☕ Coffee ☕: Ingredients, Roasting, Grinding, Brewing, and Tasting

[applescrap]

Haha, right on cue!


I'm going out to roast the Ethiopian. Kind of gearing up like a football game. I really want it light, but I certainly don't want to leave any green in it. Also and worse perhaps would be anything into second crack. Update, on my way! I have been out at work all week.

 

[applescrap]

oops pic.

 

[Br3w4u]

Haha, right on cue!


I'm going out to roast the Ethiopian. Kind of gearing up like a football game. I really want it light, but I certainly don't want to leave any green in it. Also and worse perhaps would be anything into second crack. Update, on my way! I have been out at work all week.

I have this same problem. I really like light roasts but I haven’t been able to pull it off because the beans still have a raw taste that is pretty sickening. I think I have been doing a medium roast?

 

[Br3w4u]

When is first crack over BTW? It seems like the beans just keep popping for a while and I am never quite sure if I have gone far enough or too far. Last night I started off with a really hot pot, added 1 pound Ethiopian, kept the burner on the 5 setting out of 7 and when the beans were almost at first crack I turned the burner down to 4. Total roast time was just over 10 minutes and I didn’t Time the cracks but I would say they were continually popping for at least 90 seconds before I turned the heat off and they were still popping in the colander when I was cooling them.

 

[TallDan]

I consider it over when there is a few seconds between pops. It’s not a very precise thing to me though.

 

[MaxStout]

When is first crack over BTW? It seems like the beans just keep popping for a while and I am never quite sure if I have gone far enough or too far. Last night I started off with a really hot pot, added 1 pound Ethiopian, kept the burner on the 5 setting out of 7 and when the beans were almost at first crack I turned the burner down to 4. Total roast time was just over 10 minutes and I didn’t Time the cracks but I would say they were continually popping for at least 90 seconds before I turned the heat off and they were still popping in the colander when I was cooling them.

That's a good question. For me, first crack just segues into 2nd crack. At least that's been the case with my beans, and I've only roasted one variety so far. The first cracks sound like twigs snapping, then it tones down to something more like Rice Crispies, and I assume the latter is the 2nd crack. I've been judging more by color, as I don't want to overshoot and get scorched beans.

 

[TallDan]

That's a good question. For me, first crack just segues into 2nd crack. At least that's been the case with my beans, and I've only roasted one variety so far. The first cracks sound like twigs snapping, then it tones down to something more like Rice Crispies, and I assume the latter is the 2nd crack. I've been judging more by color, as I don't want to overshoot and get scorched beans.

I pull back the heat going into 1c so that 1c and 2c don’t run together like that. With that much heat, it’s pretty difficult to stop the roast for the desired roast level; City and Vienna are only a few seconds apart.

 

[Br3w4u]

Thanks for the info

 

[ong]

That's the challenge for me. Knowing when to stop roasting before things go too far. Learning to look and listen and read the beans.

Yeah — my “system” of open stovetop roasting is primitive enough that there’s a lot of variability. I’m generally happy with it anywhere from New England to Full City, so there’s at least a broad band to target.

 

[TallDan]

Roasted some decaf a little bit ago and had planned to roast another batch shortly thereafter. When the decaf was done and I pulled the drum out of the behmor, it made an odd sound like something fell inside the roaster. I didn't see anything wrong and didn't think much of it. Started another batch and the drum isn't turning now. I guess tomorrow I'll take it apart and see if I can figure out what happened.

 

[applescrap]

Are they belt driven?

1c and 2c can be and is ambiguous on the hg for me too. I watched those last roasts with a headlamp and realized part of this problem, and I am only theorizing here, that some beans are entering 2nd, while others are still in first. Roast conditions, batch size, machine all play a role in time and this distinction we all seem to be looking for. Anytime I go looking to hear 2c better I take the coffee to dark and think well that doesnt help. Conversely looking for a light roast can lead to green hiding in the bean. I have found exactly what Talldan said the time between city and vienna can be quick. I now am lengthening that time a pinch so its not such a knife edge also less tipping. Too long and more meh is possible. Cheers to the journey.

 

[MaxStout]

Are they belt driven?

1c and 2c can be and is ambiguous on the hg for me too. I watched those last roasts with a headlamp and realized part of this problem, and I am only theorizing here, that some beans are entering 2nd, while others are still in first. Roast conditions, batch size, machine all play a role in time and this distinction we all seem to be looking for. Anytime I go looking to hear 2c better I take the coffee to dark and think well that doesnt help. Conversely looking for a light roast can lead to green hiding in the bean. I have found exactly what Talldan said the time between city and vienna can be quick. I now am lengthening that time a pinch so its not such a knife edge also less tipping. Too long and more meh is possible. Cheers to the journey.

