We’re no stranger to coffee roasting hacks, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen a new DIY roaster design. Thankfully [Larry] has been hacking together a small-batch roaster with a bunch of off-the-shelf parts. He was originally trying to make a fully-automated roasting system, but after a bunch of failed prototypes, he settled on a simple roaster design that works great.
[Larry]’s roaster is designed for small batches of coffee (about 3oz). He has a small hopper with a motorized auger (cannibalized from a chocolate fountain) which drops coffee down into his roasting basket. The basket is mounted to a cordless screwdriver which rotates it to agitate the beans inside. A small camp stove provides the heat, which is placed right under the basket. The beans churn around in the roasting basket and heat up until they reach the desired roast level (typically between first and second crack).
Once the roasting is complete, another hand drill rotates the basket assembly to dump out the coffee. [Larry]’s build includes an assortment of knobs and switches which control the auger, basket speed, bean dumping, and even a “speedometer” gauge that shows how fast the basket is rotating. Want to build your own roaster? Check out the instructions for building [Larry]’s roaster or some other builds we’ve featured before.
Looks like something out of Wallace and Gromit!
I’ve only just skimmed the article, so far, but good job on the docs/write-up – its clear a lot of work went into that, not just the device, itself.
Talk about time FAIL. $40 can get you a pre-owned FreshRoast+
the point of a site like this is to encourage people to be inventive. not to just ‘spend money’ on already-designed products.
I enjoy seeing people build stuff and also seeing what their thought process is.
obviously, you don’t feel that way. not sure why you’re on this site, then.
Did you know that you can save your time by not reading these articles? Next time, think before your write. I got $10 bucks that says you are a Millennial … better make that $20.
Can’t see the need for the hopper. Why not just put the beans straight into the roasting basket?
It’s automated and does small batches one after another.
Ahh right fair enough. Seemed odd to have it just straight away chuck it to the basket when you turn it on!
Brilliant use of cordless screwdrivers. Also, the metal working to build the basket is amazing.
I must say- It looks awesome. It looks like some kind of Rube Goldberg machine.
Hmm… they could not cool and save aroma by falling into a plastic coffee can with a limited entry, such as through a funnel? Or is this for a breakfast batch for multiple cofee-holics? 3 oz probably does me for the day. Just curious – not judging.
Great job Larry! This roaster reminds me of a project in boy scouts.