I just picked up a red Genesis 2000 that I am going to restore.
Can you give me any info on what is required to roast coffee beans as well?
Thanks
OK @swamprb I watched the videos but want to know more pls.
Roasting drum on the spit, high-speed motor (from where? and why?) ... what else besides time and temp?
Also, I noticed you have all 3 burners up and temps are pegged. I thought coffee roasting didn't get super hot? I sometimes see the little short-lid Spirit 700's or whatever on CL, would the lower BTU of these 2-burners work for this?
The Drum roaster I'm using is an RK Drums 4lb unit. It is an older version of the ones shown here:
http://www.rkdrums.com/It is handmade with a custom 50 RPM motor by Ron Kyle. A fellow roaster from the BBQ Brethren site sent me some beans from Papua New Guinea that he had roasted with a RK Drum - some of the best I'd ever had, and he hipped me to some links and I got rolling. Ron Kyle was a highly respected roaster and builder and his customer service was impeccable.
I prefer the Weber 1000 because it gets hotter faster than my Genesis C. The slide out bottom tray makes chaff cleanup a breeze. It is a dedicated roaster so no grilling meats on this.
I usually roast 1-1.5 lbs of beans at a time - figure 1 lb of green beans yield @ 12 oz roasted. Typically I select Single Origin beans recommended for Espresso or Espresso Blends from Sweet Maria's:
https://www.sweetmarias.com/ And there you will find links to green beans, cupping reviews and more info.
The thermos were pegged because I probably neglected to turn the burners down while I was cooling the beans and loading up the drum with another batch. They usually roll @ 450*. Roast times vary due to outside temps, but roasts are @ 7-14 minutes on average.
If you buy an RK Drum setup you will get instructions and suggested sample roasting profiles, but its all dependent on the grill temps etc. It's fairly easy, its something you have to devote your full attention to, because you need to hear the beans cracking (like popcorn). I've probably roasted well over 500 lbs and only burnt 3 lbs. I've talked to a lot of commercial roasters that started on RK Drums.
@Gpinch1 @addicted-to-smoke I hope this helps, be happy to answer anything I can
Brian