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Date: 20 Aug 2006 06:24:17
From: Todd94590
Subject: Hello World
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Greetings alt.coffee,
new here, and am looking for a FAQ.
I'm a proud owner of:
Quick Mill- Andreja,
HotTop roaster,
Bravi roaster,
Solis Maistro (sp?) grinder
my staple coffee is celebes, roaster well into the second crack (oil
on the skin)-- hoptop normally does not roast it this far, I need to
roast it twice at setting '4' and a couple 'plus'ses.
I live in Vallejo, CA, perhaps 20-25 miles north of Sweet Maria's.
I will have plenty of questions for the group, assuming a decent
reception here.
Todd
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 08:16:21
From:
Subject: Re: Hello World
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I knew I'd catch flack over the admission of roasting twice, yes,
sadly, in order to get the beans to the right consistancy of roast that
we (both me & wife) enjoy, the '7' setting and all available 'plus'ses
are not enough. Good suggestions for me to try, and laziness has been
the leading factor of why I have not checked the line voltage. My home
was built in 1940 and still has much of the knob & tube wiring, so yes,
line voltage is an issue, and yes I'll be ordering a variac from
sweetmarias.
I've owned the hottop just over a year now. Where it says "do not
leave machine unattended," I learned the hard way-- unit caught fire
last November (hence having two roasters). Michael Changue (sp?) of
hottop (somewhere in MA) and I emailed back and forth, I sent the
machine to him, he berated me for my obvious ommission in judgement by
not watching the machine, and then replaced the machine for a low fee
with a machine he said that he had been using at work.
Knowing myself well enough, I'm the Tim Taylor type, meaning that I'll
change anything into a Binford 2000. I've torn down the hottop to
parade rest and put her back together again. Presently I'm considering
modifying it for manual operation. I've been to many websites and will
utilize some of the mod's done by others, such as adding the
temperature probe through the bean hopper. Sent Jeffrey Pawlan an
email regarding his modification, but $2800 is out of my league. Would
be money well spent for me, sure, but just way too much for me to
honestly consider. His email response was appreciated, and a quite
brief description of his temperature monitoring function was explained
to me well enough.
Already have a couple of good digital scales. downsizing the lot to
200 - 225g is also something I've not tried, again more out of laziness
than anything else. One thing for sure that I consistently come
across: roasting celebes/sulawesi that dark means more smoke than most.
The filters get dirty very fast, and the inside blades of the 120mm
fan are constantly dirty/oily.
Good idea to replace the Solis grinder. Suggestions from the group?
will probably have two grinders on the counter, using the solis for
regular coffee. Thus far, when using the Andreja, I'm noticing that
the pucks generally remain 'wet' after the shot. I can accept that I'm
an amateur playing with the big boys toys at this stage, but did really
think the outcome would be slightly different-- perhaps the grind?
perhaps it's the nut behind the controls? Probably by shot 10 I
learned that the control lever on the Andreja is a three-way-valve, and
when done dispensing a shot, not fully pushing the lever back down
doesn't bypass the unused water just yet (and thereby lock the pressure
to the puck). Wish the instruction manual that came with it was a bit
more clear on all operations of the machine. Conversely, the hottop
manual was something that my 12 year old daughter could fully
understand.
okay, enough rambling, time to caffinate.
Todd
Randy G. wrote:
> Todd94590 <todd94590@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Greetings alt.coffee,
> >new here, and am looking for a FAQ.
> >
> Welcome...
>
> >I'm a proud owner of:
> >Quick Mill- Andreja,
> >HotTop roaster,
> >Bravi roaster,
> >Solis Maistro (sp?) grinder
> >
> You definitely need a better grinder to match that espresso machine.
> The grinder is more important than the espresso maker and that one is
> not the best match for your setup. I also believe that there is an
> upgrade kit for that grinder that is free from Baratza and might help,
> but that grinder is well suited for press pot or drip and not so much
> for espresso.
>
> >my staple coffee is celebes, roaster well into the second crack (oil
> >on the skin)-- hoptop normally does not roast it this far, I need to
> >roast it twice at setting '4' and a couple 'plus'ses.
> >
> Do you really mean that you run the coffee through the roaster
> twice???? Set the roaster on "7" and use 225-250 grams and be ready to
> manually eject the coffee when it reaches the correct roast level. If
> you do not have one, get a gram scale and weigh the coffee before
> roasting. Check the voltage or try roasting in another outlet or at
> another location. Have you cleaned or replaced the filter? Have you
> cleaned the inside of the roasting chamber and temperature sensor?
> Remember that the "roast levels" are just a timer for one roasting
> curve and so you can just set it at "7" and stop it with the eject
> button. Read my unofficial Hottop FAQ for more hints and tips. Also
> check he Hottop troubleshooting guide on the Hottop USA website.
