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I ordered some beans and other accessories to dip my toes into roasting! After a bunch of googling I think I'm going to go pick up the West Bend Air Crazy from Target for $20, as I don't really feel like spending twice that for a used Popper II on ebay. Anyone have experience with this little guy? I'll be removing the thermostat, of course. edit: Right after I placed my ordered from Sweet Maria's (thermometer, Guatemalan beans, tin, cotton bag) I discovered there is a local shop that sells a huge selection of Organic green beans in their retail store! I'm real excited now. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Jan 6, 2013 |
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Jan 6, 2013 02:42
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GrAviTy84 posted:
Born and raised! Thanks for the tip, I'll head in there tomorrow and check it out. Do you know of any other sources for green beans in SC? edit: Read the last page and I like that heat gun idea. I watched a few videos on it and it looks very straight forward, is there any reason I shouldn't grab a heat gun over the popper? I guess the popper is quicker but the batch size is a lot smaller. double edit: holy crap I guess I need a burr grinder too! Google Butt fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Jan 6, 2013 |
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Jan 6, 2013 07:44
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welcome Santa cruzian! I used to shop for coffee and homebrew stuff at seven bridges back when I was there for college. Great store.
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Doh004 posted:It takes me ~30 minutes to roast up a cup of coffee beans, about a weeks worth. Around five minutes of roasting each 1/2 cup batch, 10 minutes of letting each batch cool while the popper cools down a bit. It's extremely easy and convenient. What method of brewing allows you to use only a cup of beans for a week?
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Jan 7, 2013 01:14
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Went down to Seven Bridges and bought a LB of Guatemalan Huehuetenango and an Air Crazy from Target. Roasted a little over 1/2 cup outside @ 49f. I believe I heard the first crack at around 3:50 and second crack around 6:30, it was kind of hard to tell. Agitated the beans quite often throughout the whole process. I'm not really sure how fast the beans should be spinning, but it look like the beans were spinning about right. Total roast time was 10:18. I was shooting for full city+, maybe you guys can help me out!  Just from sniffing the jar, it smells absolutely amazing..like the best coffee I've ever smelled amazing.  edit: I think I'm going to run another 1/2, any variables you guys think I should change up? Google Butt fucked around with this message at 03:33 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 03:26
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Alleric posted:Could just be the lighting, but that looks quite light for FC+. Also, and I'm not saying this is gospel, you may have been hearing an extension of first crack. Some beans, when reoasted in an air popper, extend first crack a lot. With the way the thermostat fires the heating element you'll have periods of rising and lowering temps, but the net mass will rise in temp over time (to a point). I think you're right about the extended first crack, although I did open up the popper and pried the thermistor off the cylinder. I'm not sure if doing that was enough to disable it, or if I have to completely remove it. Anyway thanks for the tips, I'm going to go down to bb&b to snag a capresso infinity before I try them. If anyone it's looking to get a cheap burr grinder, bb&b sends you a 20% off coupon for signing up with your email. Edit: They didn't have the infinity so I had to order it. Looks like I'm lightly chopping/burning my beans with a Mr. Coffee whirly grinder! At least I'm using pourover lol. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 18:45
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Mandalay posted:For you guys who have a manual Bonavita BV1800TH auto-drip, does it do a good job of making just one cup of coffee? I'm not interested in making 40oz of coffee at a time and I'm wondering whether there are any problems making smaller quantities more often for the sake of freshness. Have you considered a CCD? I just ordered one and it looks pretty quick and easy. Assuming you have a hot water source, of course.
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Jan 7, 2013 19:37
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Just brewed my first cup and.. holy poo poo, this is what I've been missing with fresh roasted boutique coffee?! The flavors of the Guatemalan Huehuetenango are quite distinct: bright, slightly acidic, kind of like spicy chocolate, and it's unbelievably light but somehow it still feels like it has a rich body/after taste  . This is using a lovely grinder too..It's not bitter at all and I don't get that slightly sick feeling after I have a cup, gently caress you Costco blend! Google Butt fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 21:29
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I'm looking for some beans to roast that are very full bodied with subdued acidity. Would a fc+ Sumatran be what I'm looking for?
