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

Brewer's Friend 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Just ordered 30lbs of greens for a xmas blend this year. Sweet Marias has 15 percent off today through Wednesday if I remember right.

Im hoping I can manage to get rid of most of these, otherwise I'll be drinking a lot of Kenyan and Columbian over the next few months!
 
Any standout coffees on SM's that you guys are ordering with the 15% off? I have a couple month's supply of coffee at home right now, so certainly don't need to order any, but hate to pass up a deal. :)
 
TallDan said:
Any standout coffees on SM's that you guys are ordering with the 15% off? I have a couple month's supply of coffee at home right now, so certainly don't need to order any, but hate to pass up a deal. :)
Click to expand...

No. exactly why theyre running the sale. There is a nice sounding Kenyan PB ... but it's a PB... which is a guaranteed PITA to roast & a couple attractive Colombians(which admittedly temp me). Not sure if those are sold out but the nice PNG's I would have stocked up on are gone


Edit:
Someone please roast this (slightly expensive) bastard lightly & and vindicate my suggestion. It's pretty effing good if you're into sweet berry bombs that are really easy drinking. Don't get salty with me though if you can't execute a light roast
http://www.roastmasters.com/ethiopiaworka.html
 
I was sitting here drinking 1st cup this AM while reading this site, but my background headthread was wondering why the coffee was tasting so damned good this morning. Duh. Inlaws, who've been visiting for 10 days, just left this morning. I've been drinking Dunkin Donuts per their request. This morning, though, I ground Ethiopian. So much better. Yowza, I'm getting another cup right now.

I roasted another 5# of it this weekend. Woot.
 
I'll give a Fara Sala update:

Stuffs good. This time I'm getting more Berry flavor, and the bloom smells like fruit loops. There is a Cocoa powder like flavor as well which gives it a bit more body and makes it infinitely more complex.

I think this is one of the better coffees I've had, without a doubt.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I'll give a Fara Sala update:

Stuffs good. This time I'm getting more Berry flavor, and the bloom smells like fruit loops. There is a Cocoa powder like flavor as well which gives it a bit more body and makes it infinitely more complex.

I think this is one of the better coffees I've had, without a doubt.
Click to expand...

Drinking some right now as well. Roasted 11/29, french press. This is a lighter roast than my previous batch, which had lots of cocoa/chocolate. With this batch I have some subdued berry flavors and some cocoa, but another flavor that I think I'd describe as baking spices. Like you said, nice complexity and just a tasty coffee.

Might try to keep the next batch lighter yet and see if I can get more of the fruit. Three 1/2lb batches so far and I don't think you can go wrong with this coffee.
 
I got my order of Steve's favorites from bodhileaf. They shorted the ethiopian but had extra in the others so i guess im cool with that. Roasted the Brazilian volcano something or other and put lid on bm. Kept nozzle just in top and it slowed the roast. Plus its cold here. 12min heard loud crack. I then turned the heat down and then back up because I didn't hear any more cracks. At 1240 heard another crack and turned heat down. Turned it down some more after a minute but didnt hear another crack? I wonder if i stalled the crack somehow with the cold helping? I have heard stories of coffee that just crack a couple times. Anyways it started to get smokey at 14:40, 2 mins past start of 1c. So pulled it. The blower and two collander method cooled it in less than 60 seconds to ice cold.
 
Apple, given that it got smoky I don't think you stalled it. I'd guess you may have blown right through 1C without even noticing it. That can be easy with some dense central American beans.
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
Apple, given that it got smoky I don't think you stalled it. I'd guess you may have blown right through 1C without even noticing it. That can be easy with some dense central American beans.
Click to expand...

I think you meant "less" dense centrals which Brazilians most certainly are.



That is one disadvantage of the Heat Gun - it is very noisy. The Bread Machine can contribute its share of noise too.

A temp probe reading the bean mass can alleviate a lot of these frustrations & give you good benchmarks as to when you should adjust the heat/fan.
 
Thanks for the responses. The bread machine starts fairly loud like pebbles spinning, but when the beans start cooking they get quiet. Need to look into thermometer setup. Roasting this way has been nothing but a joy thank you. Just sharing thoughts and results. It really has been a fun process. The roast is really nice by the way. Here is a pic with and without flash. The one without the flash is closer to color. It was shot in kitchen sunlight.

