Any home roasters?

[Geordon]

After a significant number of years, I have finally been able to convince the missus that I should be allowed to roast coffee at home. Of course, this comes a year after she was gifted a Keurig by her BFF and sister of the heart last Christmas.

Her one stipulation is that I don't stink up the house. So, in the vein of so many of my hobbies, I will be starting with as little gear as possible. To wit, I'm starting over an open flame and a cast iron skillet! I've got the whole weekend to inform her that the first, small batch will be done inside to see if it offends her sensibilities. If it does, I will be moving subsequent roasts out of doors on a propane camp stove.

So, my first bean purchase is La Minita (Rwanda) peaberry and Mexico Rancho San Francisco Chiapas. Since she is of the, by her own words, "It's coffee, I'll drink it" mindset, that's 3# of the peaberry since I fell in love with it when I first had it from Caribou Coffee many years ago, and 1/2# of the Chiapas for her, since she thought the flavor profile sounded interesting. For the record, she was a Starbucks Black Apron/Coffee Master back in the days when that actually meant that they knew something about coffee. It's been sad to watch what happened to Starbucks since it went public.

 

[H4nk]

I would do it outside. It can make smoke. There are some really good youtube videos.

 

[jherm77]

I've been roasting for 14 years and have about 40 lbs of greens in a dedicated freezer. PM with any questions.

Jason

 

[Geordon]

I've been roasting for 14 years and have about 40 lbs of greens in a dedicated freezer. PM with any questions.

Holy cow! Would you mind if I ask most questions open, on the chance that someone else might find the discussion interesting?

As my first question, besides keeping records and measurements of things, do you have any suggestions for my first few batches? Other than "don't walk away from it!" I mean?

 

[jherm77]

Sure, didn't mean to sound secretive. While I've never used a cast iron, there are plenty of informative websites and videos on it. I've used a few machine, currently a few Behmor, and love beans from Sweet Marias. Homeroasters is another good site.

I would imagine using a wood spoon and to constantly stir, never stopping...especially when the beans start turning brown. Roaster wise, the lighter you roast the better you get the origin i.e. taste. The darker, the more you lose the beans identity. Beans are subjective, though I like Central American, specifically Costa Rica and Panama. I also like island coffee i.e. Hawaii and Jamaica. Make sure to only roast what you can use in two weeks...also have a container or bags that have a Co2 release valve. If you are gonna use that brewing method, I think they make reusable containers you can refill. Finally, get a good grinder. I have multiple Mazzers, but you don't need to spend that much. A good grinder will be triple digits, not sure what your budget is. As far as smoke goes, if you have a good vent use that, otherwise get a portable burner to use outside. My Behmor does a good job at limiting smoke.

 

[jherm77]

Forgot to mention I prefer beans that use a lighter roast, they are usually the best quality. Dark roasts tend to cover flaws i.e. Starbucks.

 

[McBlade]

It's pretty easy. I always do this outside either on a petrol stove (Whisperlite International) on full power or a meths burner, again on full. The meths burner isn't as hot but still hot enough.

This is important: you have to blast the beans a bit to get a good flavour. If it takes too long they'll get "baked". Ten to fifteen minutes until medium dark is about right.

Keep the beans moving! I'll be stirring and shaking the pan constantly right from the start. They won't cook perfectly evenly at first but it all seems to come together at the end.

When the beans start to crack, the skins will flake off and burn. This can produce a *lot* of smoke. If you try it inside open all the windows and the kitchen door. The room will probably still stink of smoke for days.

If the beans are heated too hard they might start to "sweat", towards the end of the process as oils are released onto the skin. The oils will then start to burn - you don't want that. It's hard to avoid it completely if you go for a darker roast.

When you get to the desired colour, you're still not done. Dump the beans in a colander and keep stirring for a minute or two to help them cool down. The chemical reactions which cause caramelisation are exothermic ie the beans will create their own heat and continue cooking for a little while after they come off the stove.