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Jan 8, 2013 19:34
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GrAviTy84 posted:Any south east Asian coffee taken to an FC(+) would be up your alley. Stay away from African coffees, they are the opposite of what you're looking for. Thanks! African beans are sweeter, right?
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Jan 8, 2013 19:44
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My brewing gear as been slowly trickling in as I've been roasting! Got my CCD 3 days ago and was getting really sour, bitter results (I was eyeballing everything). My scale just came in and I did a 1:17 or 14g coffee/238g water ratio, with a goal of 2:30m (including draw down). It's so much better I can't even really describe it..now I just need my burr grinder to show up. I'm definitely tasting the roast on this Costa Rican I roasted last night, definitely going lighter next time. Also, I decided to modify my Air Crazy by disconnecting the thermistor, splicing the fan onto the main power line and the heat to the power button. When I plug the popper in the fan comes and I can stretch the roast by toggling the power button. I found this technique, seems to work better than agitating with a spoon..plus it's kinda fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBBg1JUS6dw Google Butt fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jan 12, 2013 |
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Jan 12, 2013 00:32
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Does anyone use weight loss % to determine roast? Found this on the SM forums, look fairly accurate for a popper?quote:City: 12.5% to 15.0% weight loss Google Butt fucked around with this message at 09:57 on Jan 13, 2013 |
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Jan 13, 2013 09:50
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porktree posted:Thread needs more pictures... What have you guys done to me.. 
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Jan 14, 2013 02:21
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Great info! I definitely agree that along with sight, smell, sound, time, temperature is probably the most reliable sign of roast level. I've read other posts regarding the IR thermometer not telling the full story, as it's only capable of reading surface temperature. Sounds like you've found your method to compensate for this. I decided on a cheap k-type thermocouple thermometer off eBay. This has a little wire that reads temp so you can stick it right in the middle of the roast to get a reading. Cost me $15, cheaper if you're willing to order from China. edit: Just got the thermocouple and my Capresso Infinity in the mail, the burr grinder doubled the body of my brew and the thermocouple just allowed me to get my first legit FC/FC+ (19.0% weight loss) roast. Tomorrow is going to be a good morning 
Google Butt fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 14, 2013 17:18
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Cyborganizer posted:After a visit to Intelligentsia and having an awesome cup of coffee sans sugar, cream, etc..., I've decided to try roasting my own beans. I've been looking through Sweet Marias for my options, but I was wondering if anyone would have a suggestion for a bean that would be similar to Intelligentsia. I need something less acidic with sweeter tones (if that means anything) so that my wife will actually drink it. I'm assuming it's a house blend that they use there, but I'm hoping there's a single origin that would be similar. Any suggestions? I made a video that may or may not convince you to purchase and electrically modify the West Bend Air Crazy ($20 from Target). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHRAEEQOzss&hd=1 edit: Also, what brewing method are you using? I found that once I got my method down with the CCD (grind, coffee/water ratio, steep time and technique) the coffee that I thought was overly acidic was fine. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Jan 17, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 23:41
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Cyborganizer posted:I'm pretty sure it was just a cup of their pour over (my wife picked it up for me). I figure I'll just get a sampler from Sweet Maria's and try different origins to explore different flavors. Hopefully I get a Brazilian or Indo pack and get that sweeter stuff for my wife. Somewhere in between 3-4 minutes. I've found a chimney helps big time. I ordered a glass chimney (for oil lamps) and first crack came at 3:15-3:30, second crack at 7:20. I noticed that both cracks were much louder and defined using this glass chimney. I usually take the chimney off midway through first crack to stretch the roast.
