Home coffee roasters and coffee affectionados- Post your roasting/grinding/brewing tips here

mmmm sounds awesome :) I bet the fresh roasted beans are AMAZING!

When I get it right.
Some roasts are far better than others.
Different beans react differently to different roasting methods.

Little beans, like Tanzanian Peaberries prefer to be very slowly roasted from a cold pan start.

Tip #1: The least adulterated (best) coffee is prepared with a French Press.

Oh for sure about the french press!

I need to make myself get up earlier to prepare it properly :) I always end up rushing and not getting it just right...

How do you get hold of green beans?
Never seen in sweden.
I love special roast.Just got some amazing beans from a hippiedude on a rave party this weekend. Im enjoying it right now mmm fantastic.
I was playing at the time so I had no time asking questions.
How do you roast your beans?

I buy the green beans online.
Usually from:
[link to www.ccmcoffee.com]
[link to www.sweetmarias.com]

My roaster is a "WhirleyPop" Popcorn popper, cut in half and mated to a 9-inch cast iron pan.

Depending on the type of bean, desired roast level,
and source of heat, roasting times vary from 12-25 minutes.

Tip #2: Don't use boiling water, you will scald the coffee.
I boil filtered or spring water, set it aside til it cools to 190F-200F.
Even 205F seems to be too hot and changes the flavour of the coffee.

Some years ago, I bought a Nesco Coffee roaster from sweetmaria's and had good success with it til the heating element slowly died on me. Although I don't roast anymore, I do agree that using a French press makes superior coffee when grinding your own whole roasted beans on the spot.

And, oh yes, the water you use can make or break the taste of coffee. I use a good quality gravity filter to filter all my water. No sense in using tap water when we are going to the extent of roasting, grinding and preparing coffee to bring out the best taste experience!

I got a $49 rotisserie oven from WalMart, made a few wiring changes, and a custom drum to fit on E-bay ($79). Works great!

You got it!

If the water is pristine & pure ANY coffee will style!

so whats your all time fave bean?

+prep method etc....


roasting, like, how long?

5 years ago I would have answered Costa Rican Terrazo, Colombian Supremo, and Guatemalan all taken just a bit past first crack-city roast.

Now, my favorite is usually the 2nd and beyond batch of new beans.
The 1st batch I roast to general guidelines, then tweak heat, duration, roast level, cooling period on subsequent roasts.

Lately I've been fond of East African AB grades.
I did a 'double-roast' of some fresh Ethiopian beans last month that turned out great.
From a cold iron I took the beans slowly to about 300F, then cooled the cast iron to 200F or so
and then brought them back up to 1st crack.
More smoke than usual this way and the overall roast time was about 25 minutes,
but the result was way more complex than a standard 14-17 minute roast.

I started home roasting around 13 years ago. I started by using a hot air popcorn popper. Actually a graduated to using 4 of them. Search on it, there is a lot of information and modifications. Also air poopers are cheap at the 2nd hand stores.

Use spring water , taste so much better!

Does it cost much to buy the beans and roast them yourself? The brand I used to buy is no longer made and for the past two years I have tried brand after brand and like only a couple of them. Unfortunately, they are too expensive to drink on a daily basis. I'm looking for something good but it 1to be $10 per pound - not $15-$60 - which is what the better ones I've tasted cost.

Depending on how many pounds I buy at one time,
my cost with shipping included is from US$5/pound to US$8/pound.
You would have to factor in your time and cost of heating the bean to get an accurate number.

Cold brewing...look into it.

Not to nitpick, but it should be aficionados.

Been roasting for about 3-4 years now. I had thought about doing it for 10 years... wish I had started way back then!

The quality and the spectrum of flavors is so much more alive.

I use an electric heat gun in a large, stainless steel salad bowl which gets nested in a ceramic bowl for keeping the heat off the kitchen table. 1/2 pound per roast. Takes a bit of practice to find the optimum distance to hold the heat gun to keep from singeing the beans. I use a wooden spoon to keep them moving. Takes about 15 minutes. Just a little before the first crack, I use a cardboard cover, that only partially covers the salad bowl, so that I can bring the heat up gradually and steadily. This really helps the beans go into first crack all together at once. After first crack is done, I get ready to stop the roast... I find that the widest range of the floral and fruit flavors as well as the chocolate tones are found right around this point.

For cooling, I use an old household HVAC "squirrel cage" heater blower that puts out 700 cfm of air in low speed. We built a screened box on the pressure side of the blower. The coffee dances around in the box and cools in about 30 seconds.

As for tips, I think it is important to keep the beans on a steady temperature ascent... not to fast, just steadily going upward. Never let the temp fall back! Try to get the beans to hit first crack all together. Also, pay close attention to every detail. Great coffee is achieved by someone watching and learning constantly. Great for detail-minded people!

For brewing, I really like the Clever Coffee Brewer. I have tried every gizmo for brewing and this blew them all away. It is a cross between a French press and a traditional funnel brewer.

[link to www.sweetmarias.com]

Enjoy!

jamacian blue mountain, with spring filtered water and a dash of sea salt. (takes away some of the bitterness) cant be beat.