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First crack at home roasting !!

RemusRemus
edited September 2005 in Home roasting - All about the culture
first of all i gotta give some people a plug.

Jason and the guys from pioneer roasting supplied the beans to my door in 2 days. Andy from coffeesnobs put me in touch with Alan from Vitali where i bought an Imex roaster for $130 delivered to my door by courier from WA within 3 days.

My experiences with both couldn;t have been any easier and i thoroughly recommend both for any home roasters. friendly, helpful, honest and great service.

now, the proof of the pudding...

plugged in the roaster, scooped in the beans, (costa rican), dialed in the time needed, (initally set at 9mins), flip the switch and off she went.

i checked the colour of the beans and after 9mins they still looked a bit light so i just dialled and extra 2 mins into it. bingo, spot on, nice dark looking roast. the machine automatically cools down on the timer.

took em out, gave em a quick shake, whacked em in the grinder, ground into the pf, clicked into machine, start, pour, drink. PERFECT. :D

i mean seriously...i don;t know what the hell i was worried about. that was the EASIEST THING IN THE WORLD !! :o

there's something very cool about roasting your own beans then grinding and pouring. i'm sure the flavour of the coffee tastes better due to the enjoyment of the process.

i strongly recommend anyone to follow suit. it is DEAD easy and the cost of the beans is dirt cheap compared to stuff you buy. it pays for itslef and just adds to the whole experience.