You can get rid of some of the skins by lifting spoonfuls of beans up high and letting them fall back into the colander so the wind can blow the feather-light skins away.

It's really interesting to explore the different flavours you can get out of a bean. Coffee is a fruit and the light roasts can have a kind of citrus taste completely different to what you'd expect from coffee.

Medium-dark is the best balance for me though: lots of earthy, caramelised flavours but still with a fresh "zing". IMO dark roasts just burn all the life out of the cofee - YMMV.

Check out some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe sometime. That's one of my favourites.

 

[Mick]

I have only roasted inside under the range hood when the weather was below freezing (great white north). Many times I have roasted outside when I had to shovel a path to the cleared "roasting circle". Outside is always preferred as the smoke and gas produced is not healthy to breathe (google it for specifics)

I wrote this on B&B about pan roasting not too long ago. There are lots of other online explanations but I think that I covered just about everything.

Easy way to roast coffee that anyone can do

This is another of my long winded posts covering the mysterious world of coffee. How to roast fresh coffee without hardly trying. Frying pan coffee roasting is probably one of the simpler ways to roast coffee. It is also the one that requires all of your attention. Everyone should know how to...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[McBlade]

@Mick

Good point about saving money (in your linked post). Freshly roasted coffee won't keep for too long so you can't really buy it in bulk but green beans will last for months. I usually buy a year's supply at a time and get a good discount.

 

[Old Hippie]

I've been roasting for 20 years with air poppers. (I could go into great length about why...)

If you roast in the house you'd better have a good range hood that actually exhausts outside. Otherwise "stink up the house" will be the least of your worries as your wife pursues you around the kitchen with a large knife while the smoke detector screams and the cat climbs the living room drapes.

I roast in the house, except for summers when I move it outside because of the heat.

O.H.

 

[TexLaw]

There are quite a few home roasters on here. There's not to terribly much discussion, though, because (as I found out over time) that it's either a very touchy-feely craft or almost a paint by numbers. It's a lot of trial and error and not a lot to read on the subject.

It's fun, though, and can be rather rewarding. Get yourself some inexpensive green beans and have some fun playing around.

I started with a Behmor roaster that I did enjoy, but I got much better (and have more fun) with my Hottop. I've been roasting a few times per month for what's getting close to three years, now. I roast under our range hood.

 

[malocchio]

I love roasting my own beans. I use a simple Japanese hand roaster and roast enough for 3 days, so it's always fresh.

 

[Merle]

I use a Hottop, but as mine is limited in pc (remote and recording for repeated runs) control and batch volume I'm on waiting lists for an Aillio Bullet.

This year one of my goals is to set up a useful exhaust system. Living with an environmental background that varies from below freezing, extremely low humidity, to greater than 100F and 80% humidity, makes for difficult batch detailing/recording/forecasting of future runs. Controlling the environment by being able to keep the garage door closed will be a huge benefit to standardizing day to day roast outcomes. Add the Bullet seems to be the combination of a number of scientific pinnacle achievements to make home roasting far more consistent and offer better expectations for revealing the beauty of the varieties available. This, at easily less than half the initial investment of current traditional designed roasters.

 

[ruckin]

For me roasting is an outside hobby

Too much smoke and chaff for inside... But my dad roasts inside with cast iron dutch oven that he drilled some holes in the lid so he could add a stir arm and a temperature probe. He has a 3x5 card with "cheat notes" to remind him of times/temps and stove settings.

He claims the smoke isn't a problem but he is a bachelor so I guess if there is smell/smoke it doesn't bother him..

 

[Herrenberg]

Never had much luck with roasting in a cast iron pan. Just couldn't stir thoroughly enough to get the beans to roast evenly. Had more luck with a hand-cranked Whirly Pop, until the cast metal gears failed. The coffee I got from that is what convinced me to stick with the hobby. Even put a thermometer on the thing.

