Behmor 1600 Plus Profiles and Roasts

[JoshFox Bread]

Still new to the site and a total novice at roasting.  I opted for the Behmor as my first roaster as it was suggested by a commercial roaster I know.  As I learn as much as I can online I see its shortcomings from a commercial setup but after doing about 40 roasts I'm pretty happy with the machine and have made some great cups.  I found the old thread that is 27 pages deep and relates mostly to the old Behmor and thought maybe an updated thread focusing on the Plus model, particularly manual roasting profiles.  Currently I'm still just learning the variations on the beans themselves along with flavor profiles from types, origins, and processing methods. 

I suppose I'll share my current process which is manual mode with a preheat to 260F on the B button.  Loading a 375g charge as quickly as possible and starting manual 1# setting and P5.  After a couple of minutes I'll up the drum speed until crack which seems to bring on first crack faster than with low drum speed.  I try and balance the oven around 300 on the B button with some toggling between P4 and P5.  Once first crack is near I'll let it go and as crack starts open the door for 15 seconds and drop to P3.  drop the drum speed and try and stretch out the first crack.   tricky thing here so far is each variety really behaves different.  some are loud and obvious, some quiet.  some seamless and some do end.  Many give early pops that should be disregarded until crack really sets in.  None the less that is the profile and I'll roast to City+ or FC on the first roast and then decide which way I want to go from there. 

Love to hear what others are doing.  Adjustments that can be made for types of beans.  Anything really. 

Cheers

Josh

[vnahmias]

I, too, roast with a Behmor Plus.

I preheat the machine for two minutes and pop in the drum with 340 grams of green coffee. I use the 1lb setting and switch to manual mode - P5 and higher drum speed. When first crack starts, I drop to P3 and the lower drum speed to stretch out the development. Following the suggestion from Royal Coffee, I time the development from the beginning of first crack. I usually go for one and a half to two minutes. This gives me a lighter roast.

I would love to hear how others are using their Behmors, too.

Victor

[brianmch]

Hi Josh and Victor,

How long is it taking you guys to get to yellowing then 1C?

I found that a load of over 300g would stretch the time out too long.  I also toggled power to try to extend the time of 1C.

Good luck with the B,
Brian

[vnahmias]

I usually get to First Crack after about 12 minutes. I don't go by visuals because I don't trust what I can see through the window and I don't have a good comparison to ascertain color.

I'm rather confused about the time issue. Several people seem to think that the shorter the time to first crack the better, so I would have to reduce the amount of coffee I roast. Other people seem to be proponents of extending the drying phase which wold argue for a slower build up of temperature. I use 12oz or 340 grams because it seems like a good compromise.

Your thoughts?

Victor

[brianmch]

A shorter time to 1C allows for a longer 1C relative to the roast time which tends to result in better coffee. 

12min was in the general range it took me to get 340G to 1C. 2 min after that for 1C to cool gives a 14 min roast. 2/14 = 14%.

With a 200 gram batch I would get to 1C in 9-10 min and have a 11-12 min total roast. 2/11 = 18%; 2/12 = 17%.

I tended to like these longer ratio roasts better. One can always go longer towards 2C to extend the ratio to get more sweetness and less fruit/ floral/ acidity/ nuance but as a rule I don't hit 2C.   Some coffee's benefit more from a darker roast (Indo's in particular) or use methods ('spro where too much acidity can be bad) and I will often run a test batch long for the heck of it. 

I learned a lot about coffee using a Behmor.  Really had to be attentive. 

[gomeraider]

I've been roasting in a pop-corn popper for about 3 years now, and I just got my first real roaster, the Behmor 1600 plus. I'm realizing all the nuances of roasting that now come into play.

For those of you who have been using this machine for a while, is it really important to let it rest an hour before each roast? I know the manual says that but I was wondering if that really is necessary.

[Badam]

I've been roasting in a pop-corn popper for about 3 years now, and I just got my first real roaster, the Behmor 1600 plus. I'm realizing all the nuances of roasting that now come into play.

For those of you who have been using this machine for a while, is it really important to let it rest an hour before each roast? I know the manual says that but I was wondering if that really is necessary.

I don't let it rest an hour between roasts, at least not on purpose. Typically when I have time to roast coffee, it happens all at once.

If you were looking for any Behmor advice, I would say one of the most important things with the Behmor is the cooling. If you have some sort of external bean cool, something as simple as a metal mesh colander and a fan, you will increase the quality of your roast. Although, I will admit, some roasts I simply hit the cool button 15-30s sooner and let the roast bake a little more when I don't have the time to sit with it or don't want chaff everywhere.

[brianmch]

+1 for external cooling.

I opened the door to cool, sucked the chaff out with a shop vac, and turned a tabletop fan facing into it while the beans spun in the drum. Didn't have space for an external cooler where the Behmor was used.

It takes a while to cool down before a second roast can begin, 13 to 18 minutes or so I believe. DON'T prematurely stop the cooling cycle or you'll have to re-do that countdown before the next roast.

Preheat to the max temp allowed so the roast doesn't trigger thermal shutdown, roast, cool. Repeat.

Don't be afraid of it. Roast 200-250g batches to get a handle on things. Make 1, no more than 2 changes at a time with back to back roasts of the same bean. Keep a detailed minute by minute log to track temp change so you can know whats happening in there as it doesn't offer the same feedback as other roasters.  It can be a good roaster that provides in the cup rewards from attention to detail, patience, and persistence.  Else you'll have a bean baker. 

