Don't roast your own coffee beans!

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Cider123

Cider123

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I warn you. Do not make the mistake I made. Do not find quality unroasted beans, then roast them yourself at home. Someone gave me this advice and I did not listen. It is too easy for an amateur roast. All you need is a hot air popcorn popper and a grinder.

Woke up this morning and realized I forgot to make more coffee for the weekend. I was left to make a pot with the Maxwell House stuff in the cabinet. It used to taste fine, now most coffee tastes like cr@ppy dishwater. It is very hard to get a cup a coffee that measures up to the quality you get used to when you make your own. You also get partial to the particular blend you buy and make, so even a half decent cup somewhere else tastes odd.

I have shafted myself. I m now a coffee junkie. I need to go roast. Excuse me.
 
I would roast my own but I found a roaster in Bisbee, AZ that is just too good so I have him ship me a couple pounds every 2 weeks.
 
cluckk said:
Something new to try! All I need is another obsession.
Click to expand...

OK, so beer, Cider, Smoking meat, Hot sauce and sausage making isn't enough. Now I gotta try to roast my own beans? I guess I could do that at the same time I am experimenting with roasting my own malt too. I swear this site is gonna kill me yet. Or SWMBO is gonna for making a mess in "her" kitchen..... I do love this place, I got more projects to tinker with than I could ever master, and I am having a blast with all the learning I get to go along with the fun. I'll never be bored, that is for sure. Since I got my cataracts fixed I can see the components to finish my control panel for my brew tower too....... Yup, lots and lots to do, I love it.

Wheelchair Bob
 
Roasting coffee is has the highest reward to effort ratio of any food/beverage DIY hobby. It's much easier to roast great coffee than brew great beer. 10-15 minutes to roast with a 3-4 day max wait to brew coffee compared to all the time for beer. Coffee is way cheaper to get started with, too. Get a popper at a thrift store for a few bucks.
 
SWMBO got me a roaster for Christmas. I love this thing. It's the Fresh Roast 500 or something like that. Just finished a batch of Honduran Bourbon and can't wait to try it. It took about four batches of experimenting with the timing to get it just right but it is totally worth it.
 
TNGabe said:
Roasting coffee is has the highest reward to effort ratio of any food/beverage DIY hobby. It's much easier to roast great coffee than brew great beer. 10-15 minutes to roast with a 3-4 day max wait to brew coffee compared to all the time for beer. Coffee is way cheaper to get started with, too. Get a popper at a thrift store for a few bucks.
Click to expand...

True, but to truly make it an obsessive hobby, you have to be able to modify the equipment. I bought a old West Bend Poppery air popper which is one of the recommended models. I just had to do the modifications, such as adding a metal collar on top and opening up the unit and removing the heating governor. It still has a safety fuse in case of emergency, but it gets much hotter so I can easily get to that "second crack".
 
I roasted my first coffee today. This thread inspired me. I went to sweetmarias and ordered the sample pack. It came today and I got right to roasting.

For my first roast, I didn't do much research as I have plenty of unroasted coffee to experiment. i watched a few videos and got the jist of what is going on. You essentially are waiting for that first crack then anything thereafter is the roasting preference...right?

After reading about the various methods, popcorn machine, pan, pot, oven. I decided to use a copper bottom stainless steel pan... as I thought I could shake it more vigorously and create a more even roast. Preheated the pot then I poured an even layer to cover the bottom evenly. I continued to shake throughout the whole process. I heard the first crack and continued for another two minutes or so, i let smoke ventilate from pot and checked color throughout the process. After the desired color was reached I then poured the beans into my 7gal boil kettle (for homebrew) i shook vigorously and blew on it to remove the loose particles that cracked off the beans (I think I read somewhere you don't want this stuff in the coffee).

Id say I got a nice even roast all beans were equal in color. I took and ground the coffee and added into the storage tin I purchased while purchasing the beans. I cant wait to try for tomorrow coffee. Ill chine in tomorrow with the results, too late in the day for a cup!

