Printable View
Just posted a blog about my first experience roasting my own coffee with a 5 dollar second hand popcorn popper. I did it today so I won't be able to drink any till the morning but the process was really easy and i'm really excited. I'll follow up here with more roasts and a report on how it tastes.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6027/...199caf11a1.jpg
City on the left. City+ on the right.
I was about to post this thread. I'm going to do my first roast tomorrow. Going to use a stainless steel dog bowl and a heat gun. I've got two thrift store bread machines laying around to act as agitators, but have been too lazy to get the non-stick coating off the inside. I hear the bowl/gun works just fine.
I roasted for many years and tried a bunch of methods. The Behmor roaster was very good and produced consistent results. The real goal seems to be getting to first crack fast enough to avoid "baking" the beans and then controlling the roast to your desired level of roast. I was always in love with roasts between Full City and Vienna roast. HST your beans look great. Good luck!
Source for unroasted beans? I have a hard time finding un-ground coffee sometimes.
I got my beans at Uncommon Grounds in Burlington Vt. They roast on the premises and sell un-roasted beans for 2 bucks less per lbs than roasted. I know that makes me spoiled. If I didn't have a shop downtown to buy beans I'd order them from Sweet Maria's. there are various other sources for Green beans on the interwebs, but Sweet Maria's was the one that told me to do it with a popcorn popper, and they have good info and videos on their website.
In addition to that i'm drinking the stuff I roasted yesterday.....It's really f'n good. What I thought was a City roast, might have been, but it was not enough for this variety of bean. Flavor is not there, and there's still and unroasted almost like a grain taste to it. Like there's wheat or something in it. The City+ which was timed to 4:45 before dumping out of the machine is really good. I think I'll try to do 5:00 next time or 5:15. Things happen fast with an air powered roaster, much faster than with a drum roaster. All in all i'm thrilled with my 1st roasting experiment, and i'm excited at the additional variables that I have control of now. I want to roast different varieties to the same level, and take one variety to 3 or 4 different roast levels and taste all the differences.
HSTfixed, mind adding your blog link to your signature? What brand of popcorn popper?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
Good idea about the link in my signature, thanks.
The popcorn popper is a Rival which originally came from Walmart. It's Model PC-830.
Here's the view inside and I'll tell you why this is not the most desirable machine.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6154/...161d63f2fb.jpg
The video I watched on the sweet maria's website had a different machine. When you looked down into it, the bottom was solid, no perforated screen. Around the bottom edge of the wall there were vents where the hot air came in in a circular motion. This spun the beans and heats them more evenly. Mine does a great job at Blowing them right out of the top. I stirred almost constantly with a bamboo skewer and it kept the bean loss to a minimum while circulating the beans for an even roast. As long as it's an air powered popcorn popper it'll work, but one style is slightly preferable.
Still drinking my freshly roasted beans and damn are they good.
Got myself a second hand milk steamer two days ago, also 5 dollars. It's been a pretty good weekend for my coffee kit.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/...4948ebb690.jpg
sweetmarias.com is my go-to spot. The website is an encyclopedia and sells beans and equipment.
YO Grandmaster Flash TT, we (or I) are blocked from viewing HST's blogables...What gives my tall pal?Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
...Awesome to see you roasting, HST.
Mr. Kellogg recommends CCM coffee for green beans, but I've only tried their roasted ones. Spot on - excellent, even.
Try viewing now.Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesand
NOPE, no love. I'm going to occupy Wall Street if this keeps up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Too Tall
At the risk of pulling back the curtain of doom. Can other folks see HSTs blog?
jamesand, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
1.Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2.If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
3. Go forth and occupy Wall and Broad with just a man-kini, a riser stem and your wits.
( I did log out and log back in, FWIW).
Tools:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...0/SAM_0414.JPG
Result:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8...0/SAM_0415.JPG
Don't think I did a very good job. The first one is the really dark one and it took me 12 minutes to take it there. I had a lot of trouble hearing first or second crack. Next time I will be getting the beans to temperature a lot quicker. The second attempt produced lighter beans and took 14 minutes, since I was toying with heat gun positioning. Good thing I got these beans for free.
