OK - how about a thread for home coffee roasters? Check in, please!

[NRaleighLiberal]

Me - roasting using a stainless steel crank popcorn popper over a coleman stove - since 2007. Coffee source - Sweet Maria. Preferred coffee - Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen. Tend to go Full City to a bit more - just into the second crack.....but nowhere near Peet or Starbuck char - I mean roast - level.

[kdmorris]

1. We grind our own, but haven't moved into the "roast your own" yet

More information would be good on how one does this

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. I am sure you will get many answers, many approaches for various price ranges....

I can share how to do the ultra cheap but ultra delicious (and ultra fun!) method. Stay tuned...running errands today.

[mike_c]

2. FreshRoast SR500....

Thanks, you just reminded me that I need to start a fresh batch! We're currently drinking a very nice Guatamala Antigua Finca la Folie roasted to city or city+. We buy all our coffee from Sweet Marias, which delivers in just two days or so (we're just up the coast from their bay area location). I've been home roasting for several years-- we have a strong preference for high elevation Central American beans that brew bright, fruity cups with lots of robust dark chocolate undertones. I'm pouring a cup right now!

[denbot]

4. I "air" roast with a Popcorn Pumper

Last edited Thu Dec 15, 2011, 02:09 AM - Edit history (1)

My sources of green beans are Sweet Maria's and Coffee Project. My preference is a medium to full city roast.

I came across the popper in a 2nd hand store without the hood so I found a can that fits in the throat of the popper. I cut the bottom out of the can to make a kind of chimney to keep the beans flying out. During the first couple of minutes of the roast I tilt the popper while running and give it a shake every ten seconds or so till the beans began to upwell on their own. If you don't do that, the beans on the bottom will burn before the upper beans start roasting.

[steve2470]

5. this thread from DU2 has great info about coffee:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9789335

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. thanks. a good reference thread indeed.

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. This has been my coffee journey and how/why I ended up roasting my own....

College - instant - whatever has the caffeine for the all nighters

Work - the Maxwell House rot gut in the carafes all day - caffeine to keep you awake in the boredom

First 5 years or marriage - purchased the Krups drip coffee maker, still buying crap coffee to brew

Starbucks start opening in the area - a jolt of a difference, first experience with char/ultra dark roast. At first, seems just great - at least there is flavor.

Grinding the beans - goodbye Starbuck, hello Peet - better, but expensive - and often the dark roast obscures the origin/varietal characteristics. Goodbye drip, hello Bodum French Press.

2007 - Sweet Maria starter pack as a Christmas present from my very smart wife. A few misfires, learning curve....but then - wow! The El Salvador is very different from Nicaragua, which is light years different from Kenya...and that Ethiopia dry process Harrar? Wow!

So now we know what we like - we focus on mainly the African coffees - Tanzania, Ethiopia, Yemen - but especially Kenya - and they are now very expensive (nearly 10.00/lb for green beans....ouch). Sometimes dabble in Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala.

I start with the recommended sweet spot from Sweet Maria for each coffee, then adjust a bit for our tastes - we tend to like a slightly darker roast, toward Full City or FC+. Grind beans, French Press.

we are spoiled! But my friends get a nice Christmas present from me - a few packets of home roast!

[tkmorris]

8. I need a good source for green beans

I've seen a few, but mainly they are expensive and there is no way to determine if they are quality or not. It would be a pricey gamble to order them. Can anyone recommend a good source for beans? I also tend towards the African varieties, though I like other regions as well.

[NRaleighLiberal]

9. This is the only place I've purchased - they are just superb

http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php

Currently they have only one Kenya (I've got about 20 lbs stored away, I knew they were getting tough to get) - but the Ethiopia selections are great.

Been buying from them since 2007 - flat rate shipping of 8.99 is pretty good as well. Great, informative website

[tkmorris]

10. Well thank you for the tip

I'll give them a shot and check back with the results.

[Major Nikon]

12. Here's a couple of other ideas

Sweetmaria's is really a great outfit to deal with. I've been a customer of theirs for years.

I haven't done this for a while, but I used to be able to buy 30lb boxes of greens from Costco. They didn't really market green coffee beans, but you could just pick up a box from the roasting area and it would ring up at the register. The prices were ridiculously low. I suspect they may have put a stop to doing this.

Another source is to check your local roasters. Often they will sell you greens if you ask. The prices there are usually good as well. It's the shipping that kills you on greens.

[tkmorris]

15. From what I hear they still do that at Costco

Unfortunately it all seems to depend on the location. A poster I know in another forum says he can get the beans from his Costco (I wanna say he's in SoCal somewhere) but the Costcos in my area do not seem to roast their own beans at all, thus no greens are to be had. I should check some local roasters though. I have no idea who they are at the moment but I assume there must be some in South Florida. Thanks for the ideas.

[Major Nikon]

11. I haven't roasted in a few years, but when it did it was in a trash can

I was one of those who bought a stainless steel trash can, pop riveted a SS bowl on the end, and used the rig connected to my rotisserie on my BBQ. It actually worked quite well. I still have it somewhere. For the last couple of years, I've been using commercial roasters. Now that the quality of larger consumer roasters is better, I may buy one and go back to roasting my own again.

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. Not a great video (sorry for the squeaks) - but this is how I roast...

sorry about the sound - I need to WD 40 the crank - so you may need to turn the volume down!

[Major Nikon]

14. For cooling, I just use a big metal collander and a hair dryer

The hair dryer is set to blow with the heater off and a big spoon is used to constantly stir. The effect of convection cools the beans pretty efficiently and it also blows the chaff away nicely.