# Roasting methods



## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I would love to know how other people roasts their coffees and see how they get the best out of their coffee bean


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## Tsangpa (Nov 26, 2017)

Lots of different methods and profiles on here. It's usually best rather than asking a wide open question to instead start off with an explanation of what you do. That gives a more structured way to open a topic.

For instance, explain what type of roaster you're using, what beans you roast, the types of profiles you've been using and how altering different aspects of the profile are giving you different results, or any particular problems you're finding.

HTH


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Your right it' a broad question because it' a broad topic, I've noticed with the Costa Rican bean for example it takes alot longer to get to first crack than it does for example a Colombian I'm interested to know why this is in a scientific way


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## johnbudding (Dec 2, 2014)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> Your right it' a broad question because it' a broad topic, I've noticed with the Costa Rican bean for example it takes alot longer to get to first crack than it does for example a Colombian I'm interested to know why this is in a scientific way


Interesting topic - what roasting equipment are you using?


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Are you a roaster? Selling your own roasted beans?


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

A gene coffee roaster, but I don' think it' the equipment as even when I do a Peru it act different I believe each bean obviously has different characteristics when going through the roasting process I'm just wondering why really


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Yes I am


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

And just out of curiosity how do I change my profile pic


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> Yes I am


Well, I am sorry but it sounds like you know very little about roasting. You are showing yourself up. If you want to be taken seriously (or are you a troll?) then may I politely suggest you spend some time reading round the forum. Maybe you will find other threads that will answer a lot of questions you want answers to.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I am new to the business, but that does not mean my coffee isn' good, and for your information I am not trolling, I am here to join in with conversations just like you.


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## johnbudding (Dec 2, 2014)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> I am new to the business, but that does not mean my coffee isn' good, and for your information I am not trolling, I am here to join in with conversations just like you.


How long have you been roasting for, and how long have you been selling for?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

You roast in a Gene Cafe? CBR 101 or 1200?


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I have been studying and roasting coffee for over a year, but only started selling for a couple of weeks


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Gene cafe roaster 101 for the moment as I'm not big enough yet for a big roasting machine but one day maybe lol


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Is it modified? I wouldn't dream of roasting commercially with a Gene 101 not just because of batch size, but quality and consistency. I've been using it for about 4 years with a dimmer mod and a for about a year with a thermocouple in place and I still wouldn't think it would be acceptable to sell the roasts from it especially not for profit. You need to invest in a proper roaster like the Dalian amazon for example and learn how to use it. If the business fails you can sell the roaster for very little loss (and much less time lost roasting). It's better to do that than provide sub par roasts on a gene that will mean you don't get repeat business.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I would love to get one of those but putting out nearly 4 grand straight away as well as trying to pay £3000 to get the certification for the use of fair trade and organic onto my label its too much to gamble.

and I find the machine actually quite good for small batches but to fair if your using good beans and roast them correctly you get some real smooth coffee


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## Tsangpa (Nov 26, 2017)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> I would love to get one of those but putting out nearly 4 grand straight away as well as trying to pay £3000 to get the certification for the use of fair trade and organic onto my label its too much to gamble.
> 
> and I find the machine actually quite good for small batches but to fair if your using good beans and roast them correctly you get some real smooth coffee


I may be wrong but it's the green beans that are certified. As a roaster you're not adding any chemicals to the beans so provided you buy greens that are certified organic or fairtrade you can market them as such, you don't need to pay for any extra certifications.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I would love that to be true! But as I'm changing the state from green bean to roasted bean and under a different company name I will have to pay for it, crazy really but no other way around it


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

Instead of paying for certification that doesn't add anything to the value of your coffee buy a roaster that will actually allow you to get the best out of your beans.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Thats surely going to be the next step I take









thanks for your advise


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> I would love to know how other people roasts their coffees and see how they get the best out of their coffee bean


As I am a nice guy, but cynical and suspicious, I'm hoping this isn't a troll post or someone posing as the business owner trying to spoil another persons start up....I will soon know as I am awaiting a call from said company.

When he says he roasts on a Gene, I hope to god it's not the tiny one.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Phone me up! my phone numbers is on the site.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Im only a start up so trust me the little one is enough to roll out a couple of bags at a time.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> Phone me up! my phone numbers is on the site.


I did, no call back so far.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Sorry I had a voicemail off you you started the number with 01932, you still want me to phone?


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Like I said im roasting small batches near enough to order to get the best out of the beans as stated on my website


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> I would love that to be true! But as I'm changing the state from green bean to roasted bean and under a different company name I will have to pay for it, crazy really but no other way around it


Is there anything that stops you from saying, "Unless otherwise stated, all green beans purchased for roasting by (etc) are certified as organic and/or Fair Trade" ?

I also agree with other posters, it would be better to buy a more suitable machine for commercial roasting.

However, were you to lower your sights, remove the www site (It quite frankly stinks of bovine excrement....doing you no favours) and focus on selling to your friends and family. This will build a tame customer base at little extra expense, allow you to gain experience, and some capital for a more professional machine a bit further down the road.

I can't help feeling, that at the moment, you are, with your own enthusiasm and perhaps rose tinted spectacles, setting yourself up to fail.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> Sorry I had a voicemail off you you started the number with 01932, you still want me to phone?


