Coffee Roasting

Discussion in 'DIY (Do It Yourself)' started by anomad, Jul 24, 2021.

  1. anomad

    anomad Member

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    There are many places that totally geek out on coffee. But i thought it would be fun to start a coffee roasting thread here. It may seem obvious, but buying roasted, ground, and vacuum sealed coffee is a relatively new thing. Back in the day it wasn't an option. I'll take a cup of Folgers if that's all there is at hand, but I can do way better at home.

    I enjoy having a proper cup of coffee and getting out the sharpmaker to make all Mama's kitchen knives perfect. Very relaxing and rewarding on many levels.

    I started roasting my own coffee beans about 10 years ago. You can do it in a pan, or a cookie sheet, or a popcorn maker. All you need is a container and a heat source. Over the years I ended up with a Behmor drum roaster. Basically a 400 dollar toaster oven with a bunch of electronic crap. It makes great coffee.

    Green coffee online is about 5-6 bucks a pound. And we consume, on average, a pound a week. Been doing it for a while now and want to share with other knife guys. I'll post up some pictures here when I do another batch. Can't post up flavor and smell though. Is there a button for that??
     
  2. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    This interests me greatly……well….because…..COFFEE !
     
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  3. Delkancott

    Delkancott Member

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    This is great. Please share!
     
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  4. anomad

    anomad Member

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    OK, let's roast some coffee beans. If you've ever made popcorn or toasted sesame seeds this will be a no brainer.

    You are going to need some green coffee beans. Go online and knock yourself out. I order from these guys almost exclusively. Coffee from the supermarket all gets mixed together and roasted to hell. So it just tastes like Folgers or whatever. A bag of beans from a specific farm in one growing season will have a unique flavor. Sometimes absolutely brilliant, other times? Just a decent cup.
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    My roaster can handle a pound at a time. Conveniently, that is almost exactly what Mama and I consume in a week.
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    400 dollar toaster oven with drum and coffee ready to go.
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    You load the drum. It rotates around (2 speeds for different flavor characteristics). This fits inside the toaster oven thing and makes a hot smoky mess. I do it outside. Coffee beans give off chafe when they roast, layers of skin. They are impossible to contain. Just plan on cleaning up if you do it inside.
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    The drum fits inside my machine and rotates around with some infrared lamps heating everything up. A pound takes about 15-20 minutes depending on temperature, humidity, elevation and what beans you have. The beans pop or crack, similar to popcorn. If you keep roasting after first crack they will do a second crack. First crack gives you the most flavor, second crack gives you French Roast and tastes like charcoal to me now. Beyond second crack you start a fire (seriously) and things get very exciting. Nothing wrong with a dark roast, I just don't like it, and it doesn't matter what beans you use. It will all taste like charcoal. I do like ridiculously hoppy beer, like a double IPA, some find than an insult to beer flavor.
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    After everything is all loaded up and roasting you just hang out with your pet Copperhead. I relocated it's mate already. Just haven't caught this one. I need to do that and seal the crack to their nest with concrete. They can have a happy snake reunion down in the swamp on the lower end of the property.
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    After you stop the roast, which I do just before the end of first crack, there is a cooling cycle. Because of the residual heat there is some "coasting", that is, it continues cooking. This machine's cooling cycle sucks. So I speed things up with a fan and blow chafe all over the shed.
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    Once everything has cooled down it is time to put the beans down for a good rest. You can brew them right away, but you won't get the best flavor expression for a week or so. A pound, depending on the bean and roast, fits nicely in a wide mouth mason jar. That's how I do it, but we could talk for hours about off gassing and a million other things. I'm happy sealing it up in a jar and waiting for my last batch to run out. Could be the next morning or two weeks away.
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    Hopefully you enjoyed this. And I am happy to answer any questions from my limited coffee roasting experience. It is one of the the most satisfying hobbies I have picked up over the years. I have brought several folks into the coffee roasting fold over the years. Gave away my first two (more affordable) roasters to friends to get them started. Just as my friend got me into it.

    Next maybe I can talk about coffee brewing?
     
  5. Drew RedBear

    Drew RedBear Member

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    It sounds really interesting but I haven't the time, money or the space to do anything like this. (answering from the other thread). Looks pretty rewarding as well too.
     
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  6. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    I'm interested in learning more about coffee canning (beans / ground )
     
  7. anomad

    anomad Member

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    Are you thinking long term storage?

    In my photo there I am putting the roasted beans in a jar. They will sit in there for only a few days or maybe a week. Then be ground and brewed. I'm having a cup from Honduras I roasted on Friday right now. Delicious.
     

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