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

[HarborTownBrewing]

Well it wouldn't be HBT without a follow-up: I ended up boiling some vinegar last night, and a bunch of water after that to clean the kettle. I tried the Kenyan this morning (after two failed roasts where I apparently under roasted them) and it was fantastic. So nice and floral, with a great aftertaste.

I'm going to try roasting it a few different ways, because admittedly when I roasted it the first time I wasn't really in the mood so I just kind of let the roaster do it's thing for the first 7 mins. But this was a good one. If you are looking for a cheap Kenyan, try it out: http://shop.thetaridgecoffee.com/product/kenya-ab-plus/

 

[Bensiff]

^vinegar works extremely well for cleaning kettles. run it up to a boil and maybe even give it a scrub w/a nylon brush.


I have that Digital Bonavita kettle w/the goose neck spout. It's really a quality piece of equipment that functions quite well. I think you'd be very glad you got it. That said, it's functionally is nearly lost on Press-Pot. Amazing on pour-over or Aeropres though.

I'm a one stop shopper, I use my brewery cleaning agent of choice...oxyclean free. I get it dissolved in really hot water and run it through, then do a couple hot water cycles for the rinse.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I have an office within a suite, my office being about 25 feet from the suite's door (and a couple sharp turns).

Whenever I am making pour over coffee in my office, people coming into the Suite see the coffee and say they could smell it 50 feet down the hall, even through a closed door. You just can't beat that freshly roasted coffee smell.

 

[TallDan]

I have an office within a suite, my office being about 25 feet from the suite's door (and a couple sharp turns).

Whenever I am making pour over coffee in my office, people coming into the Suite see the coffee and say they could smell it 50 feet down the hall, even through a closed door. You just can't beat that freshly roasted coffee smell.

Just got in from mowing the yard, was wowed by the delicious coffee smell when I came in. Between roasting and brewing, this place usually smells like a coffee house, and my wife and I are both OK with that.

 

[PlexVector]

I've been wanting to roast my own coffee for the last 10 years and for my birthday I'm getting a behmor plus roaster. Just came yesterday and i'm not allowed to use it until my birthday. I did open it (to make sure it wasn't damage in shipping )and pull the manual out for bedtime reading. Anyone used one of these?

 

[TallDan]

I've been wanting to roast my own coffee for the last 10 years and for my birthday I'm getting a behmor plus roaster. Just came yesterday and i'm not allowed to use it until my birthday. I did open it (to make sure it wasn't damage in shipping )and pull the manual out for bedtime reading. Anyone used one of these?

Yep, been using mine for several months now. Harbortown and a couple others here have them too.

When is your birthday?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Indeed a few of us use the Behmor. In fact, I was low on coffee this morning so I JUST roasted a batch and will be brewing it momentarily.

It's a fun machine and capable of roasting great coffee. Just be patient as you learn the roaster and plan on going through some cheaper beans as you learn.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Freshly roasted coffee from said roaster. I normally give the beans a few days rest but this is a fun change. Tastes great.

View attachment 1431181820787.jpg

 

[PlexVector]

Yep, been using mine for several months now. Harbortown and a couple others here have them too.

When is your birthday?

The 21'st of this month. I'm looking forward to finally start roasting. The wife now says that not only am I a beer snob, but an official coffee snob too.

 

[PlexVector]

Freshly roasted coffee from said roaster. I normally give the beans a few days rest but this is a fun change. Tastes great.

That looks great!
the Behmor not a cheap machine, but I knew if I went in cheap at first I'd regret it later and end up buying it anyway. My other option was buying a drum for the gas grill, but I'd still spend as much money in the end since I would want to put a PID on it. Plus the grill would have to be cleaned and burnt out before roasting each time. Just do it with the proper equipment the first time works best sometimes. And this was that time.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

That looks great!
the Behmor not a cheap machine, but I knew if I went in cheap at first I'd regret it later and end up buying it anyway. My other option was buying a drum for the gas grill, but I'd still spend as much money in the end since I would want to put a PID on it. Plus the grill would have to be cleaned and burnt out before roasting each time. Just do it with the proper equipment the first time works best sometimes. And this was that time.