I'm placing an order at Sweet Maria's today. But yeah, you don't even need a popcorn popper. I think using one of the poppers with the bottom screen is really dangerous because you might get chaff into the holes and set the whole thing alight, no?
jiminy cripes crickett if this doesn't open another door for me to get lost...
i do like the "coffee tasting" beers, hmmm now i can make my coffee more coffee-er? yippee!
this year has been spectacular for my putting pleats in my toque. thanks?
What was it Don said about a man with enemies....Quote:
Originally Posted by jamesand
It was complicated, in otherwords I eff'd it up.
You are good to go.
T.K. started it, I've been thinking about dipping my toe into roasting.
The air is blowing up out of the bottom of the popper the whole time, so i'm not worried about chaff getting down in there. After completing 4 roasts I only saw 1 single speck of chaff that sparked/ignited. I am planning on buying a more appropriate model, but for 5 dollars I'm satisfied. It also took significantly less than 12 minutes to roast the beans with a popper, more like 5 or 6 minutes max. The faster the roast the cleaner the flavor (or so I've read). I did 2 roasts today one just past 1st crack, and the next one into second crack. I'll let you know how they turned out tomorrow.Quote:
Originally Posted by lukasz
I've read that 7 minutes to first crack is good, then 9 or so to second. Past that I am lost, for now.
Totally agree with the being lost beyond second crack. Things seem to happen real fast with the popper I have and the longest I went was into second crack, like a symphony of pop-rocks on yr tongue only louder. I panicked slightly and dumped them. There is a little oil development on the beans 24 hrs later, but nothing major. Could have gone longer. I"m impressed with the evenness of the roast you were able to get with the heat gun/dog bowl method. Let me know how it tastes.Quote:
Originally Posted by lukasz
I mean that I'm lost in general except for those two pieces of time information. The times differ based on method though. With the popper you are going to get to a given roast much quicker, from what I've read. What I am trying to get more info on is at what speed I should be getting to first crack (for this method I keep hearing 7 minutes), and if I should then try to drag things out a bit, which I can do by moving the heat gun further from the beans or switching it to the low setting. I've got 5# of espresso blend coming my way from Sweet Maria's so I will have plenty of beans to experiment with.
If anyone is curious about the heat gun/dog bowl thing:
Heat Gun Dog Bowl Coffee Roasting
Heatgun Home Coffee Roasting
I chose this method mostly because I got tired of looking for a good popcorn popper or bread machine to work with. It seems that while this method is more messy than others, it gives you a lot of control (and more chances to screw something up). Having said that, it is painfully easy if you've got any intuition at all. I'll report back with known good beans in a few days.
edit: this is what I read about using a popper designed like the one you have http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopdesign.php
I believe you mean: "The looser the waistband the deeper the quicksand (or so I have read)." - David St. HubbinsQuote:
Originally Posted by HSTFixed
Sorry, go back to teaching me how to roast coffee beans. Great thread.
My experience with air roasting was limited to using a small roaster called the iRoast2. It roasted fast and you could hear the first crack but 2nd crack was always a mystery (the roaster was also referred to as the iRoar). I was always dumping my beans at city roast or realizing that 2nd crack was well underway and ending up with italian roast.
After that it was all drum roasting. I had an Alpenroast that made good coffee but was prone to chaff fires and eventually the mechanism that turns the drum ate itself. I got a free warranty replacement and got rid of it. Next was a 3lb drum used with a chicken rotisserie motor on my gas grill (had a grill just for coffee to avoid weird flavor crossover). That produced excellent coffee from time to time and the results were often very good. It was inconsistent though and I stopped using it when my job changed and I was no longer responsible for keeping the office supplied with beans. I made my drum from 2 stainless steel office waste baskets but now you can buy them on ebay.
Finally I roasted every week for several years with a Behmor 1600. It was a nice unit and produced very consistent results. Darker roasts required cutting the batch size down to maybe 10-12oz (green). When baby 2 arrived I decided to reclaim the hour I spent roasting and gave the Behmor to a friend. It's a fun hobby and a great way to learn what you like and don't like.
I love it, but a little depressing....