Thanks ciderjunky for the inspiration. Feel free to criticize my method.
 
aeviaanah said:
I roasted my first coffee today. This thread inspired me. I went to sweetmarias and ordered the sample pack. It came today and I got right to roasting.

For my first roast, I didn't do much research as I have plenty of unroasted coffee to experiment. i watched a few videos and got the jist of what is going on. You essentially are waiting for that first crack then anything thereafter is the roasting preference...right?

After reading about the various methods, popcorn machine, pan, pot, oven. I decided to use a copper bottom stainless steel pan... as I thought I could shake it more vigorously and create a more even roast. Preheated the pot then I poured an even layer to cover the bottom evenly. I continued to shake throughout the whole process. I heard the first crack and continued for another two minutes or so, i let smoke ventilate from pot and checked color throughout the process. After the desired color was reached I then poured the beans into my 7gal boil kettle (for homebrew) i shook vigorously and blew on it to remove the loose particles that cracked off the beans (I think I read somewhere you don't want this stuff in the coffee).

Id say I got a nice even roast all beans were equal in color. I took and ground the coffee and added into the storage tin I purchased while purchasing the beans. I cant wait to try for tomorrow coffee. Ill chine in tomorrow with the results, too late in the day for a cup!

Thanks ciderjunky for the inspiration. Feel free to criticize my method.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear. Have fun with it!

We have found that we like it into the second crack. At first we could only get the popper hot enough to go just past first crack. The coffee was a bit too bright or acidic at that roast level. After the popper "mod" we got it hot enough to reach second crack which is between City roast + and french roast. That is perfect for us. We also now buy the Brazilian coffees and those that are low in acidity and higher in darker, carmel tones.
After roasting we wait at least 12 hours before grinding and brewing.

If you eventually use a popper, it will blow the chaff out of the beans for you. In fact, you'll have a whole room of chaff if you do it inside:cross:

Sweet Marias does seem like a solid company with good prices and excellent selection.
 
Cider123 said:
Glad to hear. Have fun with it!

We have found that we like it into the second crack. At first we could only get the popper hot enough to go just past first crack. The coffee was a bit too bright or acidic at that roast level. After the popper "mod" we got it hot enough to reach second crack which is between City roast + and french roast. That is perfect for us. We also now buy the Brazilian coffees and those that are low in acidity and higher in darker, carmel tones.
After roasting we wait at least 12 hours before grinding and brewing.

If you eventually use a popper, it will blow the chaff out of the beans for you. In fact, you'll have a whole room of chaff if you do it inside:cross:

Sweet Marias does seem like a solid company with good prices and excellent selection.
Click to expand...
Your right, chaff everywhere. I ended up taking it outside. Curious as to why you wait 24 hours before grinding? I'll soon find my perfect coffee and roast
 
I guess I just assumed it was better to leave whole. They do say to wait at least 12 hours before using freshly roasted beans, but don't know if they say anything about waiting to grind. I do know that the flavor will dissipate quickly if you try to store it ground versus whole, but if you are only waiting a day I don't know if it makes a difference.
Might be worth searching.

I actually drink tea during the week and only have coffee on the weekends. I do this to cut down on the cream and sugar I put in my coffee. I admit, as much as I like coffee, I don't drink it black.
 
For all you coffee roasting fans - have you ever roasted some beans while brewing a batch? I roasted 24oz. while mashing for a coffee stout and was very pleased with the results! Ended up crushing the beans with a book (didn't want to grind them too fine - wanted to keep most of them in a hop bag), then threw them in at flame out / during whirlpool. Great flavor and roasted character. I know you'd get similar results from buying some coffee beans at Starbucks, but not too many people can make a coffee stout with *FRESH* coffee beans :)

Cheers!
 
