Roasting on a charcoal grill

[rwhinton]

I'm tempted to try it since my wife will never forgive me if I even think about roasting in her kitchen.
There are two ways I can go:
1. Use a basket mounted on a rotisserie setup with charcoal banked on either side. The grill temperature typically runs 400 degrees to 450 degrees.
2. Break out the 14-inch carbon-steel wok and basically stir-fry the beans over hot charcoal.
Is one method better than the other? (I think the rotisserie would be less labor intensive.)
Should I put the cover on the grill if I go with the rotisserie setup?
At that 400-450 heat range, does anyone have a guess how long to first crack? Second crack?
This beginner will appreciate any and all advice.
Thanks.

 

[BuzzRoaster]

If you are not worried about batch size the hot air popper method is the cheapest and easiest to get into.

I've never roasted over charcoal but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

If you can maintain the heat which would not be very difficult if you plan it well, most of the FC should happen around 10-13 mins. SC would happen around 12-15 mins. It really depends on the consistency of heat source.
Here are some youtube videos. You can learn tons from these two clips.

Coffee Roaster - YouTube

HOW TO ROAST COFFEE - YouTube fast forward to 4:25

 

[poison]

Welcome to RK Drums

I've roasted over 20k lbs on an RK setup. My coffee is as good as anyone's, even if consistency is difficult.

 

[rwhinton]

Thanks, all.
CoffeeJunky, you pointed me to two videos that eluded my search efforts on YouTube. There were very helpful. Thank you.

 

[CoffeeLovers]

Roasting can be done even with your stove or popcorn popper. Since you try your own idea, I think there is no reason that it can’t be done. Though there are proper roasters out there in the market, it is also good that you can make your own version as long as it works.

Upon reaching 340-400 degrees internal bean temperature, this will be the first crack but it depends on the roaster if it is not adding enough heat to the process that will stall the roast at this point.

 

[redlandroaster]

I do my daily roasts on a DIY stainless steel drum roaster similar to the FZ-RR-700. I roast 1/2 pound batches for the wife and I. It is so much easier than breaking out my 1 kilo Torrefattore which takes 30 minutes in summer and longer in winter to pre heat. I put the roaster over a Coleman 10,000 BTU camp stove and roast in 13/15 minutes. With setup and cleanup time added I am done in
30 minutes. I designed it last year and have roasted 200 batches so far.

 

[tazzadiluna]

I do my daily roasts on a DIY stainless steel drum roaster similar to the FZ-RR-700. I roast 1/2 pound batches for the wife and I. It is so much easier than breaking out my 1 kilo Torrefattore which takes 30 minutes in summer and longer in winter to pre heat. I put the roaster over a Coleman 10,000 BTU camp stove and roast in 13/15 minutes. With setup and cleanup time added I am done in
30 minutes. I designed it last year and have roasted 200 batches so far.
View attachment 1430

That's a nice and simple setup. How do you make that thing spin? I don't see a hand crank, rotor, or anything... And what are the dimensions of your drum?