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I have a 12 pound total order coming from Red Beard. Thanks for the heads up on the 40% off, I took advantage of it.
Over the last couple of months I think the cats and I have roasted more pounds of coffee than we've brewed gallons of beer. We still have plenty of both.
 
Geisha coffee (green) is a strong hit/miss.. mostly miss. I’ve it had it roasted from from Klatch twice and it was mind blowing both times.
 
So, which coffees are you guys trying at Red Beard? Never ordered from them before, but that's going to be some very cheap coffee at 50% off, so why not give 'em a try?
 
Also, I see that SM still has that Gr 1 Yirg Dumerso that some of you had talked about a while back. How is that coming out? One I shouldn't miss?
 
I managed to grab the Behmor on Thursday with the 40% off. I was hoping to hold out a little longer, but couldn't pass at that price. Now to decide on what beans to order with the 50% off.
 
jschm19 said:
I managed to grab the Behmor on Thursday with the 40% off. I was hoping to hold out a little longer, but couldn't pass at that price. Now to decide on what beans to order with the 50% off.
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Where did you find 40% off? Best I saw was $40 off.
 
Red Beard had 40% off everything. I assumed the Behmor was excluded, but after adding it to the cart and throwing in the code (I think BF40) it dropped the price to $221 and change.
 
jschm19 said:
Red Beard had 40% off everything. I assumed the Behmor was excluded, but after adding it to the cart and throwing in the code (I think BF40) it dropped the price to $221 and change.
Click to expand...

That's incredible great find. Wish I would have jumped on that.
 
If anyone is interested, you can get the Hot Top for 50% off at Red Beard right now, too. Which is freaking insane.

I was hoping they sold the Baratza Sette 30 so I could get 50% off, but no. I was just being greedy.
 
I thought I saw the hot top on there around 6 am eastern this morning. However, I don’t think it was the version that logs.

I ended up grabbing some Guatemala Finca Santa Felisa Geisha and Guatemala Santa Felisa Red Typica Honey.
 
I don't understand, did the bl guy buy redbeard. Clearly thats him, in the about tab as owner. Also the page is littered with bl logo. Curious if coffee is the same.
 
applescrap said:
I don't understand, did the bl guy buy redbeard. Clearly thats him, in the about tab as owner. Also the page is littered with bl logo. Curious if coffee is the same.
Click to expand...
https://chicago.eater.com/2017/11/13/16644358/marcus-lemonis-red-beard-coffee-bow-truss-open-closed
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2017/07...of-bodhi-leafred-beard-on-filming-the-profit/
Just found those articles. Apparently Red Beard has been open for two weeks and is in fact the same Steve Sims from Bodhi Leaf. I'm going to have to stop in there soon. Like maybe tomorrow. :)
 
Yeah if you want to read some crazy stuff, look into the story about how Lemonis tried to buy into Bow Truss but Bow Truss self-destructed, leading to Lemonis investing in Bodhi/Red Beard. It's...intense.

Speaking of intense, this Kenya Othaya I'm drinking this morning is killin' it in my cup. Super citrusy and sweet, like a hard candy.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
Yeah if you want to read some crazy stuff, look into the story about how Lemonis tried to buy into Bow Truss but Bow Truss self-destructed, leading to Lemonis investing in Bodhi/Red Beard. It's...intense.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I read some of the Bow Truss nonsense before, didn't know about Red Beard.

Stopped on my way home to overpay for some BCBS variants instead of at Red Beard. It's on my list for a stop soon though.
 
TallDan said:
Stopped on my way home to overpay for some BCBS variants
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BCBS collecting dust over here for $12/bottle. This year is the official downfall of the budweiser-geese for me when I see it at the gas station. Not as good as years past either but i digress


Nailed a Kenyan roast this week though. Some of the best coffee ive roasted in a while. It was one of the instant sell-outs @ SM's when the 17' fresh crop hit. Really really wish i would have bought more.
Pretty stoked on the profile, just wish i took better notes on gas & fan settings:

C3zfqBy.png
 
Picked up a few bottles for 10 a piece, giving to friends not in the area. I set aside a couple bottles for myself each year and leave them for a while. I still have 12 or so bottles from 2012. Talk about delicious.

