To season or not to season

[SusanJoM]

Apropos of nothing at all, I am now sure that seasoning the drum is a waste of time.  It never occurred to me when I got my perforated drum a few years ago, but I also figured that the learning curve was going to take care of any seasoning needed.  Still....

When I got my solid drum a few weeks ago I plunged right in without seasoning again, and although it took 4 roasts for me to figure out the differences in how to control heat and air (an ongoing process, of course), even the first roast tasted fine in any way that could have implicated the drum itself.

I'm going on record as saying that seasoning the drum is completely unnecessary.   
Buying crappy beans just to season the drum?  A waste of time and money. 

[edtbjon]

I actually had a similar experience when installing a perforated drum. Even though the roasting profile was far from "perfect", I did use a "decent" green coffee which tasted good when I brewed a cup after a few days.
But we also had a similar route to "seasoning" (or not to season) this second drum. I.e years of experience with both the Huky as such and roasting in general, being in full control of the heat, fan and Artisan, needing only to adjust for the different drum.
I'd still recommend a novice user to get a few pounds of some crappy beans to learn the controls of the roaster. It may be a case of "seasoning the user" rather than the drum.

[SusanJoM]

I'd still recommend a novice user to get a few pounds of some crappy beans to learn the controls of the roaster. It may be a case of "seasoning the user" rather than the drum.

While this makes some sense, it also makes it hard for a new roaster/person to know whether his/her roast tastes good, and regardless of the current rage for 'please analyze my roast/profile', the taste is the final arbiter of success.  If you can't taste that it is good, what have you learned.  Now, I do not recommend going out and buying $20. beans for starters, but I do think a good reputable tasty bean is a good idea.

[kctremel]

I bought the cheapest beans I could off ebay (I know, I know) but I knew my first few roasts were not gonna be good (lets be honest, I thought I was gonna nail it first roast)  But I am glad I did because I am just giving my non coffee snob friends all this coffee I wont drink and they love it compared to their folgers!!  That's just me and now I bought 15# of a good Columbian to practice more in depth and to really take the next step with my roasts.