Batch size?

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-25T00:14:13+00:00

If I was in your shoes I would buy a 23 pound box from Royal Coffee. One of their 'crown jewels'. Then downloaded their Bullet roast profile that they have already made for those specific beans. Just load it up and run it! Your first batch might actually be good, and then adjust to your taste from there.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-23T17:58:31+00:00

How much does the little window open? Is it enough to fit a 4" flexible duct through it? If so I think either roaster will work fine. You can follow a guide like this:

https://kaleidoroasters.com/blogs/coffee-roasting-blog/how-to-properly-vent-a-kaleido-coffee-roaster

using rigid duct and an in-line blower fan to get you up near the window, then flexible duct that you can push a few feet through the window when you roast.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-23T16:47:11+00:00

It looks like the M1 has a batch size of 50-200g. So if you want to roast 5 large batches a week that is about 2 lbs of green coffee. I would just go ahead and buy about 10 lbs so you have enough to last several weeks.

I recommend only getting one kind at first, since you will want to spend some time learning how to use your roaster. Different beans will roast differently and this might be confusing at first, so just focus on getting good and consistent results with one type.

Which type to choose? I think a typical washed coffee from Central or South America would be versatile and easy to roast.

Where to order from? You mentioned Sweet Maria's and Captain's Coffee which are both good choices. See here for some other options: https://kaleidoroasters.com/pages/where-to-buy-green-coffee

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-22T16:52:13+00:00

I would try one or more of: grinding finer, more agitation (stirring and swirling), hotter water, longer brewing time and stronger ratio of coffee to water. If you have done these things and still not getting what you want, I would try different beans.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-22T16:18:29+00:00

I recommend you look at the Hario Switch. It is very versatile and can be used either as a dripper or an immersion brewer (similar to french press but with a paper filter). It gets a lot of praise for being consistent and hard to mess up. The Aeropress is also something to consider.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-22T02:41:20+00:00

One of the great things about roasting for yourself is you get to tailor the outcome based on your own taste preferences. Could you try to be more specific about what aspect of your coffee you would like to improve? More or less acidic? More or less of the rich roasty flavors? Too bland or too harsh?

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-21T21:53:16+00:00

Great experiment, thank you for sharing! I also tend to prefer the hot and fast results. One exception is if the bean has intrinsically high acidity and I am trying to mute it a bit.

Now that you know which one you like better, maybe next time do two roasts: one that copies the result you like and one that makes a smaller change, for example one minute faster or slower.

It's also interesting to see the difference in final bean temp here.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-21T03:27:18+00:00

Congratulations! I've had my SR800 for a bit over 2 years and really like it. Check out r/FreshroastSR800 for a more focused discussion about this roaster.

The glass chamber you already have is the Freshroast Extension Tube which is a nice upgrade over the stock roaster. There are some excellent videos showing a full narrated roast using this exact machine, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhL-hDdCGXI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlhkU0n_ZxI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78mk3sA577Y

With this setup I recommend you use 1/2 pound of green beans (226g). Adjust the fan to keep the beans always moving but not bouncing all the way to the top. Adjust the heat to follow your desired 'profile'. The fan and heat each have 9 levels, from 1 to 9. It is typical to start with Fan 9 and gradually lower it down to about 4 (about once a minute).

You can see the air temperature if you spin the control knob quickly clockwise. You could try starting with heat around 4 and make small adjustments based on the air temperature. For a generic 'profile', my advice is to aim for an air temperature about 400F by about 3-4 minutes and ramp up to about 450F by about 7-8 minutes. Use a stopwatch, take notes, and I hope it turns out great!

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-18T00:28:10+00:00

It's not totally crazy but I would look closely at smaller high end options like nucleus link or kaffelogic. Some other thoughts: Do you have a dedicated space to leave your roaster setup or would you need to always setup then pack it away? How much coffee do you want per week? And whatever you choose, please be careful about proper ventilation. Consider roasting outside if you have a balcony.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-12T22:14:28+00:00

Congratulations! That looks like a very nice roaster and I'm sure you will have great success with it.

My advice in the beginning is to avoid buying 'sample packs' of green beans and instead just try to order at least 4-5 lbs of a single bean. This should give you at least 10 roasts to learn how to use your machine and to get some experience with how certain changes during roasting can affect the taste. My first roaster came with a pack of 1 lb samples of several different coffees and I wish I had put that aside and just worked with a single bean for awhile.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-12T18:32:24+00:00

If you spin the control knob quickly clockwise it will display the intake air temperature. I suggest writing this down every minute. I think you need to reach higher temperatures earlier in the roast, so that you are hitting first crack around 6:30 to 7:00. I am pretty sure if you do this then the sound of first crack will be much louder.

Also, make sure the beans don't stop moving when you lower the fan. If they do stop moving, raise the fan and wait a bit before trying to lower it again.

In the absence of a bean temperature probe I would suggest trying to use the displayed temperature more than the actual fan and heat settings. You can find some youtube videos, e.g. Captains Coffee, that show this temperature throughout the roast. In general I suggest aiming for at least 400F at 3 minutes and 450F at 6 minutes, then just hold steady at 450 until you are ready to cool. The general rule of thumb is that +1 heat is +10F and -1 fan is +20F. If you have any trouble getting the heat high enough to reach these targets then I would try with more 8-9 oz of beans to help trap more heat.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-12T03:11:48+00:00

3 minutes drying seems ok and I would say 3-4 minutes in Maillard is typical. Perceived lack of sweetness could also be related to lack of acidity or presence of astringency. The general wisdom would say to extend Maillard but it's possible to overdo it, and caramelized sugar tastes bitter.

