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

[applescrap]

Great question. I had same question, so I called sm or bl, both cant remember. They dont grade them, its by region or country or however. Gr 1 is top grade ethiopian. I think kenyan top grade is aa. They stamp it on the bag. Ultimately, I judge by price, description. Price for jamaican bm, yemen, geisha, etc.. I have no knowledge of. But generally even by region price helps delineate. The bl brazilian deal this week is probably a good deal, if you like brazilian. Looking, I see its also one of their upper end brazilians. Thinking about buying this for my Christmas coffee gifts and hording the Ethiopian . Hey, no one seems to give a care anyways.

 

[pshankstar]

Has anyone bought from Crop to Cup for green beans? I noticed a small coffee shop/brewery about 30 minutes away sources their beans from them. They do sell some of their bean in 2lbs amounts, which leads me to believe they do sell to individuals and not just businesses. Figured I would ask.

EDIT/Update - I reached out to them and they do ship to home roasters. I’ll report back if I order anything from them.

 

[Kealia]

Sorry, not me.

 

[pshankstar]

Thanks to @HarborTownBrewing for selling me his used Behmor 1600+ coffee roaster! He also tossed in a home brew and some tea!
Now I’ll be roasting like and with the big boys like @jimyson, @Inkleg, @TallDan and others!!! [emoji6]

 

[applescrap]

Awesome pshankstar! By the way I got five pounds of that Brazilian. I think that is top grade Brazilian and it's based on screen size. Either way it's one of the most expensive Brazilians I see from them. 30% off made 5 lb $18 plus $7 for shipping made 25. Also the bohdi leaf Ethiopian Maho remains amazing. Totally strawberry and it's just good. Man I'm still kicking myself over not getting 20 lb of it.

 

[MaxStout]

I've been lurking this thread a while. Finally took a baby step and roasted some beans in a colander with a heat gun. Just did 1/4lb of some Guatemalan I got in a 2lb bag from William's Brewing. I'll let it outgas a day or two, grind and try it in a French press.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Looks good max! Keep us updated, looking forward to hearing about your journey.

 

[MaxStout]

Looks good max! Keep us updated, looking forward to hearing about your journey.

Thanks. I'm just going to go small for a while. See how I like it, experiment with degrees of roasting, etc. If I get hooked, EGAD!, I'll be into another hobby that involves more gear! NTTAWWT

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I hear ya. I stumbled across this forum, kept an eye on it for a while, and decided to give it a try on my old whirlypop.

4.5 years and a few thousand dollars later.......

 

[Inkleg]

Welcome to the rabbit hole @MaxStout ! Watch your neck these guys will pull you right in. Especially that @jammin guy.

 

[MaxStout]

I'm glad I did the roasting out in the garage. It smelled like a grass fire. After the beans cooled I put them in a mason jar and left off the top so they could outgas. Set the jar on the kitchen counter. Now my whole kitchen smells like a grass fire. I think I'll keep it out in the garage during that phase next time.

Sweet Maria's says to seal the jar after 12 hours or so then let them sit for a total of about 24 hours to develop flavor. Is that about the time frame you guys are doing for this, or do you let them rest longer? I don't want to grind too soon.

Looking forward to grinding and tasting some pressed coffee.

 

[Kealia]

Grass fire? Interesting.....
The first few roasts I did we're in airpopper (popcorn) and all I ever smelled was the caramelization and roasted coffee smells.
I leave our beans for anywhere from 48 hours to 4-5 days depending on the bean.
But you should sample a little each day to find out where your own sweet spot is.
Congrats on the first roast.

 

[applescrap]

Looks like an awesome start. Yep, those initial grassy smells mess with me. I got to much of a whiff off a roast once while I was sick and now I cant even be around that phase and smell it. Iirc jammin said that smell can even bother people in the cup. But the coffee will progress through different smells as it roasts. These smells become another tool in evaluating the roast progression. That looks like a great light roast. Which I almost prefer in any coffee anymore it seems. I dont want to go to deep down some rabbit holes for now so I am going to stop. Some coffees get better 3 or more days out. Some earlier. In general better coffee tastes better regardless. I usually wait dependent on need. I mean gotta do what I gotta do on Saturday morning. Kudos for waiting on your first roast. I couldnt wait and tore right in. I never really cared much for drinking it straight from the roast, but I've done it. Overnight would be enough for me and the next day or two later at its closest to best. Peaking at day 3 to 10 or so. Never had one sit around too long so cant comment on anything much longer. Welcome to the coffee hobby. Its so cool.

