Caffeine is released during roasting. Some of this caffeine crystalizes on the outside as the smoke escapes. This is a HotTop roaster. The yellow devices on top are temperature probes. As the roast progresses, smoke escapes from the probe holder. Over time, amazingly intricate white crystal structures appear. These caffeine crystals are know as angel…
Category: Roasting Coffee
Surprise Roasted Coffee Bean Degassing Discovery
The degassing experiment three was drawing to a close. To recap 100 grams of dark roasted beans were put in one flask, 100 grams of the same beans but ground were put in the other flask. After 24 hours 294 mls of CO2 were released from the ground coffee. Even after 3 days the ground…
Coffee Degassing Experiment 3 – Ground vs Whole Bean
Experiment three was a chance to apply all of the lessons learned in measuring CO2 degassing of roasted coffee. Lesson 1: A photo copy stand was used to support the graduated cylinders. Fill the cylinders with water and place upside down in the tank. Lower the photo rack then support the cylinders with square wooden…
Ground vs Whole Bean Degassing
In this experiment, I roasted Costa Rica coffee to Full city. I dropped the roast at 450oF. While I normally do not roast so dark, I knew from documentation this would result in more CO2 to be released. I placed 100 grams of ground coffee in the the left flask, while 100 grams of whole…
Measuring Roasted Coffee CO2 Degassing
As I read more and more on how CO2 is released from freshly roasted coffee I decided to try my own experiment. Basically the experiment is to measure the captured CO2 as it is released. A basic experimental approach is to use an eudiometer. My setup is not quite as elegant. The purpose of this…
Vacuum Bagging Fresh Roast Coffee Beans
On the commercial coffee LinkedIn group, there was a question on vacuum packing freshly roasted coffee to keep it fresh. When I was at roasting school, we learned how freshly roasted coffee gives off CO2. This is why you need a can or bag with a gas relief valve. Recently, I decided to get a…
The computer is up
The computer and monitor are mounted. Also a new device came today, my Celestron Digital Microscope. Very interesting device. It is sitting in front of the keyboard in the picture. Here is a picture from my first experience playing with it. These are some defect beans.
Moisture testing Analytics
I am looking into getting a precision scale so that I can do green coffee bean moisture content analysis. Determining moisture content is a simple process. Samples of green beans are collected. Each sample set is weighed. The sample are then ‘cooked’ for 8 minutes at 160o F and the result weighed. The weight lost…
Hoptop KN-8828B Roaster
I bought a new coffee roaster on the weekend. This is a prosumer level home roaster. It can roast 450 gram (1/2 pound) per roast and is a computer controlled drum roaster. While it is simple to do the first roast, there is a real learning curve to this unit. You can vary fan speed…