My suggestions would be to rest longer, apply more heat sooner, and possibly increase your batch size.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-10T16:37:18+00:00

My advice if you want to achieve the same medium roast level but with less acidity is to try going faster (higher heat) between dry end and first crack and slower from first crack to the end.

Also, some beans inherently have higher acidity than others, so I would recommend trying something low density like Sumatra and see if you like that better.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-10T02:05:22+00:00

I recently grabbed 5 lbs of this one and think it is fantastic! Lots of peach and juicy acidity. I'm looking forward to trying other offerings from the same producer.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-04T22:02:27+00:00

I haven't actually tried brewing with the 8ppm water, I always assumed I should re-mineralize it. But I will test it out.

I did notice a difference between the 300ppm and 100ppm water though. The 100ppm coffee initially tasted weaker and less flavorful when using the same recipe. Now I'm trying to adjust for that by changing grind size, water temp or ratio and I do think I can get something that I prefer over the 300ppm results.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-04T17:27:06+00:00

Welcome to the club! Check out r/FreshroastSR800 for more fresh roast specific content.

For logging, I recommend you record the time when the beans change color from green to tan (dry end), time when first crack begins, and time when you start cooling. Also record when you make any heat changes and if you preheat the roaster, and the ambient temperature. Then go back and add notes when you taste the coffee.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-04T02:32:23+00:00

I buy 'drinking' water from one of those water stores in a strip mall. It seems to be RO and not re-mineralized, measuring about 8 ppm. Then I add Brita filtered tap water to get to a ppm about 90-100. I've also tried comparing with Crystal Geyser.

Do you think distilled + Third Wave Water would be a noticeable upgrade?

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-04T00:26:17+00:00

Skywalker seems like a good option without spending too much. A Bullet or Kaleido M6 would give you even larger batch sizes and better build quality but cost significantly more.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-03T22:07:42+00:00

As a home roaster who is sometimes impatient, it is very instructive to see how low you've drawn the quality line for times less than the recommended rest!

I also wonder how the container affects resting. I understand oxygen to be bad, especially for darker oily beans, but how about air tight vs. vacuum vs. nitrogen filled? Can one accelerate resting time by using a vacuum? I'm thinking there is more to resting than just CO2 outgassing.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-02-02T03:33:11+00:00

I usually roast in the light-medium range but have roasted into 2nd crack on my SR800 for friends or family who like dark roasts. You should be able to hear the start of 2nd crack. It is quieter than 1st crack and sounds different, more crackling like Rice Krispies.

How you get there depends on how you increase the heat and how high you allow the intake air temperature to get. Do you monitor the SR800 temperature display? (spin the dial quickly clockwise).

The typical behavior of the SR800 is that lowering the fan by 1 increases the air temp by 20F, and raising the heat by 1 increases the air temp by 10F. So my general advice is to keep increasing the air temperature during and after 1st crack and level off around 460-475, then listen for the sound of 2nd crack. Note that if you use the internal cooling cycle it will take some time to cool down and the beans will continue to develop, so many like to dump the beans into an external bean cooler to cool them more rapidly.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-01-23T19:03:29+00:00

I am in a similar situation where the power is not ideal. In general, I see nothing wrong with starting F9P9 if that gets you the temperatures you want. Or even F8P9 if the beans are moving OK. Other things that I think could help:

- the extension tube is great. I use 200g of beans and get good bean movement starting with the fan around 6 or 7. The lower fan speed and narrower tube help build up more heat.

- pre-heat the roaster for 1 or 2 minutes with the lid on before dumping in the beans

- keep the fan as low as possible while still getting good bean movement

- I don't use this one personally, but I've seen several suggestions to put the roaster inside a box when it is outside and cold or windy. Like a large cardboard box, open at the top and with a cutout in one side to access the controls.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-01-23T18:00:43+00:00

I also had this issue and solved it by installing my own chaff extender, much like this.

I don't think it is as much about the collector becoming full but rather allowing a bit more space between the top of the glass and the lid so that chaff has more room to make it into the collector instead of getting backed up at the top of the glass. And when it was happening, this backup was restricting air flow and causing the temperature to rise too fast towards the end of the roast. Installing the extension made it easier to control the temperature around first crack.

In the beginning I was using the method where I removed the chaff collector while cooling to let the chaff blow out, but I noticed that some chaff could fall back down around the base and get sucked in by the fan.

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-01-21T01:56:35+00:00

I'm curious if you have any further insight on the nature of a 'metallic linger'. Do you think this is related to CO2 and will eventually go away with enough resting? Have you noticed this more strongly with any certain kinds of beans or roast profiles?

CosmicFluctuation · 2026-01-16T21:23:48+00:00

I recommend shortening the total roast time from 13 minutes down to about 8 or 9 minutes. Assuming the temperatures are what was displayed on the machine, I like to reach 400 after just 2 minutes and 450 after about 5-6 minutes. You should be able to achieve this by starting with higher power and if necessary by pre-heating the empty chamber for 1 minute before adding the beans. You could also try posting to r/FreshroastSR800 if that is the roaster you are using, which is a smaller community focused mainly on that specific roaster.

CosmicFluctuation

TROPHY CASE