View attachment 1480870385332.jpg

View attachment 1480870393978.jpg
 
jammin said:
Are you referring to deleting the SC heating element?
Click to expand...

I'm considering mounting the TO upside down, under a metal perforated screen. Then I'll let the air from the TO blow the beans around. Something like that.

I never turned the SC element back on. Back in the day, after bypassing the SC thermostat, I disabled the heater completely and used the TO for heat. Funny, I haven't thought of turning the SC heater back on. But do you think it will improve the uniformity of my roasts? Since the SC has a thermostat tied to the stirring platform, I kinda assumed it would stay off most of the time anyway when the TO was blowing.

Thoughts?
 
Is the t.o. strong enough to mix the beans on its own? If so that is the fluid air style roaster that sivetz championed. Uniformity of roast is one awesome outcome, but another and equally important is removing the chaff before it burns up. That way you are only tasting the coffee in its purest form. There's no residue left when I'm done roasting. The chaff is super light blonde color and unburned. It collects on the outside of the Bread Basket or flies out. The roasts are so sweet smelling with no burnt off flavor or scent. Maybe you could mount the to on a bm and make vent?
 
passedpawn said:
I'm considering mounting the TO upside down, under a metal perforated screen. Then I'll let the air from the TO blow the beans around. Something like that.

I never turned the SC element back on. Back in the day, after bypassing the SC thermostat, I disabled the heater completely and used the TO for heat. Funny, I haven't thought of turning the SC heater back on. But do you think it will improve the uniformity of my roasts? Since the SC has a thermostat tied to the stirring platform, I kinda assumed it would stay off most of the time anyway when the TO was blowing.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Oh - definitely don't turn the SC element back on.

Have you improved the stirring arm yet? Most folks do something as simple as adding coat hanger wire to more elaborate stirring fins. In any case, it is my understanding that larger stirring arms that extend towards the perimeter of the SC greatly assist in creating a more even roast.

If you haven't done that yet I'd love to see what you come up with & hear your results!
 
applescrap said:
Is the t.o. strong enough to mix the beans on its own? If so that is the fluid air style roaster that sivetz championed. Uniformity of roast is one awesome outcome, but another and equally important is removing the chaff before it burns up. That way you are only tasting the coffee in its purest form. There's no residue left when I'm done roasting. The chaff is super light blonde color and unburned. It collects on the outside of the Bread Basket or flies out. The roasts are so sweet smelling with no burnt off flavor or scent. Maybe you could mount the to on a bm and make vent?
Click to expand...

You are literally making me want to build another HG/BM kit.... :mug:
 
jammin said:
Oh - definitely don't turn the SC element back on.

Have you improved the stirring arm yet? Most folks do something as simple as adding coat hanger wire to more elaborate stirring fins. In any case, it is my understanding that larger stirring arms that extend towards the perimeter of the SC greatly assist in creating a more even roast.

If you haven't done that yet I'd love to see what you come up with & hear your results!
Click to expand...

Right, my goal in the near future is to improve the stirring. Seems to be plenty of air flow and heat. Thanks.
 
jammin said:
You are literally making me want to build another HG/BM kit.... :mug:
Click to expand...

Cheers to that. It is such a joy to roast. I do enjoy it, really. The heat gun is light and I don't mind holding it. What happened to your first rig? The roaster you use Now is really nice isn't it. If this place is going to turn into Amsterdam then I want to be the king of the coffee shop if you catch my drift
 
Last night I received my beans for the Christmas Blend I'll be doing this year. The UPS man thought he was doing me a favor by hiding them behind my shrubs, but trying to lift a 30 lb box from 3.5 ft below my patio left me teetering on my belly with my feet above my head. Anyways....

I got the Columbia La Plata Productores (https://www.sweetmarias.com/product/colombia-la-plata-productores-pequenos-5255) and the Kenya Peaberry (which is apparently sold out now). Size wise, the two were identical, with the Columbian being a tad bit darker in color.

As Jammin mentioned, roasting PBs suck but the Kenyan roasted up very nicely and didn't give me any issues. The Columbian also roasted well; both roasts went exactly as planned.

I did 2 different profiles for each bean, and I'll cup them this weekend to select which profile I'll be going with for the blend. Then, I'll try a few different ratios for the blend.

I'll let you guys know how it goes and will probably post pics as well.
 
@htb that Christmas blend sounds awesome! Man i love the burundi thanks.

