First time to Smoke BB Ribs

BigSmoker · April 15, 2006, 04:59:29 AM

If you want to get real serious into roasting my commercial model will roast 3 lbs every 15 or so minutes depending on the roast level you prefer. It will do anything from city to french. Best small batch comercial roaster I could find. You would be looking at appx. 3,500.00 bucks to get yourself one ;). I do plan on opening a coffee shop in the semi near future(within 3 years) where I roast the coffee on site ;D. Just wish I could secure the spot next to Starbucks hahahaha.

nsxbill · April 15, 2006, 11:24:21 AM

I would love to do the coffee shop thing too, but what a hassle unless you run it with yourself and family only. I had two retail flower shops for ten years running out of Napa, and the Accounting, salaries, overhead and dealing with the politics, rent, etc was such a hassle.

Where did you get your commercial roaster again? Any hassles since you have had it? In your area will you have any hassles with E.P.A. and need a catalytic converter for the smoke generated during the roasting process?

Good luck on the venture! How is the sales of coffee doing on the internet?

Bill

Javaguy · April 15, 2006, 12:42:45 PM

Man, sure appriciate all the info - and it's real good to find other coffee roasters too.

Bill, you really got a deal and have quite an operation! Looks like a real coffee shop setup. I may have to move up to a bigger roaster, but for now, I'm real happy with the Z&D. It's biggest problem is the noise, I can't hear the cracks, but that is due do in part to my hearing. I have tiniitus and sometimes have a hard time seperating out sounds.

Anybody wanting to try a some good products and one of the best rubs I have ever used, check this site out, these guys are good. I know rubs are subjective to ones taste, this one hit my taste buds just right.

http://www.headcountry.com/

Javaguy

nsxbill · April 15, 2006, 04:35:40 PM

I have never tried the rub or sauce, but do like "HEAD." :-X The sauce and rub probably good too? OK, let's get serious now. What do you use, the Championship Rub? Peppery? Chili Hot? Mostly Paprika and sugar?

On coffee stuff...The nice thing about my Hottop roaster is that you can hear the cracks as clear as a bell, and thanks to the Army, significant hearing impairment. I tried the first edition Z&D roaster, and after one try...off for sale on Ebay. How did they improve the second generation unit?

Mine was too noisy, didn't roast enough coffee, and it was a joke thinking I could roast in the kitchen under the range fan. As you know there are beaucoups smoke associated with roasting coffee. I do all my roasting under the covered patio outside. One day, before he knew I had a roaster, my neighbor came over to tell me my porch might be on fire because of all the smoke.

Bill

Javaguy · April 15, 2006, 07:59:29 PM

Bill, I use the championship rub - have not tried the others. I've often wondered how they came up with that name - makes your imagination work overtime!

What I like about the Z&D is the roast time to the 2nd crack is about 15 to 16 minutes, there is no smoke, it roast the size of batch that works for me, and it didn't cost too much. It is easy to maintain and I've not had one problem with it. It does make too much noise to hear the cracks, but I've learned to judge the color and approximate time. Since if varies by the type of bean, I keep a record of every roast, so I have a reference as a guide. I did break the glass container for the beans, bought a new one, then when ordering a few beans from Z&D, I told them about the one I broke, they said send it in and they fixed the broken one for free. They are real nice to work with. I roast in the garage, have a roasting bench and use a fan to cool the beans. Works great for me. Also, I do not use the Z&D cooling cycle, I stop the roast and dump the beans into a wire mesh container and cool them over the fan.

I'm the only coffee drinker in my house, and I only drink 2 to 4 cups a day, I don't roast but every 3 or 4 days (1 or 2 batches at a time) unless I am doing some extra for my son.

I will probably buy a bigger roaster at some point, one that would to 1/2 to 1 pound at a time, but am in no hurry.

One thing I've learned about on this forum was the FTC for the smoked meat - kept reading about FTC, didn't have an idea what it meant, then did search on FTC and found out what it meant and why you would want to use it. Will try it on my brisket since everyone has bragged it up so much.

