About a year ago, my better half bought me a Behmor 1600 Roaster. There's no going back now. Buying the green coffee beans and roasting to your own specs imho is hands down the way to drink coffee. It seems that the aroma of fresh roasted is lost by all the beans you buy in the store. I know some people who tend to dislike Starbucks and the big name coffee people. I look at it this way.. if it weren't for Starbucks I wouldn't know that coffee could be unique and probably wouldn't have pursued it on my own. I highly recommend this to anyone..just don't do it in the house. No matter how much "smoke suppression" technology is employed by the Behmor, the smoke detectors are still much more sensitive as I found out the first day I roasted. Shout out to "Sweet Marias" and my buddy Brett for their expertise in the home roasting business.
Roasting your own
- Thread starter cfbugsbunny
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that is one nice better half! Roasting your own is a wonderful thing to do.
-jim
-jim
That's the truth. They are the "brand" that lifted every other gas station/mom & pop diner/mall coffee up to a higher standard. Man, I remember that horrid coffee that would still have twigs in them when you opened up some of the cans.
Agree with your sentiment about the big name coffee retailers. But truth be told, was your better half being kind and generous to you with the Behmor roaster, or do they love coffee even more that you. 
One might be able to get away with doing a light roast inside under a kitchen vent hood, but not something approaching 2nd crack. I was roasting outdoors tonight but left it unattended too long and ended up with Vienna or worse.
One might be able to get away with doing a light roast inside under a kitchen vent hood, but not something approaching 2nd crack. I was roasting outdoors tonight but left it unattended too long and ended up with Vienna or worse.
Agree with your sentiment about the big name coffee retailers. But truth be told, was your better half being kind and generous to you with the Behmor roaster, or do they love coffee even more that you.
One might be able to get away with doing a light roast inside under a kitchen vent hood, but not something approaching 2nd crack. I was roasting outdoors tonight but left it unattended too long and ended up with Vienna or worse.
I have a great deal of problems with decaf beans and any bean that has a weak first crack. I tossed a batch not too long ago as it was too similar to starbucks.
6 minutes to 2nd seems kind of fast.
-jim
I've roasted beans in a stainless steel skillet, like we used to pop popcorn. Worked well.
After a few years of home roasting I found that I much prefer to taste the light and subtle flavors that Tom so eloquently describes in his roast reviews. I typically only buy beans that are suitable for light roasting - just into the first crack to just past. I don't think I have taken a roast to the second crack in maybe 3 years. My Gene Cafe is smokeless under the kitchen hood (I always remove the grease screen to increase the flow) for these light roasts.
To me the best thing about home roasting is being able to avoid the thin and bitter over-roasted coffee that seems to be so prevalent now.
Hottop for about 10 years, Behomor and recently a Quest M3
I tried various roasting methods before we got a Behmor. The Behmor roasts more evenly and more consistently than a popcorn toaster or a skillet.
If you prefer the lighter roasts, I suggest you try green beans from Costa Rica, and some of the other Central American countries. Their beans can offer some pleasant flavors when a 1st crack or beginning first crack roast is used. Sweet Marias usually has some in stock.
We have a lot of family in CR and one of our nephews there makes organic pesticides. He works with many of the larger coffee farms and co-ops. Through him we have acquired some of the best beans available in CR. It's funny to hear about Starbucks selling a single shot of a particular Costa Rican coffee with a light roast, for $7, when we are buying similar green beans in CR for less than $3 a pound.
Many varieties of good beans don't need a dark roast to taste their best, but low-quality beans always need a dark roast to hide their bad flavors.
If you prefer the lighter roasts, I suggest you try green beans from Costa Rica, and some of the other Central American countries. Their beans can offer some pleasant flavors when a 1st crack or beginning first crack roast is used. Sweet Marias usually has some in stock.
We have a lot of family in CR and one of our nephews there makes organic pesticides. He works with many of the larger coffee farms and co-ops. Through him we have acquired some of the best beans available in CR. It's funny to hear about Starbucks selling a single shot of a particular Costa Rican coffee with a light roast, for $7, when we are buying similar green beans in CR for less than $3 a pound.
Many varieties of good beans don't need a dark roast to taste their best, but low-quality beans always need a dark roast to hide their bad flavors.
