Home Roasting: A Few Questions

[Liberty_2112]

Ok, so I decided to take the plunge. I will be starting the process of home roasting when my package arrives. I will write a post outlining my purchase with review when it arrives.

For now, I have a 30,000 foot view list of questions for other Home Roasters.

- How do you store your yet to be roasted beans?
- How do you store your beans once you have roasted them? For how long?
- How do you give a gift of fresh roasted beans? What container? Do you grind for the recipient or leave as fresh roasted whole beans?
- How long after roasting a batch will you typically wait before grinding and brewing? The fresher the better? or is there an ideal post roast pre grind waiting period?



Finally, have I gone completely crazy?

 

[jzuzphreek]

Ok, so I decided to take the plunge. I will be starting the process of home roasting when my package arrives. I will write a post outlining my purchase with review when it arrives.

For now, I have a 30,000 foot view list of questions for other Home Roasters.

- How do you store your yet to be roasted beans?
- How do you store your beans once you have roasted them? For how long?
- How do you give a gift of fresh roasted beans? What container? Do you grind for the recipient or leave as fresh roasted whole beans?
- How long after roasting a batch will you typically wait before grinding and brewing? The fresher the better? or is there an ideal post roast pre grind waiting period?



Finally, have I gone completely crazy?

Those are actually some GREAT questions, that many people don't consider until AFTER the roaster arrives.
1) I've only ever kept my greens in the bags they've come in. I don't keep enough stock to have to worry about staling. Greens will stay "fresh" or good for roasting for about a year-ish.
2) There are some good containers that will allow oxygen to escape as CO2 builds up post roast. A cheaper option is mason jars. It's best to fill them as full as possible, then leave the cap slightly loose to allow for the escape of Oxygen. You only need to leave the cap loose for a day or 2. Your beans won't necessarily stay fresh very long, but if you're roasting small batches, you'll likely be using them quickly, so it shouldn't be an issue.
3) If the recipient has a grinder, I let them grind.... I've not... I've spent an HOUR using my Hario Skerton to grind before.... ugh...
4) This is the most important (imo) of your questions. Beans NEED a chance to degass after roasting. You can experiment with this. Try some beans RIGHT after roasting, then try them again a day later and taste the difference. Remember to ONLY grind enough for what you're about to brew. The fun thing about home roasting is there is SO MUCH room for experimentation. Some people have reported interest results in the life of their roasted beans. I remember one report from HRO (Homeroasters.org) where the roaster had some beans where the flavor had fallen off after about 8-9 days, they forgot about them until about 21 days post roast, and noticed different and GOOD flavors. 21 days would typically just be stale coffee... but you never know unless you try.


And to answer your last question.... You should have received your official "crazy" card shortly after joining B&B. Contact the mods if you haven't. If they look at you like you're crazy... that should be good enough.

 

[DocZ]

I’ve been home roasting about 2yrs now and like anything else you can take it as far or as little as you want.

I keep my greens in the bags they come in, usually 2 5lbs bags. I store mine after roast in the smallest container I can fit them into. I usually roast 2 or 3 1lb batches.

I don’t roast too much more then I’ll use in a week or two.That way it has time to rest also. The profile of the coffee will change with the amount of time waited before grinding.
I’ve ground an hour after roast and several days after roast but it’s up to you to find the sweet spot.

As far as gifts mason jars work, after the coffee has time to degas.

 

[SiBurning]

Definitely worth doing.

I don't mean to give you the flip, but this same basic question came up recently. Don't feel like treading the same ground again tonight.

For your specific questions, experimenting is the best. For gifts, the coffee's the important thing. You might get a better response from people that don't care as much if it's nicely packaged, but people that appreciate fresh coffee would be ecstatic to get it in a Mr Coffee filter. Main thing to worry about is whether and how to grind it. For nice packaging, try a candy or bakery supply shop. There are good ones online that specialize in home making where you'll pay a lot, but don't have to buy in quantity.

 

[Liberty_2112]

Definitely worth doing.

I don't mean to give you the flip, but this same basic question came up recently. Don't feel like treading the same ground again tonight.

For your specific questions, experimenting is the best. For gifts, the coffee's the important thing. You might get a better response from people that don't care as much if it's nicely packaged, but people that appreciate fresh coffee would be ecstatic to get it in a Mr Coffee filter. Main thing to worry about is whether and how to grind it. For nice packaging, try a candy or bakery supply shop. There are good ones online that specialize in home making where you'll pay a lot, but don't have to buy in quantity.

Thanks

 

[StillShaving]

I store my greens in either a cotton or burlap bag. You can buy purpose made bags, but reusing a non-plastic rice bag works too. Just want something that can breath a little, and store the beans in a dark place with stable temperatures.

