Posts filed under 'Roasting'
If you’ve been interested in roasting your own coffee but are hesitant to invest in the equipment, you might want to try roasting coffee in a pan over your stovetop. There’s a pretty good set of instructions, with pictures, at this link. I really need to emphasize though that this method will produce a lot of smoke, more than other roasting methods I’ve tried. Don’t just have the stovetop fan on; be prepared to open windows and doors as required! You can buy the green beans for roasting over at Sweet Maria’s. (via MAKE)
December 6th, 2006
I’ve roasted a few quarter pound batches of Costa Rica Dota Tarrazu Hermosa from Sweet Marias, and am really impressed so far. I’m roasting it well into the second crack, until the oils are starting to appear on many of the beans. The result is making great espresso. Not my all-time favorite, but I’d rate it as four out of five stars. I’m using my iRoast2, with the following temperature profile (keep in mind that the temperatures you set the iRoast to are actually quite a bit different than the actual air temperature the beans are being subjected to:
470° for 6 minutes
435° for 3 minutes
450° for 4-6 minutes (I find it depends on the ambient air temperature)
Sweet Marias describes this bean as ‘mild to medium intensity/winey fruited notes, berry, tea.’ All I can say is, it’s darn good and I need to learn how to better describe coffee flavors!
Read more …
December 3rd, 2006
The New York Times is the latest media outlet to cover coffee roasting; I wonder if this is the next trend in coffee? First canned coffee, then Starbucks, now this? Time will tell. Anyway, it’s your typical beginner’s guide to coffee roasting, but for those types, it’s worth reading. They sure described me well, though:
America’s most finicky coffee drinkers tout their caffeine connoisseurship in many, often contradictory, ways. They spend a bundle at Starbucks, or refuse to patronize big chains. They only drink espresso, or decline any cup of joe they didn’t brew themselves.
I rarely visit coffee shops for the coffee anymore; if I go, it’s for the atmosphere and a chance to get away from the screaming baby for a short, quiet break sipping a cappucino. I am rarely given coffee, anywhere, that is better than what I make at home every day.
You can find the article here.
November 21st, 2006
“It would be premature to call home roasting a trend”, the article says. How very true. It’s surprising, when I talk to people about my coffee roasting, how many view it as some complicated or expensive hobby. The truth is far from it…it’s incredibly easy, and it can actually SAVE you money - though factoring in the cost of the roaster probably makes it more of a wash. Anyway, over at SFGate is a neat article about coffee roasting, it’s a good read though quite long so go top off your cup of coffee before delving into it!
November 18th, 2006
Yes, it really IS possible to roast coffee beans using a hot air popcorn popper! Though of course the machine will be useless for anything but coffee afterwards due to the oils the coffee will deposit, but…ah, the aroma!!! Coffee roasting is truly something everyone should experience, and if you have an old air popper sitting around, why not give it a try? There’s a pretty good writeup over at BaconPress, and you can find the green (ie, unroasted) coffee beans online at Sweet Maria’s. Sweet Maria’s also has instructions for roasting coffee with a popcorn popper, which you can find here or copied in the extended version of this post.
Read more …
November 17th, 2006
A company in Arizona is selling acid-free coffee. That’s the plus side. The big negative is that it comes pre-ground (boo!), in those pre-measured packets designed for brewing a single pot of coffee. The sort of packets you’d find in an office lunchroom. I’m not really sure how they’re making it acid-free, other than that they say the roasting process is incredibly precise, tolerant of an error of no more than a few seconds. My guess is they’re sampling the exhaust coming out of the roast and when levels of something are detected, they stop the process. I do something similar when I roast coffee, though quite low-tech. I sniff the exhaust fumes, waiting for a hint of smoke to appear. I usually then let it go another 20-30 seconds and stop the roast. You can read more about Tyler’s Coffee here.
October 28th, 2006
I grew up in Oregon, and know firsthand that that state has its share of crazy ideas. The latest is a solar powered coffee roaster. Oregon may have a reputation for being cloudy and wet, but the reality is that east of the Cascades is an entirely different climate, and that’s why Michael and David Hartkop set up their roaster in sunny Bend. I admire the creativity, but view this method with great skepticism. I take a scientific approach to my coffee roasting, precisely controlling the temperature profile and times using my iRoast 2 roaster. The solar method seems so less precise, and yet…I admit I haven’t actually TRIED any of their coffee. Who knows, maybe they’re able to produce comparable results? You can read about it in the Bend Bulletin.
February 13th, 2006
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