 

[NeilMac]

I always roast outside as long as its above -5c, tried with air filter system in the kitchen but the smoke alarm still gets set off.
I just leave the lid on the mason jars loose so they can have the gases escape, as I rotate per day I tighten them so basically their loose for five days. Depending on the bean they can give off gas for over three days.
I also started double roasting as in I do two batches with a bit of color change and then mix them together, gives a realy nice flavor range, I do this all the time now.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I put my beans directly into a valved can or valved bag right after the roast. If you order from SM's any time, add one of these to your order: https://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee-tin-with-de-gas-valve.html

For $5 you can't beat it, and at no additional shipping charge. You can use it for home roast or store bought beans, too.

 

[ba-brewer]

I'm glad I did the roasting out in the garage. It smelled like a grass fire. After the beans cooled I put them in a mason jar and left off the top so they could outgas. Set the jar on the kitchen counter. Now my whole kitchen smells like a grass fire. I think I'll keep it out in the garage during that phase next time.

Sweet Maria's says to seal the jar after 12 hours or so then let them sit for a total of about 24 hours to develop flavor. Is that about the time frame you guys are doing for this, or do you let them rest longer? I don't want to grind too soon.

Looking forward to grinding and tasting some pressed coffee.

Did any of the chaff catch fire around the beans when you roasted them? That can have a grassy aroma.

I roast in the afternoon and leave the bags open over night then seal them in the morning. A couple hours after roasting the kitchen smell of strong roasted coffee not burnt grass.

I roasted with a heat gun and cast iron pot for a long time, works pretty well. I had the pot on a camp stove to add heat and did the fine tuning with the heat gun. Not sure if you used the strainer to roast in but a dog bowl of a metal pan helps to even out the heat.

 

[MaxStout]

Did any of the chaff catch fire around the beans when you roasted them? That can have a grassy aroma.

I roast in the afternoon and leave the bags open over night then seal them in the morning. A couple hours after roasting the kitchen smell of strong roasted coffee not burnt grass.

I roasted with a heat gun and cast iron pot for a long time, works pretty well. I had the pot on a camp stove to add heat and did the fine tuning with the heat gun. Not sure if you used the strainer to roast in but a dog bowl of a metal pan helps to even out the heat.

Yes, there were a few husks that lit up, so probably the source of the brush fire smell. I just used the strainer, but I set it inside a metal box to help hold in some of the heat and keep the wind off it.

Today I checked the beans, and the smell was all coffee, not burning. Ground up some and made a press of coffee. It was good. I'm usually accustomed to drinking med-dark roasts, so this light roast was different, but I can appreciate the nuances of a light roast. I'll do some more light roasts until I get the technique down, then experiment with darker roasts.

 

[ba-brewer]

Once you get the hang of it and can control the roast levels, your coffee will settle in on a taste that you prefer. I started off roasting pretty dark almost to a Vienna roast level and over time it has lighten up some. I occasionally roast light but the flavor is not right so move back to just before second crack if I can time it right.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I've talked a few times about trying to get to know how the roaster will respond to different "commands" and trying to predict where the beans are going. I'm roasting a lot of the same beans these days (for my Christmas Blend) which is most certainly the best way to get to know your roaster.

These are roasts 56 and 60 on my roaster, overlayed on top of each other. This is something I am really proud of, especially because I had to adjust my charge temp based on ambient temperatures. The two Blue lines with a big dip, a yellow arrow, and four blue dots are my bean temp, which is what I was tracking most religiously throughout the roast. I didn't hit 1C quite at the same time as before, but it was only 15 seconds off and probably has a little to do with when I "decided" 1C had begun.

Anyways, just wanted to share this update. I'll call it an accomplishment, actually, because I'm happy to get to this point. It has taken months and ~60 lbs worth of coffee, but I'm starting to figure it out.

Now, if I'm looking at something the wrong way - please let me know hahaha.

 

[jammin]

just wanted to share this update/accomplishment,

Outstanding work, HTB! It's one thing to have a great roast, it's entirely different beast to replicate it. Thats a big milestone in the roasting journey.

Have you considered trying to make your RoR more linear; specifically post 1C? It's a challenging task. I've had good luck cutting fan to a low setting about 10* prior to the onset of 1C along with the normal decrease in gas/heat. As 1C gets going, I throttle the fan back up towards max convection levels (another interesting endeavor to learn about your kit).

