Roasting Kits, Equipment, and other Stuff

Sweet Maria's Roasting Accessories (Scales, Scoops, Thermometers, Timers)

Keeping Track of Temperature

Cooper 550 degree Large Thermometer

You need a good 550 degree thermometer to roast with a stovetop popper or air popper, and referencing temperature to determine your "degree of roast" in any roaster is a plus. The Cooper 550 degree Large Thermometer has an easy to read 2 inch dialface (total diameter is 2.25 inches) and, now features an 8 inch stem, 3 inches longer than before. This should please folks who were using them in barbaque roasters, other drum roasters, or who weren't really reaching the coffee with a 5 inch stem. This is the one I would use if I didn't have a $200 digital thermometer! (By the way, digital thermometers on a stem like this do not work -the head is not meant to be exposed to such heat, and the readout goes black on you). Anyway, this is all stainless steel, including the dial face, with a glass face cover, and it comes with a stainless clip so you won't have to cobble one. It is easy to re-calibrate by adjusting the nut on the stem (instructions are included -you might want to calibrate it even before its first use, since vibration in shipping can affect the setting). For some ideas on where and how to install it, see the description for the smaller thermometer above.

Cooper 550 degree Large Thermometer: $19.25 (+ .2 lb shipping)


Some features of the Large Cooper thermometer (click on pic for larger image). Pictured is a 6" shaft but it now has an 8" shaft!	Here's a photo so you can comapre the dial face sizes of the two Cooper models.

We have a new page with ideas about how to make a clip yourself. We also have installation photos for an Air Popcorn Popper and for a Hearthware Gourmet. And Ken David's book Home Coffee Roasting has thermometer ideas too.

Update International 550 f Thermometer

We were trying to find a really low-cost thermometer as an alternative, and came up with this 0 to 550 degree pocket test thermometer from Update International. The face cover is polycarbonate (keep the face away from heat) - as long as the shaft is exposed to the high heat and the face is not, it will be fine. The shaft is stainless steel. You can callibrate it by turning the nut on the stem (callibrate by putting the stem into boiling water, which is 212 degrees f at sea level). You might want to calibrate it even before its first use, since vibration in shipping can affect the setting. The dial face is just over an inch, quite small! But it does have a magnifying lens in to make it a little easier to read. The 5 inch shaft works very well for dropping into stovetop poppers, or most air roasters and air poppers. And hey, it is less than five bucks!

Update International 550 degree pocket thermometer: $5.00 (+ .1 lb shipping)

We just received this low cost Digital Thermometer with a thermocouple wire probe, a simple and effective way to monitor temperatures in a roaster ... especially when snaking a flexible wire into the roast chamber is easier than drilling holes for a rigid thermometer shaft. And the temperature range on this thing is amazing: -58 f to +1382 f ! It comes ready to go with a K-type thermocouple and a 9v battery installed. You have a choice of Centigrade of Farenheit readout on the big easy-to-see LED screen, and a Hold button in case you want to freeze the readout screen at a particular moment (not sure why you would want to. With an pen, paper and a watch, you can create roast curve charts and graphs the old fashioned way! The thermocouple lead can eventually wear out - or if you contact a metal surface during roasting, it can melt a bit. It is best to use this thermometer to measure air temperature in a roaster, or the temperature in the beans only. You can replace the thermocouple with any K-type or J-type (different temperature potential) probe, available at any electonics store like a Radio Shack or even a Sears store. The thermometer is made in China and imported by Circuit Specialties. It also comes with a nice zippered canvas carrying case.

Digital Thermometer with thermocouple: $29.90 (+ .4 Lb. ship weight)

Keeping Track of Volume

This is the standard coffee measure scoop used in all the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA)cupping seminars. This is useful for cupping or home brewing, and while it is a little bit larger than others, the size guarantees adequate strength: 1 Level scoop approximates 7.25 grams coffee. Use 1 Scoop per 6-8 oz water (195-203 degrees fahrenheit) in all drip-infusion brewing methods (electric or manula, stovetop or automatic, even espresso!) as well as cupping.

35¢ each (+.1 lb. shipping) Limit 5 please!

Keeping Track of Weight

In general, it's much better to roast by weight, not by volume. Some air roasters, like the Fresh Roast actually use the volume of the beans to block the hot air and build up heat in the chamber - so the volume is somewhat more critial than the weight - but for most roasters, measuring the batches by weight will give you greater consistency. We offer two different scales for weighing roast batches, a fairly inexpensive model that works well, but can't double as an espresso dose scale, or a really nice one that is super accurate and might be a good option for the obessessed.

