Behmor 1600
Additional Information
| Pros | Smoke control system that really works, Priced well for doing lighter roasts, great customer support |
| Cons | Limited visibility of beans roasting, not intended for dark roasts, controls take some study |
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Customer Reviews
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Good control Review by Andy
Sweetness Acidity Balance/Harmony Aftertaste Body I began roasting with an air popcorn popper years ago. I bought three on Ebay and that was sufficient for when I was just starting to roast coffee.
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes, its nice,
I graduated to a FreshRoast and then to a FreshRoast Plus8. I bought extra roasting chambers for it so I could keep roasting while one roasting chamber had a chance to cool to avoid possibly cracking the glass. I found that I had to hold it in my hands and shake it at the beginning of the roast to keep the beans moving when the beans were at their heaviest so they would all roast evenly
Then I moved to the Behmor 1600 to allow for larger roasts AND have the rotating drum to move the beans during the roast rather than me holding the FreshRoast and shaking it up and down for 8 minutes. It produces a perfectly even roast.
The only downside is that 10 ounces is the largest batch size that the Behmor will roast to the second crack. If I put in more than 10 ounces the roast will not get to the second crack. I think I would prefer an additional manual setting that allows FULL control of the roast rather than just presets. I roast in my garage because the first time I tried it in the kitchen the smoke alarm went off even though I could not see any smoke. We have a centralized smoke alarm so alarms on all three floors were going off which was pretty funny trying to silence them. (Posted on 1/20/11)
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What a great performer Review by Bill All my reviews
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Acidity Balance/Harmony Aftertaste Body Sweetness I bought the Behmor within a couple of months of when it first came out. Most of the coffees I prefer I like to take just to the outs of C2. This little jewel does a great job. I, too, open the door at the cool down so I can't roast in the house. The roasts are all very consistent. I also have the drum for smaller beans that I use as well for things like peaberries. The maximum practical roast size is about 12 ounces.
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes, a great choice.
It is worth buying several pounds of something fairly easy to roast, say, a Colombian and experimenting with the different settings.
For a $300 roaster it is a wonderful machine. (Posted on 12/19/11)
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The Behmor is a Decent Roaster! Review by KenGraham63
Acidity Balance/Harmony Aftertaste Body Sweetness What Joe Behm did when he created the Behmor was to get people who wanted to roast coffee without high expense an avenue. Drum Roasting is just one method and its pretty good. I would say the quality of the roast, provided you stay with it and monitor it, is very very good. Would I buy another Behmor? YES! Do I have need for something beyond a Behmor...Yes again!
Would you recommend this product to a friend? Yes, a great choice.
Do not underestimate the pre-programmed methods built into this roaster either. There are several profiles. While 1 and 2 run at full on heat and power, I find that Profile 3 is one of my "faves." I have used Profile 4 but not 5 as of yet.
The only limitation is there is no temp monitoring. You will have to install a thermocouple for that.
I do find that I get pretty consistent results with roasts between City to Full City and Full City Plus. I did take a roast into second crack, but Joe will void your warranty if you take it past ten seconds. After ten seconds, its all smoke and smell and then an imminent fire! There is good reason to not go well into 2C.
I love the cooling mode. I always open the door and while chaff flies everywhere, it helps the beans cool fast! That is very important. Bean cooling is just as critical as bean roasting.
If you want to do French Roast...what I term as FRENCH TOAST, this is NOT the machine. I challenge you to try to see that the Behmor Roaster was designed to give you consistent results. You must follow the guidelines but darn the coffee is very good! For $299.00, it's a great starting machine to have! (Posted on 5/17/11)