Jipper said:
For all you coffee roasting fans - have you ever roasted some beans while brewing a batch? I roasted 24oz. while mashing for a coffee stout and was very pleased with the results! Ended up crushing the beans with a book (didn't want to grind them too fine - wanted to keep most of them in a hop bag), then threw them in at flame out / during whirlpool. Great flavor and roasted character. I know you'd get similar results from buying some coffee beans at Starbucks, but not too many people can make a coffee stout with *FRESH* coffee beans :)

Cheers!
Click to expand...
This has already crossed my kind as well! I already got a stout on tap maybe after summer :)
 
Coffe was amazing first roast was a bit too light for my preference I hit second roast perfectly. I'm enjoying a cup now :)
 
i was thinking of getting an aeropress...but from what i was reading you need precise temperature so if i was in hurry in the mornings i was looking a for electronic kettle that heated to the desired temp but they were pretty pricey
 
Ohhh man yeah! I use the Whirley Pop thing for roasting. I think 24-36 hours is the best degassing time IMHO but I have roasted the night before with good results.

You gotta LOVE your own roasting! I am a BIG fan!!! I just hate that the green beans are so damn spendy!

Cheers
Jay
 
njale said:
i was thinking of getting an aeropress...but from what i was reading you need precise temperature so if i was in hurry in the mornings i was looking a for electronic kettle that heated to the desired temp but they were pretty pricey
Click to expand...

What about the microwave?
 
LabRatBrewer said:
I got a West Blend II popper. 1/2 cup roasted, cant wait to try. My local coffee shop sold me 12oz as 1lb of green beans. Got to see if they'll make it right.
Click to expand...

I got the same roaster. I did some mods on it;)

One of the best changes that had the biggest effect is very simple. It is the amount of coffee beans you put in the roaster. I now use about 3/4 cup. This just enough to get the right roasting time for me. Less than that and the beans start spinning quickly at the start which doesn't allow them to get hot enough for the second crack. This was frustrating for me at first as I couldn't get a dark enough roast. Too much and they won't move at all and scorch unevenly. 3/4 cup and they are sluggish at first. You have to move them in a circle to get them going, but after a min or so they begin to cycle on their own as they get lighter. I get the perfect roast for me, which is a min or so into the second crack. That is somewhere between full city + and french roast.
 
Cider123 said:
I got the same roaster. I did some mods on it;)

One of the best changes that had the biggest effect is very simple. It is the amount of coffee beans you put in the roaster. I now use about 3/4 cup. This just enough to get the right roasting time for me. Less than that and the beans start spinning quickly at the start which doesn't allow them to get hot enough for the second crack. This was frustrating for me at first as I couldn't get a dark enough roast. Too much and they won't move at all and scorch unevenly. 3/4 cup and they are sluggish at first. You have to move them in a circle to get them going, but after a min or so they begin to cycle on their own as they get lighter. I get the perfect roast for me, which is a min or so into the second crack. That is somewhere between full city + and french roast.
Click to expand...

Your tip on the 3/4 cup was spot on. Thank you! :mug:
 
One more potential hobby added to the extensive list. Last night a quick search revealed that beans can be roasted in a Presto Poplite, which coincidentally has been sitting in our cupboard, unloved, for months.

During my lunch break today I went to the local tea and coffee shop and picked out 4 half pound bags of beans (all different origins). Roasted up 2 batches just now, and I'll post the results tomorrow so you don't have to go thru the 5 minutes of work it took me.

I'm expecting the first batch to be a light roast; possibly too light. The black smoke started to freak me out and I pulled the plug at 4.5 minutes. Put all my stuff away, dumped the beans in their container, then looked at the other three bags just sitting there. Unroasted.

Started to feel neglectful of the other guys, so I pulled out the popper again, measured out some of bag 2 and popped, this time till 5:30. Black smoke still left me uneasy, so I unplugged and just stirred the beans and listened till the cracking started to subside. This could be a dark roast, maybe too dark. Really not sure.

Until tomorrow! :rockin:
 
Results! First roast was indeed a light roast. Too light for our tastes, but perfectly drinkable. Second roast was a dark roast. I loved it, my better half said it was ok for a dark roast. Not as acidic as they usually are.
Tomorrow I'll try for the mid way between the two. This is fun!
 