Fast forward 5 years, and I'm completely addicted to my own roasts, and I have a propane-powered drum sample roaster that supplies all of my coffee.

I thought I was pretty far along with about 800 roasts in 5 years, but then I attended an Advanced Roasting course where everyone else was a professional who considers that a couple of months work.

 

[Herrenberg]

For me roasting is an outside hobby

Too much smoke and chaff for inside... But my dad roasts inside with cast iron dutch oven that he drilled some holes in the lid so he could add a stir arm and a temperature probe. He has a 3x5 card with "cheat notes" to remind him of times/temps and stove settings.

He claims the smoke isn't a problem but he is a bachelor so I guess if there is smell/smoke it doesn't bother him..

Wow, what a setup! What's the capacity of that roaster?

I managed to roast inside with a Hot Top roaster (1/2 lb capacity) with the exhaust aimed at an open sliding glass door 6 feet away. It has a filter, but trying to get anywhere near second crack was definitely too much smoke. If my wife hadn't been as addicted to the coffee as I was, there might have been a discussion. It makes a huge difference in smoke, how far you're taking the roast.

These days, it's outdoors, in the garage with the door open, but I'm looking at putting a vent in the wall so I can do it with the door closed.

 

[Merle]

He claims the smoke isn't a problem but he is a bachelor so I guess if there is smell/smoke it doesn't bother him...

There was a couple of moments, pretty close to the start of my first second crack where I entertained the idea. The fragrance wafting up; from the downstairs garage, where had I roasted just outside the roll-up door, into the kitchen the next couple of days nixed that idea.

Wow, what a setup! What's the capacity of that roaster?

Heh, the cold break here in the ATL area this week put the brakes on my getting a run in on my HotTop, just not enough engine to drive that car on freezing days without getting very dangerously close to baking.
Now, that puppy...

It has a filter, but trying to get anywhere near second crack

When I first got started, that filter on the HotTop, filled up with particulate and became a gate valve for flow control. I even had a set of rock chips I found in the yard to give me lo/hi flow, RoR, and a nice flattening of bean temp into and through first crack.

Alas, I've lost my calibrated rocks and had to buy new filters. (I wish I'd made the wire link element when I first thought of it.)

 

[ruckin]

Wow, what a setup! What's the capacity of that roaster?

I managed to roast inside with a Hot Top roaster (1/2 lb capacity) with the exhaust aimed at an open sliding glass door 6 feet away. It has a filter, but trying to get anywhere near second crack was definitely too much smoke. If my wife hadn't been as addicted to the coffee as I was, there might have been a discussion. It makes a huge difference in smoke, how far you're taking the roast.

These days, it's outdoors, in the garage with the door open, but I'm looking at putting a vent in the wall so I can do it with the door closed.

My roaster is labeled a 2kg machine but I put in 2100 grams of greens.

 

[Geordon]

Lots of things for me to think about here, which I appreciate. Let me call special attention to a couple of ones that probably just saved my life:

When the beans start to crack, the skins will flake off and burn. This can produce a *lot* of smoke. If you try it inside open all the windows and the kitchen door. The room will probably still stink of smoke for days.

If you roast in the house you'd better have a good range hood that actually exhausts outside. Otherwise "stink up the house" will be the least of your worries as your wife pursues you around the kitchen with a large knife while the smoke detector screams and the cat climbs the living room drapes.

I really, REALLY appreciate hearing these TidBITS before all of the stuff that I'm waiting for came in. Still waiting on my 14-inch diameter bamboo winnowing tray from Etsy to arrive. I had read about the need to remove the chaff and for cooling after roasting. Since I'm not looking at roasting large batches until I win the lottery, it should be plenty enough for me to putter with and keep us in coffee without running out. It's just the three of us (me, wife, our adult daughter who makes a fantastic roommate) and I am the biggest coffee snob of us.