Which Kenyan is that jammin?

I had a few rough roasts this evening. A new Colombian had a fantastic long first crack, but then 50 seconds later coasted into 2c.whoops.
 
I recently purchased a small roaster (Fresh Roast SR500) over the weekend that should be here on Saturday. I am super pumped to get into coffee roasting. I added some Brazil Estate and some Guatemala Huehuetenango beans to the order since they were cheap and I figured they would be good beans to start with to get a feel for the roaster, different roasts with the same beans and what not. I'm sure beans will be cheaper from Sweet Maria's and other sites like that, but with the deals William's Brewing had going on and some of the brewing things I needed it made sense to buy it from there.

Anyhow, I have reader close to a dozen pages out of the 77 (the bookends of this thread). With that being said, is there any tips you would give to someone looking to get into roasting? I know I do not care for the dark roasts (mainly all of Starbucks coffees except their blonde), so I would assume I would want to get the beans to a "City Roast" or "City Roast+" and stop there. Would that be correct?

After the roasting is complete, you want the beans to degas for 24-48 hours. Do I simply leave them in a bowl with the lid off for that period of time? Maybe stirring the beans every couple of hours. Or should I leave them spread out on a cookie sheet?

I have a simple basic coffee grinder and coffee maker. I cannot upgrade these right away, but I was thinking it might be best to buy a carafe
and move the coffee to the carafe instead of letting it sit in the coffee maker. Would this be beneficial? I know a really good coffee maker would be the best option, but my wife will kill me if I drop $200 on a coffee maker now. Maybe after the holidays. :) I am like @passedpawn, where I work from home and drink coffee all morning and sometimes throughout the day. So maybe the carafe isn't needed if I am going through the coffee fast enough.

Once I am ready to brew my first batch, should I grind the beans to a fine, medium or coarse grind? In the past when I have purchased whole beans I would ground them to a medium or fine. Coarse when I would want to make some cold brewed coffee.

I purchased this canister to store my beans after they are roasted and degassed. I figured this would the best option to store roasted beans. I hope to roast enough at a time so that I can get through the work week. How do you store the green beans? Keep them in the bags they came in and keep them in the cupboard? Or is the basement a better option? Should the green beans be vacuumed sealed?

Is there any tips, tricks or suggestions that you would share with a newbie? Thank you all in advance and I look forward to roasting soon!

@Ruint I will be in touch soon! After our brew club event and trying your coffee, it was the tipping point for me to get into roasting!

PS - The group buys I see going on here looks interesting to get involved in once I get the hang of this. :)
 
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Welcome, PSH. Lots of questions in your post; I will hit on a couple for now.

Regarding coffee brewing: while you can spend a$100-$200 on a coffee pot, another option is to get a french press or Hario V60 for brewing. You can get those for under $20 (plastic V60 is like $5 on Amazon), make a bunch of coffee, and put it into a thermos to keep it warm if you plan to drink it throughout the morning. I have a coffee pot, but only use it when I have family in town.

For storage of roasted beans, you'll want to keep them sealed as much as possible once they've cooled. Using a device with a one way valve is preferred as it allows the beans to degass without allowing fresh oxygen into the container. If you order from Sweet Maria's in the future, through a few of these tins into your shopping cart: https://www.sweetmarias.com/category/roasting-equipment/roasting-accessories/coffee-storage I have a few of the $4.65 ones, the $25 model, and also a bunch of valve bags to store beans in.

Grind is going to depend on what your brew method is. A drip machine or a drip brewer like a Hario V60 requires a medium/fine grind, whereas a french press or Chemex requires a course grind. Ultimately though, it's a bit subjective and becomes more trial and error for your own tastes.