The Behmor is a good entry level roaster for controlling the roast - something really difficult to do on a grill-drum roaster. I think it would be very challenging to get consistent roasts from a gas grill, but at the same time a lot of people will do it so they can roast 5 lbs at a time. I'd rather have smaller batches of consistently good beans, but that's just me.

I was first lured into roasting coffee with the idea of roasting it on my gas grill, so I know what you mean.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Here's a fun one: A while back the wife and I both had a weekday off (rare) so we went for breakfast to a local coffee shop that has their own blend roasted by Intelli (it's really good).

Anyways we were sitting there when we came up with the idea for a Caramel Latte Porter. Basically, caramel, lactose, and cold press coffee, of course, with a porter as the base recipe. Wanting to make it as home-made as possible, I naturally roasted the coffee for this beer and also made the caramel from scratch (had never done this before, but it was really cool).

I had used Brazilian beans for the coffee portion; after bottling and waiting to try it a few weeks, it wasn't that great. I waited another few weeks, still not too good. I was bummed, but thought it may take a little time for this one to develop. So I popped open a bottle last night and holy wow - this thing is amazing. Beautiful coffee scent, sweetness from the caramel, and a subtle creaminess from the lactose. All buried in a deep, dark black brew.

It was a lot of fun to brew this with home-roasted coffee and to have total control over the caramel, coffee, and the beer of course. Very rewarding brew.

 

[jammin]

^sounds amazing. I'd love to try a bottle of that

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Coffee roasting and cupping: art or science?

Just like brewing beer, it could be perceived as either. It's interesting to me to see how some can people can tackle the same bean or beer, but from completely different realms - focusing on the scientific-data approach, or tapping into their creative side for inspiration.

Me, I lean toward the creative side - both for coffee and beer.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Anyone here have any experience with ordering beans from roastcoffeeandteacompany.com? Just found them on Instagram and am thinking of placing an order with them. The minimum order, cost of shipping, and lack of the beans I want at Sweet Maria's has me tempted to check out other vendors.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Anyone here have any experience with ordering beans from roastcoffeeandteacompany.com? Just found them on Instagram and am thinking of placing an order with them. The minimum order, cost of shipping, and lack of the beans I want at Sweet Maria's has me tempted to check out other vendors.

I haven't tried them, but I've been trying out Theta Ridge Coffee, because they are close to me and their prices are half of Sweet Marias. I just placed an order for Harrar and Nicaraguan beans: 8lbs of beans for a whopping total of $30.92 - average price per pound of $3.87.

I can pick it up at their warehouse, but if I had it shipped it would have been $12 for shipping, which would have brought the price/pound to $5.37.

Anyways, I had a Sidamo from them which was good but not what I was looking for (it had heavy body and spiciness, whereas I wanted something more floral). I also bought a Kenya AB from them which I really liked and went through three pounds in about 2 weeks.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

I haven't tried them, but I've been trying out Theta Ridge Coffee, because they are close to me and their prices are half of Sweet Marias. I just placed an order for Harrar and Nicaraguan beans: 8lbs of beans for a whopping total of $30.92 - average price per pound of $3.87.

I can pick it up at their warehouse, but if I had it shipped it would have been $12 for shipping, which would have brought the price/pound to $5.37.

Anyways, I had a Sidamo from them which was good but not what I was looking for (it had heavy body and spiciness, whereas I wanted something more floral). I also bought a Kenya AB from them which I really liked and went through three pounds in about 2 weeks.

Their shipping is only $5 for most orders, orders over $35 ship free... The beans average about $5/lb which is ballpark with Sweet Marias. I am just concerned about quality... I will check out Theta Ridge, thank you for mentioning them. That Sidamo sounds right up my alley, I love to have a cigar with my coffee and that sounds like it would pair really well.

 

[Bensiff]

Finally roasted up some of Klatch's Aceh Gold Sumatra today using the profile jammin posted a few pages back. Probably won't get around to drinking a cup until Saturday morning though as I still have a pot worth of gedeo worka to clear out tomorrow.

 

[passedpawn]

I'm drinking Yirga Cheffe right now. I've roasted it myself, and bought it already roasted (current cup). Not a big fan. It's tea-like. Interesting floral flavors. But I like a bolder cup with cocoa notes.

