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Is anyone here roasting beans at home? I like Starbuck's, but the roast is too dark. I'm looking for a place that sells good green beans, Mocha Sanaani or similar. I'd like to hear about peoples' experiences.
Just wondering who is into roasting their own coffee, what do you use for equipment, where do you get your beans, what tricks have you learned, and what challenges do you face?
I'll start:
I have a Nesco Professional Home Roaster. I like it for it's simplicity, but it does not have any settings. Roasting is relatively slow (28-29 minutes to full city+, including cool down).
I got my roaster and usually get my beans from Burman Coffee Traders. Really like them. Good service, good deals, great info. No, I'm not affiliated, just a happy customer.
I don't have any tricks, just follow the basics. I get the beans out of the roaster ASAP, and I store them in plastic dishes that we get with some microwave noodle bowl meals. I like them because they hold two batches of beans (3-4 pots of coffee), and they have a snap on lid. One thing I do is let my beans sit for 24-48 hours before putting a lid on. I think I'll increase this by another day to try it. After that, I put the lid on, but I have a toothpick sized hole in each lid so it can breath. i usually consume the beans within 3-10 days of roasting. usually about 7.
No real challenges, other than dealing with the chaffe. And wondering if I should let my coffee sit up longer or not. Also hard to get a really dark roast, but if I do a slightly smaller batch that helps. I like my coffee dark, but not burnt. Ideally, the oils should start coming out of the beans after about 3 days, for my perfect roast.
I've been having fun trying different beans. I like the Mysore Nuggets (funny name, but it's for real) a lot, as well as most of the Sumatra's. Going to try some Hawaiian beans next. Also getting in some Bali Kintara (or something like that), I've ordered similar beans from a different local source and really like them.
Oh, that's sophisticated, a connoisseur style thing.
What I do, and I use only whole, 100% Arabic roasted coffee beans at home, is to roast them for a minute or two in a very hot, dry, stainless steel pan to "refresh" their aroma for the immediate ground, brew and serve.
If you've never had coffee made from fresh roasted coffee beans, you won't believe the difference in flavor.
I can also tell you that the time to cool the beans after roasting is a factor also. In a coffee plant, the beans are cooled with a water quench and a high volume fan. It takes about 15 minutes to cool 400 pounds of roasted coffee down to room temperature. But, that is impractical with home equipment.
I did. It lets some non helpful aromatic esters escape from the beans.
Correct. I'm not sure about "two weeks", but the beans will release gasses for a day or a few, and it is standard recommendation to not seal them for a few days (that is why even when I do, I have a small breather hole in my container).
Seems like beans need to "set up" for a couple/few days, and they reach their peak flavor at some point. That is one of the things I was hoping to discuss. is it two weeks, 2 days, or what? What works for different people and why.
Elnina, are you saying that you "refresh" your already roasted beans, or that you are roasting "green" beans in just a couple minutes? I assume it is the first comment, but that contradicts the "setting up" time?
That's why I roast the beans before grinding! To "refresh" the aroma! You need to "degas" your roasted beans only if you intend to store it for a ( short time ) before use.
Ground coffee begins to stale after 30 minutes. Whole beans that are exposed to air, for example sitting in the hopper of your grinder, you will notice a drop off in the fabulous crema after 10 days.
You roast your beans just before grinding, brewing and serving. Otherwise, you roast the beans, grind and immediately store in one-way valves vacuum bag to maximize flavor. Store no longer than 2 weeks.
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Let's discuss home coffee roasting
