Author Topic: Coffee Roasting  (Read 27599 times)

anutcanfly

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Coffee Roasting
« on: February 26, 2012, 02:20:42 AM »
I just roasted my first beans today, but alas the temperature got away from me and I got something between Italian and Spanish roast.  I'll brew over the next few days before I toss it as I can actual smell some nice aromas building up in their container.  Tomorrow's roast will go much better.  I started this thread so it wouldn't be lost as easy.  I'd love to hear from and share experiences with all my fellow DIY's!  :)

Tomer1

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2012, 03:30:10 PM »
How do you toast them?

I know the ethiopian jews roast green beans stright on a pan. grind and make turkish style coffee  (boiling the finly ground coffee in water and decanting)

anutcanfly

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2012, 05:05:12 PM »
I'm using a stove top popcorn popper.  It works great, but you feel like you need 3 hands to operate it!  I'll post a picture of the set up I'm using in a day or two.  I don't get much time on the computer during the weekends.  I tried the my first batch again and it has a nice aroma and works fine for a latte.  It's flat, but that's to be expected.  There is an acrid/acidy/rancid quality to most pre-roasted coffees I've been sampling this last month and no amount of milk will hide that horrible flavor!  I can live with flat by comparison.  Hopefully today I'll get it right!

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2012, 06:02:41 PM »
Hard to tell by the picture but that looks like you've gone to expresso roast. Many people say you should let it sit over night or 24 hours or more to expel the CO2 in the beans from roasting. I tend to agree on the darker roasts but the lighter roasts only need a few hours. The most important thing is to cool the beans quickly after roasting to stop them from cookng and more. The beans can get up to 800 degrees so you can well imagine they'd continue cooking for a very long time.

What kind of beans did you roast?

anutcanfly

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2012, 06:37:24 PM »
Cooling was the one part I did do well.  I sprayed a few squirts  of water on them while shaking and tossing them in a metal colander, then transferred them to a large steel baking sheet I had waiting on ice, then back to the colander and  back to the pan.  They cooled down really fast! 

Today when I adjust the heat to keep it from going below 300 degrees  I will remember to turn it all the way back down, immediately, when I see the temp rising again.  I marked my setting where I had stabilized at 500 with easy to see white lines.  Above all else I will remember that I can always move the pan off the heat if things seem to be going too fast, like they did yesterday.  I can move the pan off the heat to check the beans without scorching them in the process (it takes two hands just to keep the beans in motion).

I roasted Burman's BCT Espresso Blend.  Later, when I get the hang of it, I start roasting and blending myself.

I am quite excited by all this!   ;D



Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2012, 06:44:41 PM »
I haven't done any blending yet just trying different coffees. So many beans so little space! LOL

I have only been roasting since 2009 but I have tried a good number of beans. Gary Burman seems to like  the same styles I do. If he has a new bean he really likes I buy 5 pounds of it. Just got another 25 pounds in Friday. Now where to put it? I need to contruct a bean rack of some sort. I have piles of boxes full of beans stacked in the bedroom.  ;D

anutcanfly

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2012, 07:06:40 PM »
LOL  ;D  I totally understand.  I have yet to have a pantry big enough to hold all the things I buy in bulk.  So I have boxes all over with vacuum sealed wheat (I buy this in 50 pound sacks), buckwheat, dried fruit, teff, rice... it just gets worse from there!

I'm hoping my tastes agree with his too!  If I don't ruin todays roast I will have a good idea as it's his blend, so I assume it will be to his liking.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2012, 07:13:52 PM »
Yes it is. I spoke with him on the phone for quite some time a few years back and he and I share the same likes  and dislikes. He was surpised on my first order I bought all his favorite cofffees.

Crystal

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2012, 08:18:07 PM »
Hmm, this is a bad idea... I love coffee and drink it all day long... I was a barista for a while so can make coffee and damn if after reading this i dont want to roast my own beans!! This could be very dangerous!!

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2012, 08:24:44 PM »
Well I figure it this way. I don't know about where you live but here coffee has been going up about 50 cents a week and I think they are using fillers to keep the cost down because the coffees are getting horrible and have the added affect of burning my tummy! I have not had that problem with my own beans. I drink coffee from the time I get up til the time I go to bed and I deserve a good cup of coffee! It is one thing I would not be able to live without or people would not want to be around if I had too.

Tomer1

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2012, 11:24:39 PM »
Hmm, this is a bad idea... I love coffee and drink it all day long... I was a barista for a while so can make coffee and damn if after reading this i dont want to roast my own beans!! This could be very dangerous!!

I know what you mean, I cant afford another addiction\hobby.

anutcanfly

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2012, 12:07:11 AM »
This hobby pays for itself quite quickly!  I am happy to say that after tossing and turning half the night as I mulled over what needed to happen today... Success! I was careful to keep it slower--9 minutes roasting time, and this roast went much better.  I believe that this roast is what's called espresso these days.  Darker then Vienna, but not quite as dark as French Roast.  It tastes okay now, so I hope that means it will be delicious in a day or two.  DeeJayDebi, what is the difference between beans that have had a degassing period and fresh just out of the pot?  Is it more harsh, or flavors not developed yet?  I remembered to take more photos and I've already had a truffle and latte to celibrate!  8)

Tomer1

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2012, 01:04:40 AM »
Gas is only a problem with commerical packaging as the gasses may rupture the vacuumed or heat sealed and nitrogen sparged bag.

Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #13 on: February 27, 2012, 02:55:38 AM »
When they are first roasted they have been expeling gases from the oils, sugars and mositure held inside the bean. Sometime you'll get a oily burnt taste. If you wait these gases are released (degaused) and you don't get that off flavor in your brewed coffee. Roasted bean are often held for 24 to 36 hours before brewing. The darker you roast the more gases are produced. You may aso see that at some point after the second crack the beans look oily or wet. That is not bad for all beans but can leave a weird flavor if not degaused at least over night.

Judging by the pictures (and I am viewing on a laptop) I'd say the one on the left probably just a tad under roasted to just right and the one on the right is just a tad over roasted to a just right... After trying both roasts you should have a pretty good idea of which you prefer.   It can be tricky to get them all to the same level with a poper but you have succeeded wonderfully as usual! Good job!


Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Coffee Roasting
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2012, 03:01:13 AM »
Hmm, this is a bad idea... I love coffee and drink it all day long... I was a barista for a while so can make coffee and damn if after reading this i dont want to roast my own beans!! This could be very dangerous!!

I know what you mean, I cant afford another addiction\hobby.

If you drink coffee you are probably already addicted to this hobby. You just don't roast your own beans. You are going to drink coffee anyway you may as well enjoy it to it's fullest.  BTW it only takes about 6 to 9 minutes to roast coffee beans! and you may already have the euqipment in your home. Some people just use a cast iron skillet, some use a hot air popcorn popper, some as Anut does use a whirleybird popcorn popper, Some use commercially made coffee roasters or home made roasters. It's all up to you. The important thing is to get good rich flavorful coffee and not fillers and crap.