Coffee Roasting

[DeejayDebi]

I am not really into expresso yet. We make it at work but something is not right about it. Tastes ... powdery or something. Tried amlost burning some beans and it was better but still something missing.

I read somewhere about this pour over thingy called the "Clever Coffee Dripper."  verypne was talking about this wonderful coffee so I ordered it from Sweet Maria's. Makes a very smooth tasting coffee not bitter at all but am thinking maybe I need a finer grind than I normally use it was kind of weak even though I used 1.5 scoops (I use 4 for a full pot). I even tried some crapy MaxwellHouse from work and it was pretty smooth but weak.

I have been using the same grinder for about 20 years and decided I needed a new one so I ordered a burr grinder from Burmans.

[anutcanfly]

Pour over is challenging!  How does clever coffee work? 

Love my new grinder!  I finally got a long pull (30 seconds).  I tamped on top of my kitchen scale so I could see when I got to 30 pounds.  I used 14 grams coffee ground at 9/E and  tamped with 30 pounds.  The flavor is still not where I want yet.  So I order a non-pressurized portafilter.  When that arrives I should quickly have all my ducks in a row (well maybe not temp, but I can do anything about that variable)... Knock on wood!

Hope you love your new grinder! 

[DeejayDebi]

the "Clever Coffee Dripper"  has a little suspended bottom that  when ditting on the counter stays shut and let's the coffee steep and when it sits on your cuo it pushes up letting the coffee run out. It also has a lid to hold the steam in. It uses a fitler to hold the grounds and I guess the objest it to find the right amount of water and time to get the mix you want. Here is a demo.

Clever Coffee Dripper Demo - weeklyroast.com

[anutcanfly]

Awesome!  That would be great for camping and such.  My Espresso machine delivers water that's really to cool to extract properly so acidity may continue to be and issue and I will likely not be able to use any bright coffees in an espresso blend, so the Clever Coffee Dripper would be a great place to use my brighter beans.  I found instructions on how to modify my espresso maker so it will heat the water hotter, but just looking at the instructions makes my brain hurt!  Hopefully I can find someone that understands that stuff to help me with it.  I did run into a very useful tip though.  If I let the first second or two of stream run before I put my cup in, and I pull it before it gets blonde, I will then have the middle portion which contains most of the caramels and little acidity or bitterness.

[DeejayDebi]

Hmmm a cool brewer? I always heard it has to be hot close to boiling to get a good extraction.

Watching that video again I wonder if stirring makes a difference? I just dumped the waer in and waited for a bit. The new grinder came in tonight now I just have to roast more beans! I think I have half a bag left.

[anutcanfly]

Just half a bag?  I thought you were sitting on a huge stockpile of beans!  I always find my grinding finer than recommended. So I would start at med-fine.  Stirring just breaks up clumps.

[DeejayDebi]

Oh the half bag is of the roasted beans, I still have easily over 100 pounds of beans in stock! Got some of those tin cans with the pressure valve thingy to try with the new grinder. I pulverized the snot outtamy Columbia tonight! Thought I'd dump the rest of the roasted beans in there and dial it up to very fine. Didn't go as fine as I could have but it's almost powder! Better look at the instructions!



Roasted some Maui Red/Yellow Kaanpali today. Took it past the second crack into oilly and light smoke.



Also roasted some El Salvador Honey Cerro Las Ranas today. The suggested roast is before the second crack.



I will try a pot tomorrow after it has a chance to expel the excess CO2.

Last but not least I did some Costa Rican Tarrazu "San Marcos" The suggested roast is just past the second crack.


This is a nice cup!

[anutcanfly]

They look simply ravishing! 

I'm starting to get the hang of the dose/grind/timing thing.  I letting first 2 seconds  pour into the drain and then trying to stop before the stream turns pale.  There was a noticeable improvement. 

[DeejayDebi]

If it were that easy we would have barista schools!

[Caseus]

Those do look lovely.  I would definitely try that El Salvador "Honey" Cerro Las Ranas for espresso.  The darker roasts look like what I want in my morning drip pot.

[DeejayDebi]

I am trying the Honey Las Ranas now in the drip pot - very good. Sweet, caramely, a hint of maltiness ay the end. I would call this an all day sipper. Very pleasent. Might make a great latte' as well. I could see this as a dessert coffee. Just ordered another 10 pounds while they have it. That'll give me 20 pounds to last the year.

[anutcanfly]

I sent an email to Mr Coffee to let them know that their machine was only heating to 150 degrees.  They are sending me a new one with no hassel.  Cool, I hope this one heats properly.

[DeejayDebi]

Nice to see there is still a few companies that care about their customers.

[anutcanfly]

I devised a few blends with low acidity so even with poor extraction due to low water temperatures they would not be harsh or acidic.  Then my espresso machine broke down, so I've been using it mixed with another pour over blend I roasted.  Both blends are very smooth and mixed together they make a really pleasant cup of coffee no matter how strong you make it!  These blends are keepers! 

Low Acid Blends #6a

1 ounce Monsooned Malabar
2 ounce Brazil Cerrado Fazenda NNO
3 ounce Indonesian Org. RFA Flores Bajawa
2 ounce Malawi Manpanga AA
Espresso to French

* roasted for 16 minutes, until probe temp was 370 degrees, for a nice Vienna.  Very smooth and pleasant flavor.  Almost too smooth for a pour over.  Should make for a nice Espresso.

Pour over blend #1

4 ounces Indonesian Org. RFA Flores Bajawa
4 ounces Tanzanian Kigoma Kanyovu coop Peaberry

Roasted 16 minutes, until probe temp was 375.  This should have been Espresso, but I peeked to many times and it ended up being close to French.  In the future when trying to use temp as a guide—no peeking as it let's out the heat in the pot that the probe is measuring.  This is very smooth, almost too smooth for a pour over.  This would be a good espresso.  I only got to try it once before the machine broke, soo  ?

I've been watching the chamber temperature and as long as I don't peek much I can use the probe temp predict the style roast.  The range for the roasts I like ranges from 370 to 380 degrees chamber/probe temp.

[knipknup]

Great post.  I have been roasting a bit too.  Here's what I've learned so far...

The Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper: this thing works great.  I use one on the side-burner attached to my grill.  I didn't think to add a thermometer as the one pictured on page 2 of this thread, but have one and will use it next time.  I have learned that the more I open the lid, the longer the roast takes.  I love the smell and like to see how the color of the beans change, but have to break this habit.  An important note: If you don't roast often, clean your popper.  The coffee oils will mold as I found out the hard way.

Cooling the beans: I use an adjustable strainer - the metal kind with leaves that fold up and down to adjust the size. After I pour the beans back and forth between two pans and let the wind blow away the chaff, I pour onto the strainer and place it on my air conditioning duct in the summer or on the deck railing in the winter.  The airflow has the beans cooled within about 2 minutes.

Have you seen any adverse effect with spraying the beans with water?