I just bought 10# of El Salvador Finca Matalapa Mirador from Sweet Marias. By the time it arrives I'll have upgraded my sad roasting system (hopefully). Will post cupping notes and pics when I make it.

Just got my coffee. Shipping is SLOW from Oakland. Will be roasting on my new turbo oven / stir crazy ghetto contraption tonight. Should be interesting.

 

[PlexVector]

Used the Behmor first time tonight. Didn't let the first one roast long enough since I didn't know what the 1C sounded like. Did the next one and let it go longer and figured it out. re-roasted the incomplete batch and seems to have did okay. Looking forward to trying it tomorrow morning. Did a 1/4# each of Ethiopian, Costa Rican, and Papua New Guinea.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Went to a roaster while I was on the road. They've got the roaster on site at the cafe. Selections were a black and tan malibar or a dark roast Mexican. I happened to stumble across the Malabar yesterday so I opted for the mex. Poor choice. It was only $1.50 for a cup but geez...

Travel.... It can make getting good coffee so difficult ; (

 

[jammin]

Ill probably order at least 2lbs of this. A good colombian is hard to come by, but almost always worth the wait

https://www.sweetmarias.com/store/c...lombia/colombia-timana-la-florida-vereda.html



Also - Ive had this Guji lot 2 years in a row in the past and it's always delivered. not rated as high this year, but still sounds like a very worthwhile purchase

http://www.roastmasters.com/guji.html

 

[TallDan]

Ill probably order at least 2lbs of this. A good colombian is hard to come by, but almost always worth the wait

https://www.sweetmarias.com/store/c...lombia/colombia-timana-la-florida-vereda.html



Also - Ive had this Guji lot 2 years in a row in the past and it's always delivered. not rated as high this year, but still sounds like a very worthwhile purchase

http://www.roastmasters.com/guji.html

Any others at those stores you like? If I am ordering I figure I might as well make the shipping worth while.

 

[jammin]

Any others at those stores you like? If I am ordering I figure I might as well make the shipping worth while.

unfortunately not. solid ethiopian picks come up fairly regulary, but colombians are few and far between. that offering from SM's sounds pretty solid and would be my top choice (w/o trying either). once in a while a good colombian micro-lot will get posted at SM's. bag limit will be like 1-2lbs and man they can be awesome.

im with you though - if there was one other coffee that really compelled me at RM's, id place an order.

I gotta try that colombian though

 

[TallDan]

unfortunately not. solid ethiopian picks come up fairly regulary, but colombians are few and far between. that offering from SM's sounds pretty solid and would be my top choice (w/o trying either). once in a while a good colombian micro-lot will get posted at SM's. bag limit will be like 1-2lbs and man they can be awesome.

im with you though - if there was one other coffee that really compelled me at RM's, id place an order.

I gotta try that colombian though

Well, i think i'm going to have to order from SM. I've yet to have a columbian (home or commercially roasted) that has impressed.

I'll probably throw in a few pounds of others that sound interesting.

Made cappuccino with their espresso monkey blend this morning and it was nice. I like it far better than their new classic espresso blend. I haven't found a home roast blend that I really like for espresso yet, and single origin coffees seem to be very hit-or-miss with a lot more misses than hits.

 

[jammin]

SM's Moka-Kadir is FANTASTIC for espresso. If they have any in stock - or you see it, be sure and try some. It's user friendly too - hard to mess up. Kicks azz at the door step of full city and even into the first few snaps of 2C

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

For the first time with my Behmor I had 1 crack sneak past me. It was my first time roasting a Nicaraguan, and I heard some subtle pops, like normal, but that's all it ever sounded like. Nothing aggressive at all. So by the time I realized it I killed the heat but it was too late and it was already pulling out of a very fast First Crack.

Bummer, but a learning experience on the bean. I'm not going to expect much from this batch though.

 

[jammin]

@harbortownbrewing - do you ever swing by Metropolis? Their Redline espresso blend is awesome for shots/cappa's. They sell it green too. I bet their cafe pours some awesome coffee but I've never been to Chicago

Btw - got your beer/coffee mail all boxed up. Shipping it out tmrw morning

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

@harbortownbrewing - do you ever swing by Metropolis? Their Redline espresso blend is awesome for shots/cappa's. They sell it green too. I bet their cafe pours some awesome coffee but I've never been to Chicago

Btw - got your beer/coffee mail all boxed up. Shipping it out tmrw morning

You know, I haven't which is funny since I live about 2 miles from them. I've had their coffee at a few different places though, and it's always been pretty good. I will try that out, and it would be cool to get some of the green beans from them.

