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Roasting produces
chaff. Chaff is a fine skin that detaches from the bean as your roast
is agitated.
Empty the chaff tray between every roast. Every few roasts, tip
the HotTop forward to remove any residual chaff and beans that are trapped
around the chaff tray compartment. Consider using a ShopVac
to suck out any residual chaff or beans in the roast compartment every
few roasts, and
remove the drum every few roasts as well (see HotTop booklet on routine
maintenace ). PLEASE
NOTE:
Dry processed coffees produce more chaff - and so there is a greater danger
of a chaff fire with a dark roast on these beans. Watch the roast carefully
- if a fire is ignited in the drum - do not eject as more oxygen will increase
the strength of the fire. It is best to pull the plug and let the fire
go out on its own. It is a good idea to have a fire extinguisher or water
nearby.
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Built-up coffee oils
in the roaster are of no
real consequence until they build up to 1/16”;. (In fact, a professional
drum roaster requires hours of roasting initially to properly season the
drum). But you are going to need to keep the viewing glass clean (every
3-4 roasts, it seems).
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We have found the HotTop is
very sensitive to changes in the WEIGHT of the green coffee you use in a
batch. You must weigh the coffee, and be consistent! (We currently offer
an accurate Salter digital scale for this purpose). 9 oz. (250 grams) is
the recommended roast batch size. If you are not getting roasts dark enough
to your taste, you can reduce the batch size to 7 or 8 oz, and effectively
shift the entire roast range toward a darker roast. Whatever you chose,
be consistent with the batch size.
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The HotTop will consistently
produce the same degree of roast at the same settings when it does its
first roast of the day (or is absolutely cold). But we have found that
subsequent roasts vary depending on how “hot” the machine is
from the previous roast. The Pre Heat Cycle is supposed to take care
of this variable, but doesn’t always. Even when using a custom
profile, we recommend that you monitor the end of every roast, adding
additional time if necessary and hitting the eject button to end the
roast when doing subsequent batches. This allows you to target the exact
degree of roast that you want, although it is less convenient than relying
on the automated presets.
- Both the Basic and the Programmable
model have an automatic mode and we recommend that you use the preset programs
first to see how the roaster will behave before diving in and programming
different custom profiles. From our experience every roaster will behave
slightly differently due to differences in line voltage and ambient temperature.
Check the HotTop manual for information on using the presets and programming
custom roast profiles.
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- No home roaster is designed
to do serial batches! All home roasters need to cool before roasting another
batch. This also improves consistency. Wait 20 minutes or longer - is the
roaster feels cool to the touch - then if is safe to run another batch. While
this is a large capacity roaster - it is designed for home use only! Using
it for commercial or semi-commercial roasting voids the warranty!
- I have
had no trouble with small beans (like the Yemeni coffees) in the HotTop.
Occasionally, a bean or partial bean will wedge in between the drum and
drum end -this makes some odd noises but does not affect the roaster
operation, and for me it has always worked itself free in the roast process.
Look for partial beans when cleaning out the drum and interior of the roasting
area.
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I have found the HotTop cooling
cycle to be very effective, so I just let it do its job, and use a modified
funnel to transfer the coffee to glass jars when it is room temperature.
Coffee is better after 4-24 hours of “resting”, which allows the
CO2 to de-gas from the coffee. It is at its flavor peak at 12-72 hours.
For espresso, sometimes it is best on the 4th or 5th day!
- Some folks have used replacement
filters -I have seen a stainless steel one - for the carbon and paper filters
- since they want a permanent or reusable filter. We can not recommend these
- as I have heard of two roaster fires when replacement filters were used.
I don't know if it is a result of the filter - but it may cause excessive
heat to build up in the drum which can help ignite the chaff. ****The machine
is SAFE - but there is always a risk involved in roasting coffee. Roaster
fires are not common, but they do happen. *****
- The manual has very important information about routine maintenance after every roast (emptying the chaff tray, checking for stray beans), every 5 to 10 roasts (removing the drum completely), and every 3 months (removing the back of the roast and vacuuming out any chaff that may have accumulated). Read the manual carefully! The most recent copy of the manual is available as a PDF from the hottopusa.com website.
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For the first 8 minutes the
bean remains greenish, then turn lighter and emit a grassy smell. The beans
start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.
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The steam becomes fragrant.
At around 15-17 minutes on the HotTop you will hear the "first crack,"
an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin
to caramelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks
down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.
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After the first crack, the roast
can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking
is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage
the roast is at.
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Caramelization continues, oils
migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark.
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At this point a "second
crack" can be heard, often more volatile than the first. Small pieces
of the bean are sometimes blown away like shrapnel! It can be more difficult
to hear than the first crack though. This happens around 19-20 minutes on
my HotTop. Use the PLUS button to add time to the roast during the final
roast stage (during which roaster beeps to let you know it is almost done).
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As the roast becomes very dark,
the smoke is more pungent (oils burn against the hot surfaces of the roast
chamber) as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more
and more.
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Eventually, the sugars burn
completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal
water."
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HotTop provides an excellent
warranty (via the importer Vineus USA) on the roaster and they handle all
repairs and replacements directly ...send in the registration card right
away! The warranty is for one year from date of purchase. Call them
directly 401-497-1008 phone/ 401-946-0268 fax if you ever have a mechanical
defect problem with the roaster. And READ their important, well-written
instruction book!!! Email us if you have roasting questions (tom@sweetmarias.com).
Here are some images of the HotTop drum, and how ti is removed from the drum
chamber. It is very easy...
