Does anyone here roast coffee at home?
4On the stove top, in the oven, in a hot air popper, or using one of those machines sold expressly for the purpose, does anyone else here roast coffee at home?
I think I’ve almost got the hang of doing a light roast on the stove. Turns out, you want first crack to happen before everything is black and charred.
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Literally no one.
Heat gun in a metal bowl. In the back yard.
It’s better than the stove… Smoke stays outside, and the heat gun blows away the chaff instead of it burning to your pot or floating around in the kitchen.
I think @Cerridwyn might do the coffee roasting thing (blame the goat @Trillian if not).
I did some green beans chuckwagon style in a covered fry pan a couple of times to see how they would come out. I think the twisty popcorn thing would have worked better. But I made coffee with the beans and got a greater appreciation for the constitution of our forebearers.
Sorry guys, I don’t. Never felt it worth my time. I know a few people who dabble in it and have met several who do it a lot.
I just can’t compete with my favorite local guy in sourcing means and getting it right before I buy it.
And most of those I know that are hard core into self roasting are big time espresso hounds, not consumers of fine single origin light roasted coffee
@Cerridwyn Most home-roasters I know are quite the opposite — because they don’t want to worry about someone having accidentally brought their delicate SOs up to a city roast.
@brhfl goddess if Austin did that he’d be out of business overnight.
But then he and his people compete and win.
He won the taster’s cup last year and he and his manager have both placed high in roasters and brewers competitions.
Yes.
Been roasting our own for maybe 5 yrs.
converted air popper that I ‘modded’.
@daveinwarsh Interesting. I presume the dimmer is for heat control. Does it also control the blower or only the heating element? Is there a link to the modding instructions?
@baqui63 No instructions anywhere. I do stuff like this…
That’s the Roast-O-Matic #1. My #2 & #3 had the fan speed control (like #1 does) and I added an element control.
The fan control is mainly for when it’s 28 degrees out & I’m needing more heat than the 1400w element puts out. Lower air speed = higher temps.
I also use fan speed for the first batch to get it to heat up faster.
I really can’t even say how I did this, as I eliminated the main overheat safety, leaving only the bottom motor safety in place. It just ain’t safe to use unless you watch it… I did that because I roast maybe 5 or 6 batches in a row, nonstop.
The Popcorn Pumper has been the easier popper for me to work with & I’ve found a few on Ebay & one at Goodwill.
It’s gotta be the 1400w one, though.
@daveinwarsh you ever try a light roast in that contraption? How long does it take for first crack to start and stop, you think?
@InnocuousFarmer Different coffees, different outside air temps, humidity levels. They all change the roasting time. Time to first crack averages maybe 4-5 min I guess. Second crack is a minute or two after. I really don’t time it, I go by sound & look. You can roast any coffee from City to Espresso.
I buy my green beans at Sweet Marias. It isn’t cheaper to roast your own, but it is the best coffee you can brew.
@daveinwarsh helpful to know, thanks. I’ve been buying green beans in 5 lb bags from Coffee Bean Direct, by way of Amazon. The price does work out pretty favorably.
@InnocuousFarmer I’ve tried buying green beans from various sources, but go back to Sweet Marias. Some of the low quality beans roast very uneven or have so many broken beans in them. There was an Ebay place with beans I had to just toss.
If I ever win that damn Nigerian Lottery, I’ll buy a few acres on Maui & grow my own beans.
With the price of good roasted coffee so high, it may be about the same price or a bit cheaper to roast your own I suppose.
I have wanted to do this for a few years.
I saw a custom-built microprocessor-controlled desktop coffee roaster at World Maker Faire a couple of years ago. Since then, the geek in me wants to design and build a similar thing for myself.
Having looked into this somewhat, the cheap and practical person in me regrets not taking the old hot air corn popper when my ex-wife and I separated. I’ve been looking to replace it at estate sales and the like for a while now.
I’ll be interested to read the comments here.
@baqui63 You can use many types of hot-air poppers. The first thing is to look down into the roasting chamber (where you throw the beans or popcorn). You want the side vents putting the air into the chamber. If there’s a hole with a screen in the bottom, it just won’t work properly.
Second, finding a popper with the highest wattage you can find. The coffee needs to get up to temp, but you don’t want it to take too long. If it takes much over 10 or maybe 12 min, it’s just not going to taste the same. I try for about 6-7 min roast to City+ or Full City roast. Pre-heat the popper before roasting.
Third, It’s messy. It’s smoky. Roast outside where the chaff that blows off can be swept up or something.
Also, locate good beans. The Sweet Marias web site has lots of ideas, hints and products, even if you don’t buy from them.
Practice. Learn how first crack is a less aggressive sounding sound, that’s City roast. It keeps roasting (if you want) for a bit until it gets to second crack. That’s a louder and more aggressive popping sound. That’s also leading into Full City, then Full City + and if you love burnt coffee, Espresso roast.
The best part is that you can roast what you want. My tastes vary from week to week.
Don’t store roasted beans in the refrigerator or freezer, let them vent for a few days as they ‘gas off’, they taste better 12 hrs after roasting.
Watch a Youtube video on it if you want.
@daveinwarsh Thanks. I am now hunting for a hot air popper. The one we had definitely had the side vents.
@baqui63
According to what @daveinwarsh said her:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/370799280989?_mwBanner=1#vi__app-cvip-panel
this one is great:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/370799280989?_mwBanner=1#vi__app-cvip-panel
(This item is sold)
Popcorn pumper
Don’t you need the 1400watt one @daveinwarsh?
They’re to be found in Ebay.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Wear-Ever-Popcorn-Pumper-72000-Hot-Air-Popper-Machine-1400W-Buttercup-USA-/282442004769?hash=item41c2daf921%3Ag%3Agv0AAOSwvihY-nV6&_trkparms=pageci%3A6bf73768-6370-11e7-aa31-74dbd1804254%7Cparentrq%3A1f7f312e15d0aa415d61987fffeef5c2%7Ciid%3A1
Tho rare.