Edit...Okay so I haven't bought much from Sweet Maria's so the more you get the cheaper it goes?
 
applescrap said:
@htb that Christmas blend sounds awesome! Man i love the burundi thanks.

Edit...Okay so I haven't bought much from Sweet Maria's so the more you get the cheaper it goes?
Click to expand...

Generally, yes, the more you get the cheaper it is. So if you are thinking of getting 4 lbs (four 1 lb bags) you'd be better off with one 5 lb bag (for instance).

I usually by 5 or 10 or 20 lb bags from them and beans will be like $4.50-5.50.
 
I don't mean to brag, but...I've got like 4 lbs of roasted coffee sitting around the house right now... :ban:

Today I am trying some stuff from Java. I thought it'd be a good one to take a little deeper into the roast so I took it about 1 min past the end of 1C and it's really quite good. Chocolate, woody, tobacco, mint. It's almost like a really good cigar. I think the Indonesian islands have a lot of good coffee to offer, aside from Sumatra, but they don't tend to get a lot of attention (likely due to low output).
 
applescrap said:
@htb that Christmas blend sounds awesome! Man i love the burundi thanks.

Edit...Okay so I haven't bought much from Sweet Maria's so the more you get the cheaper it goes?
Click to expand...

They have a high flat rate for shipping, so if you want to get any kind of deal at all you need to order 15 lbs at least, and if you want to get the most for your money you should order 20 lbs.
 
Ordered 10 pounds of burundi from SM. My friend is getting half. Roasted el salvador angel something or other from bodhi this morning. The earthy scent that happens as it roasts almost made me sick for some reason. I dont usually mind it, but today it was really sweet and earthy and grassy and it was making me super barfy. Started a good solid 1c. at 1140. With smoke too, so I dialed back to 4 then 2 then 1 bar power over next minute and it was smoking away so I took heat off at 1240. Figured I would let it coast for a minute, but it was smoking and cracking and I didnt want to lose it, so took it out. It was still cracking as I threw it in the colander. Put the other colander on top and 60 seconds or so later it was ice cold from the blower. Don't think I have removed one during first crack before. I'm assuming coffee is well-developed but not sure it finished first crack. Here's a pic of chaff once again. I'm always amazed how light it is. As always welcome any thoughts. It was 24 degrees or so when I was roasting it, so some of the smoke could be steam too I guess.

View attachment 1481413919061.jpg

View attachment 1481413928355.jpg

View attachment 1481413943208.jpg

View attachment 1481413953506.jpg
 
Looks like a nice light roast. May take 8 or 10 days to smooth out.

I stalled a roast today just as 1C was starting by pulling back heat before the cracks got rolling. Ticked me off! I ended up getting more heat on it but it kind of skipped 1c then and I took it to the first snaps of 2C. I'll probably give it away.
 
That el salvador angel is good. Love this roast. Should I try next batch dumping in middle of first crack? The bodhileaf coffee I have had has been good.
 
I'll answer my own question. Did a little research and people say they are good, but tend to go for $300 used. At that price point they recommend spending a couple hundred more and getting something different.
 
I stopped by a coffee shop I used to go to before I began roasting, and they are using and selling the Baratza Sette 270. I'd love to jump behind the counter and try it out!

Something about it, I just love the way it looks. It's...sensual?
 
HarborTownBrewing said:
I stopped by a coffee shop I used to go to before I began roasting, and they are using and selling the Baratza Sette 270. I'd love to jump behind the counter and try it out!

Something about it, I just love the way it looks. It's...sensual?
Click to expand...

Uh yea, I'm sure if you let the shop owner know of your secret feelings for that grinder, he'll give you a few minutes alone on the other side of the counter. Just be careful man.
 

Similar threads

T
Brewing darker beers with corn roasted in a home coffee roaster?
Replies
6
Views
908
cmac62
cmac62
beersk
Domestic Ingredients
2
Replies
54
Views
2K
beersk
beersk
hoppyhoppyhippo
How Brewing Gave My Restaurant Amazing Cold Brew
Replies
1
Views
829
IMGator
I
madscientist451
Barley Coffee Beer
Replies
2
Views
1K
madscientist451
madscientist451
Nick Poggetti
Clone Beer Coffee & Cigarettes - Cloning Cellarmaker's Smoked Porter with Coffee
Replies
5
Views
3K
janeront
J
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top