Home Roasting for Beginners
- Thread starter TimmyBoston
- Start date
I bought Sweet Maria's roaster and her green beans sampler. The first roast was just fantastic. I've really never tasted coffee that has so many different nuances and depth of flavours. Just love it- thanks for the prod down this path.
My first order from Sweet Maria's was their Mokha-Kadir Blend -- just to be safe, I ordered 2lbs. It proved to be the right choice and, by the time I was accustomed-to and confident-in roasting green coffee beans in my West Bend Poppery II, I was ready to order a variety of 1lb. bags.
These days, I still order from SM, but I make my own "Mokha Java" by roasting their Java Monsooned Arabica and Yemen Mokha Haimi (this past week I'd finished the latter, and used Yemen Mokha Sana'ani in its place -- very good). But my favorite from SM is their India Mysore Nuggets Extra-Bold -- roasted well past 2nd crack, it makes a rich and tasty (and not-at-all bitter) French-pressed cuppa.
From Indian River Coffee (here in Florida), I order their Celebes Kalossi -- roasted the same way as SM's India Mysore Nuggets, it's rich and flavorful.
Hey! most of the green beans are between $4 - $7 per/lb, so don't worry about making a "wrong choice" (ain't no such animal) -- after all, if you're not crazy about a batch you've roasted, you can always "gift" people with it
These days, I still order from SM, but I make my own "Mokha Java" by roasting their Java Monsooned Arabica and Yemen Mokha Haimi (this past week I'd finished the latter, and used Yemen Mokha Sana'ani in its place -- very good). But my favorite from SM is their India Mysore Nuggets Extra-Bold -- roasted well past 2nd crack, it makes a rich and tasty (and not-at-all bitter) French-pressed cuppa.
From Indian River Coffee (here in Florida), I order their Celebes Kalossi -- roasted the same way as SM's India Mysore Nuggets, it's rich and flavorful.
Hey! most of the green beans are between $4 - $7 per/lb, so don't worry about making a "wrong choice" (ain't no such animal) -- after all, if you're not crazy about a batch you've roasted, you can always "gift" people with it
Get your beans from Sweet Marias. They have the best beans. I'm partial to Costa Rican Tarazu, Yemens and Yirgacheffe. I usually buy 13-15 pounds at a go and that makes shipping reasonable. I roast in popcorn poppers bought cheaply at thrift stores. I've tried many and found the Popcorn Pumpers made by Proctor-Silex to be the best. You have to take them apart and remove the thermal overload though. They are a bit fussy about exension chords, ambient temp. and the volume of beans. So try to avoid extension chords. Unless you have a good kitchen fan/hood, roasting outside in the summer is the best. Roasting in a cardboard box or out a window in the winter can work. I've made a cardboard cut-out for my window so just the chute of the popper is exposed to the outside, venting the chaff and smoke, yet keeping the popper from sucking in cold air. As for the volume of beans, I just keep adding them untill they are barely moving. As they heat up and loose moisture the speed will pick up. Basicly, if they don't move they burn, use too little and they won't get hot enough to crack. It usually takes between 5 and 8 min. Tilting the popper back a bit turns the roasting beans better. When the roast is done cool the beans in a colander with agitation. Let the beans rest for at least a day. Day 3 is usually the peak. Grind with a decent burr grinder. I have a Mazzer but it's the English Aristocrat of grinders and cheaper ones will do the job. I usually brew in vintage Cona & Silex vac pots. It's a fun hobby and pays big dividends if you stick with it.
- Thread starter
- #25
How much of the "roasting smell" do home roasting machines put out into your home? Should they also be used outside?
Well, I live alone, and happen to like the roasted-coffee smell. Having said that, whenever I roast coffee, I have to disconnect the smoke alarm
I roast in my kitchen, next to the sink (so that the chaff goes out the popcorn-popper's chute and onto a wet piece of paper towel). If the weather is cool and breezy, I open the windows, but still roast indoors. YMMV.The first minute or two smells great and then it gets burnt and acrid. You need good ventilation indoors. "Dry-Process" coffees will shed more chaff, which can be a little messy if provisions are not made to catch it.
