Team, this is a phenomenal resource - thank you. I love this format video, short, informative, clear simple communication with basic graphics to reinforce the key points. I'd say this is one of the best format videos from Mill City to-date - keep up!
Great video. I agree this format is excellent. I had not thought about the need to redo the lighter test with the drum full. Providing examples of low airflow indicators during the roast provided an "aha" moment for me. Looking forward to Season 2.
How does the pressure gauge correlate with this method? Couldn't we also calibrate the lighter method (low, med, high) with numerical values of the pressure gauge?
Yes indeed! However, the numerical values on your pressure gauge are meaningless until you give them meaning. What I mean (ha) is, how do you know what "medium air" is on your pressure gauge? It is impossible to adjust to a value on a pressure gauge if you don't have any frame of reference. We are showing you how to gain that simple frame of reference. You can then associate your pressure gauge to your lighter's response. This is simply a helpful tip. Enjoy!
That's the first time I've ever seen or heard about the delta in air when drum is full vs. empty. Which way should I setup my air? I've always seen lighter setup done empty.
hello @@roasterjoehave you any good resource for lighter roasts on a drum roaster? i operate an 11.3 kg eurotherm and have developed some bad habits experimenting lately
Jim, That is a GREAT question. If you have your air too high while warming up your fan may pull full from your burners so that the flame drifts and fuel is pulled into your venting through the machine. If you have the airflow too low, you may not pull enough oxygen into your burner compartment. This too can cause a flame to wander in search for a breath, potentially finding that breath at your compartment panel openings. We don't like to see flames leaping from a burner compartment or burners that are partially lit. I also illustrated this because many of the people that call us with airflow issues have used the lighter trick with the drum empty, and ONLY with it empty. I wanted to show that it is ok to do this, but once the coffee is in the drum it will be different. This also helps to illustrate the point that at different batch sizes you will likely need to find a different "Low/Medium/High" fan setting. So... more being said than what I am showing explicitly, keeping the video time shorter. More practically speaking, it is also much better audio quality when we do not have coffee in the drum. So, having the majority of the video rolling with an empty drum helps our audio team not have to do as much work. I hope that helps!
Hi @@roasterjoe , I was wondering why you didnt mention there is a difference between a cold and a hot roaster? You should set the airflow when the roaster is heated up Ill suggest.
@@brianlarsen3457 I think by covering that you should check often and with a full drum and an empty drum we should be good! I try not to be too dumbed down. I think some things should be understood. Perhaps I am wrong! Hopefully the dude I missed by not overtly saying that will read your comment. Thanks for the help!
@@roasterjoe Im just saying this because Ive made the mistake, to set the airflow when the roaster was cold. And after heating it up I noticed that the flame was BLOWN out, which means there was actually an over pressure in the drum caused by the heat.
What would happen if I were to roast with the airflow too high? For example if two roast curves were exactly the same but one had the airflow too high the whole roast, would that translate to a specific taste in the cup?
Jason, I love this question. To be quite honest, if your airflow is too high either: A) You will strip away heat from the roast, or B) You will suck coffee from the drum. Where this comes into play is as your coffee loses weight and expands (giving it more mass that can more easily be grabbed by air) you will be roasting along just fine and all of a sudden, PING! PING! PING!... you hear beans rattling through your venting. This is not only bad due to the loss of coffee, but also because if that bean gets wedged into your venting system it can become an ember and a fire hazard. It is packed with carbohydrates and oils and will burn much hotter and longer than chaff. We want a coffee free venting system. So, it is important to find where your airflow is too high using a lighter and not waiting to use beans later. That said, I do believe that there are flavor reasons for this too. As you likely know, I am not going to be prescriptive on those. I would encourage you to roast a coffee the exact same way twice with airflow being high and too high as the only variance and taste the difference. Outside of needing to use more fuel, I think you will find a different flavor and a more difficult time in maintaining your initial curve. But, I could also be wrong! No way to know but to try it out!
It will affect the cup taste to be papery with less sweetness. I have done this before where the relative high airflow I used was left between batches of the same coffee. I ran through both roasts and it was distinctly less flavorful, with a hollow structure. My experience, but I hope it helps!
Team, this is a phenomenal resource - thank you. I love this format video, short, informative, clear simple communication with basic graphics to reinforce the key points. I'd say this is one of the best format videos from Mill City to-date - keep up!
That is very kind. Thank you!! We have more in the hopper, and they are just going to get better and better!
Thanks, great video!
Great video. I agree this format is excellent. I had not thought about the need to redo the lighter test with the drum full. Providing examples of low airflow indicators during the roast provided an "aha" moment for me. Looking forward to Season 2.