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Jan 19, 2013 07:44
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Alleric posted:Heat gun. It's a bit more involved, but I haven't seen any inability to park the beans at your temperature of choice with a heat gun, including burned to a crisp (especially if you don't agitate). And if you do indeed go through a boatload of coffee... roasing half or whole pounds at a time beats the pants off of 3 ounces at a time in an air popper. I've got some friends who are interesting in my coffee and the Air Crazy ain't cuttin' it. Which heat gun are you using?
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Feb 7, 2013 04:37
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Floppy Dingo posted:So my wife really likes coffee and for our upcoming anniversary I was hoping to get her something special to really make her coffee better (right now we've got a cheap 2 cup standard wal-mart coffee pot). I was thinking about getting her a grinder and a french press but I'm not so sure (I'm far from a coffee expert). The cheapest option for Decent Coffee is a Capresso Infinity/refurb Baratza Maestro/Baratza Encore and CCD or Aeropress I'd say. Edit: I'd HIGHLY recommend getting a cheap scale and kitchen timer. I only started to get good results with the CCD when I started using a scale to weigh out the grounds/water and a timer for steep time. The scale and timer allow you more control over varibales that help you dial in your cup, and replicate those results on a daily basis with ease. There are many variables that come into play when trying to get your perfect cup. Ground/water ratio, grind size (effects draw-down time), steep time and water temp. After much research on various forums and testing things myself I've finally found a procedure that I like and produces a decent cup (to me) most of the time: 1. Turn on kettle 2. Wet paper filter inside the CCD 2-3 times pouring the water out of the top, not draining it out of the bottom - I like Filtropa #4 filters 3. Grind the beans at the finest medium setting (on the Capresso) as soon as the kettle starts whistling 4. Turn off kettle, remove from heat 5. Place the CCD directly on the scale, TARE it and weigh out 14g of ground beans 6. With the CCD (with grounds) is still on the scale, TARE it again. 7. At this point the water should have cooled off enough (water that is too hot makes for bitter coffee) 8. Start timer, Pour 100g of water, stir to wet all the grounds 9. Pour 138g water (brings you to 238g water and 14g coffee or 1:17 ratio) - pouring the water should take no more than 30 seconds 10. Cover 11. At 50 seconds, stir 12. 55 seconds put it on the cup 13. Total time should be 2:20-2:30, remove CCD from cup or you might over extract (bitter coffee) I like to stir constantly to keep the grounds suspended in water and dragging the grounds up the side of the filter if the draw down starts to stall. The 14g/238g ratio will give you about half a cup. You can do this with 20g/340g using the same procedure to get a full cup. It sounds complicated but once you do it a few times it becomes automatic. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Feb 8, 2013 |
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Feb 8, 2013 00:10
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Mandalay posted:This is exactly why I switched to the Clever in the morning. Do you ear breakfast and drink water before you have your coffee?
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Feb 8, 2013 19:09
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Mandalay posted:Nope. Fasted usually. Maybe one greek yogurt. Ah. I used get this stomach churning effect when I drank my coffee before putting some food in my stomach. Now I drink a liter of water, eat breakfast and then have my coffee. I feel way better in mornings since I started doing this.
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Feb 8, 2013 19:27
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Alleric posted:Oddly enough, and I've never been able to explain it, but if I get up and drink plain water straight away, I'll get heartburn. Down a pot of coffee or several espressos? Nothing. Empty stomach or no. I usually have to be up a good hour or so before I can start downing water straight. Perhaps it's volume. I know this might sound weird and ridiculous, but is the water you're drinking really cold?
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Feb 8, 2013 21:12
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What's the best drip machine for under a $100? It's for my parents.
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Feb 15, 2013 01:26
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Roasted my second half pound with the heat gun/dog bowl and.. hands down my best roast ever! Solid first crack and a little past second crack in just under 15mins, so nice to be able to knock out a half pound+ at a time. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Feb 26, 2013 |
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Feb 26, 2013 02:12
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 I blame every last one of you.
