Coffee

Quality at close to regular prices. No savings.

Saves money and I’m getting better quality roasts overall, so long as I don’t screw anything up. And if a roast is bad I’m less upset because I paid less and did it myself instead of paying more and expecting better from the vendor.

So far everything I’ve made has ranged from “drinkable, at least better than Dunkin or Starbucks” to very good, and better than what I received from online specialty roasters. Partly better because I enjoy light roasts, and commercial “light roast” still runs darker than my preference, and now I’m in control.

It’s easy to get into home roasting, all you need is a stovetop popcorn popper or a cast iron or steel pan. A laser thermometer is recommended, though not required.

Some good videos for pan and popcorn popper methods:

• https://youtu.be/EniBymmi-cw?is=9TlHcx98KLPT8r96

• https://youtu.be/0a1-qd5BySE?is=CcMcMmkENmV3ntF6

Only major caveat worth noting is that if you prefer dark roasts, either open the windows or do it outside on a grill, as darker roasts will smoke.

It’s a bit better but still not cheap. I buy for instance yirgacheffe at 19 euro/kg green beans. Roaster (itop) costs about 650. I presume stove top roaster is a bit cheaper . So it still is money. But if I compare it to roasted beans from my local hipsters it can be around 30-60 euro/kg

I roast a lbs at a time using a cast iron pan on my propane grill... Roasting makes a ton of smoke.

For me, it's a cost savings and a quality upgrade. My wife and I drink mostly half caf coffee, so I typically roast a good quality decaf to mix into our regular. At a price point of about$8 per lbs plus shipping, I normally order 5-10 lbs at a time to save on flat rate shipping.

All told, I'm probably paying about$10 a pound for my home made half caf. It would probably be something like 12-16 for a 12 oz bag of similar quality coffee at the store. So we never feel bad when we want to have a second pot since it's cheaper than store bought, and we're not razzed on caffeine.

So how to get started? Go but some green beans and cook it in a pan. Couldn't be easier! Just never stop stirring.

They stink pretty bad while they're roasting though, it's the 'after' that smells good.

I got the hang of it pretty quick and even my first roast came out decently drinkable, but it’s gonna be subjective to your bean and roast preference. Consistency between roasts takes more work and paying attention to temperature and time.

Even altitude matters to some degree. I live at high altitude and find my roast time is shorter than what I’ve seen in videos online. Generally around 6.5 minutes, give or take, and my beans hit first crack around 370 to 380 Fahrenheit instead of the usual 390 - 400+ at sea level because water boils at lower temps here.

Within the batch it’s pretty consistent as long as you properly preheat and you don’t roast too much at once. Some beans are always a little lighter and darker, and you have to keep it moving at all times to prevent scorching. As long as you don’t roast too much at once though the flavor has been consistent between cups throughout the batch.

What happens if you roast too much at once is some beans burn while others barely roast, due to piling on top of each other. In my pot I’ve found around 300g of beans to be the sweet spot. I’ve varied testing anywhere between 200g and up to 1 pound.

I don’t bother with cupping. I occasionally French press, but mostly prefer pour over with my metal Hario v60.

Roast is pretty easy to replicate as I pre-heat the same every batch and time the roast at the same stove settings each time, and I use a laser thermometer to confirm temperatures.

In fact, those jars in the picture are from two separate roasts I did on my lunch break today (I work from home). Each roast took about 15 mins total, give or take, from preheating, 6.5 minutes roasting, and then removing chaff and cooling.

I get rid of the chaff by pouring it back and forth between a colander and mesh strainer outside, then finish cooling by transferring it between two cold baking sheets. As the beans sit on the sheet it absorbs the heat, transfer the beans to another, rinse the hot sheet with cold water, wipe it dry and transfer again. After maybe 3 transfers the beans are cool to about or just above room temp.

Edit - re: enjoying the roast, that'll be tomorrow. You never want to drink it right after roasting, should sit for some hours and gas off. It's best from about 3 days after roasting, but fine to drink in maybe 8-12 hours. Drinking right after the roast tends to have an acidic or acrid aftertaste and the full flavor doesn't come out..

Only use it for coffee. Never mix.