March 2004
This is an unsloicited E-Mail from Jim Easley on his RK Drum
Thanks Jim.
RK, I just did the first roast in the drum roaster. I used 2 pounds of Guatemala Huehuetenanga. An outstandingly even roast first time out.But there is a couple of hitches in my gameplan. Seems I didn’t account for being at 6,000 feet which speeds up the crack process, SSSOOOOO what I thought was the first crack was actually the second crack. I was all set to see a beautiful full city roast and boy was I surprised. Fortunately this particular Guat. holds up damn well when stressed to the max. It makes an interesting Italian bordering on charcoal profile but I can still taste some fruitiness in all that blackness.
Oh well, such is life. The drum worked beautifully and I will get the times down. Thanks again for a great product.
I threw all the timings out the window and did the next round of roasts
using the old school method of roasting by sight-color of smoke;
sound-cracks and pops; and by smell-the changing aromas of the roast. Didn’t
look at the stop watch at all but did use your tip about decreasing the
temp and letting the roast cruise through the cracking stages. Worked
beautifully.
Worked so well in fact half the neighborhood just signed on as clients. They were the ones that live down wind of the roasting area. Only problem I have encountered in the past 10 roasts (yes, I have been busy) is trying to get the door open using a pair of pliers while wearing gloves.
It looks like I will be buying the 18 inch model before long as well as a couple of motors.
Thanks again for such a KISS device and technique.
About RK Drums
RK Drums has been providing roasting advice for coffee aficionados and small business owners for over 15 years. We specialize in making coffee roasting accessible to anyone who wants to roast, and sell complete solutions to roast coffee using a barbecue grill.