>
> Your problem may be:
> -dirty filter
> -inoperative rear fan
> -bad heating element
> -low voltage
> -roasting too much coffee at once
> -using too low of a roast level (not roasting long enough)
>
> How old is the roaster?
>
>
> Randy "coldbottom" G.
> http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 07:12:59
From: Randy G.
Subject: Re: Hello World
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Todd94590 <todd94590@hotmail.com > wrote:
>Greetings alt.coffee,
>new here, and am looking for a FAQ.
>
Welcome...
>I'm a proud owner of:
>Quick Mill- Andreja,
>HotTop roaster,
>Bravi roaster,
>Solis Maistro (sp?) grinder
>
You definitely need a better grinder to match that espresso machine.
The grinder is more important than the espresso maker and that one is
not the best match for your setup. I also believe that there is an
upgrade kit for that grinder that is free from Baratza and might help,
but that grinder is well suited for press pot or drip and not so much
for espresso.
>my staple coffee is celebes, roaster well into the second crack (oil
>on the skin)-- hoptop normally does not roast it this far, I need to
>roast it twice at setting '4' and a couple 'plus'ses.
>
Do you really mean that you run the coffee through the roaster
twice???? Set the roaster on "7" and use 225-250 grams and be ready to
manually eject the coffee when it reaches the correct roast level. If
you do not have one, get a gram scale and weigh the coffee before
roasting. Check the voltage or try roasting in another outlet or at
another location. Have you cleaned or replaced the filter? Have you
cleaned the inside of the roasting chamber and temperature sensor?
Remember that the "roast levels" are just a timer for one roasting
curve and so you can just set it at "7" and stop it with the eject
button. Read my unofficial Hottop FAQ for more hints and tips. Also
check he Hottop troubleshooting guide on the Hottop USA website.
Your problem may be:
-dirty filter
-inoperative rear fan
-bad heating element
-low voltage
-roasting too much coffee at once
-using too low of a roast level (not roasting long enough)
How old is the roaster?
Randy "coldbottom" G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 11:07:02
From: Robert Harmon
Subject: Re: Hello World
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Howdy Todd,
Your reception should be fine, depending on your antennae. Too finely
adjusted & the static you'll encounter here will be objectionable. Properly
adjusted & you'll enjoy the programming. This is a hobby group (actually a
group of fanatics) dedicated to great coffee. The thing is if your have four
people here discussing anything you'll have five different, and hotly
championed, opinions. Sometimes it gets a bit stormy & there are some here
who'll rake you over the coals if you step on their beliefs. But don't
worry, if you stick around for a bit you'll soon learn which of the old
hands to listen to, which of the others to take with a grain of salt, &
which to just add to your 'kill' file as incorrigibles. Besides this group
there are several web sites for the coffee fanatic; www.coffeegeek.com,
www.espressomyespresso.com, www.coffeecrew.com, etc., as well as the
alt.coffee archive on www.google.com.
So welcome Todd; kick back & stay awhile, the info is first rate, the banter
can be fun, & the BS can be avoided. Enjoy!
--
Robert (duck & cover) Harmon
http://tinyurl.com/pou2y
http://tinyurl.com/fkd6r
"Todd94590" <todd94590@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:leTFg.2587$q63.482@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
> Greetings alt.coffee,
> I will have plenty of questions for the group, assuming a decent
> reception here.
>
> Todd
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 08:41:06
From: I->Ian
Subject: Re: Hello World
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On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 06:24:17 GMT, Todd94590 <todd94590@hotmail.com >
wrote:
>Greetings alt.coffee,
>new here, and am looking for a FAQ.
>
>I'm a proud owner of:
>Quick Mill- Andreja,
>HotTop roaster,
>Bravi roaster,
>Solis Maistro (sp?) grinder
>
>my staple coffee is celebes, roaster well into the second crack (oil
>on the skin)-- hoptop normally does not roast it this far, I need to
>roast it twice at setting '4' and a couple 'plus'ses.
>
>I live in Vallejo, CA, perhaps 20-25 miles north of Sweet Maria's.
>
>I will have plenty of questions for the group, assuming a decent
>reception here.
>
>Todd
Welcome,
Assuming volatage is ok, use less beans [225g] in the HT and you can
get to burnt. If voltage < 117, get a variac.
Insert beans in HT 1:30 after annoying beeps to insert beans.
Sell the Bravi and get a decent grinder, assuming you intend to make
espresso with the Andreja. Start at about $400 for a grinder.
And if you're roasting twice and drinking it, this is the wrong place
to troll.
This is alt.coffee. It ain't warm. It ain't fuzzy.
If you can't stand the heat, get outta the kitchen!
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