two thumbs up ! 8)
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Comments

  • ReschsmoothReschsmooth
    Remus So, was you the pun intended with the subject line? Glad to hear it went well. If you are doing single origin roasts (SO) you should keep a mental or preferably written log of how the bean develops over the coming days. Some beans settle down within 12 hours or so of roasting, others take a few days. Given the amount of coffee I am going through at the moment, I roasted close to 1kg last saturday, all in the popper, and no batch larger than 80gms! I did to SO for espressos: Brazilian Daterra & Ethiopian Yirgachaffe. I also did a 6 bean blend for milk drinks. Now, Pinot, got another Macap for me so I can keep one for SO and the other for blends?  8) (It is my birthday after all) P
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  • RemusRemus
    lol no pun intended, i'm not that clever. ;) yeah, to start with i'm sticking with SO to get the hang of it. testing out different roast times for each blend. i'm keeping a log of sorts to keep track of roasts. never thought of keeping the log for settling times. great idea, thanks for the tip. when you do a 6 bean blend for example, is that just trial and error mix/ blend quantities to taste ? that sounds like a bloody detailed process ! i tell you what, i'll leave the hard work to you and when you come up with a good mix, let me know. ;D three things i noticed IMMEDIATELY with this process: 1. the smell from the grinder and the cup is much more intense than anything i have had before. i'm guessing thats obviously the freshness. 2. the crema you get from this process is hard to believe unless you've seen it. i've read many times from FC in particualr that the freshness of the beans makes a big difference in crema but i guess until you see what your missing you don;t FULLY understand. particualrly thru the pavoni lever the crema completely fills the spout of the pf during the pour and "globules" thru, (thats my technical description of it. lol), towards the end of extraction producing a very thick rich crema. 3. the freshly roasted beans require a 3 click turn on the grinder for a finer grind to get the 20 odd second extraction. thats a pretty big difference i would've thought. i wonder if this has to do with the fact that they haven't "settled" as you pointed out ? has anyone else found this ? i've been using espresso machines for 12 yrs and i guess this process proves the old saying. the more you learn, you realise how little you actually know.
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  • ReschsmoothReschsmooth
    The 6 bean blend was a bit of trial and error, but with pretty good results, if I do say so. You should find an abundance of crema in the first couple of days, and don't be surprised to find larger bubbles in the crema which settles down after a few days. The general rule is normally that you can get away with a courser grind when the beans are fresher - perhaps due to the moisture content? Not sure - FC should be able to share greater wisdom. I think my preference is to roast SO for espresso and perhaps use bought blends for my everyday milk based coffees. Anyway, it is a great learning process. P
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  • RemusRemus
    oh wow, i've found the opposite. i'm using a much finer grind with this batch.
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  • mattyjmattyj
    an interesting thing I've been doing to get my head around bean age, is roasting up a batch (2x 100g batches (4 bean blends), and usually 100g SO), and sampling from day 3 (after the roast) till there's no beans left. I used to start drinking coffee 12 hours after roasting, but found that the flavours were too harsh ... it seemed 'unsettled' and kind of unstable. Usually around day three I start to get some great shots, but the best, most well rounded and nice tasting shots come towards the end of the batch, about days 6-8. But then I've run out, and I've got to start all over again!
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  • JMJM
    Hey good job Remus, inspiring as I am yet to try home roasting.
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  • RemusRemus
    tried the settling period and it's definately a slightly stronger taste. have sampled all teh coffee beans now and my fave is the peruvian & costa rican. not a fan of the indian though. still easy as ever. i almost can;t believe how easy this is.  ???
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    Great to hear you are enjoying the process Chris, the problem now is you will never want to stop....is that a problem though? The Costa Rican has been not only one of our favorites here, but one of our biggest selling Single Origins. Happy Roasting, Jason
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  • RemusRemus
    some more results: the peru blend is fantastic, quite a sweet flavour. by far and away my favourite. costa rican is also very good, especially dark roasted it's a great heartstarter and i don;t mind that edge to it in my espresson that others don;t care for. the brazilian blend i've been having issues with. the first time round was a lighter roast to try and keep the wife happy. very earthy taste and quite foul actually. lol i roasted darker and still got the same sort of taste but not quite as bad. 3 days later and the same result. adjusted grinder settings and got a better result, (drinkable), from a coarser grind which gave me less of the flavours but that taste, whatever it is, is still there. similar issues with the kenyan. i found that a darker roast was suitable for me but my wife doesn;t like the taste at all. jason, given i like the peruvian one and don;t like the brazilian, what other types do you recommend ? and has anyopne got some blends they have tried and got good results from that they'd like to share ?
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    Remus, first off all of those are single origins not blends. Surprised that you find the brazil earthy. We get very sweet, nutty flavours from it even through the sample imex roaster. Most people who like the peru also like the brazil, but we have a fantastic mexican as well which you may like. otherwise how about a colombian, i find it a bit unexciting but its very smooth and a great light roasting bean. As far as blends go, the best way to start is on a 40/30/20/10 formula. Use 40% of the bean you want to dominate the flavour. The bean with the strongest flavours use in smallest proportions. Its trial and error so have fun, play and enjoy.
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  • RemusRemus