That's exactly what I meant!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorman
Did another round of roasting today. First crack came at about 3 min 51 second and went through 4:30 or so and second crack started at 5 minutes and I dumped them at 5:08. The beans looked great and I can't tell you how fresh and delicious the first batch I made has been for the last two days. From 24 hours after roasting and then the next morning it really came into flavor. This morning it was still very good but not nearly as much bloom. I love this shit.
4.5 oz unroasted beans turns into 3.75 oz of roasted beans which went about 8 to 10 seconds into second crack.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6138/...b72fa45116.jpg
Cooling
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6213/...69d217393c.jpg
More for later!!!
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6103/...38e62a7680.jpg
Did another roast yesterday afternoon. Tried to keep track of times. First crack was 2:39 seconds in. Second crack started at 4:39 seconds and I dumped them at 5:06 when second crack was well underway. This is the farthest I've gone and it surprised me. Last roast ended at 5:08 and was much less into second crack than the most recent roast, which was roaring in second crack when I dumped them. More oil development to these beans and I finally learned after drinking almost all of them today that I need to do 2 batches of 4.5 oz. It's more fun to see the quality heighten/change after 24 hours of rest. I keep managing to drink it all within 24 hours of roasting. Here's two pics one with flash one without.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6173/...4c96bc7a39.jpg
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/...1075a9c43c.jpg
Hey, I have a question. I have a Krups burr grinder (which makes a mess and really pisses me off) at home and I have used this with a gold filter and #4 paper filter in my Cuisinart. I don't like it that well. If I use my cheap blade grinder and a #4 filter I am much happier. Clear vs. cloudy, etc. What am I doing wrong?
Is it possible your Krups burr grinder is set too fine, producing some powder? For regular coffee, my wife and I are quite content with our cheap blade grinder. The only time I got picky and used a burr grinder (Rocky) was when we were making espresso..
If you haven't done this already, you may want to consider shorting across the thermostat. Every hot air "roaster" I've had has needed that mod at some point in time. It seemed to be more of an issue during the summer when roasting outside in warmer temps. The thermostats would open a little below 400* and wouldn't let the coffee get up to 410 - 420 or so where it needed to be to get into second crack.Quote:
Originally Posted by HSTFixed
P.S. do this at your own risk, don't leave it unattended, don't do it if you're not competent with electrical devices, have a heart condition etc...
PPS - I air roasted for about five years. I bought a drum roaster last year and haven't looked back. If you can find them, the original Poppery air roaster is a good choice, especially if you add a chimney to the top of it.
Looks like you're doing very well. My super dark roast tasted like crap, but the point of it was to just take the beans to the end for experimentation. The lighter roast was actually pretty interesting. I could definitely taste the flavors that the beans carried. My espresso beans are coming in tomorrow. I'll probably roast some tomorrow night. Then they get wrung through this:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...0/SAM_0436.JPG
Which, by the way, I still suck at using.
I love this shit! Just finished roasting through my 3rd pound of green coffee. This last pound was a different variety from my first two and the experiments are turning out just as delicious as the first ones. These beans are Bali Kintamani which are similar in geographical origin to the Papua New Guinea beans that comprised my first two pounds. They were recommended based on tasting good over a wide roast range. I did two roasts back to back this morning and took some pictures of the different beans.
End of first crack on the left. beginning of second crack on the right.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6214/...b42ca97082.jpg
Switch Sides. Second Crack on the Left, First crack on Right.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6238/...3397635b7e.jpg
Just liked this pic of end of First crack beans. city or city+ I think.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6119/...f02072f537.jpg
The one thing I've noticed about the Bali beans is that they're incredibly foamy, and benefit from a pretty long rest period. They're OK the day after roasting but they're really good two or three days later. I barely can roast enough to last that long but I hope to get another popper soon.
Lukasz I gotta say i'm very jealous of your espresso machine!!! Nothing I want more right now than one of those.
I think that these will be drinkable:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y...0/SAM_0439.JPG
Rain cut short my roasting adventures today. I read a bit more about what I guess is called profiling. I've gathered that there are some general roasting steps: first you do a drying phase (lower heat), then you rapidly turn the heat up to first crack, at which point you turn it down a bit... and go from there depending on how far you're taking the beans. In my case I think this translates to about 3 minutes with the heat a bit further from the beans, then bringing it in close for minutes 4-8 or 9 when first crack should occur. These minute numbers are for a one cup roast only. Finally I can move it a bit further away (but maybe not quite as far as in the drying phase) and wait for second crack.