I have been using the heat gun / bread maker combo roaster now for a few years. I like the batch size and even roasts along with the on the fly adjustability. It does not lend itself to consistency or profiling, but it can spit out some damn fine coffee. I only roast for espresso, which has its own pitfalls, but I have no viable local options for fresh, good coffee. I do find that home roasting coffee is a great conversation piece though!
I've been roasting my own for about 10 years now, and as you say, you can't drink other coffee any more, really. Well, you can, as a caffeine delivery system, but it's pretty rare to get true enjoyment.
I went from popcorn popper to heat-gun dogbowl to heat-gun breadmachine and now I use a drum roaster insert in a gas grill. The drum cost about $200 and the gas grill was used for $30 with a rotisserie attachment I got for $1 at a yard sale. I need to upgrade the motor on the rotisserie. (Rotisserie motors go about 6rpm, and 60 is more like it for an even roast--mine is a bit uneven though perfectly tasty.)
Sweet Maria's is a great resource and they always have good stuff.
I belong to two co-ops for which volunteers taste-test and distribute coffee, so there is nothing like the constant selection availability of a commercial place, but the prices can't be beat.
The best coffee is from http://greencoffee.coop/ -- they have a great cupper/chooser who digs through tons of offerings from various importers. But they only do buys every couple of months so it's not for when your stash is low and you're in need. But I've had tons of great coffee from them.
Another good co-op is http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/ -- they usually have a couple of people with offerings at any given time, some of them folks with small roasting businesses who do this on the side. But I've gotten some good cheap beans from them, too.
I actually started this partly as a cost-saving measure--you can get absolute top quality coffee for $6/lb shipped to you unroasted. (Way better than the stuff that is in Starbucks for $12.99 for 12 oz.)
Sort of how I started wetshaving as a cost-saving measure. HAHAHAHAHAHA
The roasting drum does 2 lbs at once.
I went from popcorn popper to heat-gun dogbowl to heat-gun breadmachine and now I use a drum roaster insert in a gas grill. The drum cost about $200 and the gas grill was used for $30 with a rotisserie attachment I got for $1 at a yard sale. I need to upgrade the motor on the rotisserie. (Rotisserie motors go about 6rpm, and 60 is more like it for an even roast--mine is a bit uneven though perfectly tasty.)
Sweet Maria's is a great resource and they always have good stuff.
I belong to two co-ops for which volunteers taste-test and distribute coffee, so there is nothing like the constant selection availability of a commercial place, but the prices can't be beat.
The best coffee is from http://greencoffee.coop/ -- they have a great cupper/chooser who digs through tons of offerings from various importers. But they only do buys every couple of months so it's not for when your stash is low and you're in need. But I've had tons of great coffee from them.
Another good co-op is http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/ -- they usually have a couple of people with offerings at any given time, some of them folks with small roasting businesses who do this on the side. But I've gotten some good cheap beans from them, too.
I actually started this partly as a cost-saving measure--you can get absolute top quality coffee for $6/lb shipped to you unroasted. (Way better than the stuff that is in Starbucks for $12.99 for 12 oz.)
Sort of how I started wetshaving as a cost-saving measure. HAHAHAHAHAHA
The roasting drum does 2 lbs at once.
How do you outdoor roasters combat winter weather?
A tree and a hoodie. It can be pretty miserable 20 minutes when it's cold and rainy.
-jim
-jim
Pfft, it's warm enough to rain during your winter?
<insert inane statement about how my colder winter weather somehow makes me more of a man>
<insert inane statement about how my colder winter weather somehow makes me more of a man>
Winter roasting is only a problem for me (Baltimore/DC area) if it's windy, when the grill has a hard time keeping up to temp. I'd insulate it if it came to that but haven't needed to.
When I used a popcorn popper I used to put the whole thing in a big cardboard box so that it recirculated its own hot air. You have to keep a close eye on it (it could overheat) but it made winter roasting possible.
When I used a popcorn popper I used to put the whole thing in a big cardboard box so that it recirculated its own hot air. You have to keep a close eye on it (it could overheat) but it made winter roasting possible.
LOL you beat me to it!
It's been <0 with the windchill in my area this week and I can't imagine hanging outside for 20min
My last roast was at 40F in a Behmor 1600. I was surprised at how little the roast was stretched out, it was less than what I remember from a 50F roast last spring. But this was a different coffee and the roaster was backed up closer to a wall, so both factors may have helped.
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