# Trial and Error or Coffee Roasting course



## Thomps557 (Jan 16, 2018)

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has undertaken a 'paid-for' course when they've started to roast at home or if they've just got stuck in and gone off YouTube.

Cheers,

Steve


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

Where are you based steve as it might be worth a visit to a local roaster, they are usually really helpful


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## Thomps557 (Jan 16, 2018)

Sunderland - There are a couple. They do barista/brewing courses, but not roast. The don't advertise they do, anyway.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Thomps557 said:


> Hi
> 
> Just wondering if anyone has undertaken a 'paid-for' course when they've started to roast at home or if they've just got stuck in and gone off YouTube.
> 
> ...


What is it you are actually roasting on?


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## Thomps557 (Jan 16, 2018)

DavecUK said:


> What is it you are actually roasting on?


Just looking into it at the minute, Dave. Considering investing in one of the Hottop models.


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## Beeroclock (Aug 10, 2015)

Have you looked at Mill City Roasters? They have a very interesting series called roaster school, worth looking at. I'm very much like you at the beginning stage. I think the bottom line is going to be that your processes are going to be very much dependent on which ever machine you go with and then getting to know it's individual foibles.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Thomps557 said:


> Just looking into it at the minute, Dave. Considering investing in one of the Hottop models.


I think there is enough information out there to research and learn yourself as a lot of the roasting stuff will be quite specific to a Hottop. The batches are small so even if you do 100 roasts it's only 23Kg of coffee. A roasting course that's generic (to no particular roaster), probably won't help you much e.g. use of the sampler etc... Better seek out what is out there for the Hottop already and specific roasting courses for the Hottop are not offered to the best of my knowledge.

Ronsil used/still have a Hottop and could probably give you lots of tips.


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## Thomps557 (Jan 16, 2018)

That's great - thanks! I have seen Mill City on YT and thought it was quite interesting - I will bear Ronsil in mind, Cheers both


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## CitizenScientist (Dec 29, 2017)

When I started, I just kind of dove right in. I had some advice from my green supplier (very helpful), and kept track of roasts with Roaster Thing software. Unless you badly under roast (not making 1st crack) or turn it to charcoal, you are still way ahead of anything you can get in the average supermarket. It's fun to experiment with different coffees and different roasts with the same coffee, and you will still have coffee ranging from good to great. Have fun with it, whatever you decide to do!


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

There is a decent amount of info out there which is available for free and can help give a basic understanding of the fundamentals. Having an idea of what is actually happening in a roast will give you good foundations. After that, it's all about logging, tasting and testing, tweaking, logging, tasting and.......you get the idea. Home roasters can be a lot of fun but everything happens so much quicker and you generally have a lot less control so you wouldn't necessarily approach a roast in the same way you would on a commercial machine.


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

I remember my first time, the first few times actually . . . . standing over the HotTop with a fire extinguisher in one hand and a fire towel in the other!!


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## filthynines (May 2, 2016)

I spoke to one roaster yesterday (who shall remain nameless, but who is popular amongst users of these forums) and he told me that he's never done a course and has learned everything through trial and error. The conclusion I draw for that particular case is that trial and error is absolute fine!


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

filthynines said:


> trial and error is absolute fine!


I'd agree with that. Personally I took a course a little over six years ago now. At that time, there was very little good info out there. It's different now but it can also be difficult to filter out the good info from the less useful. So, however much you do on the courses side, at some point you just have to put in the time and energy into figuring things out for yourself.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Happy to agree with all the above as what works on one roaster will not apply once you get past the basics. The YouTube vids mentioned earlier are a reasonable take on general roasting but you could equally find looking through the todays roast thread and DaveC's wiki roast log on Coffeetime could give you a much better grounding.

Get yourself 10kg'd of a brasil santos or similar, which is relatively easy to roast, to get to understand your roaster and will help you to spot first crack etc. If you can use something like Artisan roast to record you will also see where you may need to modify power input on your (Behmor?) machine and if not able to connect roaster directly you can also input manually into Artisan.

Best of luck and look forward to seeing your posts in the todays roast thread.

John


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

A course to get an appreciation can be helpful in short cutting some of the early learning process and ground someone in good habits....This can however only be guidance, something to orient you in the right direction and to give some perspectives by which to question and evaluate. Ultimately the path to becoming a good roaster is one you must tread on your own.....you never stop learning.


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