D. Armenta
PlagmanIs coffee addictive? Part 2--Roasting with your home setup
Although I like coffee in the morning and after dinner, I never considered myself addicted to it. I have easily done without it on many occasions without the headaches or testiness that some suffer.
However...now that my best friend and I are roasting our own beans, I have to amend that statement. Imagine having a perfect, delicious cup any time you want it--I can count the times I've had coffee that actually tasted as good as it smelled on one hand. Yes, I could
still go without coffee every day. The problem is I don't want to!
Okay, so if you read the previous post you've got your inexpensive porch or backyard setup ready to go. Let's start the roast!
**Note: We use a 10-inch stainless steel frying pan to roast about 1/2 cup of green beans at a time (final yield will be at least 3/4 cup after roast) Three batches keeps us in fresh coffee for about 10 days. We consume about 10 cups of coffee/day between us. You can adjust for more, but don't fill the pan more than 1/3 full or you will spill more than you'll roast. Instead, use a bigger pan.
**All measures and times are based upon the above amounts.
-Preheat your pan for a minute or two over a medium high flame.
Adjust flame to medium when you start to roast.
-Measure out 1/2 cup green beans into the pan. Gently shake and toss the beans by sliding the pan away from, then towards you on the grill in a moderately quick, repetitious rhythm. Anyone who's ever popped corn on their gas stovetop as a kid (before microwave popcorn came along and spoiled the fun) knows how to do this. The idea is to keep the beans moving and turning so as to roast evenly.
Some people use a wooden spoon to stir instead of shaking; we've found that we get a much more even roast using the shake method.
-After a few minutes over the flame, you'll see the beans turning a yellow-tan color and smell a grassy smoke coming from them. This is first stage. Keep shaking!
-After about 4-5 minutes the beans will start turning a light shade of brown and the smell will start to change to a more coffeelike odor. Keep the beans moving. You'll also see some chaff (light tan husks) starting to float up from your moving beans.The smell gets more and more delightful...
-Five to eight minutes after the beans have been over the heat will produce a distinct cracking sound, or "first crack". At this point, only a minute or two more of shaking over the heat is required to produce a "city roast", which is the kind you usually get when you buy pre-roasted and ground coffee. We find the "city roast" perfect to bring out the full flavor of the beans. We stop our roast at this point. The beans are a medium shade of brown, not too dark, not too light, no oily sheen on them.
If you prefer a darker, "french" roast, keep shaking over the flame for a few more minutes until the beans turn a darker shade of brown and start to look oily. You may hear another, softer round of cracking at this point. Time to stop!!
**Important note: coffee beans can and will burst into flame if you keep roasting for too long past this point, plus any bean flavor is long gone. Techniques and times for ultra-dark roasting can be found on the internet; use "home roasting" as a search term.
-As soon as you're happy with the color/smell of your beans, get them off of the flame immediately and dump them into your metal colander or metal-screened frame and gently roll them around to cool them down quickly; otherwise the beans keep roasting from stored-up internal heat. Toss and roll the beans to get rid of any chaff as well.
We use a box fan laid on top of a few barrels and just set the screen over the fan on *low* speed; this cools them in under a minute and also blows any remaining chaff away. The beans are finished when cool to the touch.
You're done!! Time elapsed from beans in the pan to off of the fan--13 minutes.Most roasters recommend letting the roasted beans "rest" for 4 hours minimum before grinding and brewing, but some brew it up right away (Ethiopians do, anyway)
Keep the roasted beans in an open glass container (bowl, drinking glass, whatever) for 12-24 hours before you cover them up to store. They are off-gassing CO2 during this period and must not be put in a closed container or the flavor will be off.
After that, store them in an airtight jar or ziploc freezer bag. Flavor is best when used within 2 weeks. If you want to store them longer, put the airtight ziploc in your freezer; they'll store for 3 months or so.
You'll notice that your roasted beans will take on more mellow and complex flavors as they "age" over the first week or so. Each pot tastes wonderful, from just roasted to 10 days old (we've never got past a week, ourselves)
As a person who wants a fragrant, robust cup of coffee that doesn't have any "dirt" or "charcoal" undertones, I can personally recommend "Java Jampit Estate" beans. The fresh-roast smell is so dark and creamy and aromatic that I frequently find myself just standing over the bowl to inhale the smell of the beans! The brewed taste is exactly like the smell--hence my obsession.
Remember these points:
Preheat the pan
Use medium high flame--adjust lower if you smell the beans starting to char
Keep those beans moving, whether you stir or shake.
Cool the beans down fast by tossing in colander or setting over fan.
Experiment-try-enjoy. I am!
However...now that my best friend and I are roasting our own beans, I have to amend that statement. Imagine having a perfect, delicious cup any time you want it--I can count the times I've had coffee that actually tasted as good as it smelled on one hand. Yes, I could
still go without coffee every day. The problem is I don't want to!
Okay, so if you read the previous post you've got your inexpensive porch or backyard setup ready to go. Let's start the roast!
**Note: We use a 10-inch stainless steel frying pan to roast about 1/2 cup of green beans at a time (final yield will be at least 3/4 cup after roast) Three batches keeps us in fresh coffee for about 10 days. We consume about 10 cups of coffee/day between us. You can adjust for more, but don't fill the pan more than 1/3 full or you will spill more than you'll roast. Instead, use a bigger pan.
**All measures and times are based upon the above amounts.
-Preheat your pan for a minute or two over a medium high flame.
Adjust flame to medium when you start to roast.
