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68 Comments
- SomeoneGNU, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11I'm an avid coffee roaster, and have been doing so for two years now. It is true, you will produce coffee that tastes that generally tastes better than most store or coffee house bought coffee. The main reason for it is flavanoids(I think that's the word I'm looking for) degrade VERY quickly in coffee. The oil as well. Three weeks after roasting a stale test starts to set in.
I roast, on average, two to three pound a week for myself, my office, and a bit for sale. I've turned non-coffee drinkers into coffee drinkers, and made coffee-drinkers go WOW! But it isn't for everyone. You must really love coffee to be willing to dedicate your time to this.
For most people, I recommend finding a local coffee house that roasts or receives fresh roasted beans and buy your supply from there.
Good luck, happy roasting, and here's to one of the better, if not the best, cups of coffee you'll drink. - reparsed, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6http://www.sweetmarias.com/
- DangerCollie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Roasting your own is a bit harder than the article makes it sound. Once you get your times and batch sizes down you'll get more consistent. I've found I can taste the difference a week after roasting. But, yeah, three weeks would be the outside. You can make it on three pounds a week?! Wow, that's discipline. :)
- Homunculiheaded, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Another home roaster here, the only problem with home roasting is that once you start you enter a path of coffee snobbery you can't turn back from ;) It's almost impossible now for me to go out an have a cup of coffee that even tastes 'okay' compared with the quality of a good homeroast. Also, although I still use an auto-drip for my morning coffee, i highly recommend anyone out there that home roasts also grab a french press, the combination is unbeatable! French presses produce the most incredible brew.
- drexor69, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Same here, there's definitely a huge difference in the flavor. Like you I've discovered that not everyone cares about their coffee enough to roast their own...
- hokie47, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I am sure this is good, but if you don't have the time at least try to do this.
Use good water - bottled water or use a Brita faucet filter, this is what I do to save some money.
Fresh coffee - After opening the coffee place it in an air tight container away from light. I place mine in the refrigerator, but I know some people say this is bad, but I think it works.
Whole bean - Grind them in a burr grinder only when needed. I skip this often because it is very time consuming and kind of messy, but it will make your coffee a tad better.
Mask your bad coffee - If you like to add a lot of cream and sweetener, then good coffee is less important. Or put a lot of rum in it like me.
On another note, I normal drink dunkin donuts ground coffee. I can normally get two bags for $10 or so. - andycr512, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I'll tell you how to get the best iced coffee you will -ever- have.
Roast your own coffee (this works with pre-roasted, too, obviously), then grind 1/3rd cup of it (that's finished, ground coffee, not beans - you'll need to grind more than that to get that much grind) at drip coarseness setting. Take the 1/3rd cup of coffee and add 1 cup of cold/room temp water. Stir thoroughly. Let sit for 5 hours.
Strain through a coffee filter. Add about 3 tablespoons to the bottom of a 16 ounce glass, add sugar if you want, and fill to a few inches below the top with milk. Fill to the top with ice. It's surprisingly good once you get used to the different taste. - wiirdo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Or go one extra step. Get yourself a pet Asian Palm Civet. Let it eat your raw coffee beans. Pluck them out of its poop. Then roast!
- reparsed, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Ive been using a Popcorn Pumper for a couple years now. Works great.
I get my raw beens from http://www.sweetmarias.com/ - bellgong, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Popcorn poppers don't make enough coffee at one time. Get a metal dog bowl and a heat gun and roast a pound or so at a time. Look up how to at coffeegeek!
- CraigJ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This is very true, however I was lucky enough to locate a small roaster here in Scottsdale that roasts every other day. I generally buy coffee that has been rotated no more than 2 days, usually 1 or same day. Stored in air and light tight containers it will last up to 2 weeks, but it never lasts longer than a week... The coffee is reasonable too, about $12 to $15 a pound for premium, fresh roasted beans. The difference in flavor and fragrance is remarkable.
So if you don't want to go to the trouble of roasting beans yourself, the next best thing is to find an independent local roaster. - GiJoeBob, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I bought a popper at a garage sale for $1 just for doing this. I haven't gotten around to roasting yet but what they say is true. Get fresh roasted beans and grind just before you brew. The difference is considerable.