Roasted coffee is usually considered best after resting for a few days, but before two weeks old. Without careful planning and dedication you may find yourself out of coffee and having to roast the day before or day of brewing, but it is nothing to get concerned about. And if your coffee is 3 or 4 weeks old I think you will still find it quite drinkable. Ideally you would be roasting once a week or once every two weeks, to keep proper stock on hand. Storing the roasted beans in a mason jar or canister like you might use for flour, sugar or other dry goods. Something that blocks light and has an exhaust valve is ideal but not critical.

 

[Alacrity59]

The most important thing here is to please share your results.

 

[Liberty_2112]

The most important thing here is to please share your results.

That is something that I will absolutely do. I need to share so that you fine gentlemen can tell me what I am doing wrong!

 

[jzuzphreek]

The most important thing here is to please share your results.

That is something that I will absolutely do. I need to share so that you fine gentlemen can tell me what I am doing wrong!

And by share, he means you should send us all a few ounces!

 

[Liberty_2112]

Quick question: post roast should I pour the roasted beans into a strainer? How long do I leave them in the strainer? Once cooled, how long should I leave them in an unsealed canister to de gas before sealing?

Thanks.

 

[SiBurning]

Which roaster do you have? You'll want to do some things a little different, depending.

 

[Liberty_2112]

Which roaster do you have? You'll want to do some things a little different, depending.

Fresh Roast SR500

 

[Liberty_2112]

First batch.

127 grams. 72 degrees ambient temp. 9:00pm

Fan speed set to high.
Temp set to low or 60 seconds. Medium for 30 seconds. High for remainder.
Total roast time 12 minutes followed by a 3 minute cool down.
Beans transferred to a strainer.
Now I'm letting them sit.

I believe I got somewhere around a City+ Roast?

 

[Liberty_2112]

Definitely more Chaff in the strainer than I expected. What's the best way to separate that from my roast?

 

[Liberty_2112]

I think I may have roasted a bit too much. I weighed 127grams per the roasters instructions. That filled me to the metal line which I think is too high. There ea very little movement at first, even with the fan at high speed. I think I may need to do a bit less and get the beans moving earlier in the roast. I also think less beans will allow me to slow the fan speed down eventually thus raising the temperature.

 

[Liberty_2112]

 

[SiBurning]

Haven't found anything perfect. I use this fruit bowl from BB&B. Some does come out of the side, so it makes a bit of mess on the floor when I shake it over my small kitchen garbage pail, though most of it (95%) hits the target. A few beans fall through if there's some babies in there.That's not usually a problem--2 max usually--but last year was a rather smaller crop (Mostly small beans, that is.) so I'd lose half a dozen. More trouble is that 2 usually get lodged in between the wires and sometimes one goes flying off when I pop them out. "Fun" gadget. I toss them around and run my hand through turning the beans and nearly all of the chaff is gone in a few seconds, though my grinder has a chaffe collector cup that gets 80% or more of the chaffe while roasting. So, for me, it works really well, even if it has a few flaws. I suppose the answer's to put it inside another bowl, but then you have even more cleaning because the chaffe sticks to most things due to static electricity. Doesn't stick to this fruit bowl, though. Might be 'cause it's steel mesh. I only wish it weren't painted or whatever it is, since that'll eventually crack & peel.

I used to let the beans sit in the hopper of my Nesco until it cooled off, which is the instructions, but Sweet Marias says to empty it as soon as it stops to let the beans cool faster. It only takes a minute or so to cool enough to dump them in a container. No harm letting them sit until room temperature--I'm sure some would say to do that, but it depends on your cooling cycle. Light roasts need as little as a few hours, darker ones at least a day or two, but it also depends on the bean. Ideally, you'd make it 2-3 days instead for all roasts. Minimum! I've put them straight into the grinder while hot, and I can't say which beans and roasts are gross, but it's not strictly the roast--some dark roasts are fine, and some light roasts taste metallic. They all taste better a couple days later. It's actually hard to brew right off the roaster--they seem to resist the water and don't always soak nicely.

 

[Liberty_2112]

So my plan is to leave this tin unsealed overnight and then seal in the morning. Does that sound acceptable?

Do these beans look "brew-able"?

 

[StillShaving]

What kind of coffee were you roasting? Looks good for a first batch. Looks like there might be a few darker ones mixed in, which could be because of poor air flow, or could just be how the coffee appears naturally. How does it taste?

 

[StillShaving]

So my plan is to leave this tin unsealed overnight and then seal in the morning. Does that sound acceptable?

Do these beans look "brew-able"?

Yes, looks brew-able to me. You can seal them up overnight if you like, since you will be opening in the morning it should be fine and you will get an extra dosage of fresh coffee aroma.