I'm so glad to hear we helped!
thanks guys for this video , it is a life saver for a beginner Roaster as me ..i am so appreciated
Absolutely good trick, Thanks guys. Cheers
I was just having a trouble with my fan level. I my lucky to run across this video. Thank you👋🏻👋🏻
Good luck for the channel..👍
How does the pressure gauge correlate with this method? Couldn't we also calibrate the lighter method (low, med, high) with numerical values of the pressure gauge?
Yes indeed! However, the numerical values on your pressure gauge are meaningless until you give them meaning. What I mean (ha) is, how do you know what "medium air" is on your pressure gauge? It is impossible to adjust to a value on a pressure gauge if you don't have any frame of reference. We are showing you how to gain that simple frame of reference. You can then associate your pressure gauge to your lighter's response. This is simply a helpful tip. Enjoy!
@@roasterjoe great - many thanks Joe!
Excelente! Muchachos
That's the first time I've ever seen or heard about the delta in air when drum is full vs. empty. Which way should I setup my air? I've always seen lighter setup done empty.
I recommend looking at both and learning more on what you find when the drum is full since that is when you are affecting the coffee.
hello @@roasterjoehave you any good resource for lighter roasts on a drum roaster?
i operate an 11.3 kg eurotherm and have developed some bad habits experimenting lately
Nice video! Since I never roast with an empty drum, I'm wondering what value the lighter trick has when the drum is empty?
That was for illustration only, Jim. We're sure someone somewhere thinks that the lightest roasted coffees are produced in an empty drum.
Jim,
That is a GREAT question. If you have your air too high while warming up your fan may pull full from your burners so that the flame drifts and fuel is pulled into your venting through the machine. If you have the airflow too low, you may not pull enough oxygen into your burner compartment. This too can cause a flame to wander in search for a breath, potentially finding that breath at your compartment panel openings. We don't like to see flames leaping from a burner compartment or burners that are partially lit.
I also illustrated this because many of the people that call us with airflow issues have used the lighter trick with the drum empty, and ONLY with it empty. I wanted to show that it is ok to do this, but once the coffee is in the drum it will be different. This also helps to illustrate the point that at different batch sizes you will likely need to find a different "Low/Medium/High" fan setting. So... more being said than what I am showing explicitly, keeping the video time shorter.
More practically speaking, it is also much better audio quality when we do not have coffee in the drum. So, having the majority of the video rolling with an empty drum helps our audio team not have to do as much work.
I hope that helps!
Hi @@roasterjoe , I was wondering why you didnt mention there is a difference between a cold and a hot roaster? You should set the airflow when the roaster is heated up Ill suggest.
@@brianlarsen3457 I think by covering that you should check often and with a full drum and an empty drum we should be good! I try not to be too dumbed down. I think some things should be understood. Perhaps I am wrong! Hopefully the dude I missed by not overtly saying that will read your comment. Thanks for the help!
@@roasterjoe Im just saying this because Ive made the mistake, to set the airflow when the roaster was cold. And after heating it up I noticed that the flame was BLOWN out, which means there was actually an over pressure in the drum caused by the heat.
Someday ...🤗
What would happen if I were to roast with the airflow too high? For example if two roast curves were exactly the same but one had the airflow too high the whole roast, would that translate to a specific taste in the cup?
Jason,
I love this question. To be quite honest, if your airflow is too high either: A) You will strip away heat from the roast, or B) You will suck coffee from the drum.
Where this comes into play is as your coffee loses weight and expands (giving it more mass that can more easily be grabbed by air) you will be roasting along just fine and all of a sudden, PING! PING! PING!... you hear beans rattling through your venting.
This is not only bad due to the loss of coffee, but also because if that bean gets wedged into your venting system it can become an ember and a fire hazard. It is packed with carbohydrates and oils and will burn much hotter and longer than chaff. We want a coffee free venting system.
So, it is important to find where your airflow is too high using a lighter and not waiting to use beans later.
That said, I do believe that there are flavor reasons for this too. As you likely know, I am not going to be prescriptive on those. I would encourage you to roast a coffee the exact same way twice with airflow being high and too high as the only variance and taste the difference. Outside of needing to use more fuel, I think you will find a different flavor and a more difficult time in maintaining your initial curve. But, I could also be wrong! No way to know but to try it out!
It will affect the cup taste to be papery with less sweetness. I have done this before where the relative high airflow I used was left between batches of the same coffee. I ran through both roasts and it was distinctly less flavorful, with a hollow structure. My experience, but I hope it helps!
@@Georgeyardley agree.
💕❤️💕❤️💕❤️