- skyteria, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/home.php
- compgeek, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2looks pretty neat and if the beans come up decently it would certainly make for cheaper better coffee than store bought. I'd probably do it outside in my backyard as I have plugs outside. I'm going to try it as soon as I find a spare hot air popper
- skyteria, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2About 3 years:
http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catalog/info_pages.php?pages_id=10 - hospitalcio, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Now, let me tell you how to get the best bacon...
- androo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2this sounds like "A secret that coffee co's don't want you to know."
- shadowspawn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Dugg.
I've done this, it works. But your house will smell like coffee.
Surprised this is catching on now, figured people would know about it already. - ThePict, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Why is it considered cool to be stupid, here on Digg?
- krayzee911, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I can't imagine that the freshness of coffee I roasted myself, outweighs the effort and distinct possibility that I could turn my kitchen into a smoldering crater if done improperly.
- bleutuna, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Hmmm. A wok and a spatula? Really? Well, i gots a wok! and a spatula!
You should do a tutorial :D - bleutuna, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2My only question is how long do 'green beans' last?
- matthewf01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Anyone have good resources on good quality, but well-priced raw coffee?
- radicalrobyn, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1In my experience, popcorn poppers burn out after a couple of weeks of coffee roasting. I keep it low-tech, using a wok and a spatula. However you do it, home roasted coffee is tastes amazing, yet costs less than almost anything out there. It takes a little work, but if you're a true coffee-geek this is the only way to go.
- Otto, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Green tea with taste? Sorry, no such thing exists. Not unless you add something to it.
- CraigJ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1here? http://www.cafepress.com/pbrb
- CraigJ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I for one care more about the coffee in my cup than any of those things, and, let's face it, I can't do anything about that ***** anyway, but I do have control of the coffee...
- sremick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Screw the ghetto-popper mods, I picked up the FreshRoast from these guys:
http://sales.invalsa.com/product_info.php?cPath=21_24&products_id=28
Definitely the way to go if you're on a budget. - wiremonkeymommy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've used the popcorn popper, also a cast iron pan and a cast iron wok (my fave), it's a lot of fun, but, personally, it makes the house reek (you'd think it would smell awesome, maybe it's just my shnozz, but it's funky) and the chaff gets all over the place. I'm not knocking it, it's a cool DIY, but, we have a very good boutique roaster in town and I snarfle the fresh bags, so I'm spoiled.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I use a Poppery II and a photo lab timer. I set the timer for a known good roast time for a weight of beans, weigh out my beans, start the Poppery to preheat it for consistency, dump in the beans, and start the timer. At the end, I dump the beans in a metal pan and pour them back and forth with another metal pan in front of a turbofan until cooled off. Store for a day to let the beans age and for CO2 to outgas. The roasted beans smell really good. Supermarket coffee smells like hippopotamus feces compared to this.
- GiJoeBob, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I buy fresh roasted beans at the coffee roaster and I grind them just before I brew the coffee? Duh...
- dmax801, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I use SweetMarias for my beans. Roasting for a couple of years now. Feels good to have fresh roasted, burr-ground coffee in the morning, and know that it was only $5 a pound... www.sweetmarias.com
- matthewf01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1a smoldering STINKY crater.
Burnt stuff smells awful. But burnt coffee would smell like a char-broiled cigar. - patch6, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Prime-time sitcoms don't help the situation much. When the male protagonist acts like a complete retard to stimulate laughter, young males end up emulating him in place of whichever real-world father figure should be influencing the child.
- repotxtx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've been using the Poppery II popper for 6 months. I did popcorn in it for years before I found an article about roasting coffee in it. I roast enough each weekend to get through the week. I roast about 3/4 cup beans per batch and may do 2 batches to get through the week. Each batch takes from 10-20 minutes, depending on how dark. You HAVE to have the correct type of popper or there is a fire hazard from the chaf. You can find used ones at the Goodwill for $5, or on Ebay for probably more than that. There are a few different sites that give the details. I order beans from Sweet Maria's. A $5 lb of beans from there is better than you'll find for more money elsewhere. They also have info on roasting on the site. Don't do it inside. Too much smoke. More of a hassle, yes. Better coffee also.
