Caffine

I've seen posts here about nearly every substance from ayhusca to moonshine but I have yet to see anyone talk about good coffee.

Anyone here roast their own beans or blend their own fresh coffee?


I used to do this for a long time before caffine was eliminated from my list of morning options. If you really like coffee you might consider home roasting. All it takes is a good air popcorn popper, a metal collender and a couple of glass jars. the benefits are utterly fresh coffee - something you have likely never ever had, and you get to taste something other than the over roasted beans that you most often get at your starbucks/whatever place you go for your brew.

It is a wonderful and very tasty hobby that fills your life with incredable scents and exotic flavors while you travel the world with your coffee cup.

the difference between store bought beans and home roasted is the difference between a store bought tomato compared with one you grew in your back yard.

If anyone is interested I would be glad to offer a quick rollitup tec.

I love coffee. And your post is pretty interesting being another look at a pretty common drug. I'm curious what you think about coffee pods used for brewing.

bioWheel

I had a friend who roasted his own. It was good stuff.

bioWheel said:

I love coffee. And your post is pretty interesting being another look at a pretty common drug. I'm curious what you think about coffee pods used for brewing.

bioWheel

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don't know what a coffee pod is. They are beans that come from the center of the coffee "cherry" and dried in any one of half a dozen methods. I will post a full tec with pictures this week.

I encourage folks who like coffee to try it out.

These are pods.

Oh shit - Garbage!


Ok, a first primer of coffee.


The oils in coffee are extremely volutile. They can evaporate off of ground beans in a matter of an hour or so and it is these oils that impart the flavor and aroma of a good cup of coffee.

When you purchase pre-ground coffee - firstly, you have no idea what you are getting, it could be robusta, or a mixture of robusta and arabica. Arabica has the finer flavor but less caffine. When you purchase preground you have no idea how long it has been ground in the first place and it is unlikely that it has been ground only moments before it is stored. Most companies now store their beans in inert gas so as to keep it fresh- that way, you open a 1 lb can of ground beans, open the top and get a single pot of relatively good coffee as the rest will be exhausted of the oils by the next time you make a cup.


I have no idea what is in those pods, nor do you, we have no idea how long they waited till they put the ground stuff in the pods. Roast your own and then if you want you can put your own grounds in reuseable pods.



So, we are going to roast our own coffee. We need green beans. There is no other place I know of to find the best green beans and that is sweetmarias.com I am going to post this vender because it has a long history, it sells nothing but coffee and I don't think anyone will mind.

Get yourself a couple of pounds of coffee beans - peruse his cupping notes, dream, imagine all the different neuances of coffee, cocolate, berries, fruit, citrus, wine and a host of other flavors hidden in a cup of fine coffee.


Simple as that - next - the popcorn popper.

i meant to reply to this thread the other night canndo, but my kitty was sitting on my lap and the dog was behind my feet and i couldn't move to reply..

anyhoo's, when i was about 21 or so i used to work in this high end coffee store in the local mall.. learned a ton about coffee and tea.. i worked with this guy who was a huge coffee nut and we used to go over to philly to all of these coffee spots.. a few of them even had their own roasters setup and all.. through my buddy, i got to talk to a lot of the owners and learned a pretty good amount about roasting.. it's pretty cool imo..
i'd love to see your tech or w/e you have about it for sure..

Ok, on to the popcorn popper - what you want to do is apply a steady heat to the beans while moving them around - bringing them slowly to the different turning points in a bean - forgive me, I used to know the approximate temperatures but it has been a while.

You need to find an air popper that has side vents, you don't want to use the ones with a bottom grate because it will simply blow the beans out of the popper. I have a list here somewhere but my favorite is the White Westinghouse popper - you can get one on e-bay for 40 bucks but I believe there is a model sold at Target that will work - again, a list is forthcoming.

You will never again be able to use your popcorn popper for popcorn so forget that, it will be for your coffee alone. If you opt for a true roaster, expect to spend a hundred or lots more and get the same thing you got for your popper. I've seen them at thrift shops for 5 bucks, but it is the only thing you really need to purchase.


Now you need to know the degrees of roast.

• Cinnamon Roast:
  - Light brown to cinnamon color
  - Beans are dry (no oil droplets present)
  
  - Internal Bean Temperature - less than 400° F
  - Roast stopped before first crack is completed
  - Low body and light acidity
• American Roast:
  - Medium light brown color
  - The beans are still dry
  - - Internal bean temperature - 400-415°
  - This is the stage where "first crack" begins
  - Profile - The acidity brightens and body increases slightly
• City Roast:
  - Medium brown
  - The beans are mostly still dry
  - The acidity continues to increase and the body becomes more potent
  - Internal bean temperature - 415-435°
  - First crack stage is finished
  - Profile - 50% of the sugar is caramelized, acidity is developed and the varietal character of a bean can be clearly tasted
• City +:
  - A more developed stage of City Roast, well beyond first crack. This roast level definition is from a well-known supplier of green coffee.
• Full City:
  - Rich brown color
  - Beans may show tiny droplets of oil
  - Agtron 38.1 - 43.0
  - Good Balance between sweetness, body and acidity
  - Internal bean temperature - 435-445°
  - Just into the first snaps of second crack
  - Varietal character is present with decreased acidity and slightly
  bittersweet "roast taste"
• Full City +:
  - More developed version of Full City well into second crack. This definition is also from a well-known supplier of green coffee.
• Vienna Roast:
  - Moderate dark brown color
  - Beans have oil on them
  - Agtron 33.1 - 38.0
  - Internal bean temperature - 445-455°
  - Second crack at or near completion
  - Acidity muted. Cup quality is bittersweet with heavier body
• French Roast (some call this Italian and some also call the next stage, Italian):
  - Dark brown color
  - Beans covered with oil
  - Acids are radically decreased
  - Internal bean temperature - 455-465°
  - Subtle nuances are mostly gone. Body dominates with burnt undertones

