BrewinHooligan
Well-Known Member
Broke down and brewed a single cup. It tastes a little over-roasted for my taste but I will reserve judgement for tomorrow or the next day.
Would you elaborate here? Was it bitter?
If you want to get into roasting and have some cash, a Hottop B is a great little roaster. If you reach out to Michael at Hottop, you might be able to snag a refurb for a discount.
So first batch is done and I learned a bit. My popper said max capacity is 3.5oz so I started with 3oz which turned out to be a little too much. I will try maybe 2 or 2.5 oz for hopefully a more even roast. Took a little over 4 minutes to get to 2nd crack. Lets see if I can wait until Saturday morning to try it
Roast'n some Guat this morning
<Impressive looking pictures>
haha - i love pulp fiction. one of my all-time favs
air roasters are inherently different than drum roasters as they rely solely on convection. high air flow roasts typically produce more acidic roasts that spotlight the "high" notes of a coffee. a good drum roaster can produce any spectrum you like in the right hands.
if you're willing to search craiglist or raid your mother inlaw's pantry - you could source a good bread machine. You can get great control with a bread machine and a heat gun and slow the roast down quite a bit. poppers tend to move at light speed haha. I almost died when I read that someone reached 2nd crack in 4 minutes haha - WOW
Here are a few shots of the kit I used to roast coffee while deployed to Baghdad for a year... it's not easy roasting coffee when it's 120* outside haha
I've long wanted to try roasting beans in a popper, and for even longer have I been a coffee fanatic drinking coffee made from retail-roasted beans. For those of us on the fence...can someone actually do a comparison as to how homemade roasted coffee tastes compared to something retail? Fresher, different taste, better flavor, less acidic, etc?
I just mentioned this to the wife a minute ago and she goes 'sounds like a lot of work if its the same as what we buy.' Of course, I commented on how that's the case for anything homemade (beer, dinner, bread, whatever).
So, some anecdotal evidence from someone would be great. (no need to go all beeradvocate reviewer on it though)
I've long wanted to try roasting beans in a popper, and for even longer have I been a coffee fanatic drinking coffee made from retail-roasted beans. For those of us on the fence...can someone actually do a comparison as to how homemade roasted coffee tastes compared to something retail? Fresher, different taste, better flavor, less acidic, etc?
I just mentioned this to the wife a minute ago and she goes 'sounds like a lot of work if its the same as what we buy.' Of course, I commented on how that's the case for anything homemade (beer, dinner, bread, whatever).
So, some anecdotal evidence from someone would be great. (no need to go all beeradvocate reviewer on it though)
Right now, I'm mostly interested in roasting coffee to understand different roasts levels and how they taste. If I stick with it and make some great coffee, that's great. If I lose interest, at least I hope to get some better understanding about roasting.
Played around with my air popper popper today and am getting things dialed in. I took the advice to use an extension cord to limit the wattage, I need to start with 1.5oz of green beans, and shortly after the first crack when most of the chaff comes off, I remove the top to make sure the temp isn't too hot. This resulted in a slower, more even roast and I'm anxious to try the results.
However, because coffee emits CO2 after roasting, coffee to be vacuum packed must be allowed to de-gas for several days before it is sealed.
That looks great. Are you going to let it offgas? I read that coffee needs to be allowed to offgas CO2 for a day or two.
From the Coffee Roasting wiki,
BTW, that wiki has some excellent pics of different roasts.
Yeah, on the other side of the bag is a valve just for that purpose! For 50 cents a piece it is supposed keep the oxygen out and let the co2 escape keeping it fresh longer.
Sounds like you all are having a great time getting into roasting, and kudos for your efforts! I have been roasting for about 4 years, and mainly do it so that I know my coffee is fresh, saves a little bit of money and it tastes really good.
I started out with a heavy skillet and roasted with it for about 6 months and it worked out ok. I guess I was getting lazy and whisking for 20-30 minutes was getting old. Since I had been severely bitten by the bug I decided to jump in with both feet and buy a Behmor 1600. It's a wonderful investment. I usually roast 8-12oz batches and go through maybe a pound or so a week. I think I calculated that in the first 3 years of ownership, I have paid off the Behmor as a result of the savings on green beans. Not that it was my goal but I'm not complaining either.
