First IMEX Roast

by **CakeBoy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:46 pm

This is the first roast from the newly acquired IMEX. I stupidly got the timer stuck and didn't realise for several minutes that the dial had not moved. Having not timed manually, the only thing to do was to guess! So a little into second crack, they were dumped into a colander. Maybe a little dark, but despite still being a little bright, lots of caramel and some fruit came through in an espresso

. The rest are degassing properly

.

by **Steve** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:51 pm

Cakey how could you cheat on me like this !!!!

Looks great well done

Steve

by **CakeBoy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:09 pm

Your greens you daft tart :lol:

Thanks, but they won't be replacing roasts from my usual source .... just a back-up

by **espressomattic** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:27 pm

Which Beans are they Cakey, are they the Manuela? Very nice and even...hmm I feel soo inadequate

by **CakeBoy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:49 pm

Hardly Breako - you work wonders with the Whirly. Mine are no more even than yours. Yes the Manuela

by **blackice** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:46 pm

I like this roast colour :-)

by **CakeBoy** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 11:48 pm

Thank you

by **espressomattic** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:57 am

Tell you what Cakey I'll pop a sample of mine to you and you can compare, would be interested to see how the different methods weigh up. Also will send some of those Caffine bombs!!!

by **CakeBoy** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:42 am

Fab - I'll do likewise and we can both compare!

by **leecb** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:01 pm

I was looking at the Imex, as have a problem of nowhere to vent smoke, so honestly Cakeboy how much smoke and chaff does it make?? And is it easy to use? And can you just do it in the kitchen? :wink:

by **CakeBoy** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:44 pm

Cough splutter .... none really .... wheeze ...... :roll:

Well a bit. In the kitchen, under the cooker extractor with the window open, there is a blue haze, and some chaff (just a little) decorates the cooker hobs. I think the best place is close-ish to an open door or window. Not so close that the ambient temperature effects the roast, just near enough to extract the smoke and chaff. That said, it's a tiny amount of chaff (the collector works very well) and more haze than real smoke.

The IMEX works great for me. There have been loads of discussions about IMEX vs I-R and bed vs hot air roasting on TMC, and I have no experience of anything other than hot air, so others may be able to help you more. For me it was about having a back-up to Steve's roasts for days when the beans simply get used faster and I might run out. I considered a Gene Cafe but decided that was a whole seperate hobby financially as there was no real gain for me over the extra it costs to get Steve to roast a better job than I could ever achieve. But I did want to dabble, and have some resilience too for shortages, so this was a good compromise.

I bought mine from JamesO, so it was excellent value too. How a new one at full price would hold up against an I-R at a little more is possibly something you might want to consider, though the IMEX seems great to me, and GeorgeW has been using his for ages with excellent results. Lots of others here have them too. SimonP has a modded version of the IMEX and a Hottop, so he might have some pointers, whilst Dom roasts with an I-R and is very happy.

Hope that helps

by **leecb** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:32 pm

Thanks for that, I'm still at the "considering" stage, so lots to think about, but like the idea of a small roaster (not much storage space) and one that I can take anywhere and roast coffee, without making too much mess. It seems the Imex is as good for this as anything???

by **CakeBoy** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 2:28 pm

I would say so, very much - nice and portable. James had lots of good results from it before me too, so it's a good machine. One word of warning, if you don't buy new, check how old it is because the earlier models were underpowered. By the same token, the newer versions can roast a bit quick for light roasts, but as I want it primarily for medium-dark espresso roasts, it is perfect for me.

by **Steve** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 2:33 pm

The old ones the fuse's blew quite a lot too, so beware.

Steve

by **Gouezeri** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 3:04 pm

Personally, I'd say the ideal "kitchen cupboard" roaster is the I-Roast. Greater batch size, very even roasts, no smoke at all when using a chimney, no real chaff (just a very light dust), and doesn't require a light dimmer :wink:

First IMEX Roast

First IMEX Roast

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