Your's will be in the mail in a matter of hours as well

 

[TallDan]

@harbortownbrewing - do you ever swing by Metropolis? Their Redline espresso blend is awesome for shots/cappa's. They sell it green too. I bet their cafe pours some awesome coffee but I've never been to Chicago

Btw - got your beer/coffee mail all boxed up. Shipping it out tmrw morning

I've been in there a couple times and like it. I enjoyed redline for espresso at home, but not quite as much as some of the black cat blends from Intelligentsia. The greenline is reasonably priced, I might have to order that when i need some espresso blend.

Should anyone ever need such a thing, Metropolis will also do custom labeling of their coffee. My wife and I got married on international coffee day, so we decided to make our table favors freshly roasted coffee. We chose one of their standard coffee offerings and sent them a label design and they sent us 84 1/4lb bags of coffee with our custom label.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I've been in there a couple times and like it. I enjoyed redline for espresso at home, but not quite as much as some of the black cat blends from Intelligentsia. The greenline is reasonably priced, I might have to order that when i need some espresso blend.

Should anyone ever need such a thing, Metropolis will also do custom labeling of their coffee. My wife and I got married on international coffee day, so we decided to make our table favors freshly roasted coffee. We chose one of their standard coffee offerings and sent them a label design and they sent us 84 1/4lb bags of coffee with our custom label.

That is REALLY cool Metropolis would do that. Neat to see a popular place do something specialized like that.

My first coffee drink was Intelli Black Cat, this was about 4 years ago. The wife and I were shopping for apartments and both exhausted from walking 7 miles that day. Came up on Intelli on Broadway in Chicago's north side, and, out of desperation I suggested we get coffee.

Why out of desperation? Because I didn't drink coffee; couldn't even stand the smell of it.

We walk into the place, and it's a bumpin' cafe filled with metal and wood decor, and people wearing glasses without lenses in them. I order a small somethin-or-other, and they hand me a small glass...like, just a bit bigger than a shot glass. I laugh...hahaha, this can't be for me. Oh, but it is, the wife tells me (she's an aficionado of the specialized beverages).

Hoping to fall in love with it, I take a sip. Ugh. Horrible. Take another. Nope, can't do it. The wife tries it, she loves it. I liked her drink better, so we switched and it was okay. I didn't have another coffee until 8 months later when I got hooked (I picked up long-distance running, and need some caffeine to get through the rest of the days when I was running 16+ miles, so I slowly got turned onto coffee).

So that was my first experience with Black Cat, and I hated it and that place for some reason. A few months ago I reluctantly tried Intelli again for the first time since my first experience, and fell for it for the super acidic, citrus flavors they love to display in their beans. Now they and La Colombe are my favorites.

 

[whoaru99]

Ill probably order at least 2lbs of this. A good colombian is hard to come by, but almost always worth the wait

https://www.sweetmarias.com/store/c...lombia/colombia-timana-la-florida-vereda.html

I spied that stuff the other day and ordered 5lbs. Should be here any day now.

Good Columbian is hard to beat, although I have a soft spot for good Kenya too.

 

[roastquake]

Went to a roaster while I was on the road. They've got the roaster on site at the cafe. Selections were a black and tan malibar or a dark roast Mexican. I happened to stumble across the Malabar yesterday so I opted for the mex. Poor choice. It was only $1.50 for a cup but geez...

Travel.... It can make getting good coffee so difficult ; (

Have you had Monsooned Malabar before? Don't skip over that one next time you see it, one of my favorites. Also, it has an interesting history and process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsooned_Malabar

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Have you had Monsooned Malabar before? Don't skip over that one next time you see it, one of my favorites. Also, it has an interesting history and process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsooned_Malabar

Actually I had the Monsooned Malabar a couple days before. Long story short, I figured out where this particular coffee shop gets their green beans (based on their list of coffees and descriptions - they matched perfectly with the supplier). Well I was picking up some coffee from said supplier the other day and he had some Malabar he was going to pitch, so he gave it to me. It was pretty good, although it had been made on a drip pot so it definitely wasn't at it's potential, but pretty good. I talked to the owner about it and he told me a bit about how they get it, and the process and all. Pretty cool stuff.