Of course.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Hi thank you for taking your time to post, I do sell to friends and family and I also have been selling on the site so obviously something is working, and also getting quite abit of traffic through it,

All profit gained will be put back into getting a better machine making even better roasts.

But I do appreciate your feedback and hopefully you will buy a bag of coffee and see for yourself


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Mrbeanscoffee said:


> Hi thank you for taking your time to post, I do sell to
> 
> But I do appreciate your feedback and hopefully you will buy a bag of coffee and see for yourself


Unlikely. I have a Gene and an Amazon.

Which is why I know how long it is going to take to roast on a commercial basis. Unless you are pushing the little machine and doing continual back to back roasts, then every 250gm of greens is going to take you 25 minutes approx.

Even doing back to back, having 1kg available for sale is going to take 75 to 90 minutes!

Think on it.

I wish you every success, but at the moment, you are trying to teach your gran how to suck eggs.

There are many regulars on this forum with years of roasting experience, and many more that spend huge amounts of pocket money on well roasted coffee. And they can smell a Quaker at 100 yards!

Just read the relevant forums re roasters and roasting. If you want to charge what you are charging, you have got to be so good that you can actually compete with them, and hold your head high.

And a novice with a basic Gene is just not in the park!


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Mr Beans coffee uk will be going though some changes for the better in the next couple of months. So stay posted


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

I think at the prices you are charging (£24/kg) I want more information on the bean, origin, farm, altitude, bean type, processing, what really sells to me is that personal touch of knowing about the farm, cooperative etc. That to me is more important than a certification. I would say if that's not information your greens supplier can offer you, maybe you should try elsewhere for greens. If you take a look at what other speciality roasters offer on their write ups that should give you a good idea.


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## Rogue_Coffee (Mar 23, 2015)

Where are you sourcing your green beans from? Are you using a reputable supplier that provides you with all the information you need? You will find over time that information like bean varietal, growing altitude etc, will give you the information on how a bean will react when you roast it.

Like many others here I doubt you currently have the equipment or experience to provide the quality of coffee that many will expect, especially the people on this forum. Have you compared your coffee next to some other roasters to see how you compare?


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

I thought your roaster, Richard Johnson (you?) had developed his own roasting technique?


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

Hi, these was exactly some of the changes needed, and if you look on my site all the details should be there now


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I have no problems with the roasting of the beans themselves, I had a problem with the website design and information, I have updated the site but there will always be more to do , I suppose that is part of the fun.

But as they say 'the proof is in the pudding'


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## Redemption (Jul 7, 2017)

Having stumbled in here I can't help but wonder if you would want to catch a coffee some time and talk about ways you can grow a roasting business?

Having been down that scary road a few times now I feel it's one you could use some help with. I've got a Gene cafe roaster at home and the idea that you're sat there trying to build a business on one is breaking my heart. I admire that you're trying to get off the ground and I want to help.

If you don't want to, at least consider the following:

- With your current roaster, what happens if you get your beans into the right hands and they want to order a large amount for their shop? Have you spoken to some of the roasteries who are willing to do rental services?

- It must be really tricky to get green coffee. I hope you're buying it from a roastery that has spillover, and if you're not you should reach out to them.

- You can get way more information on your beans in my humble opinion. This is an example of all the amazing info you can provide on beans you sell, from a Costa Rican very similar to yours.

- Hard truths, packaging is very nearly as important as the coffee at the moment (because everyones coffee is really good these days!). It would really help you to look at some more standout options.

- I'm not sure how your roasting knowledge is now but from your earlier posts I feel you could at least benefit from a chat with some experienced roasters.

Side Note;



Tsangpa said:


> I may be wrong but it's the green beans that are certified. As a roaster you're not adding any chemicals to the beans so provided you buy greens that are certified organic or fairtrade you can market them as such, you don't need to pay for any extra certifications.


This isn't the case, and it makes sense when you get into it. Naturally the green being fairtrade is seemingly the most important part, but the roasteries are the ones that the organisation needs to trust. The considered advantages of using the fairtrade label are expected to be paid for, but you also have to follow a certain methodology to prove you're only using the fairtrade coffee rather than adding cheaper beans in to bags labelled fairtrade. You have to weigh all of your green in and out with the wastage calculated based on the roasting batch to a screen size weight loss. Essentially the most effective way to prevent imposters is to make it something you have to prove and pay for.


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## Mrbeanscoffee (Mar 22, 2018)

I really respect you offering to help my business grow!

I see your roastery is based in London, it might be abit difficult right now meeting but I surely would love to chat, maybe This Thursday on the phone if you have some free time?

I have scrapped the gene and have a bigger machine now, not as big as I want to but slowly and surely I will get there









But you are right if I get a massive contract of course i would struggle but hopefully Mr bank man would help me get a big machine lol.

I currently buy only organic and fairtrade green beans by the kilo they are expensive but they are really good quality resulting in quality taste rather than cutting corners and getting cheap beans I generally do want to produce excellent coffee because it is what I believe I'm good at.

involving the organic certification I believe it is around the 700-900 quid mark so maybe towards the end of the year i can do that.

If business goes well i would also love to get the fairtrade certification


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