Are you using a roaster for the first time? Here are some parts you need to know!
At first glance, the roasting machine might seem intimidating. How do you put the beans in? What is an exhaust fan? How does the roaster heat the beans, and how are they cooled? If you’re intrigued, let me introduce you to everything you need to know about getting your first roasting machine.
When you stand in front of your roaster, you’ll notice the important parts necessary for operating the machine. At the top, you will find a green bean hopper. This part, which can sometimes be detachable (like in the Aillio Bullet roaster), allows you to load your beans into the roasting chamber or drum. On the front of almost every machine, you will see a trier, sight glass, light source, and drum doors. The trier is used to check the color of the beans while roasting, and the sight glass serves a similar purpose. The advantage of the trier is that it allows you to compare the colors of your roasted beans with a reference roast without distractions, usually under good lighting. One part worth mentioning is hidden behind the front plate, it’s a temperature probe, a kind of electric thermometer that measures the temperature of the beans. The drum doors keep the beans inside the roasting chamber and allow someone operating the machine to release the beans once they reach the desired color and temperature.
Speaking of releasing beans, right under the drum doors, you will find a cooling tray. As the name suggests, it cools beans after roasting. In most home, semi-commercial, or shop roasters, beans are cooled with environmental air. Air is dragged with a cooling fan placed behind or under the cooling tray.
On the left side of the roaster (usually, sometimes on the right side or front), you can find the control panel, which is a crucial place for the roaster operator. It displays temperature readings by temperature probe, actual gas (power) settings, and fan and drum settings. It also allows to control all of the mentioned parameters.
Let’s move to the side of your roaster. From here you can imagine where your roasting drum is. It usually takes 2/3 of the whole roaster body. The remaining 1/3 is reserved for motors, electronics, and other parts. Right under the roasting drum, you will find a heating element or burner. It will heat up the drum and air that will enter the drum to heat up the beans.
Behind your roaster, you will usually find an exhaust fan. It serves two purposes, pulling environmental air through the burner. When it’s hot it will enter the drum to pass the heat onto the beans. The second purpose is to drag air with smoke and chaff to the chaff collector and further through a chimney.
How it actually works is a topic for another article. Don’t worry, we will cover that soon. To give you a rough idea, it goes like this: when green beans enter the roasting drum, hot air, and the hot drum will heat up beans to the desired temperature, which will be reflected in the color of the beans.
That’s it. That is your roaster. It is important to understand how it works. It helps with controlling your roast, maintenance, and resolving all roaster-related issues. I’m not even able to count how many times knowing my machines saved the day at the roastery.
Our step-by-step roasting guide has been design for you by Aleksander Smet, 2022 Polish Roasting and Cup Tasters Champion.
Discover all Roasting equipments
