Roast Coffee
Sep. 18th, 2004 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsSo, this morning, I experimented with roasting my own coffee. I tried it in a rotary tumbling roaster, also known as a popcorn popper-- a good use since I no longer use the popcorn popper to make popcorn, having discovered the joy and power of actually making popcorn the old-fashioned way, in oil.
I put the green beans into the cool popper and turned it on. They started tumbling and then the smell started. And I got worried. The first thing I learned was that it makes things much hotter than the popcorn does. I'm not sure why. The plastic of the horn felt soft, and the glue holding the top to the body of the horn actually softened enough that it came loose.
After three minutes, the skins of the beans started to fly off and into the paper bag I had set up as a receptacle, and then I heard the beans crack. They started to darken. At four minutes, they started to smoke and I could smell a slight burning. At five minutes, I turned it off, turned the beans out into the grinder, and then put it into the French press, and added water fresh off the boil.
It was... weird. Significantly stronger than ordinary coffee, it was both more bitter and more smooth. By the time I had gotten to the end of he first cup, I felt that I had figured out the coffeeness of it. And all of those "chocolate hints" coffee folks talk about were there is full force. At first I was a bit dubious about it but by the time I'd finished my first cup I understood why this was such great coffee. The beans were Nicaraguan. I don't know how much of a difference that actually makes to the whole thing. Maybe I'll try Ethiopian beans next. Still, given the fact that I only get to do this on the weekends, it's entirely possible that the half-pound bag I bought will last me for a couple of months.
I put the green beans into the cool popper and turned it on. They started tumbling and then the smell started. And I got worried. The first thing I learned was that it makes things much hotter than the popcorn does. I'm not sure why. The plastic of the horn felt soft, and the glue holding the top to the body of the horn actually softened enough that it came loose.
After three minutes, the skins of the beans started to fly off and into the paper bag I had set up as a receptacle, and then I heard the beans crack. They started to darken. At four minutes, they started to smoke and I could smell a slight burning. At five minutes, I turned it off, turned the beans out into the grinder, and then put it into the French press, and added water fresh off the boil.
It was... weird. Significantly stronger than ordinary coffee, it was both more bitter and more smooth. By the time I had gotten to the end of he first cup, I felt that I had figured out the coffeeness of it. And all of those "chocolate hints" coffee folks talk about were there is full force. At first I was a bit dubious about it but by the time I'd finished my first cup I understood why this was such great coffee. The beans were Nicaraguan. I don't know how much of a difference that actually makes to the whole thing. Maybe I'll try Ethiopian beans next. Still, given the fact that I only get to do this on the weekends, it's entirely possible that the half-pound bag I bought will last me for a couple of months.
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Home roasting
Date: 2004-09-19 03:46 am (UTC)I haven't picked up a Value Village popcorn popper to try yet. I've got an old 10" wood handled wok style frying pan that I have dedicated to home roasting. You have to pretty much stand there and stir - I use a wooden spatula - frequently through the entire process. I pour the roasted beans into an aluminum collander with fairly big holes to shake the fluff off. I find that it works best for me if I mix them with a larger quantity of a dark roast. By themselves they're a bit overwhelming, but one part home roast mixed in with two parts of Sumatra or French Roast or such works pretty well for me.
I use a Melita #2 one cup filter system.
Re: Home roasting
Date: 2004-09-20 11:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-19 08:00 am (UTC)Hey, maybe Mike Callahan's instant uberfresh irish coffee machine will work after all!
Although I imagine decaf is not something you'd get in green beans... but it would be great for the full-octane folks..
no subject
Date: 2004-09-19 10:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-19 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-19 11:41 pm (UTC)Food Science
Date: 2004-09-21 10:21 am (UTC)http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season2/Coffee/CoffeeTranscript.htm
--Gon