• Spanish Roast (some call this Italian and some recognize Italian as
  another stage just before this one)
  - Beans are nearly black and oil-covered
  - Flavor compounds are degraded and charcoal tones are present
  - Internal bean temperature - 465-480°
  - Burnt bitter tones dominate

Never mind first or second crack yet - we will get to those. If the bean is underroasted it will taste and smell like dough or bread - actually unpleasant in a coffee. The flavors will be muted or absent and the aroma indelicate. As you can see, you want to thread the needle between sweet, berry like flavors and the more heavy, caramel flavors, or if you are a Starbucks fan, you want to get to the beginning or even middle of the charcoal flavors. I have a personal distaste for charcoal - Charbucks - coffee and I believe they never take their beans into consideration when they roast - meaning it all tastes like kingsford briquetes - the subtlties of the bean are burned out.

Decide where on that range you want to start your first batch of beans - don't worry, you don't roast but 2/3 of a cup of beans at once and when you are learning I would highly recommend only 1/3 cup at once. Your beans will not suffer the fate of the larger roasters in that all the beans will be equaly roasted and you needn't worry about stragglers.

NOW we talk about cracks. when the bean gets to a certain temperature you will hear pops - the pops are exactly like the sound of popcorn only a bit more muted. You will know you are entering the city light or American roast when you hear that sound. I believe that this is too early for any bean I have ever had but when you get a chance, try it out and see if you like it- some do. But we are progressing through my roast of a mythical mexican bean that comes from oxaca and yields at City + a fragrant brew with just the right amount of acid and tastes like bitersweet chocolate with nutmeg notes - at City ++ it becomes just dark cocolate with whiney hints. So on we go, we hear it popping first just a few cracks, then more and more as all of the beans burst and inflate (your beans

canndo said:

I've seen posts here about nearly every substance from ayhusca to moonshine but I have yet to see anyone talk about good coffee.

Click to expand...

You missed my response in the "drug of choice" thread: https://www.rollitup.org/hallucinatory-substances/554536-what-your-favorite-drug-11.html#post8016709

I'm serious. I love a nice espresso. I'd definitely pick that over crack cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, or some of the other choices in that thread!

Anyone here roast their own beans or blend their own fresh coffee?

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I have roasted my own beans once for fun, though usually I'm just content to pay someone else to do it for me.

In terms of blending my own, I do it pretty frequently, though again, its with commercial beans. Usually its just blending some dark roast I like with some lighter one to get something somewhere in between. Or its a way of improving something I have but don't like all that much. I'm not in any way doing it on a "serious" level.

I used to do this for a long time before caffine was eliminated from my list of morning options. If you really like coffee you might consider home roasting. All it takes is a good air popcorn popper, a metal collender and a couple of glass jars. the benefits are utterly fresh coffee - something you have likely never ever had, and you get to taste something other than the over roasted beans that you most often get at your starbucks/whatever place you go for your brew

.It is a wonderful and very tasty hobby that fills your life with incredable scents and exotic flavors while you travel the world with your coffee cup.

the difference between store bought beans and home roasted is the difference between a store bought tomato compared with one you grew in your back yard.

Click to expand...

If you like, you can roast them in your oven, or even a toaster oven.

Anyway, this is all true, though it comes down to effort and desire. I'm not just inclinced to buy green coffee beans, then do special "runs" to roast them, blend the roasts or experiment with different ones, etc. But yeah, if you have the interest to do that you definitely can make the "best" coffee around, and do it cheaper than buying the brand name stuff.

Your beans will expand to nearly twice their original size). Now you will begin to see chaff being blown out of your popper - depending on the bean you may see a blizzard of brown papery bits eminate from your popper - this is a good thing and I hear the chaff makes good compost material. You will begin to sense smoke coming from your roaster. If you have ever been in an old italian deli and wondered exactly what that strange and curiously appetizing smell it, that is lingering coffee roasting smoke. If you don't like to smoke up your house then either keep the windows open or roast outside. We are talking about a matter of minutes here - first crack will come in less than 8 minutes. then will come a lull as your beans get more brown - the lull will last a few minutes all the while bringing your beans more into solid city roast. Now you will begin to hear a new sound - more like an electrical zapping noise or a long crrrack than a pop. Now is when you begin to pay close attention to what is going on (although you must never leave your popper unatended - they can and will start a fire if left long enough). It is during this second crack that you are most likely to find your best or most likeable roast. Try to remember the times into each crack or even record it in seconds as you may want to repeat what you have done. My mythical mexican is about 40 seconds into the second crack and I have found that I rarely leave my beans through to the end of that crack except for esspresso but you may find diffeently for yourself.

