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do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/21 10:21Colin says: "coffee roasting (however exhilarating and spritual an activity...) is way more demanding and exacting than you think. And I am talking to you and you and you!" and that scared me off for several weeks. However, other people suggested it is easier than that (at least until you actually do have a fire!) - so I gradually became convinced and bought a decent roaster and some beans online.
First batch sucked but (after a slight re-calculation) the second one totally ROCKED! My wife preferred an americano made with my roasted beans over one made with the espresso blend used and sold by Cafe Fantastico. (no... she's not the kind to just say that either!)
Home roasting is not that hard, or messy, or even smelly (if you've got a decent range hood fan). You can do it! It is easy, cheaper (not counting the cost of the roaster) and probably better than what you can buy roasted.
Be encouraged! Be brave! Do NOT fear the roaster...
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HappyCamper
Visitor
Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/21 13:00umm... ya, and buy a fire extinguisher! Apparently a fire will double in size every minute so you want to have something handy that is at least 2.5 lbs size and rated for category C fires (electrical, appliances, etc.). Most kitchen oriented home ones will be good for category A, B & C fires.
With a decent extinguisher on hand, truly, don't fear the roaster! meh! what could go wrong?!
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Zazenmaster
User Zen Master
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/22 12:30HappyCamper wrote: Be brave! Do NOT fear the roaster...
Hear, hear! The fact is your coffee roaster isn't any more likely to burst into flame than your toaster. Like a toaster it simply demands a bit of attention. And if you think coffee beans burn, you haven't seen a strawberry Pop Tart burn!
Would some purveyor of roasters and/or green coffee please send Colin some swag so that he'll start saying nice things about this interesting and rewarding aspect of coffee obsession?
Robb
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colin
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/22 14:03Zazenmaster wrote: Hear, hear! The fact is your coffee roaster isn't any more likely to burst into flame than your toaster. Like a toaster it simply demands a bit of attention. And if you think coffee beans burn, you haven't seen a strawberry Pop Tart burn!
Would some purveyor of roasters and/or green coffee please send Colin some swag so that he'll start saying nice things about this interesting and rewarding aspect of coffee obsession?
Robb
Sorry Robb -- that is a totally false statement. Roast coffee is minutes, sometimes seconds away from the flash-point.
Unless the toaster is defective (and I have seen a few toaster fires...) the coffee roaster is always more dangerous than a toaster.
Always more dangerous -- not AS dangerous.
people need to know the hazards... keeps me from getting sued for suggesting hazardous activities. Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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java
User Junior Barista
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/22 17:45Every roaster knows fires happen....it's just a matter of keeping them contained...if your roaster is cleaned often, then the fires will be minor and almost unnoticeable, I can't speak to home roasting, but i would assume the conditions are there also...Containment and calmness are key when a fire strikes.
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Zazenmaster
User Zen Master
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/22 18:28java wrote: Every roaster knows fires happen....
I've been roasting for over two years now and not once have I had a fire. Sure there will be people who roast near flammable objects and/or don't pay attention. But that doesn't mean that fires are normal or inevitable.
Robb
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colin
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/23 10:56Coffee is the flammable object Zaz.
Coffee is at or near the flash-point when it is nearing completion. It is not a case of if, but when.
I need to repeat this over and over because it is a fact.
Remeber kids: Where there is smoke, there is fire.
That is what pyrolysis is people... Fire.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Visitor
Visitor
Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/23 14:39Colin: that was a terrific pic - what should we call such a thing? way WAY beyond Italian roast - Polish roast?
"roastin' like a house on fire" !!! yeooowww
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Zazenmaster
User Zen Master
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/25 12:33colin wrote: Coffee is the flammable object Zaz.
Ya right, Colin. I see the fire trucks outside my local roastery on a daily basis.
Look, if you go to a site about scuba diving, for example, you'd expect to see at lot of information about great locations for diving, and a sensible amount of safety information. You would NOT expect a comment like "You're going to die a horrible death of the bends so don't even try this sport."
Similarly on a web site devoted to coffee, I'd expect lots of information about how terrific it is to try beans from different countries and trying your own blends, and a sensible amount of safety information. I do NOT expect comments like "You're going to die tragically in a bean fire so don't even try roasting". But that's what we're getting here.
The negativity towards roasting on this site simply doesn't jive with my altogether positive experience with roasting.
Robb
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colin
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Re:do NOT fear the roaster ! - 2007/06/25 15:46Zazenmaster wrote: colin wrote: Coffee is the flammable object Zaz.
Look, if you go to a site about scuba diving, for example, you'd expect to see at lot of information about great locations for diving, and a sensible amount of safety information. You would NOT expect a comment like "You're going to die a horrible death of the bends so don't even try this sport."
Similarly on a web site devoted to coffee, I'd expect lots of information about how terrific it is to try beans from different countries and trying your own blends, and a sensible amount of safety information. I do NOT expect comments like "You're going to die tragically in a bean fire so don't even try roasting". But that's what we're getting here.
The negativity towards roasting on this site simply doesn't jive with my altogether positive experience with roasting.
Robb
Uhm - I think you are reading in comments that do not exist. Besides - my stance is based more on snobbery and science fact (about the fact that small amounts of roast green coffee simply do not live up to their potential...)
There is no such statement here - that the World will end if you start roasting. I am just saying, there are hazards above and beyond making a slice of toast... and yes, I have seen first hand what happens when a Pop-Tart goes up in smoke.
Cheers,Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Forum 
) - so I gradually became convinced and bought a decent roaster and some beans online.