The Behmor is supposed to do 1# batches, but I find that if I want to roast on the darker side, then 1# is almost too much. 8-12oz is fine and you can roast pretty dark. You'll find that different beans do better at different roast levels. For example, I roast Yirgacheffe short and hot, Brazilians low and slow. Sumatras typically are roasted darker to bring out its trademark characteristics. If you're a dark-roast fanatic, be aware that not all beans will exhibit their best characteristics at a Vienna or French roast. Some beans have more delicate properties and high roast levels will burn much of the subtleties away.
I do experiment a lot, but Yirgacheffe is my staple for drip coffee and Brazilian for single-origin espresso. There are lots of other good varieties, though. Just like beer, it's all personal preference. I have purchased many a pound from Sweet Marias and have always had good luck with them. They have tons of good info on their site, which you have likely already seen. Now, though, I have a local place that sells green beans so I have been sourcing from them for a couple years or so.
As for cooling and degassing, I do try to degas a day or two in a bag with one-way valve. Sometimes I'm in a hurry and I forego that, but I think it does help.
Best of luck to you on your coffee roasting!!
Sounds like you all are having a great time getting into roasting, and kudos for your efforts! I have been roasting for about 4 years, and mainly do it so that I know my coffee is fresh, saves a little bit of money and it tastes really good.
I started out with a heavy skillet and roasted with it for about 6 months and it worked out ok. I guess I was getting lazy and whisking for 20-30 minutes was getting old. Since I had been severely bitten by the bug I decided to jump in with both feet and buy a Behmor 1600. It's a wonderful investment. I usually roast 8-12oz batches and go through maybe a pound or so a week. I think I calculated that in the first 3 years of ownership, I have paid off the Behmor as a result of the savings on green beans. Not that it was my goal but I'm not complaining either.
The Behmor is supposed to do 1# batches, but I find that if I want to roast on the darker side, then 1# is almost too much. 8-12oz is fine and you can roast pretty dark. You'll find that different beans do better at different roast levels. For example, I roast Yirgacheffe short and hot, Brazilians low and slow. Sumatras typically are roasted darker to bring out its trademark characteristics. If you're a dark-roast fanatic, be aware that not all beans will exhibit their best characteristics at a Vienna or French roast. Some beans have more delicate properties and high roast levels will burn much of the subtleties away.
I do experiment a lot, but Yirgacheffe is my staple for drip coffee and Brazilian for single-origin espresso. There are lots of other good varieties, though. Just like beer, it's all personal preference. I have purchased many a pound from Sweet Marias and have always had good luck with them. They have tons of good info on their site, which you have likely already seen. Now, though, I have a local place that sells green beans so I have been sourcing from them for a couple years or so.
As for cooling and degassing, I do try to degas a day or two in a bag with one-way valve. Sometimes I'm in a hurry and I forego that, but I think it does help.
Best of luck to you on your coffee roasting!!
I've got to locate some of those bags. Where did you get yours?
Very cool. If I keep this up I'll probably invest in some sort of high-tech gadgetry. That seems to be my way.
I am interested in hearing more about the Behmor. I read somewhere online that it takes a bit of tinkering with the builtin roast programs to get things right, would you agree? Can you roast small amounts effectively with it? (Like 4oz or so)
Been a pro roaster for 3 years before starting a new career, roasted coffee just about every way you can imagine but settled on a dedicated pot and spoon. Not sure if it's been mentioned but the aeropress is my favorite way to have coffee, its a cheap and easy way to make espresso at home without a fancy machine
Not sure if it's been mentioned but the aeropress is my favorite way to have coffee, its a cheap and easy way to make espresso at home without a fancy machine
I roasted a full pound tonight. Timed it at 9:10. That's when I remove from the stovetop and start tossing between two pans (outside) to cool it. I could probably go longer but I've been really worried about burning the coffee.
Anyway, except for the possibility that 9:10 wasn't long enough, the Whirley Pop does a full pound just fine. BTW, I stirred continuously.
This batch was some sort of Sumatra something-or-other. Supposed to have kumquat, kiwi, and caramel notes. Haha, we'll see about that.
passeddawn - just a heads up. brazil, ethiopia and sumatra are all typically "soft beans" (less dense than kenya, shg guat, rwanda, burundi etc). take caution moving into first crack (1C) as they are more susceptible to to scorching.
as a rule of thumb, beans cannot absorb heat as quickly as they dry out. this means, the further you are into a roast the easier it is to burn your beans. this last batch looks worlds better then the first you posted so you're probably getting the hang of it.
Beautiful beans my man. Eat some!
Don't think I haven't Hoppy! Maybe I'll do a light roast and cover some with chocolate!
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