It is advised that I take the beans I just bought (SM Espresso Monkey) to the beginning of second crack, which I did today except that I did not quite have my cooling solution at hand so they may be a bit darker. I'm going to do one or two more roasts tomorrow. Can't wait to taste these--probably Friday.
If you think bike people can put off beginners, check out this Ken Fox guy in this thread (I think that I got to page 9): http://www.home-barista.com/home-roa...on-t11023.html
Over the holidays, I order twenty pounds to roast for gifts. From Deans Beans. Organic, fair trade, shade grown. If you've ever been to Guatemala, you'll know why these things matter. Roasted it all in a Whirl-e-pop from goodwill. Monitored the temp with a digital thermometer. My stove puts out big BTUs, so that helps. Pretty good. Very drinkable. My first batch was a bit burnt. After a few batches you really get a handle of this.
It's easy to get all voodoo about this stuff. And in Seattle, there are surely people that really nail it. But I was pleased with my results.
I've had good luck with my air popper. It roasts well, but you've got to watch it. The roasing time can vary by a couple of minutes. 7 is average for the second pop, but it can go from 6-9 depending.
It probably depends on the variety of beans, but some loose most of their flavor past the second pop. I recently had Rwandan it is very good up to the 2nd pop, and rapidly looses flavor from there.
Wade Barocsi
CycleDesignUSA.com
That is my conclusion as well. Over the past few attempts my coffee has been completely drinkable and I've got my "profiling" down for this blend of beans.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasha
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d...0/SAM_0446.JPG
Chronological from L to R, and a bit lighter each time.
Who here roasts their own beans?
I've been roasting for a couple of years now, first with an air-popper style roaster and then with a larger, drum-roaster. I roast bi-weekly for a dozen people, and for the department at the university I work at, so I get a lot of practice (about 15lb/week).
I'd be interested to know who else here roasts, what equipment do you use, and what bean-source do you prefer?
Whoops, just saw: http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...g-23589-2.html . Please delete.
I award you bonus points for using the VGoogleista search function in the upper left-hand corner of the page.Quote:
Originally Posted by Octave
How about I merge the threads and you tell us a little bit more about the unit that you're working with and your roasting methodology?
I use a Behmor 1600 for all of my current roasting, usually in 1lb batches. I find the Behmor has excellent control, and seems to be far less impacted by environmental factors. When using a hot-air roaster, I had to keep constant track of the air temperature and humidity if I wanted my roasts to come out consistently.
I get all of my beans from Sweet Marias, with the exception of some specialty beans that I get from a local roaster. In general, I and the people I roast for enjoy City+ to Full City roasts, which are easy enough to achieve with the Behmor. I actually find that, contrary to what is previously posted in this thread, I get richer, cleaner flavors from long roasts at lower temperatures than shorter roasts at higher temperatures.
I think the biggest factor that a lot of people neglect is the rest times. Most beans, especially those with complex flavors (read: anything african, anything honey-washed..etc.), require at least 24hr of rest before they should be bagged/jarred/consumed. In general, I've gotten good results from longer rests with darker roasts, especially espresso roasts, which I tend to let rest for 48hr before touching.
Lately, I've been digging Yemeni beans. The Yemeni Harasi beans in particular give a super-clean cup at a FC roast (mid-temp, 24.5min) with a 72hr rest.
i've been using a behmor also
i usually run about 14oz of beans on the 1lb setting, seem to get the most even roast that way
i keep alot of the big fruity ethiopian beans around and also a good south or central american bean
city+ to full city is what i like
Let's talk green beans again.
Where are you buying, what is your go to bean and give me an idea how these beans like to be roasted Aaaaaaand are you roasting for espresso or ????
I've been roasting using a Behmore and really enjoy the Ethiopian peaberry beans from Sweet Maria's. I'm down to the nubs, just a few lbs of beans left so I'm in the market.
Most of the coffee I roast is made in a classic italian moka pot.
Does anyone order from: https://www.coffeeshrub.com/green-coffee.html They sell in large lots. If there was interest we could split a bag.