec, so following it is the Amprobe 6 sec interval plot which reflects what really happened. I adjusted the heat turn down to about 10* before 1c instead of 30* because of the responsiveness of the air roaster compared to drum, and I rampped it back up at the end to get the finish temp up to 445. I don't know what that panic attack did to the roast but we'll see in the cup. The roast looks good to me.
I think I am going to shorten the total roast time and end at the same finish temp by increase heat to 7.5kw in the beginning to get a faster RoR, increase to 9kw(as here) before 1c, then decrease to 7.5kw (instead of 6kw as here).

[kjr55w]

I routed the ET T1 Tc probe into the top of the exhaust tube on the bean cooler, so the R435 charts above show very clearly the drop time (T1 rises sharply) and the subsequent cooldown. I like it.

[kjr55w]

This is a second roast #436 of the same bean (Sumatra Org GLOC) with a total time of 11:33. The first roast #435 is overlaid (underlaid?) in the background as lighter curve with total time of 16:18.

[dfluke]

Thanks for posting all this. I have been looking at this roaster for a while, especially since the old model's price point was very nice. I don't doubt the new model is worth the increase, so it's nice to see someone posting some great results. If I had the extra income I'd pick one of these up in a heartbeat, but timing and the fact I'm a busy Dad means it can wait.

[dsil]

Well, I just pulled the trigger on one of these today. Thank you for posting all of your tips and feedback on this machine. Looks like I have some learnin' to do.
-Doug

[Ascholten]

I am very torn between a 2k gas roaster (although like electric) and this one.  price is about the same on each. Given this is a 10KW roaster it has the BTU's.  That's like a furnace heating strip there.

I don't mind fluid bed roasters in fact that is what I cut my teeth coffee roasting on.  Was just not sure if this one had the control that one like us would need.  Yes I know some coffee shops just 'roast' coffee, and don't care about super perfection, we are not like that though and the sellers of this seemed more intent on pushing how 'fast' it could roast a batch of coffee.  Fast is not a selling point for me.  Fast is not necessarily good.

dsil please let us know how you like it and how it works for  you, I am very interested in your results and experiences on this.

I AM getting a bigger roaster / better roaster, still trying to figure out what I want though.  I do know 1 LB is not enough and I am NOT paying 11 grand for a 1 or 2k roaster.  That's just more than I can justify for it.  Some of the overseas stuff looks very promising, and no overseas made does NOT mean crap.  Ive seen plenty of quality things come from overseas *hitachi, sony* as two examples,  and plenty of total crap come from the us.  Ford comes to mind.  as an example.  (ooh fighting words hehe)

As far as electronics I had a Taiwanese company make me some Ghz range electronics (we'll leave it at that) that are rock solid so know you can get good stuff anywhere if you look for it and demand quality.

[rasqual]

Artisan 6 Commercial Fluid Bed Coffee and Cacao Roaster from Coffee Crafters

Here's a video of the Artisan 6 doing a roast. Very interesting!

ARGH! Where did he get that plastic container he charges the thing with? The beans. I've been wanting one just like that.

[peter]

It's either a dry cereal container, or a pet food storage thingie.

[BoldJava]

Rubbermaids, $10. 22 Cup.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/Category/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?CatName=FoodStorage&SubcatId=BulkStorage&Prod_ID=RP092096

[kjr55w]

Walmart. $5.88 32 cup

[dsil]

Hi Kevin,
 Has the Artisan software been a great help to your roasting? Can you watch the roast progress in real time on your computer ?
Thanks,
Doug

[kjr55w]

Hey Doug,
That is affirmative on both counts. It is quite amazing software. Not well documented but very rich and capable, you just have to dig in. When I had iPhones I used the Roastmaster software and it is also feature rich and capable. To me the holy grail for roasting is to be able to hold everything consistent except for one variable. I don't know how you can do that without some form of logging and automation. The artisan support seems to be right on the cusp of that full automation capability with the latest release of the aArtisanQ_PID_4_3, if not there already. But quite a learning curve.
I started trying some 250g batches last night after returning from vacation. Almost chopped the head off my ET probe in the bean cooler. It seems to have recovered this morning, but I ordered some more probes anyway. The 1/2 lb batches are going to take a lot of practice to find the right probe placement and loft. I was doing Brazil YB Nat and couldn't help trying a shot and capa this morning. Even the first roast that I let the BT drop after 1C was great! I know we don't need all the gizmos to enjoy fresh coffee, but I find it mentally stimulating and fun.
Congrats on pulling the trigger on this one. I think it is perfect for the 5-6 lb batches. It will be great to have someone to commiserate with.
Kevin

[sea330]

I had the honor to sample some of the coffee roasted on the Coffee Crafters roaster, I can say without any reservations it was great, color was perfect for a Sumatran FT Organic GLOC and the flavor was outstanding. I will be picking up one of these roasters this month. Leaving for Seattle on the 14th of Aug will be spending a day or two in the Spokane area and get a chance to test it out myself. Thanks to Kevin for stepping up to be the first in the club to purchase one of these, I feel confident after going through the sample, this roaster has great promise for being a low cost high quality roaster, simple to maintain, easy to use, and good roasting capacity, repeating profiles might be a little challenge at first but With Kevin on board those details will be worked out easily.
Rich

[kjr55w]

I have been roasting and evaluating coffee and really liking this machine, but all with an eye toward automating for better evaluations and control with the soon to be released TC4 boards and PID software. In evaluating thermocouples and other sensors, I saw a need to understand more about the spouted bed thermodynamics which led me to a good bit of recent literature and studies  (2011 Spouted and Spout-Fluid Beds: Fundamentals and Applications Norman Epstein, John R. Grace(Google eBook) looks interesting but $96.
Anyway I performed a simple experiment by dying some beans with food dye and dropping one into the spouting bed. Well worthwhile and informative:
For a 1 min video of the red marker bean being spouted follow this dropbox link (165MB):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/15j3ls7spzlob0o/20140815_redBeanPathExperiment.mp4

[dsil]

You are a sick, sick, man Kevin