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

[FloridaMarine]

Smoke and chaff burn off are clues for first crack...but you will hear it. 2nd cracks are faint, and smoke will go way up. I profile my roasts....ramping up heat as time goes on to delay the roast time. I usually roast light...city city plus. I hate over roasted beans...taste charred.

 

[roastquake]

I stumbled across this thread by complete accident last week. Got crazy enough to buy some green beans on my way home from work and roasted them up in a whirly pop I had laying around. Delicious.

Question though: I was cranking the whirly pop the whole time, and I didn't really hear much of a "first crack" sound. Maybe I heard some popping very faintly around 7 or 8 mins in. When I lifted the lid and looked at 10 mins, they were darker than I had hoped to get. They probably turned out more like a Vienna roast, while I wanted something lighter, like a City roast.

So, the question is, how loud is the cracking we are to be listening for?

Thanks everyone for posting thus far - it was encouragement for me to get into it.

I understand the predicament of a "single crack" when home roasting. So I like to use a technique I learned pro roasting. Start taking samples every few minutes when the cracking starts. Take note of the wrinkles on the surface of the beans, also take note of the muddled color. As your beans roast, the wrinkles smooth out and the color evens out and darkens (as you know), once you notice this smoothing effect, you can be certain enough that you are somewhere between the end of 1st crack and the beginning of 2nd crack

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Well, here is a mini update for anyone who was interested, and some info I've learned in the past week or so.

-First, my first roasted batch turned out tasting incredible. In Chicago we have access to some fantastic fresh roasted beans (La Colombe, for example) and these home roasted ones tasted comparably well. The wife and I enjoyed the heck out of this batch....buuuuut, the half pound I roasted didn't last long

-I went about roasting the other half pound of beans we had. I did the same procedure as before: Whirlypop on the grill's side burner, preheating on high heat for about 5-7 mins, then adding the beans and keeping the heat on low. After about 7.5 mins I decided to look and see how brown they were looking (they hadn't made a noise yet) and to my surprise they looked no different then when I had added them to the Whirlypop and showed no signs of roasting.

-I realized the wind was blowing my burner's flame all over the place. I cranked up the heat, eventually raising it to the highest level, but still had a really hard time. I had a timer going, and I think I was at about 30 mins when I finally decided they looked roasted enough. Of course, by this time it was dark out and even with patio lighting I couldn't see much.

-I killed the flame, dumped the beans into a collander, and began tossing them around, and didn't notice much coming off the beans. Eventually brought them inside and found that they weren't roasted nearly enough. At this point, the wind was worse and it was real dark, so I quit. I cranked that Whirlypop for about 40 mins and couldn't even get a city roast.

-For kicks and giggles, a couple days later I ground it up and tried the coffee. Yeah, it was bad. Took about 5 sips and dumped the beans in the trash.

So, I guess I learned not to try roasting when it's windy because I just couldn't keep the flame going. Another interesting thing was I had posted a few days back about not being able to hear the crack. I was using a peaberry bean, which I read elsewhere is prone to give very faint cracks which some can not easily hear. Couple faint cracking noises with the sounds of passing cars and sirens outside my patio, and I probably just didn't catch it in my first roast attempt a couple weeks ago.

In short, I ordered a 4 lb sampler from Sweet Maria's and I'm looking forward to trying it again. The first batch turned out very well, so I can't wait to try to replicate it again.

 

[passedpawn]

.buuuuut, the half pound I roasted didn't last long

Yep.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

You guys all got me hooked, by the way. I hadn't given a lot of thought towards roasting until stumbling across this thread, and after reading all the pages I gave it a go and fell in love. I ordered the new Behmor 1600 Plus, and should be roasting with it come early November.

So, thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum regarding their roasting and experiences. It helped introduce me to a new hobby in addition to the beer.

 

[passedpawn]

You guys all got me hooked, by the way. I hadn't given a lot of thought towards roasting until stumbling across this thread, and after reading all the pages I gave it a go and fell in love. I ordered the new Behmor 1600 Plus, and should be roasting with it come early November.

So, thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum regarding their roasting and experiences. It helped introduce me to a new hobby in addition to the beer.

Sweet!

Now, start making cheese!

 

[jammin]

What is everyone's take on roasting a coffee for an imperial coffee stout?

my thoughts are to roasting it at a medium to long pace (12-15 minutes total roast time) and take it to full city+ (the 1st snaps of 2nd crack).

this might be tough to do on air roaster, but drum roaster types should have no trouble.

air roaster guys - what's your technique?

 

[TallDan]

You guys all got me hooked, by the way. I hadn't given a lot of thought towards roasting until stumbling across this thread, and after reading all the pages I gave it a go and fell in love. I ordered the new Behmor 1600 Plus, and should be roasting with it come early November.

So, thanks to everyone who contributed to this forum regarding their roasting and experiences. It helped introduce me to a new hobby in addition to the beer.

I've been stalking sweet maria's for when the 1600 plus gets back in stock. I'm ready to go ahead with it myself. Where did you order yours from?

What is everyone's take on roasting a coffee for an imperial coffee stout?

my thoughts are to roasting it at a medium to long pace (12-15 minutes total roast time) and take it to full city+ (the 1st snaps of 2nd crack).

this might be tough to do on air roaster, but drum roaster types should have no trouble.

air roaster guys - what's your technique?

I would roast lighter. Your beer will probably have plenty of roastyness and bitterness without the coffee (unless you've adjusted your recipe for it). You really want to just get the coffee flavor here, and a brighter coffee flavor would match better, I think. From my (limited) experience with the popcorn popper roaster, I'd go just past the first crack. That said, I've only made one coffee stout. It turned out quite well, but I'm far from an expert.

 

[jammin]

^i did a lighter roast for my first coffee beer. the acidity and origin flavors did not go well with the stout imo. it did smoot out over time, but i didn't like it at first at all.

Im always interested to revisit things and hear other experiences though!

 

[TallDan]

^i did a lighter roast for my first coffee beer. the acidity and origin flavors did not go well with the stout imo. it did smoot out over time, but i didn't like it at first at all.

Im always interested to revisit things and hear other experiences though!

How did you brew the coffee for the last batch and how do you plan to brew it for this one? The one I did was Intelligentsia Black Cat coffee and I brewed espresso and poured it into the secondary. I don't get a lot of bitterness in the espresso as long as i don't over-extract it

 

[jammin]

i think i put it in a fine mesh bag and let hang out in the primary for about 5 days. the coffee flavor was strong and i did use quite a bit that might have something to do with it.

coffee is one of those things there isn't really any solid guidance on. no tried n true rules of thumb it seems

 

[TallDan]

i think i put it in a fine mesh bag and let hang out in the primary for about 5 days. the coffee flavor was strong and i did use quite a bit that might have something to do with it.

coffee is one of those things there isn't really any solid guidance on. no tried n true rules of thumb it seems

Agreed. Lots of conflicting opinions on the best way to add coffee to beer.

Mmm... Espresso...

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I've been stalking sweet maria's for when the 1600 plus gets back in stock. I'm ready to go ahead with it myself. Where did you order yours from?

I ordered from Roastmasters.com. I looked all around the web for the best price and availability, but no one had anything. All the roaster sale sites started to offer good deals for pre-ordering the Behmor, and the best two deals I found were:

1) Roastmasters: Behmor 1600 Plus for $369, 8lbs free coffee, free shipping, and $10 credit toward future coffee purchase of $25. Ship roaster end of October.

2) Sweet Marias: Behmor 1600 Plus for $369, 8lbs free coffee. Ship roaster early November.

So I opted for the guaranteed free shipping (couldn't figure out if Sweet Marias offered it), and I'll get the $10 credit.

I'd say no matter who you go with, try to pre-order. Only a few sites were allowing pre-order, but that way you are on the list. I got an email from Roastmasters yesterday saying my roaster will ship on or around Oct. 30.