- mrswirl, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Forget the air popper - the best method is with an old whirly-pop pan and stove (or grill if you want to do it outside. Highly recommended due to the amount of smoke given off.)
http://www.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.html - Hunterville, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1go ***** yourself *****
- matthewf01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1actually, you SHOULD do a tutorial!
If you already have a wok... its cheaper than spending $5 on a dirty old popcorn pooper...popper. - hagbard72, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Did this for about ten years, it makes a freeking lot of smoke, and when we moved into an apartment, figured I'd give my neigbours a brake. Will go back to it when we buy our next house.
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I have two different poppers and neither one give off all this so-called smoke but then I operate it just outside my back door. I wouldnt try it inside bec U dont even have to have alot of smoke for all your smoke alarms to go off and who needs that?
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Must have gotten a bad popper. I have had great success roasting with a popper. I would find a wok and spatula somewhat backwards at this point but to each thier own. The popper is the best way to go and can do it outside and plug in almost anywhere. Dont even have to stir exc in the very beginning and even then you dont really have to.
- nku628, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Dugg for the warning "don’t blame anyone but yourself if you burn your house down."
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Yes, just right off, I smell alot more money for the $200 roater. Secondly, I've noticed very little difference between them myself. I think people get the bigger roasters beause they need to be able to roast more at a time and partly because it's a show off the new toy kind of thing for people who are really into it. Personally, I am for economies of scale and efficiency. My little popcorn popper stores neatly in a kitchen cabinet, roasts just the right amount for me, and cost a WHOLE LOT LESS!!
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Ditto for me 2, only I'vve only been roasting about 3 months now. It's so easy I feel like a pro already and boy does SM coffee taste great!
- SomeoneGNU, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Ouch, I think the most I paid for a coffee(not counting Kopi Luwak) was $8.00 a pound green. On average, most coffees run me $2-3 pound.
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I find a wok and spatula rather barbaric when a popper is self contained and can be plugged in almost anywhere. Mine hasnt pooped out on me yet. It is good to know there are other alternatives for different people. You dont have to constantly stir the popper method because the beans "dance" in suspension from the blasts of hot air. (No, they dont shoot out of the popper! I knew you were thinking that)
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I disagree with that. My popper will roast enough for me for 3-5 days using a half cup of beans at a time and doing two back to back roasts. Taking approx 8 minutes per roast. Let the popper cool down about 20 minutes and while you wait, go read the news or do something else. Not rocket science and is a whole lot better than the above suggestion.
- SomeoneGNU, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I have a genecafe so I can do half pound batches. A pound takes me no more than an hour so it's more about equipment then time.
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I am a fairly new roaster and will never look back. I was noticing the grocery store beans increasingly stale and those from the specialty coffee shops very expensive. So when I discovered so many people were actually roasting their own at home, out of disgust and curiosity I ordered some green beans to try roasting in my Popaire 2 popcorn popper. It was love at first taste What an incredible difference. The shocking part is that it is SO EASY! To me it is worth working into your schedule to be able to enjoy something THAT GOOD! You can also do back to back roasts if you let the popper cool down. I roast two batches only once a week and just the amount I am going to use within the week. Hardly any trouble at all to work into your schedule to be able to enjoy something THAT GOOD! You can also do back to back roasts if you let the popper cool down after each roast. Any idiot can burn down a house by being an idiot that is why I roast just outside my patio door under the roof overhang which is semi protected against the elements. I don't think the popper would catch fire unless left unattended for long periods What I wanted to avoid was setting off my smoke alarms. I plug it into an outdoor GFCI outlet and from 5-8 minutes later, I have roasted coffee beans. Use a folding metal TV tray to put the popper on - like the kind you eat or snak from. I have a wire canister I empty the beans into to cool, then to jar to "cure" for a day, then HEAVEN in a cup. I select several varieties at the first of each week from my bountiful "stash" of greens as we call them.
- gshufy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0So sorry...I hit the wrong button to the right. You werent being offensive in the least. I wanted to give it a heads up not a hand down! My huge mistake. Sorry.
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