    i'm using the term "blend" as figure of speech only. :) nutty, yeah, now that you mention it maybe thats it. maybe earthy wasn;t the right description. how long did you roast em for in the imex, do you remember ? what you described is pretty much where i want to get to. i just want to get a good feel for all the flavours first b4 i start blending them together. i definately know what i do and don;t like but want to give the brazilian one more go.
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  • nunununu
    I use a modified popper for roasting.  With a chimney and a chaff catcher, I have no problems roasting 140g of beans per batch.  Five to seven minutes to first crack, then 9-11 minutes till roast completion (depending on the darkness of roast as well).  It's also the cheap alternative, and since I roast in the garage, smoke really isn't that much of an issue. I found the brazilian to be quite nice, not as acidic as a lot of the central americans, with a bit more fruitiness and nuttiness. I actually quite enjoy the indian monsooned malabar.  It's a gutsy bean with earthy tones and a bit of smoked apricot.  Some say it has a musty, wet cardboard sort of taste, but I disagree.  Also has a bit or acidity/crispness.  The aroma is a bit bland, but it produces a lot of crema as well (nearly 10mm in a 40ml extraction). I also like my el salvador.  Most reviews I've read rate it fairly average at best, but I really enjoy this one roasted well into 2nd crack. The bolivian organic I also enjoy.  This one I've found is good just at the start of 2nd crack.  The beans do get a bit oily, but I don't care.  This one I find is crisp, fruit driven, with an excellent mouthfeel. Both the nicaraguan altiplano and colombian supremo I find to be your solid, never disappoint, quality beans.  They're probably better off being blended with other beans that have more character, because they are a firm base to build from.
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  • RemusRemus
    thanx nunu ! must try those. as always with coffee, taste is eveything...as in what is a dream to one will be a nightmare to others.
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  • mattyjmattyj
    hmm ... you must really enjoy wet cardboard, nunu, or have some sort of tolerance for tasting it to the point where you can't detect it! That, or you just roasted it spot-on perfectly. I have had some luck with Indian Monsooned Malabar in small percentages (eg 10%) in blends - but I've found it to be too hit-and-miss for my tastes, and it seemed to overpower my blends after 5-6 days. I still shudder every time I see 'wet cardboard', and I remember my first few taste experiences with the malabar...
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  • nunununu
    It is a bit daunting, being faced with so many reviews telling you that it tastes like that.  I've also read that it has gotten quite a bit of praise in blind tastings.  They key is not to roast it too dark.  I'd say no more than city+ to full city actually.  Some people have spoken highly of it when it has been roasted into rolling 2nd crack.  This is one coffee that the crema has a definite effect on the flavour of the shot.  Very earthy - ala 'wet cardboard'.  There's just something in how the monsoon winds affect the oils in the coffee.  If you scoop off the top 5-10ml, I think you will be singing an entirely different tune about this one.  Very intense fruitiness and crispness.  This bean is an enigma, and you really have to work with it to unlock it's secrets. BTW, the 'wet cardboard' tastes good when compared to over-extracted beans from anywhere.  Because it is front to mid-palate, it doesn't linger very long either, as opposed to a nice bitter shot of over-extracted coffee.
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  • nzroasternzroaster
    Remus, when i roast in the imex i'm roasting to the lighter side of medium so its probably no help to you. But in the Diedrich I roast the Brazil to a medium (or city depending on which scale you use) colour. It produces a very smooth, nutty flavour with no memorable finish. Matty, love it. The whole wet cardboard thing cracked me up!
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  • RemusRemus
    day 5 of the brazil and a better taste. still, not my favourite. what it does show me more than anything is how much of a difference a few days can make to the taste. it's a huge difference taste wise between day 2 and day 5.
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  • Honest_GazaHonest_Gaza
    Remus....spoke to the missus about roasting my nuts and having Brazilian. Amazing how one misplaced word changed the whole objective.  Anyway, apparently it doesn't take long to grow back.
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  • RemusRemus
    ok, 5 loads over the weekend. do you have to have bionic hearing to here the cracks cos i can't hear sh*t. Resch, have intently listend for it and honestly mate, i can;t hear a crack over the noise of the machine at all. i THOUGHT i heard a crack, (about 8 times) !! i'll try roasting in the oven or stovetop where its much quieter and i can hear the cracking. at least then i'll know what to listen for. maybe thats why my brazil raost has been so ordinary. am possiblty over or under roasting. will keep experimenting. on a positive note. the costa rican and peruvian beans are bloody brilliant. i've mixed these two together now in varying proportions as my first shot at a "blend". the taste, crema, sweetness and body that comes out of these beans is the best i've ever seen/ tasted. Jas, gonna have to hook up for some more of these today. :)
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  • RemusRemus
    UPDATE: still can't hear no dam cracking. ??? i haven;t used the oven to listen for it cos bascially i'm too lazy and couldn;t be bothered. as long as it's working and tastes great the way i'm going, who cares ? anyway, brazil beans i upped the time and now they're much better, they need to be quite dark. Kenyan i was going too dark so tweaked it back. 4 blends made during the week and the winner is: 40% Costa Rica 30% Peru 20% Brazil 10% Kenya and my wife thinks i'm 100% lunatic. ;D
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  • nunununu
    First crack sounds a lot like breaking small sticks, it's more of a loud pop than a crack.  The lid on your roaster could also shield the cracking from you as well.  Second crack is more subtle, comparable to having a bowl of rice bubbles.  More like quiet crackling.  If she thought you were 100% crazy, try telling her you plan on roasting coffee in a popcorn popper, that really gets them thinking you should be in a mental institution.
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