Finally, Sweet Marias has a vast library of information. You can read this for hours and it's a great starting point: https://legacy.sweetmarias.com/library/categories/taste-coffee/

Keep us updated!
 
A great way to evaluate your new roasts is with a pourover. I use a Kalita 185 dripper and a Kalita gooseneck kettle. Many people use a Chemex, which makes about 3 cups at a time.

Because I drink so much coffee though, these things aren't practical for every morning. If you go through as much as I do, you'll need a dripper. Just try to get one that is SCCA certified for correct temperature and you'll be good. My OXO is, but it's a $200 pot. I'll bet there are cheap choices out there. How hard can it be to make hot water?

upload_2017-11-29_10-37-31.png
upload_2017-11-29_10-37-57.png
upload_2017-11-29_10-38-27.png
 
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Thanks @passedpawn and @HarborTownBrewing! I may have to purchase a pourover to taste each roast before making a full pot, make notes and what not. For under $20, it would be worth it! Plus I would like to do a side by side comparison of the store bought coffee to home roasted. I think it may be eye opening to my wife too. Now I have to research how to use these pourovers. :coff1:
 
in regards to the Chemex, i broke down and bought the Kone filter from Able/Coava. expensive, but worth it. i used to be press pot only until i got it. great way to bridge the gap between paper filter and immersion brewing. highly recommend



HarborTownBrewing said:
As a not so secret Chemex advocate

Which Kenyan is that jammin?
Click to expand...

I'd put this up there with the Banko. Different cup but equally as amazing.
6zX2Vu4.jpg
 
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HarborTownBrewing said:
Anyone with a Behmor ever modify your exhaust rig?

After 6 roasts last night and 4 roasts the night before, my lungs are taking a beating from roasting in a room with no airflow. It looked like a Crosby Stills Nash and Young concert in there most of last night.

I found this idea and just bought the supplies to try it. http://coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/homeroast/446104

I'll probably rig it up in the next week. If anyone else has better ideas, I'm all ears!
Click to expand...

I’m interested in your results from this.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I'm glad you mentioned the Able filter Jammin. That's been something I've had my eyes on for a while. I'm too cheap to get the $50 Able one, so I added this one to my amazon list...hopefully my wife sees the benefit for her too. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019QTBOK0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Click to expand...

jimyson said:
What are the differences to warrant the price gap?
Click to expand...

I think I suggested this one on this thread a while back shortly after i bought one back in June. For several months I was very happy with it, but after a while it got clogged up. Pour over times went from being exactly what I wanted to WAY too long with coffee barely dripping out of the filter. Wiping it clean doesn't help, it seems to get buildup between the layers. A soak in hot PBW cleaned up a LOT of coffee oil residue, and got it back toward normal, but didn't take long to start slowing down again.

So, I have to retract my recommendation for that one. For the price it might be ok for occasional use, or regular use if you're OK with a lot of regular cleaning, but using it 3-4x/week for several months led me to the problems above.

I really liked it when it was new, but it's unusable when it gets clogged up. I'm now tempted to get the able kone since it seems to be a single layer and a bit more coarse than the osaka, so it should be easier to keep clean.
 
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@TallDan thanks a bunch for the follow up on this. Interestingly no one really said that on the Amazon listing, but I did see it in a bunch of the comments for a Youtube review Seattle Coffee Gear did for the product. I figured they might be a bunch of newbs who don't know what they are doing, buuuut now that I see your comment I'm guessing it's a real problem.

So now the Able model is on my Amazon list haha. It is a lot of money for a filter but I spend about $40 a year on paper filters anyways, so it should pay for itself soon.

