Try home roasting coffee , Here is how I roll.....
If you have ever priced the home roasters out there the cost is like 300$ or so and not so cost effective . My method is to usepoppers.Not all will work mostly older units and the most critical is that it be the type that spin the beans instead of blowing the up . Just look down at the bottom and you will either see a screen in the middle which blows it straight up or the type that spins has the wholes at the bottom side with louvers that will spin the beans . roasting coffee 012.jpgI use 1/3 cup of green beans at a time to be the best amount any more and to heavy and wont spin and you get uneven burnt beans . roasting coffee 009.jpg
Here is the brand of green beans ive been using roasting coffee 002.jpgThey used to size the beans from elephant all the way down to peaberry beans . now its all mixed sizes and delicious . I have been adding little chunks of either oak wood or others. Today im using pecan wood .roasting coffee 003.jpg The Italians roast their beans by woodfire and for good reason . For instance if you compare a gas fired grilled steak to a woodfired grilled steak there is no comparison . I discard the wood from the finished product and reuse the little chunks 2-3 times and add fresh chunks of wood after that .The roasting of green beans produces a little waste kind of like the red shell skins on peanuts so instead of roasting in the kitchen I prefer the garage on top of the washing machine and dryer . I collect the waste in a stainless bowl and keep watch because sometimes the skins come out and may have lit a little flame (caution advised) plus the amount of smoke sets off the fire alarms and at 5am Id wake the fam and have them choking on the bean smoke (smells delicious to me)roasting coffee 007.jpgOh I forgot to mention the poppers burn out about one a year so I frequent the thrift goodwill stores because they are usually almost new or very hardly used and at 5$ a unit very cost effective .
The pro coffee roasters are using thermometers and such to roast . I am an artisan and use my nose ,ears and eyes to roast. The first sound of popping means the beans are starting to expand and the husk is being released , then a little later as it gets darker color a second pop occurs. This second pop is critical to time the light ,medium to dark roast you seek . Like 30 seconds into the second pop you have a light cinnamon roast , a minute you have a medium nutty woodsy roast , and 2 minutes or less you have French(Italian)or (espresso) roast . Black like my heart!! I cant really decide which I like best so I make all of them and mix it together and call it the Azzolini Tri-Colore' roast . roasting coffee 013.jpg That's pretty much it in a nutshell .
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Originally Posted by Snapper
