I want some info on coffee roasting

[UnaBonger]

must... resist... the... urge...

 

[Brewer_Steve]

I got into home roasting for very cheap and with excellent results.
Anytime we go out for coffee now, we're disappointed as it just doesn't measure up to what we can create at home.

There's a little ethnic market not too far from my house and they sell Ethiopian green beans for less than $4 per pound. You can often see them butchering goats in the back while buying the beans.

I use a popcorn machine to roast. Bought it for $20.
I found a great grinder on sale for $10.

It takes 6-7 minutes to roast 2 days worth of coffee. I usually only roast a week's worth at a time, since I don't want it to go stale.

If you've ever had fresh bread right out of the oven, you've surely tasted how much fresher and more delicious it is compared with ordinary bread bought at the grocery store. I find the same noticeable difference between fresh roasted coffee and the stale stuff that most people buy.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Exactly. Even with shipping the coffee from Sweet Maria's is $5 a pound. I used to pay twice that for "good" coffee which was already stale. Now that I only buy fresh roasted coffee or roast my own, I notice the coffee going south after about a week. Within two weeks, half the flavor is gone!

Even if you don't roast your own, look around and find a local roaster, and buy fresh from them once a week. You'll be glad you did.

 

[flyangler18]

Just roasted my first batch, pressing an old air popcorn popper into service as a roaster. The airflow was a bit strong-a quick Google search yielded a DIY chimney using a tin can with both ends cut out set into the stock hopper. Worked well- the chaff blew easily while the beans stayed in the hopper rather than flying out.

 

[UnaBonger]

Just roasted my first batch, pressing an old air popcorn popper into service as a roaster. The airflow was a bit strong-a quick Google search yielded a DIY chimney using a tin can with both ends cut out set into the stock hopper. Worked well- the chaff blew easily while the beans stayed in the hopper rather than flying out.

How was the quality of the brew?

 

[flyangler18]

How was the quality of the brew?

The beans smell heavenly in their container (I'm letting them sit for a day or two as is recommended to allow for CO2 off-gassing), so I can't say with any authority how they taste right now. Definitely roast outdoors! The beans will smoke copiously after the first crack- and it is acrid smoke at that. I just ran an extension cord from my kitchen so I could roast on the back patio.

I'll admit I was a bit paranoid- not wanting to incinerate my beans into a charcoally mess, so I would shut off the popper periodically, stir, and restart so the timing was a bit off. I'll try another batch tomorrow and see if I can listen more closely to the cracks and time my roast appropriately.

 

[flyangler18]

Just a short observation: definitely follow the recommendations listed for various origin beans regarding the roast. It's really interesting to sample the same origin bean at two or three different roast levels and experience the differences in body, acidity, flavor and aroma. I enjoy some roast character in my coffee but I also want to learn the various origin characters as well.

Roasted some Sumatra Mandheling this morning to a FC+; I really dig the 'funkiness' of Indonesian coffee! :rockin:

 

[flyangler18]

Can't.....stop.....roasting.....coffee.

I'm light years away from formal cupping and really understanding the nuances of origin character; but, roasting my own has given me a bigger appreciation into the varietals of coffee and how different roast levels complement those unique characteristics.

I've always enjoyed the ritual of brewing with a press pot, this just adds another level of enjoyment. :rockin:

 

[Zymurgrafi]

I just found a whirlipop at the thrift store for $2 in good condition. I will probably use my fresh roast for a while before trying it. Sounds like there is a learning curve, but you can roast larger amounts.

I found some great info on roasting coffee here.

I did not see that link posted in here so I thought I would share for others interested in getting into it.

 

[flyangler18]

I just found a whirlipop at the thrift store for $2 in good condition. I will probably use my fresh roast for a while before trying it. Sounds like there is a learning curve, but you can roast larger amounts.

I found some great info on roasting coffee here.

I did not see that link posted in here so I thought I would share for others interested in getting into it.

Did you see the info page on the Whirlypop on Sweet Maria's? Tom wrote up some good stuff. There's a learning curve with the air poppers, too- but it's actually not too difficult and you really pay more attention to what your senses are telling you!

One tip I picked up while doing some research is use a timer and take notes as when the cracks happen so you can build profiles around different types of beans. It really helps you develop a good baseline.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I finally broke down and bought a Behmor 1600 this week. The heat gun method works, but I was getting inconsistent roasts when doing >3 oz at a time, which meant spending an hour sweating in the heat every week. It will take awhile to dial in the roast with the machine but the first roast out of it was still very good if a little on the light side.