Noisy shop roaster

[Sinister703]

We just got our new Ambex 10 kilo shop roaster in yesterday. Well, when I took the course in Clearwater with Terry, I noticed it was a bit loud, but its easier to tell in your own environment (my shop).
SO I turned it on for a bit, (just power, no vent or gas hookups yet) just to see blinking lights :lol:
Well...its pretty loud, like a shop vac, and because we want to place it in the shop, Im wondering what to do now that I found its so loud. Nobody wants to sit in a cafe with the sound of a wet/dry vac 10 feet away.
I was thinking about making a big ass (fairly expensive) enclosure with glass windows and french doors, but Im pretty lazy and would rather not.
Oh, I would be roasting in the days and afternoons, not early morning before we open (remember? I told you Im lazy).

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

[Sinister703]

Anyway LOL the most important thing, this roaster ROCKS. Its so well build and solid. I wont have it hooked up for about a month or so though. Ah well, I can look at it :shock:

 

[topher]

Congrats! The only time I roasted in the shop without enclosure was about 10 years ago with a 5 kilo roaster. The five kilo wasn't too loud. But when you move up in size it gets loud as you can tell...So ambex is making a 10 kilo now? You made a great choice in roasters...I have used their 2,5,15,30 and now their 60 and wouldn't change for the world. Oh well good luck!

 

[Sinister703]

Thanks Topher
Yeah they make the YM 2, 5, 10, & 15. The 10 is only $2000 more than the 5 kilo so I thought Id save bout 1/2 the time staring at the roaster :lol:

So I guess maybe a 1/2 wall (lower) & top glass enclosure would be good? I was thinking about that with a french door (to see through) as I was going to put it near the front of the shop...sound ok?

 

[Chris Kay]

I think part of the attraction of having a cafe / roaster is the noise, smoke etc.
Nothing better than grinders on and off grinding away, smoke and the rotating drum.
Its the absolute guts of what youre doing so why sanitise it?
If you make it too comfortable there is no reason why your customers dont go sit somewhere else where its just a plain , boring cafe and enjoy their coffee in silence.

See how it goes before you spend the money to build a cone of silence around it.

My bet is customers will cue up just to be part of the roasting experience.

 

[topher]

chris to a point you are right...but if he has a door he can keep it open when he wants to be noisy. and close it if people are trying to have a meeting or what not. I will try an post a link to a place I help set up in MS. She built a room like you are talking about. Sliding glass doors are good too.

 

[Chris Kay]

Topher, i know what youre saying and i agree to a point as well.
Ill never forget the early days of my coffee roasting business. Id roast and do the deliveries. The thing i took out of making deliveries to the cafes was the ones that had alot going on were the ones that were busiest. Im not a fan of the silent grinders .. i love a cacophony of sound.
One of my customers would go overboard to make noise hed bark orders in Italian to his staff , hed grind each coffee individually, Opera in the background as hed bang his pitcher as if he was hammering into bricks.. he set the tone for a very vibrant cafe,
Look it might be a culture thing. Maybe some areas love chaos and others enjoy order.
Senses are important when marketing IMO, taste, smell, hearing , sight and the feel of a place.

If it works its right, if it doesnt it is wrong. We dont really know till we produce our product and let THEM judge us .

 

[topher]

it could also be a liability...someone walks up and leans on the hot roaster, customer stands and watches as the beans cool...gets watch snagged on the cooling arms...could get ugly. The other nice thing is that when you are tearing the roaster apart to clean you don't have to worry about customers kicking parts around. So Chris who are you with...or what is your company name? What size and brand roaster are you using? Location? You didn't fill out your profile

 

[Chris Kay]

Hi Topher,
Im in Melbourne Australia, currently i dont have a roastery as i sold mine , I dont think its fair i mention which one it is under those circumstances.
I used a 60kg Vittoria ,
Currently I own a 12 kg Probat 1950s Made in Germany and a 15 kg Turkish Toper roaster.
Ill be back in very soon and ill post up my new particulars.

My experience is espresso based. Most of the coffee in Australia is espresso brewed. We did not ever have a filtered coffee heritage and due to Italians coming here on mass in the 50s the espresso came with them.

Much of the coffee is milk based espresso.

Im not into dark roasts as i believe the roast should never dominate the nuances of the bean.

There is no such thing as an Espresso roast. (IMO) Southern Italians roast heavy(usually use more robusta - or did) Northern Italians roast lighter- mistly using more arabicas (a traditional afford factor perhaps ?)

We have much to learn from Northern Europeans re coffees. Germans/ Scandinavians... they roast lighter and use only the best beans because theyre prepared to pay for them. The roasting profile is lighter and the taste of the bean comes out more truly because the beans they buy seldom have blemishes.
Its also little wonder with such good coffee why these countries also indulge in more coffee per capita than the rest of us.

Ill fill out the profile whan im up and running.

Chris

 

[Chris Kay]

Also with the liability aspect you may have a point.

See its very different from country to country.

I agree there should be some kind of barrier before roaster and public .

The noise thing is individual. Personally i love going into an environment and get a real taste of whats going on.I want my senses to check everything out.
Im a nosey one.

 

[topher]

I understand...would love to see the old probat you are using..I used an old Royal some time ago...it was built in 1896. I loved that roaster! I am using an Ambex 60 now and am awaiting a second 60....oh well later

 

[BeanGrinder]

Topher - a 2nd 60! Geez! I don't know how you guys "drum" up the biz, but I am impressed. Meanwhile, my 2nd hand YM-2 works great. You will recall I bought it off a pirate down in Florida. No doubt, Ambex builds an awesome roaster.

I managed to get a .PDF verison of the owner's manual, which is good because I needed some guidance on maintenance, especially the grease points. Maintenance is everything.


I just visited a coffee shop yesterday - their roaster is right out in the open in the shop. Sure, it's vented for smoke and chaff collection, but a customer could easily walk up and mess around with it.

http://coolbeanscoffeeroasters.com/roasting.shtml

They've been there for a long time - was originally Cormier Coffee Roasting Company, but changed their name. Anyway, I would think it makes more sense to have some degree of separation between the roaster and the general public. Right on, Topher...you rock.

-Steve

 

[Chris Kay]

My experience with shop roasters is that people wont touch them. There is a feeling of not understanding them so they dont touch.
Its not hard to cordon them off from the public if need be.
Personally i like the idea for people to get up real close to it.
How many times do you see people on the street get up real close to a Ferrari or a Porsche but dont scratch or touch it.
Something more common and they will run a coin along side it. ...

In my experience people dont get too close or touchy with things they dont have or understand.

Topher congratulations on a second 60 KGroaster .Buizz is good and i know what it takes to need 2 60kg roasters going cos i never got there. :lol:
Youre obviously doing a few things right and you understand your market place.

 

[topher]

Chris....I can tell you aren't from the states....over here people are looking for a way to get rich quick....hmmm...got their lawyer on speed dial

 

[Sinister703]

OK guys, thanks for your input, and Im a-gonna listen to ya.
Im going to build an enclosure near the very front windows of my shop for the roaster (lower wall section, upper glass section) so people can see into the area with an opening about 5 feet wide to get to the work area with a lil gate so kids dont get too close.
If it ends up getting too loud, Ill take out the gate and put up a glass door, like a french door and keep it closed only while actually roasting. Sound good?
:?