Javaguy

BigSmoker · April 15, 2006, 08:10:23 PM

other than my bourbon :o the best 2 things I got going are my smoke and my roaster(not counting the flesh ;). nothing I mean nothing beats my own smoked food and fresh roasted coffee. I have a hottop roaster too and it does work great. I plan on using it again to roast coco beans to add to a coffee blend one day ;D. Can't say as these folks are the best to buy coffee from but the roaster rocks. http://www.sonofresco.com/Roaster/default.asp The roaster is made somewhere in washington state. Have fun guys.

tsquared · April 20, 2006, 07:02:26 AM

QuoteI have 3 of the Rancilio burr grinders, one for decaf and flavored coffees when, on the rare occasion, I do them for gifts, one for regular coffee, and the commercial grinder, the MD25 Rancilio that I leave set for the espresso grind only. I know, over-kill.

We expect nothing less from you Bill! ;D
T2

nsxbill · April 20, 2006, 11:15:26 AM

Jeff (BigSmoker),

You have inspired me to start thinking about what I want to do in retirement again...I'm 61, and have to start thinking about that! Damn It! Now retired from Army (former 82nd Airborne, 5th Special Forces, then Drill Instructor, then Army Nurse Corps when I took a commision at end of career), again, Retired from the Army and from State of California, and now working for large HMO giving medical advice on night shift. I want to keep busy, and have always had stuff going on the side. I love to smoke stuff....why I have Bradleys and lots of doo dads, but really love cooking and roasting coffee is a big interest of mine, despite the feeling my cardiologist has about my drinking triple shots of espresso a couple of times a day.

I am thinking seriously about picking up one of the small commercial roasters and providing quality roasts to some of the smaller restuarants in the Sacramento area that are specialty restaurants that have a dedicated following of diners that enjoy their fine faire... As always, this is a field where I could take advantage of fine dining, and as a vendor, allow me to visit, write-off the visit, and at the same time develop a client base of customers to promote the business. Hell, might even open a really small little coffee shop with very cool atmosphere, alternative music and a place to cruise the internet, have a cup of coffee and enjoy a bit of relaxed time in the early a.m.... Would never want employees, and would want to just have limited hours. Who knows, might even offer little home baked goodies to enjoy with the morning brew.

Perhaps the shop is a fantasy, but the roasting is something I would really like to do. Maybe even do a web-based venture to market the beans. My roaster capacity is only 1/2 pound, a real short-coming when I roast up for friends for gifts, or want to take coffee to gathering of friends where my coffee is being served. Example, I send 5 lbs a week to Baghad to Navy S.E.A.L. friend who serves in his office there. Now working for D.O.D. there, has lots of Special Ops folks coming through his office, and really enjoys quality coffee like I do.

You have inspired me, Jeff! Somone has a Sonofresco roaster on Ebay for sale now, but crazy if they think they are going to sell a used unit in need of repair for $100 less that the price of a new one. Did you get the hood that matches the unit? Is it pretty effective if you did get it? Do you run your roaster off a large propane tank? How much fuel does it use to do a typical roast--any idea? Something that can be run off of 5lb tanks, or do you have large tank?

Bill

BigSmoker · April 20, 2006, 11:32:57 AM

Bill,

Only problem I have run into so far with selling my roasted coffee is "coffee" is regulated by the Georgia State Deptarment of Agriculture. They would require of me if I want to sell my roasted beans to have a location with 2 operating sinks with hot water a tiled or finished concrete floor with a drain. So unless I get another house where I can rig all this up I'm stuck retail wise until I get a shop :'( :'( :'(. I did not buy the hood as we have quite a few local sheet metal fabricators where I have done business so I can buy the hood when it becomes necessary at a better cost. I bought a rolling cart from Sam's that holds the roaster and brings it to just the right level. I bought a 90 lb propane tank and have roasted probably close to 200 lbs and have used hardly any propane so gas use is very minimal. The unit itself is so easy to us my 10 year old could do it. It has 9 roast levels so you can achieve what ever kind of coffee you desire. The darker roasts will of course produce more oil and a little more cleaning of the machine but other than that cleanup is a snap. You can do 3lbs at a time and depending on your roast level start a batch every 15 minutes. Thats a lot of coffee everyday in a short amount of time. Right now I just roll mine onto the front porch to roast then right back in when I am finished. I am going to open a coffee shop just got to wait until a few things fall into place. With both my girls in college balancing the budget can be tricky hehehe. Let me know if you have any other specific questions about the roaster ;).

Edit: Their site says 1.2 lbs of coffee per batch but it seems much heavier than that. I will weigh a full batch when I get home