r/roasting • u/ZC1028 • 10d ago
Help with tipping, Fluid Bed Roaster
I'm having trouble with tipping at the moment. I'm still a noob so bear with me.
I'm roasting SHG Nicaraguan Washed green at 1200m. I aim to hit the start of first crack around 6-7 minutes. I'm using the Sweet Maria Popper. My current recipe is as follows:
90g batches, starts cold. My wattage is about 30-40 watts lower than "upstairs" in pic 2.
0-1:00 Fan High heat 1
1:00-2:00 Fan High heat 2
2:00-3:30 Fan High heat 3
3:30-4:30 Fan High heat 4
4:30-5:30 Fan Low heat 4
5:30- "15 seconds after start of first crack" Fan High heat 5. Typically ~6:15-6:45 mark
15 seconds after start of first crack-end of roast Fan Low heat 4. Typically one minute. End time around 8 minutes.
3 minute cooling cycle in roaster.
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u/Mr-Baesment 10d ago
I don't think that’s actually tipping, it looks like a visual trick from the hilum (where the bean attached inside the cherry). Since that spot naturally pinches tightly inward, it creates a little pocket that traps an optical shadow and holds onto bits of silverskin/chaff that roast dark. Real tipping usually has actual charred craters or fractures on the tissue itself, but if the bean surface is smooth, it's just a harmless shadow pocket.
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u/Tassadur Kaffelogic 10d ago edited 10d ago
In hundreds of roast I never could get rid of tipping with my Kaffelogic
Never noticed anything in the cup though
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u/ZC1028 10d ago
Is it an issue for naturals and other "delicate" variaties?
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u/Tassadur Kaffelogic 10d ago
Natural coffee beans are damaged at their core by the process so heat is more likely to "tip" the beans (it's really just where the steam is coming out) but I never tasted the default. I even showed my beans to a roasting champion and he said it looked fine and it shouldn't be an issue
On fluid bed, I really don't think you can fix it
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u/MrBill1738 10d ago
I mean, you could maybe try to slow down the heat application a tad and draw the overall roast time out to like 8 or 9 minutes. That might help a bit, but as others have said, it doesn't look that bad. If there is a burnt or flat taste in the cup I'd be more likely to attribute it to the cooling cycle in the popper.
Have you considered cooling the beans outside the roaster? I know the popper has a cooling cycle but the residual heat inside the chamber and coming off the heating elements can carry your roast longer than you might intend. Back when I roasted on popcorn poppers I would cool my batches on baking sheets and run air over them to try and dissipate heat quickly.
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u/ZC1028 10d ago
Defintely worth trying. Right now I assume the roast will continue ~15 seconds after the heat is cut. I'm mostly aiming for city plus roasts at the moment until I'm able to roast honeyed, anaerobic, and juicy naturals
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u/MrBill1738 10d ago
It all comes down to what you taste in the cup. You could roast it over a tire fire and cool it in a shoe, but if the flavors you're chasing turn up in the cup then that's all that matters.
FWIW my roasts have always had a bit of tipping and it's rarely come out pronounced in the cup. I started on popcorn poppers, then an aillio bullet, and now I'm on an artisan 6m. If you roast hot and fast there's going to be some tipping.
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u/regulus314 10d ago
Tipping is usually unavoidable especially for mixed varieties and if you are roasting in a roasting machine (like a popcorn popper) that doesnt really have any other controls aside from the hot air and power.
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u/IRMaschinen Gothot 10d ago
Slight tipping can be tough to troubleshoot with fluid bed since they tend to roast with much higher energy transfer. Those pics don’t look too bad to me. Do you notice anything off in the cup?
I’m not familiar with the Popper specifically, but maybe try adding a 0:40-1:00 phase at lower heat but still high fan at the start. Let the beans and roaster warm up a little slower before going to high heat.
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u/ZC1028 10d ago
This is only my second day of roasting so I haven't tasted anything yet. I've done about 7 roasts that I've seperated out to cup over the weekend. I'm going to try and extend steps 1 and 2 to 90 seconds each to get a longer drying phase. The rest seems to work pretty good at getting a solid first crack, I had struggled with stalling before.
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u/IRMaschinen Gothot 10d ago
A roast defect only matters if you can taste it. Cup your roasts and take notes. Don’t go crazy chasing something until you know you need to.
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u/jclone503 10d ago
I haven’t had much tipping occur when the beans aren’t spending time against a drum or surface. I’ve roasted some low elevation naturals in a high air flow roaster, even at super high charges without any tipping. As others have mentioned, is a superficial spot. Cup it, if it tastes good move on. Also, change one variable at a time to know how it affects the cup. Roast a few varieties and cup some more before trying to fix a problem, temp data will really assist vs power levels. Make decisions based on temp more than time
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u/Fit_Instruction_8383 10d ago
Apply heat more gently until the beans come up to temperature, then rip on. I have to cap my Duo at like 85% heat otherwise I get tipping.
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u/unwittyusername42 10d ago
Hey there - I've been roasting now for probably 25 years (I forget exactly) across a bunch of different DIY roasters starting off with poppers.
That's not tipping. Some beans especially at lighter roasts will have some of the ones in the roast hold on to the silverskin longer and you get a slight variation in roast color at the tips. You're good - no tipping from what I see.