I find myself constantly stirring and watching the beans like a hawk. But no matter what, there's always a few lighter beans in the mix. I don't want to keep roasting just to hit those beans and risk over roasting the whole batch. Easier to cull out those few beans after I'm done.

But as Talldan suggested, I might back off a bit once 1st crack hits, do low-heat and stir some, to allow time between the cracks.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

View attachment 607727 Here’s an idea I just drew up for a DIY coffee roaster.
I found a cheap dryer heating element on amazon for $19.
It’s 5200 Watts 240 volts, Similar to my electric brew rig heating element. My thought is that I could make some sort of box to put it in and wire it up to my brew controller with the temp probe in the box to read the air temp. A thin metal shield over the element would protect from direct heating and scorching. Then have a drum in the box with a spit or axel of sorts coming out one end with a pulley system attached to turn the drum. Maybe attach a hair dryer at one point for air flow but idk. Here is a bad sketch.

I love building stuff, tinkering, taking stuff apart, and designing things. But at a certain point I don't think it's worth it unless you've got a lot of time on your hands and enjoy making things. You can pickup a used Behmor between 200 to 250 depending on the quality of the machine and it would be ready to go straight from the box, with controllable power settings and whatnot.

For me to hack build something similar that roasts coffee, I'd probably end up with $100 to $150 in material and a lot of time for something that roasts not as well as a Behmor.

Just my food for thought. I'd love to make a roaster some day, but if I do it would be something similar to a large Probat or Diedrich that would normally cost $10k. I would not spend the time and money replicating something I can get on ebay for $225. I mean that all in the most constructive way. Just something to think about.

 

[TallDan]

Back in business. There is a coupler that is attached to the drum motor with a small bolt, nut, and lock washer. That must have worked it's way loose over the years and fell apart. All three pieces were right there inside the roaster, so it was just a matter of disassembly to get to it, and reassembly. Got a good cleaning while i was in there too. Now roasting a batch and drinking a coffee stout.

 

[TallDan]

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Back in business. There is a coupler that is attached to the drum motor with a small bolt, nut, and lock washer. That must have worked it's way loose over the years and fell apart. All three pieces were right there inside the roaster, so it was just a matter of disassembly to get to it, and reassembly. Got a good cleaning while i was in there too. Now roasting a batch and drinking a coffee stout.

I had the same thing happen to me a year or so ago. Sure is a good opportunity to clean it real good!

 

[jimyson]

I had the same thing happen to me a year or so ago. Sure is a good opportunity to clean it real good!

That reminds me that I’m overdue with the tear down and cleaning.

 

[TallDan]

That reminds me that I’m overdue with the tear down and cleaning.

I had never taken it apart. Not that it was clean, but it wasn’t bad for how much I’ve used it.

 

[jimyson]

I had never taken it apart. Not that it was clean, but it wasn’t bad for how much I’ve used it.

That’s good to know.

 

[pshankstar]

My wife met some friends at a local coffee shop less than 10 minutes away. She said the lady there was roasting some coffee and recommended I go check it out. I emailed them asking if they would sell green beans to me. Here’s the response I got. I’m so excited to respond and try to make it down there after I return from my business trip this week.

 

[TallDan]

My wife met some friends at a local coffee shop less than 10 minutes away. She said the lady there was roasting some coffee and recommended I go check it out. I emailed them asking if they would sell green beans to me. Here’s the response I got. I’m so excited to respond and try to make it down there after I return from my business trip this week.
View attachment 608052

Nice! Similar story, my wife has frequented a local coffee shop (she was there three times Friday with different groups of coworkers) and is friendly with the owner. When I’ve been there with my wife, the owner asks me about what I’ve been roasting, and has offered to sell green coffee.

 

[Br3w4u]

I tried the heat gun and dog bowl method. It worked surprisingly well! It only took about 3 minutes for 4 oz. of beans and I brewed up 2 cups of pour over coffee with it immediately after roasting. It was good. I still like the popcorn popper method though because I can do a full pound and it’s more thorough. I had some burnt beans in my dog bowl that I had to pick out. I didn’t really think it was going to get that hot.

 

[MaxStout]

I tried the heat gun and dog bowl method. It worked surprisingly well! It only took about 3 minutes for 4 oz. of beans and I brewed up 2 cups of pour over coffee with it immediately after roasting. It was good. I still like the popcorn popper method though because I can do a full pound and it’s more thorough. I had some burnt beans in my dog bowl that I had to pick out. I didn’t really think it was going to get that hot.

So fast it's almost scary. Took me around 4-5 mins to get a fairly dark Vienna roast. I still get a hint of a burnt flavor, thinking it's the chaff burning. I need to work on technique with the gun to blow that out as I roast while stirring. TallDan mentioned backing off the gun a just before 1st crack, so that 2nd crack doesn't happen right after. Will try that next time.