Here is my latest roast which is a good representation of the RoR I'm getting lately:

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Have you considered trying to make your RoR more linear; specifically post 1C?

This is great feedback @jammin . By making it more "linear" do you mean more...horizontal? Less of a drop? If so I would think throttling the fan up at 1C would result in more of a drop...but I might be missing something. Any input is appreciated and well received!

 

[jammin]

By making it more "linear" do you mean more...horizontal?

I struggled with the wording on that so apologies for being vague. First Crack is an exothermic reaction in which the water trapped inside the bean is converted to steam, thus shedding stored energy.

If you noticed the RoR around & right after 1C is initiated, there is a crash. Maintaining a steady, yet declining RoR at this stage is quite the challenge due to the inherent thermodynamics of what is going on in the roast.

For me, I've found that cutting fan back heading into 1C traps some of that thermal energy in the drum and maintains the trajectory of the roast. This makes the RoR curve more linear and you could draw a straight line through the average.

From what I understand, the heat adjustment on the Bullet is quite nimble and I'm unclear of how much thermal momentum you have between the drum, heating elements, mass of beans etc. The fan functionality is also a mystery to me on that machine.. in a nutshell, i don't know much at all about that roaster haha Would be fun to hear more about it though and what your understanding of it is.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

I have no understanding of ROR. This is the first roaster I've been able to track it with so I've got a lot to learn. I'm thinking of getting Modulating the Flavor of Coffee by Hoos. It sounds like it's a solid book on fundamentals, might help a bit.

I purposely stay away from Roa material because I'm annoyed by most of his followers.

Anyways, yes the Bullet is very nimble and responsive. A change in power setting is noticeable in a couple seconds, as is the fan. Very responsive.

Thanks for the info and feedback Jammin. I'll work on that and will start keeping an eye on my ROR. So much to learn!

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Roasted 8 lbs (9 bags worth) today. I think that's a single day record for me and it only took 2 hours. Almost done with all my Christmas Blend sales for the year, then I'll get to relax and drink the leftovers myself!

 

[applescrap]

That looks class htb.
Haha, I roasted some kenyan, and I swear it smelt like good bbq sauce after the roast. Not so much now. You all know me and kenyans, but man I keep trying them. Hope this one starts to shift the pallete more.

Peculiar, the cup on my cheap kitchen scale always weighed a pound when full. Regardless. Now its not very accurate, but the Guatemalan 2lbs and kenyan 2lb from burmans is exactly two full measures each to the bean. Dont know what they weigh, but this volume seems dang close to a pound. Curious how much its is with a cup measure.

 

[shelly_belly]

Yay, we now have a roaster in my county! www.southerngirlcoffee.com

 

[jammin]

Been slow year African coffee - anyone want to grab some of this washed Ethiopian with me? It’s not a fruit bomb but it sounds like a good cup of filter coffee none the less. Bean stats check out - mostly 14/15 screen & decent density
https://royalcoffee.com/products/cj...131033125&mc_cid=3d7458c424&mc_eid=ce40cb2903

 

[TallDan]

I haven't even clicked the link yet, but I'm tempted to just say that i'm in no matter what.

EDIT: Brew notes say pistachio ice cream. I can't say no to that.

 

[pshankstar]

Been slow year African coffee - anyone want to grab some of this washed Ethiopian with me? It’s not a fruit bomb but it sounds like a good cup of filter coffee none the less. Bean stats check out - mostly 14/15 screen & decent density
https://royalcoffee.com/products/cj1243/?utm_source=Royal Coffee Newsletter&utm_campaign=3d7458c424-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_01_09_40_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c1f53dc6b5-3d7458c424-131033125&mc_cid=3d7458c424&mc_eid=ce40cb2903

How much would 5 pounds cost out of the lot? I assume around $37 plus shipping, right?

 

[passedpawn]

Been slow year African coffee - anyone want to grab some of this washed Ethiopian with me? It’s not a fruit bomb but it sounds like a good cup of filter coffee none the less. Bean stats check out - mostly 14/15 screen & decent density
https://royalcoffee.com/products/cj1243/?utm_source=Royal Coffee Newsletter&utm_campaign=3d7458c424-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_01_09_40_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c1f53dc6b5-3d7458c424-131033125&mc_cid=3d7458c424&mc_eid=ce40cb2903

I'd be in for 5#.