It's pretty easy. I always do this outside either on a petrol stove (Whisperlite International) on full power or a meths burner, again on full. The meths burner isn't as hot but still hot enough.

I never would have thought that a backpacking stove would get hot enough to roast coffee! Interesting!

This is important: you have to blast the beans a bit to get a good flavour. If it takes too long they'll get "baked". Ten to fifteen minutes until medium dark is about right.

Keep the beans moving! I'll be stirring and shaking the pan constantly right from the start. They won't cook perfectly evenly at first but it all seems to come together at the end.

From some of the YouTube videos, I had concluded that any roast that takes longer than 15 minutes has something "wrong" happening. Especially for my modest needs.

If the beans are heated too hard they might start to "sweat", towards the end of the process as oils are released onto the skin. The oils will then start to burn - you don't want that. It's hard to avoid it completely if you go for a darker roast.

When you say "heated too hard" does that mean by cranking the heat up to jet-engine blow torch from the start and keeping it there? Again, based on some videos that I've watched, I have seen some (drum) roasters who are kind of constantly fiddling with fuel speed, temperature, timing, etc but I'm thinking that for a hobbyist, that level of exactitude isn't necessarily required. Just like I'm not getting out a micrometer to measure the blade on my razors, as long as it does a satisfying job, it's good enough for me.

It's really interesting to explore the different flavours you can get out of a bean. Coffee is a fruit and the light roasts can have a kind of citrus taste completely different to what you'd expect from coffee.

Medium-dark is the best balance for me though: lots of earthy, caramelised flavours but still with a fresh "zing". IMO dark roasts just burn all the life out of the cofee - YMMV.

Check out some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe sometime. That's one of my favourites.

Years ago, when Starbucks had an earlier version of their Black Apron/Coffee Master program, there was an actual course of study and base of knowledge that was needed to earn the title. My wife was working there at the time, and we learned a lot of interesting things through her study, including some of what you mention here. I'll be honest, in the past 10 years, it has been disappointing and sad to see what was once a place where some of the people behind the counter really cared about and knew about the product slide into mediocrity. I will definitely look into getting some Yirg the next time I order green beans. I seem to recall having some a long while back and really enjoying it.

Most of the coffee commercially available in the US is just plain sad. I miss Caribou Coffee and Starbucks from around 20 years back. There were interesting and well-prepared coffees available, rather than just something that tastes like dishwater.

There are quite a few home roasters on here. There's not to terribly much discussion, though, because (as I found out over time) that it's either a very touchy-feely craft or almost a paint by numbers. It's a lot of trial and error and not a lot to read on the subject.

It's fun, though, and can be rather rewarding. Get yourself some inexpensive green beans and have some fun playing around.

I have no doubt that there are two general categories of people who get into any sort of home production like coffee or brewing. There's the ones who do it for the challenge (and the level of experimenting/improvisation) and those who do it for the technical and almost engineering-like aspects. I'm one of the former types, myself, and am very glad that my wife is willing to grant me the latitude and indulgence to play with something that she can appreciate.

I'll be honest, though. For most of my adult life, I have been fascinated and a little jealous of people who I consider to be "creative" types. Anyone who you can point at something they do and say "That is art!" because I have always wanted to create things for other people to enjoy. With this, I think I might finally be able to!

 

[McBlade]

When you say "heated too hard" does that mean by cranking the heat up to jet-engine blow torch from the start and keeping it there?

To be honest I've never been 100% sure how to handle this. Towards the end of the process you might see the beans start to sweat. They might begin to look quite shiny. I *think* the oils come out because the beans are a little too hot. Maybe it's just inevitable if you roast beyond a certain point?

On my set up, a camping stove and a lightweight aluminum pot, I can lift the pot off the stove for a few seconds every now and then if I think I need to drop the temperature down a little.

I wouldn't want to make this sound too hard. If you blast the beans with a good heat you'll get coffee. You can always try to refine the technique later.