-Measure out 1/2 cup green beans into the pan. Gently shake and toss the beans by sliding the pan away from, then towards you on the grill in a moderately quick, repetitious rhythm. Anyone who's ever popped corn on their gas stovetop as a kid (before microwave popcorn came along and spoiled the fun) knows how to do this. The idea is to keep the beans moving and turning so as to roast evenly.
Some people use a wooden spoon to stir instead of shaking; we've found that we get a much more even roast using the shake method.
-After a few minutes over the flame, you'll see the beans turning a yellow-tan color and smell a grassy smoke coming from them. This is first stage. Keep shaking!
-After about 4-5 minutes the beans will start turning a light shade of brown and the smell will start to change to a more coffeelike odor. Keep the beans moving. You'll also see some chaff (light tan husks) starting to float up from your moving beans.The smell gets more and more delightful...
-Five to eight minutes after the beans have been over the heat will produce a distinct cracking sound, or "first crack". At this point, only a minute or two more of shaking over the heat is required to produce a "city roast", which is the kind you usually get when you buy pre-roasted and ground coffee. We find the "city roast" perfect to bring out the full flavor of the beans. We stop our roast at this point. The beans are a medium shade of brown, not too dark, not too light, no oily sheen on them.
If you prefer a darker, "french" roast, keep shaking over the flame for a few more minutes until the beans turn a darker shade of brown and start to look oily. You may hear another, softer round of cracking at this point. Time to stop!!
**Important note: coffee beans can and will burst into flame if you keep roasting for too long past this point, plus any bean flavor is long gone. Techniques and times for ultra-dark roasting can be found on the internet; use "home roasting" as a search term.
-As soon as you're happy with the color/smell of your beans, get them off of the flame immediately and dump them into your metal colander or metal-screened frame and gently roll them around to cool them down quickly; otherwise the beans keep roasting from stored-up internal heat. Toss and roll the beans to get rid of any chaff as well.
We use a box fan laid on top of a few barrels and just set the screen over the fan on *low* speed; this cools them in under a minute and also blows any remaining chaff away. The beans are finished when cool to the touch.
You're done!! Time elapsed from beans in the pan to off of the fan--13 minutes.Most roasters recommend letting the roasted beans "rest" for 4 hours minimum before grinding and brewing, but some brew it up right away (Ethiopians do, anyway)
Keep the roasted beans in an open glass container (bowl, drinking glass, whatever) for 12-24 hours before you cover them up to store. They are off-gassing CO2 during this period and must not be put in a closed container or the flavor will be off.
After that, store them in an airtight jar or ziploc freezer bag. Flavor is best when used within 2 weeks. If you want to store them longer, put the airtight ziploc in your freezer; they'll store for 3 months or so.
You'll notice that your roasted beans will take on more mellow and complex flavors as they "age" over the first week or so. Each pot tastes wonderful, from just roasted to 10 days old (we've never got past a week, ourselves)
As a person who wants a fragrant, robust cup of coffee that doesn't have any "dirt" or "charcoal" undertones, I can personally recommend "Java Jampit Estate" beans. The fresh-roast smell is so dark and creamy and aromatic that I frequently find myself just standing over the bowl to inhale the smell of the beans! The brewed taste is exactly like the smell--hence my obsession.
Remember these points:
Preheat the pan
Use medium high flame--adjust lower if you smell the beans starting to char
Keep those beans moving, whether you stir or shake.
Cool the beans down fast by tossing in colander or setting over fan.
Experiment-try-enjoy. I am!
Smells like coffee!
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The Jeepney Stop
I am a coffee addict - there i've said it. I can't function properly and am in a surly mood until I have coffee. Unfortunately, our coffee machine is broke and I feel sorry for people I meet on the way to getting my first cup of coffee.
This experiment sounds interesting. I'll have to try it someday!
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Oh, definitely try this--but heed the disclaimer. You will never go back once you've started....
Infognito
Long time no comment!!??!!
Howz the moozak goin?
By teh way, in reference to the topic, all I can sya is, I wish I lived next door to you...I couldn;t be bothered with all that hassel, besides, burning the beans would be a drag!
I have found one great coffee place in my mountian tourist village, it brews a bean from South America, from a co-op where 50% of the cash goes ot the farmers, (which is great), and it is organic, the shop imports driect from them, big bags of it!!
It tastes creamy too!
Otherwise, when out and about I, like nearly everyone else on the planet, is forced to partake of the common and cheaper robusta, a boring number, that is often bitter to the taste because they have not cleaned the ruddy machine in ages!!
cheers have a cuppa on me!
fog
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Try Arabica instead of Robusta beans--big difference!
Hello, Story--yes, I was surprised to hear that so many from Oz are tea drinkers, when they have access to some great coffee beans that we yanks have a hard time getting!
Sounds like you know what I mean, tho..........
Thanks all for commenting!
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Infognito
By the way, I think the fact we didn't have a Boston Tea Party, meant we styaed big tea drinkers, however, when out and about, you rarely see anyone drink tea.
Anyhoo, hope you get time to drop by more often, and now we are starting...I mean Orble...an awards ceremony for Orblers!! This includes everyone, so check out my post on it so you knwo what I ma talking about and tell any other American Orblers about ti too, its for everyone.
cheers
and when are you bringing the band out here??/ I'll have to vote for you on that site which registers bands and you can request they come and play. So when you have enough numbers, you organize a venue and a gig!! My American nephew told me about it, so far, his band has one vote for Katoomba....oh well...
fog
The Florida Keys and Everglades
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Hahaha Damo, I wonder how that would have tasted brewed...
Fog, I'm on my way there now and will spread the word!
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