The ThermoPro thermometer is made for meat! But it happens to work great for coffee roasting too…
Using a thermometer made for meat, to roast coffee on a machine made to pop popcorn … it’s curious, right?
Adding a thermometer to your coffee roasterA machine for roasting coffee. Or the person operating it! The basic requirements for a coffee roaster are a heating element that gets suitably hot and a mechanism... is a great DIY hack. The ThermoPro with live 2 probes extends the usefulness of temperature measurement. It allows you, for example, to have one directly probing the mass of roasting coffee beans, and the other to check the roast chamber air temperature (or input air temp … or output air temp etc). This is similar to how commercial roasters check coffee roasting
The application of heat to green coffee seeds (beans) to create palatable material for brewing a great cup!: Coffee roasting is a chemical process induced by heat, by... temperatures, by comparing and monitoring bean temperature, to “environmental temperature”.
Exactly how you want to use the ThermoPro (and how you will install it) is going to be up to you. But when we were checking out options for a thermometer that can measure 2 temperature points at once, it was a meat thermometer that stole the show. ThermoPro has great reviews, and the temperature range it can measure works great for coffee roasting.
The long metal probes are less sensitive than raw thermocouple beads, but are easier to position and last longer! It’s a well built device, and battery is included to boot. (Remember to open the back and peel the plastic wrap off the batter first though!)
The probe is 15 mm long, and with the handle is 20 mm. They don’t use a thermocouple mini-plug like the other K-type Thermocouples we have … but something more like a mini audio jack.
You turn on the thermometer on the back and can choose 2 modes: temperature measurement only, or temperature measurement with timer. In both modes you can choose a handy set point alarm/alert (which is easily dismissed with a front button too). This is a great feature, as you could set one for the start of 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... around 395 to 405 f range, and one for your desired finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We... roast temperature.
On the back- magnets or screw mounts, On-Off switch, Celsius / Fahrenheit switch, stand, and a battery case (battery included). I like the manual switch on the back to change from Celsius to Fahrenheit too. Magnets to mount this might come in handy for some people too. All the “meat measurements” are an entertaining bonus too! There is a temporary backlit button too to help you see the numbers.
Mounting a Thermometer in a Coffee Roaster
How you use this, and how you mount it, is up to you. We are using this specifically with ” Popper is a Coffee Roaster”, The West Bend Poppery 1, and Poppo air popper. Adding temperature measurement to something like a BehmorA popular electric drum roaster designed for home use, with variable batch sizes (from 1/4 pound to 1 pound) and a smoke-reduction system. It has been modified and... coffee roaster is a whole different deal, and I am not sure how I would approach that.
Some general / useful things to know: I measure the probe at 3mm diameter, and used a 9/64 drill bit to get it close and keep it snug. The 5/32 works, but was a looser fit. I think a tighter fit is better.
If you use a thermocouple by dropping it into a coffee mass, like in an air roaster, where it’s not fixed in place, your measurements will bounce all over the place. It needs to be fixed in an unmovable position. Ideally the thermocouple “handle” part is outside your roaster because it will get VERY hot if it isn’t. If you try to mount it from above in an air roaster it might also get very hot. Think about it.
I have mounted this in a few Popper coffee roasters, one probe going into the beans, and the other above the coffee to measure exit for temperature. There are other ways – but this is an example of how I am using it.
And there’s a bonus – if you don’t find it useful for your coffee roaster, you can always return it to its original purpose: your barbecue!
You can find the ThermoPro thermometer at SweetMarias.com