Haven't found any burnt beans, but the opposite. Finding a couple lighter beans. But once I cull those out it's pretty good.

 

[Br3w4u]

My legacy farms coffee order just came in. For some reason receiving 5 pounds of coffee beans packaged in a big ziplock bag just makes me feel like a drug dealer haha. Now to break it down and re package it in 1 pound food saver bags woohoo!

 

[pshankstar]

My legacy farms coffee order just came in. For some reason receiving 5 pounds of coffee beans packaged in a big ziplock bag just makes me feel like a drug dealer haha. Now to break it down and re package it in 1 pound food saver bags woohoo!

Mine shows it arrived today too. Can’t wait to roast some this weekend!
You should join the LOT, FotD or FotHB threads, then you might get some packages that make you feel that way more often. [emoji6]

 

[Br3w4u]

Mine shows it arrived today too. Can’t wait to roast some this weekend!
You should join the LOT, FotD or FotHB threads, then you might get some packages that make you feel that way more often. [emoji6]

I did LOT and FOTD both a few times.

 

[MaxStout]

Just got my Legacy Farms coffee, too! Packed well--double-bagged in gallon Ziplocks and inside a padded flat rate envelope. Can't wait to roast a bunch.

 

[Br3w4u]

My wife roasted about half a pound while I was in class last night. It was her first time and she got a pretty good light roast. But anyway we tried it today on drip and that is some great coffee! I am just blown away at the quality for that price. Super smooth, low acidity, a little savory, a little caramel. Very good.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I'm very curious to hear everyone's feedback on the Legacy Farms. I really couldn't believe the quality for the price, but I've only roasted it once so I'll have to see if it's easy to replicate.

I was picking up some homebrew supplies over on the NW side of the city when I saw there's a shop nearby that also sells homebrew and coffee roasting supplies. I had to check it out. Well, it's significantly smaller than my normal shop (Brew and Grow). Their brewing supply prices were a little high so I didn't purchase anything for my Hefe there, but....

I asked if they had coffee - they were like, "yeah sure how much would you like?" So I asked what they had and they had some Hawaii Kauai bean. I asked the guy what it tasted like and he said, "What do you mean? I mean, I roast it and it's good." Ooookaaay. So I ask him if it's got chocolate, fruit, anything. His response, "I roast a lot of Colombian and Ethiopian coffee...it's sort of like those, but with a different body. I don't know what you're looking for." They bagged it for me in a brown paper bag like you'd get at the grocery store...just loose green beans in the bag which they stapled shut. THAT's strange packaging.

It was really odd - someone who apparently roasts coffee and brews beer, works at a shop that sells coffee and beer, but couldn't give any info on how it tastes. I picked up two pounds ($8.99/lb...a little high, then again it's Hawaiian so I guess it's not a surprise). Roasted a lb last night and it roasted nicely; I'll let you guys know how it tastes...unlike the shop employee. ...

 

[MaxStout]

I'm very curious to hear everyone's feedback on the Legacy Farms. I really couldn't believe the quality for the price, but I've only roasted it once so I'll have to see if it's easy to replicate.

I was picking up some homebrew supplies over on the NW side of the city when I saw there's a shop nearby that also sells homebrew and coffee roasting supplies. I had to check it out. Well, it's significantly smaller than my normal shop (Brew and Grow). Their brewing supply prices were a little high so I didn't purchase anything for my Hefe there, but....

I asked if they had coffee - they were like, "yeah sure how much would you like?" So I asked what they had and they had some Hawaii Kauai bean. I asked the guy what it tasted like and he said, "What do you mean? I mean, I roast it and it's good." Ooookaaay. So I ask him if it's got chocolate, fruit, anything. His response, "I roast a lot of Colombian and Ethiopian coffee...it's sort of like those, but with a different body. I don't know what you're looking for."

It was really odd - someone who apparently roasts coffee and brews beer, works at a shop that sells coffee and beer, but couldn't give any info on how it tastes. I picked up two pounds ($8.99/lb...a little high, then again it's Hawaiian so I guess it's not a surprise). Roasted a lb last night and it roasted nicely; I'll let you guys know how it tastes...unlike the shop employee. ...

If it's anything like my LHBS, they're always looking for help. You may have gotten the newbie pinch-hitter who's just phoning it in and collecting a paycheck. The expertise among my LHBS's staff runs the gamut, though there are a few who are absolutely stellar. A mixed bag--sign of the low unemployment rate, perhaps.

Be curious to hear how the Kauai turns out, and to compare notes with everyone on the Legacy Farms. BTW, I divided up mine into 1lb bags. After 5 bagged, there was still almost 4oz remaining, and my scale is accurate. Legacy gives a generous weigh. I'm going to roast that little 4 oz amount today or tomorrow and will see how it goes.