Anyone roast their own coffee here?

[Cuthbert Allgood]

Got a coffee roaster for Christmas (does about 5 ounces of beans at a shot) and have done about 3-4 pounds so far. Just looking to compare notes as I learn about this art.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Since 2007. Using the same whirly pop stainless steel device!

Sweet Maria is my bean source - focus on Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Guatemala and dabble in others...tend to do for a City approaching Full city (stop after first crack is complete).

Such fun - amazing - I like the whirly pop because I can do 10 ounces at a time - takes 8-10 minutes on my front porch, using a coleman stove.

What do you think? My feeling is that it is an adjustment - one realizes that Starbucks burns away the regional origins and it all tastes like Charbucks. Home roasted flavors are subtle, fascinating, distinctive. So we now travel with our beans, a grinder and a French Press!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

2. I got a FreshRoast SR500 which is an air roaster

I really like it so far. I feel like I need to get a spreadsheet going to keep track of what I liked and what I didn't.

I have always disliked Starbucks for their over roasting and getting rid of any nuance. I do think it is nice to be able to get a somewhat dark roast and still keep the regional tones of the beans. My family got me about 5 pounds of beans with the roaster and all are Central American. I have about a pound left. Personally I like the African beans, so I will start with those when this gift supply is done.

I think it's awesome to just watch the roasting process.

I have been using a metal insert for our Keurig to brew coffee at home and now I think I'm going to get a French Press just so I don't lose the flavors I'm trying to roast.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. let's keep the dialog going. Wait until you delve into the African coffees!

Go for a good dry process Ethiopian (very distinctive - to us the brewed coffee tastes like fruity or cocoa notes are in there), a wet process Ethiopian (but keep it in the light side - very subtle - tastes best when it cools down a bit)....and Kenya (kick ass complex flavors - HUGE coffee, but from flavor elements, not from roast!).

have fun - it is an addictive hobby!

[Cuthbert Allgood]

4. I love Kenyan coffees

I've read that they are a pain to roast.

I'm starting to get a handle on the different levels of roasts, now it's just figuring out which coffees do best at which roast. My understanding is that most African coffees do well at a city roast (hope I'm using that correctly--just past 1st crack but before 2nd crack).

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. I will modify that - Kenya are a delight to roast - they end up a beautiful uniform color,

have few quakers (very clean coffees), and nice cut offs between roast levels.

Ethiopia, on the other hand, are a challenge - smaller beans, often have unroastable beans (quakers) that need to be culled out afterward, and the roast level cut offs are not as clean - I find them the easiest to over roast!

[murielm99]

7. No.

I don't like Starbucks because it tastes burned. I do drink Dunkin.

[elleng]

10. Ditto. Recently changed.

[elleng]

6. Thanks for this interesting discussion.

No, I don't roast my own coffees, and tend to be such a creature of habit, was drinking Starbucks regularly until found I preferred Dunkin (due to availability,) and a little French bakery, where they use Illy brand Italian coffee. Smooth is my thing, in coffee (and wine!)

DID discover a great Texas roaster when visited a cafe in Chestertown, MD, LOVED their coffee, and began ordering from http://cuveecoffee.com/

[Major Nikon]

9. That's an excellent roaster

They have some shops in Austin and I've ran across a few coffee shops that use their beans.

[Dalai_1]

11. Cuveecoffee

Sounds wonderful- after reading your post ckd the website ordered 6 pounds-( 3 different flavors)
I normally drink Dunkin-
Cuvee will be a real treat-
Thank you for sharing

[elleng]

12. It's great!

I got the decaf.

Let me know what you think.

I now drink Dunkin.

[Dalai_1]

13. Cuvee coffee

I received my order of Cuvee yesterday-It is wonderful!

Could not find my coffee grinder so used the dry container of my Vitamix which worked great-

Cuvee service is great!

It will definitely be my coffee from now on-

Thank you so much for sharing about the coffee and all of your posts;I always enjoy/learn from them~

[elleng]

14. Glad to hear it!

Now on to MY coffee!

[Major Nikon]

8. I used to roast my own coffee beans

I've used a number of different methods including a hot air popcorn popper, a cast iron skillet, a hot air gun, and a modified stainless steel trash can connected to a rotisserie attachment inside my gas grill. I used the latter method for a few years and preferred it to all others as I could easily roast 2 pounds in a batch (although typically I'd only do one pound). I never really liked the profile hot air methods give you including the large commercial roasters that many Costco stores used for in-house roasting.

Now days there's a few mail order places and one local roaster I prefer to use for freshly roasted coffee.