- Thread starter
- #28
My smoke alarm is connected to the home security system, so it goes off it's a real pain in the you know what and the fire department comes very quickly. So I really don't want to have that happen. So I really hope the home roasting machines doesn't produce a lot of smoke. Does it? 
Unfortunately they all produce smoke to one extent or another. I vent mine outside with dryer hose, which is very effective. There are a few roasters out there with smoke abatement systems (Nesco, Behmor) that you might want to research if venting isn't an option.
My smoke alarm is connected to the home security system, so it goes off it's a real pain in the you know what and the fire department comes very quickly. So I really don't want to have that happen. So I really hope the home roasting machines doesn't produce a lot of smoke. Does it?
I don't know of any home roasting machine that produces less smoke than the others, because it's just part of the process. The smoke really pours off the beans as they approach 2nd crack. It's possible that a really good vent hood might take care of this, but I still think you should play it safe. To avoid setting off your alarm, you should probably roast outside.
I've oven roasted indoors for years, and the smoke smell has not been a big problem. No matter how much air I get circulating through the place, the apartment smells like roasted coffee for about a day. Doing one roast a week, this isn't so bad. If I were roasting every day... well, I'd roast outside.
I always roast outside. It's not a good smell after a while.... That said, I'm about to roast a few pound and it's 33 outside! 
Fortunately I just need to check on it every so often.
I've been using a Stir Crazy/Galloping Gourmet combo for the past few years and it does a great job; it lets me roast about a pound at a time.
Fortunately I just need to check on it every so often.
I've been using a Stir Crazy/Galloping Gourmet combo for the past few years and it does a great job; it lets me roast about a pound at a time.
I started with a Poppery II, then went on a quest for Poppery I's (I now have 5 of them) my wife is very tired of my 'serial obsessions' - although the coffee roasting benefits her personally... I now have the rig shown above in Sabledog's post. I LOVE it - I can roast about a pound and a bit, and it is the best coffee ever. Sweet Marias sells the best - but look around Indy - find your local coffee roaster and see if they will sell you green beans.
I roast outside in my garden shed - there is really no way to do it inside and not stink up the house...
good luck!
Barry
I roast outside in my garden shed - there is really no way to do it inside and not stink up the house...
good luck!
Barry
Same here. I have been roasting twice a week for the past couple of years, and the Poppery is all I need.
Don't skimp on the grinder, though. Try to get a quality burr grinder that can give you consistent, uniform grinds, from coarse for French press use, to extra fine for espresso or turkish coffee.
Did either of you guys disconnect the heating element on the Stir-Crazy? Or did you just run it as is? I have a I-Roast 2, I love it but we drink alot of coffee in my house, so I've been looking at my options for larger roasts. I didn't want to spend any more than I need. I understand the Behmour doesn't roast dark, its new,etc. Who carries the convection oven? I see the stir-crazy at Target. I haven't seen the oven anyplace. Let me know please. PM me if you want. Thanks
How often do you roast with the I-Roast 2? I'm probably going to get one very soon, but wondered about the capacity.
I guess I'm the only maniac (or cheapskate) using a cast iron pan on the side burner of my grill. 
Talk about hands on.
Talk about hands on.I roast at least twice a week,sometimes more, lots more. I have family that like fresh roasted beans.The instructions tell you to wait until the unit is completely cool before roasting a second batch.I like to roast a cup (6-7 oz)of beans or a little less at a time.I adjust the size of the batch to the beans. I have some Sumatra beans that just seem to roast better if roasted in a little smaller batches.The I-Roast 2 is a terrific roaster. I like the machine and would buy another if I didn't want to roast larger batches.
I get a good cross breeze, so no problems. Either that, or they're just being nice.
I have an I-Roar 2 and usually roast every other day. The max you can roast with it is about a quarter pound. After a year of roasting this started to become a chore. So I just purchased a Behmor 1600, which arrived on Friday. The nice thing about this roaster is that it can roast up to a full pound. I costs about $300 but you get eight pounds of green beans from Sweet Maria's. I would recommend spending the extra hundred dollars and move up to this roaster.
