Variac + Kill-A-Watt + Behmor = Better Results

I'm seeing much better results with my Behmor now that I added the Kill-A-Watt device.

I like to keep things at around 118VAC throughout the roast. Without the Variac, the voltage will drop down into the 111-113 after about 7.5 minutes. The voltage with no load at the outlet I'm using is around 122VAC.

The Variac is not a "set and forget" device. The voltage in my house seems to fluctuate quite a bit and the load of the roaster changes throughout the roast cycle. To keep things at 118 I have to keep an eye on the Kill-A-Watt and make frequent small tweaks to the Variac.

With consistent voltage I can predict C1 & C2 within a few seconds for a given coffee. I keep fairly detailed log which makes it easy to compare crack times between batches. P2 seems like the best profile to me, but it's important to do a couple of P1 roasts so that you know when to expect C1 to start.

I set things up with P2 so that the temp drop occurs right after C1 gets rolling, otherwise it seems like the first crack is either very brief or very late.... makes me wonder if the coffee is baking in those cases.

Coffee Travel Kit

Life has been pretty busy with lots of non-coffee stuff lately so I haven't put much time into this blog. Hopefully I'll have some bandwidth available soon to share some thoughts and experiences about my Behmor 1600 now that I've been using it for a few months. Anyway, for now a quick post about coffee while on the road.

My wife and I just returned from a week of vacation at a resort in Jamaica. I brought along my travel kit which consists of the follow:
- PeDe hand grinder
- Bodum 3 Cup FP
- Bodum Mini-Ibis Kettle

This is actually my cubicle coffee bar that I usually keep at work. Whenever we go out of town I just have to remember to bring it home before the trip. It's a great set up because everything is pretty small and sturdy. The only thing I'd like to change for now is to get a french press that is not glass. I've already had one of these Bodums shatter in my carry-on bag.

I've been thinking about trying out one of the Handpresso devices that I've seen advertised on CG, but I wish it wasn't pod use only.

What to you use when traveling?