Should you continue, you will see more and more smoke and the second crack will finish - now you are in the char territory. in my opinion you begin to lose the final characteristics of the bean itself at the end of the second crack but there is a place for it, and a place for blending it as well.


Now, you have arrived somewhere in the middle of your second crack - the beans are hot and they will coast, the beans growing hotter even if you pour them out into a bowl. You must have a metal colendar or screen, something to let the bean be exposed to the air on all sides. Quickly pour your beans into the screen and toss them, swirl them, shake them until your beans stop their residual smoking and cracking - at least a few minutes.

As soon as they have cooled pour them carefully into an air tight, glass jar and seal the lid, label the jar and put it away - now do it again, after all, you only have about 2/3 of a cup of beans and you will likely want some more. But here is the thing. If you should make coffee from your newly roasted beans it will taste like shit. The beans need to rest from 24 to 48 hours and outgas beforehand - yes, they actually produce CO2 that you will notice the next day when you open your jar and hear the hiss. but that next day when you open that jar you will smell something so heavenly you will not believe this is your coffee, or anyone's coffee, you will think it is some other experience alltogether - yes, that aroma is that good, that pervasive, that devine.

You now have coffee that if left unground will last in this state for three days, maybe four. Now we go on to making a good cup of coffee.

This is the White Westinghouse unit. Some say that yo shorten the life of the popper by using it for beans - this thing is 8 years old.




See the bottom side directed vents at the bottom? (and all the crust? Nothing wrong with that)



The top vent does tend to discolor and finally melt, again, no harm done and the chaff doesn't often blow out the top.



My collection of sweet maria's green beans. Problem is that I had to give up caffine some years ago and these are left over. I discovered that green beans don't last very long - roasting these leaves me with a very dry, ghost of a brew with no character left.




These are some of their offerings, that is when the proprietor deems them worthy of sale, he cups every product from every year and if he doesn't think it is of high quality he doesn't buy and doesnt sell them.






All the implements you need, measuring cup, screen, beans and popper.






2/3 cup of beans at the bottom of the cooker.





See the chaff in the sink and on the side? - the power cord is too short so I couldn't get it all in the sink.


My breakfast, shaggys in butter and then in an omlett.








Second crack




Smoking in the screen.

Jogro said:

You missed my response in the "drug of choice" thread: https://www.rollitup.org/hallucinatory-substances/554536-what-your-favorite-drug-11.html#post8016709

I'm serious. I love a nice espresso. I'd definitely pick that over crack cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, or some of the other choices in that thread!



I have roasted my own beans once for fun, though usually I'm just content to pay someone else to do it for me.

In terms of blending my own, I do it pretty frequently, though again, its with commercial beans. Usually its just blending some dark roast I like with some lighter one to get something somewhere in between. Or its a way of improving something I have but don't like all that much. I'm not in any way doing it on a "serious" level.



If you like, you can roast them in your oven, or even a toaster oven.

Anyway, this is all true, though it comes down to effort and desire. I'm not just inclinced to buy green coffee beans, then do special "runs" to roast them, blend the roasts or experiment with different ones, etc. But yeah, if you have the interest to do that you definitely can make the "best" coffee around, and do it cheaper than buying the brand name stuff.

Click to expand...

Yes, you can do it in an oven or even over your stovetop but it yields a very poor roast because the beans are not evenly roasted and the temperature gradient within the bean is too slow so you tend to get bready flavors. So far as blending is concerned, I prefer my scotch single run, my whiskey single pot, my wine single vinyard or varietal and my coffee single estate. The only exception I may make is as you have done, to blend beans from the same batch but roasted slightly differently in order to bring out all of the flavor the bean can offer - 80 percent city + and 20 percent a minute or two more roasted - into city ++ - full city or full city +.

the only exception I make for that is that I love to do a mocha/Java mix 50 50 full city on each.

So far as letting someone else roast my beans, that would be fine if I could find someone who roasts every day but that doesn't happen any more, I have to buy a hermeticaly sealed bag of a pound at a time and I never did go through a pound of coffee in three days. They say you should never freeze your beans but I have found that it does work for short periods of time - if it is in a sealed container so that the beans won't absorb any of your freezer smells - the scent of tripe and gooseliver doesn't blend well with ethiopian harrar (is there an ethiopian harrar?)


About cost- theoreticaly, you can save money if that is what you are after, but the green beans cost between 6 and 10 dollars a pound - while it is true that they expand, they are still sold by the lb. I can often find coffee for less than 10 dollars a lb - those people buy in bulk and don't really add that much for packaging and roasting services. I am not sure that you ill save much if any money in roasting your own - I don't think I ever have.

No love for Bordeaux style blends Canndo?