I want some info on coffee roasting

[Bopper]

green beans keep a long, long time. 12 months easily as long as you keep them at room temp, and dry. humidity and such are bad...they promote mold and screw with the moisture levels of the beans.

a lot of people just use a pillowcase and a drawstring for big bags of beans...or a smaller bag if you only buy 5 pounds or so. burlap, cotton...something that is breathable.

Sweetmarias is the bomb. I have a Fresh Roast 8+ and a Behmor 1600.

Awesome. Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to put an order together.

How do most of you make your coffee? French press, drip, ect.? I really want buy a french press, however, everything I read suggests that you really need a burr grinder (as opposed to a blade grinder) in order to get a uniform corse grind and I really don't want to drip $150 on one right now.

 

[zoebisch01]

I second Home Coffee Roasting Supplies -Sweet Maria's for the beans. A friend was into it for a while. It's on my "to do" list. If you are really into coffee there really is no other option unless you have a really good local roaster. That's one of the things I miss about Raleigh was "Cup-A-Joes". They did it right. Dunno if they are still there...

 

[Kevin Dean]

I realized I wasn't a fan of homeroasting. But having purchased from Sweet Marias a few times, they have my nod. Great product selection, fast shipping.

They aren't the best on price but to have your entire order in the same box the difference isn't important.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Put my order in with Sweet Maria's. My homeroasting friend actually lives in Oakland now lucky b'd goes right to the store. Now I just need to find a suitable hot air popcorn popper before the UPS guy brings the joy to my door.

A blade grinder works well with practice. The key is to learn to pulse just right so you don't over or under crush. I like my burr grinder but I could live without it.

OTOH I haven't found a substitute for my manual drip coffee maker. An electric kettle with a timer, and a 3-4 minute pour works so much better than any automatic pot I have ever tried...

If I get impatient this weekend (who, me??? ) I may head down to the flagship Whole Foods in downtown Austin. They sell all of their coffee varities in green form there since they roast right in the store.

 

[Anbrew]

Damnit guys...you are making me want to spend more money that I don't have right now! That's all I need is a new hobby/money pit/addiction.

 

[Saccharomyces]

That's what I was thinking when I pulled up this thread. 5 minutes later I was placing an order in another browser tab.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Heavy duty heat gun $60
8# sampler with shipping $40
Stainless dog bowl from pet store $3
Cookie sheet and silicone spatula I had on hand $0

Drinking your home roasted coffee... priceless.

 

[mmb]

How long does everyone store the roasted beans before you use them? I like a good half dozen cups of dark roast when brewing but usually don't make coffee during the week.

I use a Faberware 12c perk coffee pot. Good, bad, or OH THE HUMANITY?

 

[Saccharomyces]

I use a Faberware 12c perk coffee pot. Good, bad, or OH THE HUMANITY?

Hope your crush is very coarse.

For a Full City or Vienna roast, I don't think you can beat a French Press. For City roast I like to use a manual drip.

 

[mmb]

Hope your crush is very coarse.

I use paper filters.

Isn't that the trifecta of bad coffee juju?

 

[flyangler18]

Isn't that the trifecta of bad coffee juju?

Add non-dairy creamer and the pink **** and we have a winner. :cross:

 

[flowerysong]

Not really looking for another hobby right now, but after browsing around I couldn't resist ordering a vacuum brewer.

 

[flyangler18]

8 lb sampler ordered about 5 minutes ago; once it arrives, I'll be heading over to Harbor Freight to pick up a heat gun.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

A question for all you roasters.

I have a roaster, a french roast plus. It was a gift and I have not used it much but I plan too now that I know where I can get green coffee.

One of my wife's uncles sends us 10 lb. of coffee every now and then from coffeeam.com and it is crap. First time he did it it was pretty decent but the last few years it has sucked. It is allegedly brewed fresh for the order but I do not think so. He always gets Tanzania peaberry because we had said we liked that the best out of the original coffees he had sent us.

My question is this. Can I "re-roast" the beans to freshen them up or get a darker roast or just make it somewhat more drinkable? Or is it a lost cause and we just need to choke it down or dump it?

 

[Saccharomyces]

8 lb sampler ordered about 5 minutes ago; once it arrives, I'll be heading over to Harbor Freight to pick up a heat gun.

And another one bites the dust. :rockin:

 

[flyangler18]

And another one bites the dust. :rockin:

I hold you fully responsible, Eric.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I hold you fully responsible, Eric.

Won't be the first time, nor the last. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[malkore]

A question for all you roasters.

I have a roaster, a french roast plus. It was a gift and I have not used it much but I plan too now that I know where I can get green coffee.

One of my wife's uncles sends us 10 lb. of coffee every now and then from coffeeam.com and it is crap. First time he did it it was pretty decent but the last few years it has sucked. It is allegedly brewed fresh for the order but I do not think so. He always gets Tanzania peaberry because we had said we liked that the best out of the original coffees he had sent us.

My question is this. Can I "re-roast" the beans to freshen them up or get a darker roast or just make it somewhat more drinkable? Or is it a lost cause and we just need to choke it down or dump it?

Only if you can roast the 2nd time within a few hours of the original roast. So in your case...no.

yoou have a Fresh Roast Plus 8 roaster btw, not a 'french roast'. I have one too, but i mostly use a Behmor 1600 drum roaster.

the FR8 is a little aggressive on the roast, and only does 3 ounces at once...a 14 cup pot basically.
its a good roaster and gives a brighter cup. i use mine for espresso roasting.

 

[flyangler18]

WOOT- just got an email saying my Sweet Maria's order shipped. Should be here just after the New Year.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I found a local coffee roaster that will sell green beans from Nicaragua... good stuff. It will be interesting to do tastings side by side of my roast and theirs.

 

[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.