 

[jammin]

have you guys contacted behmor for a refurb?

the list is usually long, but it's it a good savings. might as well put your name in the hat.


also - why not get a drum roaster? they are more expensive but offer MUCH more control over the roast. I've roasted on nearly everything and a Hottop (manual version) is a fantastic entry level choice.

 

[TallDan]

I ordered from Roastmasters.com. I looked all around the web for the best price and availability, but no one had anything. All the roaster sale sites started to offer good deals for pre-ordering the Behmor, and the best two deals I found were:

1) Roastmasters: Behmor 1600 Plus for $369, 8lbs free coffee, free shipping, and $10 credit toward future coffee purchase of $25. Ship roaster end of October.

2) Sweet Marias: Behmor 1600 Plus for $369, 8lbs free coffee. Ship roaster early November.

So I opted for the guaranteed free shipping (couldn't figure out if Sweet Marias offered it), and I'll get the $10 credit.

I'd say no matter who you go with, try to pre-order. Only a few sites were allowing pre-order, but that way you are on the list. I got an email from Roastmasters yesterday saying my roaster will ship on or around Oct. 30.

Awesome. Roastmasters says they'll be on stock on the 30th for current orders as well. Preordered. On top of the $10 credit and free shipping, they're on the east coast, so it will get here sooner than sweet maria's. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

have you guys contacted behmor for a refurb?

the list is usually long, but it's it a good savings. might as well put your name in the hat.


also - why not get a drum roaster? they are more expensive but offer MUCH more control over the roast. I've roasted on nearly everything and a Hottop (manual version) is a fantastic entry level choice.

I thought about going the refurb route, but from pricing I saw, it didn't seem necessarily worth it for the wait and having a refurb unit. Plus it wouldn't have the latest control board, so there is that part of it if it's a priority to some.

Well, the Behmor is a drum roaster, so I suppose it falls into that category. But why not a Hottop? It's 3x the price as the Behmor and can't handle as heavy of a load as I understand (1/2 lb in the Hottop vs 1 lb in the Behmor). Since I roast very light roasts, I should be able to get away with 1lb roasts in the Behmor.

But in terms of price, there is no way I'm going to drop over a thousand bucks on my first roaster. I'm married, after all

 

[TallDan]

I thought about going the refurb route, but from pricing I saw, it didn't seem necessarily worth it for the wait and having a refurb unit. Plus it wouldn't have the latest control board, so there is that part of it if it's a priority to some.

Well, the Behmor is a drum roaster, so I suppose it falls into that category. But why not a Hottop? It's 3x the price as the Behmor and can't handle as heavy of a load as I understand (1/2 lb in the Hottop vs 1 lb in the Behmor). Since I roast very light roasts, I should be able to get away with 1lb roasts in the Behmor.

But in terms of price, there is no way I'm going to drop over a thousand bucks on my first roaster. I'm married, after all

Agreed on all points with the refurb. It would have to save me more money than it does. I also looked at used 1600's on ebay and such, considering that the control board can be swapped out, but used roasters in decent condition are going for almost $300. By the time you consider shipping costs, the 8lb sampler, and the control board, there is very little savings over new.

Also have to agree on behmor vs hottop. For a first roaster (well, second after re-purposing the popcorn popper) $1k just seems excessive. I'll see how long i stick with roasting coffee with the behmor. If it seems like i'll get the use out of it, I might switch up to a hot top in a few years, and given what I mentioned above about prices of used behmors I won't lose much money on it.

 

[jammin]

^hottop sells refutes as well. that's how I got my first one. HT's are well built and easy to fix too.


if you want to do 1lb roasts in your behmor - get yourself a good variac and kill-a-watt. 1lb is a big job on any roaster working off of 110v. doesn't matter what BS rating is slapped on it.

 

[TallDan]

My order on roastmasters now has a fedex tracking number (it doesn't work yet) and according to their website all backordered 1600+ roasters will ship Monday.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

My order on roastmasters now has a fedex tracking number (it doesn't work yet) and according to their website all backordered 1600+ roasters will ship Monday.

