Black burnt beans in every batch

[pippo]

Hello everyone, I wanted to share this problem we have and check whether this is something normal and what people do usually in the industry.
We roast on a Coffee-Tech Ghibli R15 and we get an average of 8-10 completely carbonised beans every batch we roast. Somehow a few beans get stuck in the drum and therefore burn and carbonise.

This problem is two-fold:
• On one hand the burnt beans create smoke and result in a non-clean, smoky roast.
• On the other hand, we have to manually sort every single batch after roasting to pick and remove these burnt beans. This process is so laborious that takes 3 times the time we spend roasting!

Firstly, does anyone have the same problem?
Secondly, is hand sorting roasted beans something normal in an average-sized specialty coffee roasting business?

Thank you!

 

[MillCityRoasters]

Hello everyone, I wanted to share this problem we have and check whether this is something normal and what people do usually in the industry.
We roast on a Coffee-Tech Ghibli R15 and we get an average of 8-10 completely carbonised beans every batch we roast. Somehow a few beans get stuck in the drum and therefore burn and carbonise.

This problem is two-fold:
• On one hand the burnt beans create smoke and result in a non-clean, smoky roast.
• On the other hand, we have to manually sort every single batch after roasting to pick and remove these burnt beans. This process is so laborious that takes 3 times the time we spend roasting!

Firstly, does anyone have the same problem?
Secondly, is hand sorting roasted beans something normal in an average-sized specialty coffee roasting business?

Thank you!

This isn't unknown. Make sure your roaster is leveled and possibly tilted down slightly (1/2 bubble on a level). Also check your drum gap. Usually, beans that get hung up are oddly shaped or sized. This is the normal stuff. You can also tear the entire roaster apart to look for spots beans get hung up.

 

[namballe]

i get those once in a while (1 or2). easy to spot once you dump them out. as Mill City Roaster suggested, look inside for places that beans can get caught. 8-10 beans is quite a lot imo.

 

[JumpinJakJava]

I would call Coffee-Tec, and inquire if others have had this issue. They would surely have the resolve.

 

[empeg9000]

I also have this on my Ozturk. Mostly on the very first batch. Tilting it slightly forward is a good idea and I my try that.

 

[JohnD18]

Does it happen on the first batch, or just on the second, and so on? Sometimes after I drop a batch, I hear one or two beans kicking around, and I open the gate again, and they come right out. Perhaps try opening it again right before you charge another batch.

Otherwise they're probably getting suck in some part of the roast drum, due to the machine not being level (as suggested above) or for some other reason.

 

[empeg9000]

Does it happen on the first batch, or just on the second, and so on? Sometimes after I drop a batch, I hear one or two beans kicking around, and I open the gate again, and they come right out. Perhaps try opening it again right before you charge another batch.

Otherwise they're probably getting suck in some part of the roast drum, due to the machine not being level (as suggested above) or for some other reason.

I personally mostly get it on the first batch and then a couple here and there during a day of roasting

 

[Musicphan]

At what temperature are you dropping your green? If I preheat my roaster too much on the first roast of the day I can get a few scorched beans...

Can you post pics... are the beans uniformly 'burnt'?

 

[peterjschmidt]

At what temperature are you dropping your green? If I preheat my roaster too much on the first roast of the day I can get a few scorched beans...

Can you post pics... are the beans uniformly 'burnt'?

Those black beans are most likely left over from a previous batch; I don't think they could get that much darker than the rest of the beans in one roast.

They just get stuck somewhere - they nestle in some cranny when they're green and swell up during the roast and get jammed in tight. Then once they get charred real good, they get a little softer and the hard green beans from the next batch dislodge them.

 

[empeg9000]

Those black beans are most likely left over from a previous batch; I don't think they could get that much darker than the rest of the beans in one roast.

They just get stuck somewhere - they nestle in some cranny when they're green and swell up during the roast and get jammed in tight. Then once they get charred real good, they get a little softer and the hard green beans from the next batch dislodge them.

That's exactly what I think is happening.