[vnahmias]

Definitely work with some profiles until you get the hang of it. I now roast 340 grams. Preheat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Start with 1 lb setting and P1 profile. Immediately go to P5 (100%) power and increase drum speed with D. Once First Crack begins shift down to P3 and slower drum speed to develop the roast more slowly. I roast to 2 - 2 1/2 minutes after start of First Crack. Longer for wet processed coffees and shorter for naturals or dry processed coffees.

I've tried pulling the beans earlier to cool, but it creates a real mess. Since I'm cooling the roast before Second Crack I don't worry too much about the roast coasting along.

Good luck!

[Ascholten]

Just remember that in the Behmor, the beans continue to roast for about a minute after you hit the cool button so you have to kind of time that in darker roasts.  As mentioned, an external cooler would do the beans a lot better.  Some of the heavier / denser beans, you may have to reduce the charge weight to get up to the temps you want.  I remember the old one would like to time out on me with a Sulawesi.

Another trick some folks have used is to prop the front up with a piece of 2 x 4 underneath, that tips it back towards the heating elements and pushes the bean mass closer to them.  Instead of resting closer to the floor in the drum, it is resting closer to the element.  That can get a little more heat out of it as well if you are finding issues there.  Not sure howimportant that'd be for the new models but the older ones where the heat kicked on and off several times during a roast cycle, that could be a big plus there.

Have fun and let us know what you come up with that works for you.

Aaron

[brianmch]

Definitely work with some profiles until you get the hang of it. I now roast 340 grams. Preheat for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Start with 1 lb setting and P1 profile. Immediately go to P5 (100%) power and increase drum speed with D. Once First Crack begins shift down to P3 and slower drum speed to develop the roast more slowly. I roast to 2 - 2 1/2 minutes after start of First Crack. Longer for wet processed coffees and shorter for naturals or dry processed coffees.

I've tried pulling the beans earlier to cool, but it creates a real mess. Since I'm cooling the roast before Second Crack I don't worry too much about the roast coasting along.

Good luck!

+1

[Ascholten]

I don't know about the new models but in cooler temps the preheat is almost a must.  The older models if you turned it on and tried roasting in cooler temps you could eventually get an error and a shutdown on the damned thing.  This would always almost inevitably happen right as you were getting close to first crack too.  Now you have to cool the damned thing down let it do it's cycle thing, even unplugging you have to wait at least 5 minutes.  yes you can re do those beans but at that point, the roast is kind of pooched.  To be honest this was one of the things that eventually galvanized my decision of getting my artisan roaster, I got tired of ruining batches in the winter months.

Aaron

[jo]

I went from roasting in a modified popper for many years to the Behmor+.. & agree, need that preheat. I never got an err on the +, but it took too long, imo without it. I preheat to 300 on the B, then pop in my load- 8-12 oz depending on what I'm roasting and how many I want to turn that day (I only roast for me & my husband, sometimes for gifts, and a lb a week for a good friend in trade for his chix eggs.) The Behmor was a nice step up for our indoor-only use vs the tiny loads I could do in the popper.

Put the load in at 1Lb, up the speed & P5. Get to about 315, drop to P3.. up to P4 if needed to keep it in the 310-315 range till 10:30 when the fan comes on, back to P5 if I'm not on it already. 1C happens soon after (or before, depending on my load size/variety) and once it's going, I drop the speed, and down to P3 to stretch it out a couple mins. I usually pull our roasts at FC-FC+, sometimes just into the first snaps of 2C. My friend likes darker roasts no matter the origin, so for him I kill it after 2C starts, and the residual carries it into rolling 2C for several seconds before I pull the charge.

I cool externally- popping that door open and smoking out the kitchen for those darker roasts.. pull the drum and dump onto a fan/strainer setup that cools super-fast, machine set back to cool itself. Silicon dipped gardening gloves are the bomb for dexterity & protection.

I've been of the mindset that fast rise to 1C, and coast seems to work.. but I also do like sweeter roasts, and am finding the roasts in the Behmor to be more to my liking than the faster (& much brighter) roasts I got out of my popper- regardless of ending at 1C or bringing it to beginning of 2C- they were brighter from the popper.

I've not tried comparing a slow developed coffee in the Behmor to a fast, but am curious to see what diff it may make in the end- any input on that point I'd love to read.

[jo]

Just remember that in the Behmor, the beans continue to roast for about a minute after you hit the cool button so you have to kind of time that in darker roasts.  As mentioned, an external cooler would do the beans a lot better.  Some of the heavier / denser beans, you may have to reduce the charge weight to get up to the temps you want.  I remember the old one would like to time out on me with a Sulawesi.

Another trick some folks have used is to prop the front up with a piece of 2 x 4 underneath, that tips it back towards the heating elements and pushes the bean mass closer to them.  Instead of resting closer to the floor in the drum, it is resting closer to the element.  That can get a little more heat out of it as well if you are finding issues there.  Not sure howimportant that'd be for the new models but the older ones where the heat kicked on and off several times during a roast cycle, that could be a big plus there.

Have fun and let us know what you come up with that works for you.

Aaron

Going to try this trick- the newer Behmor still cycles off/on to regulate temps- and I find the heat build a little too slow for what I believe would be best.

[Ascholten]

jo, it still cycles on and off, but being closer to the heating elements, the thought is it sucks up more of the heat into the bean mass when they are on so you get a bit heartier roast.  That is one thing I always was concerned about with the beh over the years I have used it.  It's like wow, this thing is coasting here, sometimes for 45 seconds or so.. what is that doing to the roasting process.  Obviously the beans do come out roasted, but the humpty dumpty on the energy being provided into them makes one wonder.

Aaron