Ooooohhhhhh baby! I can't wait to get this in;was bummed it got delayed a bit. I just checked and my order now has a tracking number as well.

The weather here has been too cold for me to roast for a few weeks, since I usually open my windows to get a breeze through the place. This roaster can't come soon enough - I've been drinking garbage store-bought coffee!!!

 

[passedpawn]

I'm watching this space. Let's see some pics. I'd love to buy one of these this winter.

 

[TallDan]

Ooooohhhhhh baby! I can't wait to get this in;was bummed it got delayed a bit. I just checked and my order now has a tracking number as well.

The weather here has been too cold for me to roast for a few weeks, since I usually open my windows to get a breeze through the place. This roaster can't come soon enough - I've been drinking garbage store-bought coffee!!!

I've been drinking good coffee from a local roaster, just bought a pound this morning, in fact. Still pretty excited to get started with it though.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Getting it from a local roaster can certainly be the best way to go about getting beans when not roasting at home. The last two or so years I bought religiously from the Coffee and Tea Exchange in Chicago because the beans were good and the prices were fair (~$12/16oz). Since I started roasting, I haven't gone back there though. They are a pretty solid place though.

The other day I bought a package of Zingerman's Coffee (Ethiopia varietal) to get me through the week; it was $13/12oz. I thought it might be good, but once I got it to the office I saw it was stamped that it was roasted Aug. 8, 2014. Probably not something to brag about if you can't get your product into consumer hands within a couple weeks of roasting.

I'm getting my priorities straight this week and setting up a small desk in my work office with the necessary equipment to brew coffee to the best of my situation. Halfway considering getting a grinder for the office, but that may be a little weird looking to my coworkers...

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Got the roaster today and gave it a whirl. Roasting went quick and I was into second crack before I knew it so the beans got a little darker than I'd hoped for but this should still be quite drinkable.

Can't believe how easy the Behmor is. Really looking forward to working with this machine.

 

[TallDan]

Got the roaster today and gave it a whirl. Roasting went quick and I was into second crack before I knew it so the beans got a little darker than I'd hoped for but this should still be quite drinkable.

Can't believe how easy the Behmor is. Really looking forward to working with this machine.

Mine arrived today as well. I ran a couple cycles on it with no beans (as advised in the manual) just a little bit ago, but haven't roasted anything yet. I bent the latch on the drum in a little because it was rubbing against the guard in front of the heating elements in the back.

Plenty of green coffee to get started with in that sampler too. Can't wait for the house to smell like fresh roasted coffee. First run might wait until this weekend or next since i have some fresh coffee here already and my be going out of town for work next week.

 

[Chuginator]

...Can't wait for the house to smell like fresh roasted coffee...

A word of caution: in case you're referring to roasting in the house and not just brewing in the house, in the winter I have to roast in a preheated shop building (the Behmor will not operate under 45 degrees), and when I'm done and open the door, the smoke rolls out. You might consider doing this in your garage or some other area outside of your house first to get an idea of what to expect, particularly if you're planning on hitting second crack or beyond.

I think you guys will like your Behmors - I still use mine religiously (have roasted 66 batches so far) with no issues. Keep up on the dry burns every fifth batch and remember to give your coffee a chance to rest after roasting (but be sure to experiment with it right after roasting too, so you can see how it evolves - I no longer do this because it's a waste of coffee to me). Mine typically seems to hit its stride 4-5 days after roasting.

I have also gotten into the habit of staggering my roasts, so that by the time I'm done with one batch, the next has aged long enough. It's a general target I strive for, but if I'm off a couple of days it's no big deal. I'd rather err on the side of consuming the newly roasted batch past its optimal aging period than before, given that it's not going to be something like 2 weeks.

Have fun!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yeah when I got "Cool" last night I got a nice burst of smoke which set off the smoke detectors. Funny thing was, there was hardly any smoke - especially when compared to the Whirly pop.