Jammin, how do you grind for the Able filter? More like a V60/Melitta drip grind?
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
@TallDan thanks a bunch for the follow up on this. Interestingly no one really said that on the Amazon listing, but I did see it in a bunch of the comments for a Youtube review Seattle Coffee Gear did for the product. I figured they might be a bunch of newbs who don't know what they are doing, buuuut now that I see your comment I'm guessing it's a real problem.

So now the Able model is on my Amazon list haha. It is a lot of money for a filter but I spend about $40 a year on paper filters anyways, so it should pay for itself soon.

Jammin, how do you grind for the Able filter? More like a V60/Melitta drip grind?
Click to expand...
After posting that earlier, i went back and looked at the Amazon reviews and found a 1star review that talked about the same problem.

One thing I don't like about most customer reviews is that sellers encourage you to review something right after you buy it. So, people tend to review based on packaging/first impressions and how something works the first time they use it rather than long term use.

If I didn't work from home 3-4 days a week over the last six months, I wouldn't have used it as much. If I only used it once or twice a week, it would have taken a year to get frustrated with it. It's also not entirely out of the question for me to soak it in PBW every few months, but that seems like a pain, it leads me to just grab a paper filter (as I did yesterday) instead of it.
 
Haven’t had any issues such as that with the Kone. I make the coffee in the morning & the wife cleans the Kona at lunch. Easy to knock out in the trash & give it a quick rinse. It usually goes through the dishwasher on the weekends. I’d buy it again I like it that much. I use a regular drip grind and get a little silt at the bottom of the chemex. With a little practice it’s easy to leave behind.
 
jammin said:
Haven’t had any issues such as that with the Kone. I make the coffee in the morning & the wife cleans the Kona at lunch. Easy to knock out in the trash & give it a quick rinse. It usually goes through the dishwasher on the weekends. I’d buy it again I like it that much. I use a regular drip grind and get a little silt at the bottom of the chemex. With a little practice it’s easy to leave behind.
Click to expand...
You know, now that i think about it, I knock it out, rinse, wipe it out and let it dry. That's it. A regular round in the dishwasher might make the difference here, wiping it out would do nothing to clean between the layers of the filter.
 
@pshankstar welcome to the hobby!! I am still thinking of a good answer for some of your questions. Carafe is a good idea, especially if your maker gets hot like my cheap makers. I keep the beans cool and dry in a cupboard. I dont like basement if its damp, but honestly i dont know about this. I use the mail bag too, so the beans are kind of double sealed. Its my understanding they can take on scents from around them, but these high quality zip locks they come with are more than adequate i am sure. They are similar to scent free bags imo. Not to be cliche but every bean, roast level and purpose/brew style is different and only time can unfold some of the answers you seek, imo. Each roaster, rig, is different, and then roasting time, heat, variables add another twist to the whole thing. My advice is to have fun and take everything as experience. More advice is to definitely buy expensive beans but mix them in as you learn. There are a lot of early roasts I had that i wish were cheaper beans. Cant wait to see where this takes you.

I like paper filters. For some reasons I have fears of putting to many grinds in my easily clogged plumbing. I dont know where it comes from or if its valid, but i like the no rinse factor of paper, but got no problem with a nice filter. The more expensive one seems to keep being the right one, and once again thanks jammin for helping teach me that.
 
applescrap said:
@pshankstar welcome to the hobby!! ... Not to be cliche but every bean, roast level and purpose/brew style is different and only time can unfold some of the answers you seek, imo. Each roaster, rig, is different, and then roasting time, heat, variables add another twist to the whole thing. My advice is to have fun and take everything as experience. More advice is to definitely buy expensive beans but mix them in as you learn. There are a lot of early roasts I had that i wish were cheaper beans.
Click to expand...


Solid stuff.

I’d add:
Roast it fast n light. Take notes

Here’s a fun video that’s not really a “how to” but contains some good anecdotes. I especially enjoy the notion about roast vs. “area under the curve”




edit: i'm curious what others think of this vid, please share your thoughts if you watch it
 
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