You can do it by eye or by temperature. I find the best way is by ear. You listen for two stages. The first stage is called "first crack". It sounds like snap-pop sounds. Then the sounds will subside but the beans are only half way there. You keep going until you get to the "second crack". This is a few minutes after. You'll just know when it starts. It is not the same sound as the first crack. This one involves sounds that are more like lots of little sizzle crack sounds. A good visual for this crack is that you'll get little round slivers come flying out of the popper and land on the ground.
If you want a substantial roast, you take it to where you just start getting the first few sounds in the second crack. This would be the full city+ roast. If you keep going until your right in the middle of it going nutty then stop. This is just shy or at the beginning of a frnch roast. This is where I like to go.
If you wait until the second crack finishes you will be at a dangerous place. This is the fine line between a solid french roast and charred carbon (not tasty).

Even at the beginning of second crack you'll get smoke. Don't get scared, keep going. When done, I pour them into a metal strainer and shake shake shake. Then I dump them on a large cookie sheet to cool off quickly.

Careful not to seal them in a jar tightly. The gassing at first can be explosive!

Glad to hear folks are enjoying it. I have 10 lbs of a brazilian on its way. I had to buy already roasted beans at the supermarket this weekend. They were twice the price and half the flavor.
 
I thought I would chime in here. I just had my first glass of Northern Brewer's Peace Coffee 2nd Crack Stout and I tell ya what, this is a damn good beer. Also now I understand why they call it 2nd Crack.

The blend from Peace Coffee is 2 parts French Roast, 1 part Peru, and 1 part Sumatran Full City. 4oz of that blend is steeped for 20 minutes in the whirlpool of this beer:

10.75lbs Maris Otter
.5lbs English Dark Crystal
.5lbs English Chocolate Malt
.5lbs English Black Malt

1oz EKG
1oz Fuggles

It's a fantastic beer! Now stop tempting me to roast my own coffee too!
 
TheJasonT said:
I thought I would chime in here. I just had my first glass of Northern Brewer's Peace Coffee 2nd Crack Stout and I tell ya what, this is a damn good beer. Also now I understand why they call it 2nd Crack.

The blend from Peace Coffee is 2 parts French Roast, 1 part Peru, and 1 part Sumatran Full City. 4oz of that blend is steeped for 20 minutes in the whirlpool of this beer:

10.75lbs Maris Otter
.5lbs English Dark Crystal
.5lbs English Chocolate Malt
.5lbs English Black Malt

1oz EKG
1oz Fuggles

It's a fantastic beer! Now stop tempting me to roast my own coffee too!
Click to expand...

Come to the dark roast side! We have coffees!
 
Certainly a fun thing to try - used sweetmarias for my beans, use the hot air gun + aluminum dish method, works well - but isn't the end-all-be-all for coffee IMO. I blame my palate though - I get much more benefit, in my mind, by having a drip machine with an integrated grinder (blade, I know, not as good as burr) and having fresh ground than store-bought pre ground.
 
Magic8Ball said:
Is anyone using one of these coffee roaster drums for use on a outdoor gas grill? http://www.rkdrums.com/index.php/en/ Big upside I can see is that this drum has the possibility to roast your own speacialty grains. Maybe?
Click to expand...
IMG_20180531_180647.jpg lots of fun
 
I haven't done this in years, but great success roasting small amounts outdoors with a heat gun and aluminum dog bowl. Good hot air flow, stir with wooden spoon. When roasted, toss back and forth between two strainers to get the chaff out. I never had the palate to be wowed by the difference between our usual whole bean freshly ground, and home roasted - but I love the process. Think I should try it again.
 
Cider123 said:
I warn you. Do not make the mistake I made. Do not find quality unroasted beans, then roast them yourself at home. Someone gave me this advice and I did not listen. It is too easy for an amateur roast. All you need is a hot air popcorn popper and a grinder.

Woke up this morning and realized I forgot to make more coffee for the weekend. I was left to make a pot with the Maxwell House stuff in the cabinet. It used to taste fine, now most coffee tastes like cr@ppy dishwater. It is very hard to get a cup a coffee that measures up to the quality you get used to when you make your own. You also get partial to the particular blend you buy and make, so even a half decent cup somewhere else tastes odd.

I have shafted myself. I m now a coffee junkie. I need to go roast. Excuse me.
Click to expand...
. Or a grill and a nice day..
 

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