Does any one else roast coffee?

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
I use an old popcorn popper I modified to eliminate the thermal cutout, with another power cord for the fan motor which I control with a variac.

I added a chimney on top because beans would pop out without it.
 

Attachments

  • Small roaster.jpg
    Small roaster.jpg
    313.2 KB · Views: 361
You have to control temperature and duration to get it right. The same coffee will taste different with different roasting techniques.

Does your technique yield good coffee? Might be serendipity, might be your technique.

And yes I roasted coffee on a real farm in Jamaica. Rasta man grew everything in the mountains. He had goats, chickens, and made his own cheese. There was citrus fruits, allspice, corn, calalloo, hot peppers, tobacco, and of course the obvious. I stayed with him a couple times - it was awesome. He traded for rice and other staples at the market. He was only interested in making enough money to pay his property taxes.
 
The biggest problem I have is ambient temperature variation since I roast outside.

It is difficult to get the same roast when the temp drops below 40F, fan control helps with that.

Also, the smaller beans (Tanzania Peaberry, Ethiopian Yirgicheffe, etc) are more difficult to roast consistently.
 
Home roasting is a fantastic hobby that is quite compatible with Audio. :)

There is such a large selection of reasonably priced quality green coffee available - it's like wine tasting, but a lot less expensive to explore the world.

I use a Fresh Roast SR700 roaster controlled via free open source OpenRoast software. The computer control is key, IMO.
 
Popcorn popper takes me roughly ten minutes to roast 130 g (roasted weight). I have borrowed my neighbor's behmor, and it was a similar ratio of time to coffee.

If not clear, I really enjoy the quality. (although I'm on the road and writing this from my favorite coffee shop where I used to live)
 
Member
Joined 2014
Paid Member
Yes, I tried venting out the window, but the roaster produces so much smoke and chaff that it is impossible to keep it out of the house unless you are willing to build a vent hood.

Hmm I have an openfireplace in the living room. I suspect I would be shot using it to roast coffee in tho :). Means of course I have to try it...

I knew I should have kept the mickey mouse popcorn maker when the kids grew up.
 
As many brazilian guy, I like coffee very much, and we have lots of roasters here. Many very good beans too.

I´m planning to roast coffee in house, but doing something like this machine I saw at Malongo Coffee in Paris.

The gadget works silent e rotate the beans in a hot ascendent air flux. A german machine, If I remember well.

Regards,
 

Attachments

  • malongoroaster.jpg
    malongoroaster.jpg
    118.6 KB · Views: 184
When I roasted my own coffee (did so for 5-6 years) I bought the green beans at Sweet Maria's as well. I bought my roasters there too.

I started with a fluid bed roaster. The Heathware iRoast 2. That was a pretty decent roaster, but getting the roast reasonably consistent was a challenge. I upgraded to a Behmor drum roaster (similar to the current 1600 Plus model). Nice roaster! The drum roasting made it much easier to get a consistent roast and the quiet operation of the unit made it easier to distinguish the first and, especially, the second crack. The catalytic converter on the exhaust (smoke suppression unit) was nice as well. I'd still roast in the garage, but I wouldn't have to open the garage door after to air everything out. :)

I originally started roasting when I was in the Seattle area. Despite the coffee culture there, it was nearly impossible to dust up a decent medium (full city or full city+) roast. So I roasted my own. After 5-6 years of it, I grew tired of the weekly or biweekly coffee roasting ritual and decided to visit the grocery store coffee section again. The number of medium roasts had grown tremendously so I tried one. I've been drinking grocery store coffee since then.
For my everyday coffee, I usually opt for Costco's Java Club or their Kona coffee. They're both pretty honest medium roasts and really not bad. Of course, they don't offer the completely fresh taste. For that, I go to the Calgary Co-Op. One of their stores has a coffee roaster and the stuff they have is in the store is generally within 24 hours of roasting, which is just about perfect for peak flavour.

Tom
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.