This scale is accurate enough to use for roast batches, the Salter Electronic Scale. It's designed as a "baker's scale," to weigh out ingredients for culinary creations. It weighs in Pounds/Ounces or Grams (sensitive in 1/8 oz. or 1 gram increments), it can be re-zeroed (that is, you can set a tare), it's battery powered, and it's great for dieting or baking too. It can be used as a scale for espresso doing, but the other scales we offer are better for this use. You can also use it to measure all water-based liquids in fluid ounces (1/8 fl oz increments up to 175 fl oz maximum) though I can not exactly figure out how that works since different liquids have different densities. I guess this scale is smarter than me! Lithium long-life battery included.

$35 (+ 2.75 lbs shipping)

Professional Cupping/ Roasting/ Dosing Scale

Expensive .. but this is an amazing scale. It's the one I use daily for the cupping lap, for weighing roast batches, and for weighing espresso doses. It's incredibly accurate and fast. If you use a scale a lot, you really do need a good one such as this. I use it mostly in gram increments, where it is accurate to one-tenth of one gram! It's great for weighing green samples to perform moisture content readings. It's a pro-level scale for sure, but compact too. I put away my expensive, digital Ohaus gram scale as soon as I got this one! Here are the specs: Capacity 21.165 oz x 0.005oz / 600g x 0.1g / 1 lb 5.15 oz x 0.01oz / 1.3228 lb x 0.0003 lb. Fine increment measurements allow for precise measurement of lightweight ingredients such as spices, herbs, loose tea and coffee. Count option can be used to calculate the number of items placed on the scale. Stainless steel 5.75" x 5.25" platform is removable for easy cleaning. Tare, auto off, and low battery indicator features. Field recalibratable. Operates on AC adaptor (included) or 4 AA batteries (not included). NSF listed. Overall size: 6.1" x 8.5" x 10.4"

Close-up view of the front $145 (+3 lb ship wgt)

Compact Espresso Dosing/ Cupping Scale

Travel size digital scale fits in pocket. This is the favorite of many a barista. It can be used for cupping too, but will not work for weighing roast batches because of its limited capacity of 250 grams. Capacity 8 oz x 0.005 oz / 250 g x 1g. A 3" x 3" weighing tray inverts for use as a cover over the built-in 2 1/8" x 2 1/4" scale platform. 0.25" LCD digits. Tare, auto and manual off, and low battery indicator features. 2 lithium batteries included. Overall size: 3 1/8" x 4 1/2" x 1"

$35 (+1 lb ship wgt)

Keeping Track of Time

One of the best ways to roast, even with an automatic machine that has preset roast times and a cooling cycle, is to use your senses, a thermometer, and have some idea of the roast time. For this, you simply dial in the maximum roast setting and pay attention for the cracks, and all the other clues that allow you to target the exact roast you want. A good timer right at the roast station is ideal. You can watch your timer during the early stages of the roast as the coffee turns from green to yellow to brown, and have some indication when you need to pay close attention ... that is, when the first crack starts. You can also log the crack times (and temperatures if you chose), and see if other environmental conditions are affecting your roast: ambient temperature, humidity, maybe low line voltage.

Here we have the Salter Clock and Multi-Timer that has 4 timing memory modes, a 12 or 24 hour clock, loud sounder, 99hour 99min 59sec maximum timer duration, a loud sounder, countdown or countup function, 15mm LCD digit display, either self standing or magnetic mounting feature. The main advantage here is to run multiple timers at once ... for example, you could have a count-down timer to chime at 5 minutes to adjust the heat setting on your GeneCafe, while another stopwatch timer shows you how much roast time has passed, or you can start another on the fly to measure the time between 1st and 2nd crack. Just an idea...

$14.25 (+.5 Lb shipping)

This is the Salter Chromed Electronic Timer with 18mm LCD digit display, the option of magnetic mounting or self-standing, 99min 59sec maximum time setting, countdown or countup function, audible sounder, and memory function. This is a straightforward single timer, and I use these a lot for espresso shot timing, roasting, and to check my ETs doing laps on a skateboard around the pallets of coffee.

$13.50 (+.5 Lb shipping)