Coffee

[seafrontiersman]

I was sanding down my hull in the yard the other day and a lady was roasting coffee beans in an electrical device on her deck, it was black plastic with a glass (I assume) top. The smell was just heavenly, got to get me some of that! Does anyone have any tips or advice on a good roaster?

[tdw]

Originally Posted by seafrontiersman

I was sanding down my hull in the yard the other day and a lady was roasting coffee beans in an electrical device on her deck, it was black plastic with a glass (I assume) top. The smell was just heavenly, got to get me some of that! Does anyone have any tips or advice on a good roaster?

Are you sure she wasn't just grinding the beans ? I confess I've never seen a home coffee bean roaster, indeed I don't recall ever seeing unroasted beans for sale. (just looked at a bean supplier in Sydney and they do in fact sell green coffee beans, so there you go.)

The aroma from freshly ground beans is heavenly.

Me, I am not such an afficionado (sp? )to be bothered with grinding my own beans. I buy coffee in smallish vacuum sealed packs and while by the end of the packet you can taste the difference I can live with it.

[sailaway21]

Originally Posted by seafrontiersman

I was sanding down my hull in the yard the other day and a lady was roasting coffee beans in an electrical device on her deck, it was black plastic with a glass (I assume) top. The smell was just heavenly, got to get me some of that! Does anyone have any tips or advice on a good roaster?

Sounds like she has an i-Roast 2 coffee bean roaster. I had to return mine for some warranty work; it should be back on Monday. They do a very nice job and are fun to play around with. A little research will reveal that unroasted coffee beans will keep for a couple of years. Roasted beans diminish after a couple of weeks. If you want the best coffee, try roasting your own beans.

She was probably roasting outside because you do get a bit of smoke in the process. Most kitchen vent hoods are more than capable of dealing with it.

You can find an i-Roast2 here: https://www.i-roast.com/default.php

You can find beans and other roasters here:Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's

You'll note that you will pay less for superior beans than what you do now at the store and you get to roast them to your individual taste.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

Sounds like she has an i-Roast 2 coffee bean roaster. I had to return mine for some warranty work; it should be back on Monday. They do a very nice job and are fun to play around with. A little research will reveal that unroasted coffee beans will keep for a couple of years. Roasted beans diminish after a couple of weeks. If you want the best coffee, try roasting your own beans.

She was probably roasting outside because you do get a bit of smoke in the process. Most kitchen vent hoods are more than capable of dealing with it.

You can find an i-Roast2 here: https://www.i-roast.com/default.php

You can find beans and other roasters here:Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's

You'll note that you will pay less for superior beans than what you do now at the store and you get to roast them to your individual taste.

Why am I not surprised you Sway roasts his own beans ?

[T37Chef]

Sway, this might be the most useful post you have ever made.

We'll have to get some and give it a go, the admiral can't wait.

Originally Posted by sailaway21

Sounds like she has an i-Roast 2 coffee bean roaster. I had to return mine for some warranty work; it should be back on Monday. They do a very nice job and are fun to play around with. A little research will reveal that unroasted coffee beans will keep for a couple of years. Roasted beans diminish after a couple of weeks. If you want the best coffee, try roasting your own beans.

She was probably roasting outside because you do get a bit of smoke in the process. Most kitchen vent hoods are more than capable of dealing with it.

You can find an i-Roast2 here: https://www.i-roast.com/default.php

You can find beans and other roasters here:Home Coffee Roasting Supplies - Sweet Maria's

You'll note that you will pay less for superior beans than what you do now at the store and you get to roast them to your individual taste.

[sailaway21]

Thank you both very little, I think. (g)

Here's the deal. The i-Roast is the most reasonably priced for what it does. But it is a home use product and the manufacturer wants you to wait two hours between roastings. Other machines roast more quantity and can operate more frequently but there's cost issues, etc... Read the reviews of roasters at the Sweet Maria's web-site for more on that.

You can roast coffee in your popcorn popper! It's getting consistent results that's the bugaboo.

After roasting, you want the roasted coffee to breathe for a couple of days before grinding...it just tastes better that way. tjk's wife Julie says, screw that breathin', let me at those beans. She likes the results.

Pick out the beans you think you'll like...Sweet Maria's gives a pretty good description of each bean's potential. But order FIVE pounds, not one pound to try out. Your coffee is going to taste different dependent not only on the bean but the roast. So yes, you can make espresso with the same bean you made a lighter roast with. Some beans are very flexible that way, others much less so. But leaving those extremes of roast aside, you go through a few pounds just playing around and trying to get your roast down pat. You'll think you just made the best roast and then you'll let it go another thirty seconds the next time and get a yet better result. Like I say, it's fun to play around with. It takes about ten to fifteen minutes to roast up two cups worth of raw beans.

Keep a small notebook so you can remember what you did on each roast.

I'm already thinking that there's hardly a nicer, inexpensive Christmas gift than to give someone a little bag of beans you just roasted so that they can taste what fresh coffee is supposed to taste like. They'll be bugging you for more.

[sailingdog]

Don't you mean, the only useful post he has ever made???

Originally Posted by T37Chef

Sway, this might be the most useful post you have ever made.

We'll have to get some and give it a go, the admiral can't wait.

Sway, what's the amp draw on that beastie???

[T37Chef]

yes, you could say that

[sailaway21]

Hey, Bite Me, Cookie!!!

Dog, I don't know but I'll check when it comes back tomorrow...remind me via PM if I forget to get back to you on it. It's probably substantial as the electric element approaches 500 degrees in some stages of roasting but, its a small element so, who knows. And hey, you can Bite Me, too!

[zeehag]

i use a hand grinder for my espresso beans , i use 2-3 heaping tsp per cup and i boil my water and pour over a filter cone....i have been told i make the best coffee--and i have naybores who drop in for it------hand grinders are in , of all places, west marine!!!!!! go figger!! have fun with yours--there are more than one perfect cuppa coffee......everyone has an opinion and everyone enjoys different coffee----this is fun!! i had the krupps grinder and espresso maker, but it uses 78 amps per hour to create the perfect mocha, so i make my substitute and i enjoy it!!! i grind my beans espresso fine----maybe that is the clue--i donot know.......have fun!!!!