I'd consider ordering it sometime.

I had a good El Salvador from Intelli today. Very tea like in flavor, and easy to sip.

 

[BrewinHooligan]

Have you had Monsooned Malabar before? Don't skip over that one next time you see it, one of my favorites. Also, it has an interesting history and process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsooned_Malabar

Actually been eyeballing this varietal very hard recently at roastcoffeeandteacompany.com. Good price on it and dirt cheap shipping... Sounds like my next order.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

My first batch of Nicaragua came out so bad I decided to move on and try it again.

Since I had a hard time identifying and slowing down at 1C, I pulled back the roast this time before 1C started, which allowed me to stretch it out (and actually identify it this time). It's definitely more of a subtle popping, not the normal cracking noise you'd hear; it doesn't last long either, on this bean at least (1C lasted about 70 secs on an 8oz batch).

Tried this morning and it's...still young, but much better. Veeeery nice sweetness, and a very curious Caramel flavor unlike any I've had before. Fortunately, it's in the description of the bean so I'm going to assume it's an intentional byproduct of the bean.

It's still short on citrus type flavors, but has a nice level of acidity. I'm hoping in a few days the other flavors will come out, since this roast was only about 12 hrs old.

 

[Chuginator]

Question- for one pound batches, my Behmor reaches 1C between 13 and 16 minutes, depending on the bean and conditions. Is this time typical for a high quality roast, or is it too long? Or can I even ask this question considering that the pros have much larger batch sizes?

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Question- for one pound batches, my Behmor reaches 1C between 13 and 16 minutes, depending on the bean and conditions. Is this time typical for a high quality roast, or is it too long? Or can I even ask this question considering that the pros have much larger batch sizes?

I've never done a 1lb roast in mine (did 3/4 a few times), but 15 or 16 mins seems like a long time to me. Is that with a preheat?

I preheat until my chamber wall temp reads 150F (about 2 mins), and I get to 1C in about 10:30 - 11:00 with 1/2 lb batches.

For what it's worth, I like how the 1/2 lb batches respond when using the Behmor in manual mode. I had a hard time getting the 3/4 lb batches to act as I wanted them to. Hope some of this helps.

 

[TallDan]

What do you guys use for roast logs? My little booklet from Sweet Maria's is full. Thinking about just using a notebook, keeping it on my computer, looking into software, or getting another booklet from SM.

 

[Chuginator]

I've never done a 1lb roast in mine (did 3/4 a few times), but 15 or 16 mins seems like a long time to me. Is that with a preheat?

I preheat until my chamber wall temp reads 150F (about 2 mins), and I get to 1C in about 10:30 - 11:00 with 1/2 lb batches.

For what it's worth, I like how the 1/2 lb batches respond when using the Behmor in manual mode. I had a hard time getting the 3/4 lb batches to act as I wanted them to. Hope some of this helps.

Thanks. If it's cool (maybe less than 60F) I'll do a preheat for a minute and a half or so, otherwise I don't worry about it. I just didn't know if that kind of time was WAY off (and considered "baked" instead of roasted).

In the back of my mind I'm thinking that I should be getting some larger differences between beans; perhaps it's a mental funk that I'm in, but I've been eyeballing the roast times as a potential candidate for this. Maybe I'll back down to 1/2lb batches and see what happens, or better yet - a 1/2lb batch and a 1lb batch of the same coffee roasted to the same level to see if there's a big enough difference to worry about.

TallDan, for a roast log, I use a spreadsheet; maybe not the best tool, but it works for me. Date, bean, description from vendor, Behmor settings, time to 1C, 2C, and when I hit the "Cool" button, roast level, tasting notes and roasting notes. I've done 82 batches now and it makes it pretty easy when purchasing to see if I'd had it before and what I thought of it. Doing that with a notebook, particularly after hundreds of batches, would prove difficult. Even a simple text file would be better than something in writing.

That said, interestingly enough, I use a hand-written brew log for beer. LOL!