I couldn't believe the sampler they sent with the Behmor. I figured Roastmasters would just throw in 8lbs of the same bean but there were 7 different kinds, as well as a note with a suggestion as to which bean would be best for the first few batches on the Behmor. I'll definitely buy through them again.

 

[Chuginator]

Yep, Roastmasters is where I got mine too because of the coffee bundled with it. I'm going to have to peruse their bean offerings again, because I've been getting all my beans through Sweet Maria's and I need to change it up a bit to see what someone else has to offer.

 

[TallDan]

A word of caution: in case you're referring to roasting in the house and not just brewing in the house, in the winter I have to roast in a preheated shop building (the Behmor will not operate under 45 degrees), and when I'm done and open the door, the smoke rolls out. You might consider doing this in your garage or some other area outside of your house first to get an idea of what to expect, particularly if you're planning on hitting second crack or beyond.

I think you guys will like your Behmors - I still use mine religiously (have roasted 66 batches so far) with no issues. Keep up on the dry burns every fifth batch and remember to give your coffee a chance to rest after roasting (but be sure to experiment with it right after roasting too, so you can see how it evolves - I no longer do this because it's a waste of coffee to me). Mine typically seems to hit its stride 4-5 days after roasting.

I have also gotten into the habit of staggering my roasts, so that by the time I'm done with one batch, the next has aged long enough. It's a general target I strive for, but if I'm off a couple of days it's no big deal. I'd rather err on the side of consuming the newly roasted batch past its optimal aging period than before, given that it's not going to be something like 2 weeks.

Have fun!

Yes, I was planning on roasting indoors. I roasted with a popcorn popper inside under the range hood, but that was in a different house. I don't think the range hood here vents outside, so I was planning on using it near a window with a fan if need be. We will see how the first roast goes, I may have to roast in the garage.

Definitely planning on small batches, staggering them so that the coffee gets a rest and always having coffee near it's peak. In fact, that was really one of the bigger benefits of having the roaster in my mind. My wife switched to decaf a few months ago, so buying a full pound of regular coffee and decaf for each of us led to a pound lasting longer than I'd like.

Yeah when I got "Cool" last night I got a nice burst of smoke which set off the smoke detectors. Funny thing was, there was hardly any smoke - especially when compared to the Whirly pop.

I couldn't believe the sampler they sent with the Behmor. I figured Roastmasters would just throw in 8lbs of the same bean but there were 7 different kinds, as well as a note with a suggestion as to which bean would be best for the first few batches on the Behmor. I'll definitely buy through them again.

I was also impressed with the sampler. I got:

Burundi Murago Washing Station
Colombia Concordia Santa Monica (2)
Colombia Huila Supremo
Costa Rica La Estrella Micro-lot
Costa Rica SHB Montanas del Diamante
Guatemala SHB Santo Domingo
Peru Fair Trade Organic

Plenty of variety in there to try, and that's a lot of coffee.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Yes, I was planning on roasting indoors. I roasted with a popcorn popper inside under the range hood, but that was in a different house. I don't think the range hood here vents outside, so I was planning on using it near a window with a fan if need be. We will see how the first roast goes, I may have to roast in the garage.

One of the main reasons I got this roaster was so that I could roast indoors during the winter. I usually used a Whirlypop with the windows open, and the place would still fill up with smoke (thus, I quickly learned to only roast when the wife was away). I tried the whirlypop once with the windows closed as an experiment for the upcoming cold weather, and it was like being in a cigar shop.

Last night was only a 1/4 lb batch, and I did take it further into 2nd Crack than I intended, but I was very surprised with the small amount of smoke that came out. Like I said earlier, it did set off the smoke detector, but there was hardly any visible smoke (and I think the detector went off because it was a burst of smoke that seemed to have come out). And I won't be taking it that far into a roast again. I'm kind of in a sticky situation where I can't vent outside...at least not without making a big ordeal of it.

I'm not going to be able to roast again until Sunday - it's killin' me!

PS - looks like I got the same beans as you. Very nice selection.