Apparently it’s a new hobby, the kind that appeals to people who brew their own beer or make their own honeybutter.
More coffee drinkers roast beans at home
I guess it sounds good to have freshly roasted aroma, but it also sounds like you could ruin pounds of coffee at a time while smoking up your kitchen.
Personally, I have trouble making toast come out the same way twice, so I could never do coffee to be like I want it. Although the article did make me consider finding a local roaster to get hot-from-the-hopper beans someone else just roasted.
I’m thinking about it, mainly because I don’t drink a lot of coffee at home but love a great cup when I do. This way I can have fresh roasted every time instead of buying old roasted beans that may be months old.
Most people don’t have to worry about ruining pounds at a time, because most home roasters only hold enough beans for 1 pot of coffee. However, if you are a heavy duty coffee drinker you would probably invest in a larger rolling drum roaster that can handle more beans and provides a more even roast.
My brother does it. He buys the beans green (unroasted) from Sweet Maria on the web. He’ll roast enough for one pot in a wok, then grinds and brews it. He says it’s quick and easy. This is from a guy who makes his own bread and beer, though.
The point, he says, is freshness and better taste. Green coffee beans will keep for a long time. Once roasted they lose flavor much faster; once ground, most of the flavor and aroma goes away in less than an hour.
This is, of course, one more way for him to view me as less sophisticated than he is. :rolleyes:
I would home roast if I didn’t have a local roaster close by. As it is I buy small amounts of freshly roasted beans and grind them myself at home using a burr grinder. I only grind enough for one pot at a time to preserve freshness.
I also make my own blends. I buy certain varieties and experiment with them in different blends.
Yep, I’ve got two awesome fair-trade coffee places nearby so I’m happy to let them do my roasting for me. They’re better at it, and their equipment probably kicks the ass of anything I could buy.
And I like to buy small quantities of beans so I can try new blends. Now I’m drinking one from East Timor (because they were out of the Chiapas beans that the Zapatistas sell).
mmm … coffee …
I do it! I get all my beans as well as the equipment from Sweet Maria’s. The freshness and quality is better than the standard local stuff, but what I really enjoy is the incredible variety of beans available. The differences are much greater than I imagined and when you combine the variety with the different roasts, you’ve got tinkerer’s heaven. That said, my wife and I drink a lot of coffee and I usually don’t bother to roast enough for day-to-day brewing. It’s more of an occasional thing.
I’ve wondered about that, not enough to google it up, but enough to click on the Sweet Maria’s link when its been handed to me. I’m really not the coffee snob in the household. But I’ve forward the link on to that guy I live with…
Am I missing something? Whenever the local place is roasting their beans, the smell is HORRIBLE. Like “neighbors complaining” bad. Why would I want that smell in my kitchen?
-lv
LordVor You’re not missing something. I read that same article, but there had been a longer article in the paper, a sidebar maybe, where he mentioned how your really need a good vent system to roast by stove or oven. His girlfriend, a singer, wouldn’t come over after he roasted because the smoke was bad for her voice. That’s “neighbors complaining bad” for my money.
Before this thread I had no interest. Now I’m quite intrigued by the idea. I’m not sure yet whether I’ll thank you or curse you, Beeruser.
I don’t know if it’s a problem of scale maybe, but when I’m roasting a half-pound, the smell is kind of nice. Maybe not everybody’s favorite, but certainly not wildly objectionable. I make sure to aim the vent out a window so as not to set off all of our smoke detectors. A nice, dark French roast makes quite a cloud.
It requires good equpiment and patience which I’ve none. Find a good roaster and have them do the work for you. I use http://www.comstockcoffee.com in Reno, Nevada. They receive my order via email, roast my coffee and I have it the next day at their coffee house. They also ship in two days for those of you who don’t live on the Eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.