HotTop Coffee Roaster: General Home Roasting Observations from Sweet Maria’s

• Roasting produces chaffChaff is paper-like skin that comes off the coffee in the roasting process. Chaff from roasting is part of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the coffee fruit.... 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.
• Built-up coffee oils in the roaster are of no real consequence until they build up to 1/16”;. (In fact, a professional drum roasterA roaster with a rotating drum that provides agitation to the beans, while a heating element (typically either electric or gas) provides heat. The metal drum conducts heat... 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).
• We have found the HotTop is very sensitive to changes in the WEIGHT of the green coffeeGreen coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... 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 batchOne of the most important variables in roasting coffee, the weight or volume of the coffee being put in to the roaster will dramatically affect the outcome of... 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.
• The HotTop will consistently produce the same degree of roastDegree of Roast simply means the roast level of a coffee, how dark it has been roasted.: Degree of Roast simply means the roast level of a coffee,... 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 temperatureThe temperature in a given room or space: This term is used to describe the overall temperature in a given environment, and is an important variable in coffee.... 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.
• 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 “restingEither the resting of parchment coffee after drying, or for the home roaster, post-roast resting.: Resting might refer to "reposo", the time after drying the parchment coffee, when...”, which allows the CO2 to de-gas from the coffee. It is at its flavor peak at 12-72 hours. For espressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is..., 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.

In a nutshell, here is the roasting process you will be observing:

• For the first 8 minutes the bean remains greenishA smell or flavor of fresh-cut green plants, vegetable leaves or grass, usually indicating fresh new-crop coffees that have not fully rested in parchment.: A smell or flavor..., then turn lighter and emit a grassyGreenish flavor in the cup, usually indicating early crop, unrested coffee.: Greenish flavor in the cup, usually indicating early crop, unrested coffee. This is a fresh cut grass... smell. The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.
• The steam becomes fragrant. At around 15-17 minutes on the HotTop you will hear the “first crackFirst crack in one of two distinct heat-induced pyrolytic reactions in coffee. It is distinguished by a cracking or popping sound in the coffee, and occurs between 390...,” 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.
• After the first crackAn audible popping sound heard during roasting. In coffee, one refers to "first crack" and "second crack," which come from two different classes of chemical reactions.: An audible..., 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.
• CaramelizationA reaction involving sugars that occurs during coffee roasting. A caramelized sugar is less sweet, but has greater complexity of flavor and aroma. Caramelization is slower than Maillard... continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark.
• 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).
• As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character,... (oils burn against the hot surfaces of the roast chamber) as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more and more.
• Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of “charcoal water.”
• 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 defectIn coffee, a defect refers to specific preparation problems with the green coffee, or a flavor problem found in the cupping process. Bad seeds in the green coffee... problem with the roaster. And READ their important, well-written instruction book!!! Email us if you have roasting questions ([email protected]).

The roaster diagram comes with the HotTop roast booklet. The book is very informative.

From the HotTop roast booklet. As you can seethe cooling tray comes right off it’s spindle for easy transfer.

Another bonus: this roaster is so easy to disassemble. Cleaning the front glass view window from the inside takes 30 seconds. Drum removal takes 2 minutes.

Here are some images of the HotTop drum, and how ti is removed from the drum chamber. It is very easy…

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