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Feb 28, 2013 08:36
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I suggest looking into the heat gun and dog bowl method. You can do upwards of a half pound at a time in 15 minutes. Make sure to use the correct size bowl for the amount you want to roast, I'm using a 64oz flat bottom dog bowl for a half pound.. cost $5. The Wagner heat gun suggested in the thread can be found at home depot for $25. Edit: re: one way valve tins from SM - very nice! Lightweight, solid, good seal on the lid and plenty of capacity. A half pound fills it about half way, maybe a little less. For $5 I don't see how you can go go wrong.. I'm even considering buying a few for family as reusable containers for my gift roasts, instead of the bags. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Feb 28, 2013 |
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Feb 28, 2013 21:05
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porktree posted:How loud is the heat gun? I'm thinking of trying this out; but before I spend crazy money on a heat gun I want to make sure I'll be able to hear the coffee crack. (I'm thinking of putting the spare behmor cage I have on a spindle and crank so I can rotate it and roast with the gun. Of course I'm using all this as an excuse to acquire a heat gun and for science. $20 for a heat gun is relatively sane . There's some noise but you will have no problem at all hearing the cracks.Also. Not too sure about using the basket, I keep the heat gun very close to the beans, 1" away until first crack. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 17:56 on Mar 1, 2013 |
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Mar 1, 2013 17:48
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I roasted using the heat gun and dog bowl the other night in the garage, not where I normally do it and I got to first crack at 17 minutes... what the hell? I now realize its because I had it plugged into a power strip when I usually have it plugged directly into the wall, something to consider I guess.
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Mar 2, 2013 20:06
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le capitan posted:What do you home roasters use to store your fresh roasted coffee? I have some glass jars and was thinking of storing the beans in there. I know they release a lot of co2, but if i just leave the jar open for 8 or 12 hours it should be safe to seal? Started out with mason jars with the lid just resting on the top, not tight for the first 24 hours. I use the $5 tin with degassing valve from sweet maria's now, though.
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Mar 8, 2013 21:20
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BlueInkAlchemist posted:Now that I know what I've been doing wrong I will be donating my Keurig to a worthy cause. It's a commercial model anyway, best suited for many others to use. If I've learned anything from this thread you should piss on it and then set it a blaze in hell flames.
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Mar 17, 2013 17:56
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le capitan posted:Is there a certain time at which after roasting coffee is ideal for brewing? Should I wait 24 hours after I roast a batch of coffee to use it? Or like 3 days? The taste develops over time, some types of coffee hit their stride after a few days. Having been roasting my own coffee for a few months I can definitely taste when the beans are too "young". I generally wait 24 hours before trying a new batch.
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Mar 17, 2013 23:57
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MrEnigma posted:I hacked the existing one, removed all the pressurized stuff already. How are you liking this machine? I was looking to jump into espresso and from my research the aroma seems to be the cheapest one worth buying.
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Mar 18, 2013 19:47
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micnato posted:The sampler of green beans I ordered from Sweet Maria's arrived on my doorstep today. Unfortunately, there was a shipping mixup so I am still waiting for the Hario Mini Mill I ordered on eBay, and I haven't been able to find a popcorn popper anywhere in town. So I roasted some Brazilian beans in a cast iron skillet. Get a heat gun. Search for "heat gun" and you'll find a gang of posts about it.
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Apr 3, 2013 01:35
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I've had my CCD for months now, trying to find the proper technique and grind size to perfect my cup.. came across a post on Sweet Maria's forums that has me closer than ever! What's different from what I was doing: slightly finer grind, second mark from the right on the FINE setting on a Capresso and WAY less stirring on draw down (none actually). Less stirring cured my stalling issues too, it drains all the way now! quote:-fine grind, on the fine end of filter-drip grind, but not espresso grind for sure. You can see his stir technique in this video here, he just stirs the top a bit at 1 min into the steep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-wyjaCPj8 Google Butt fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Apr 6, 2013 |
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Apr 6, 2013 22:13
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Archer2338 posted:A potentially stupid CCD related question, but it's just something I noticed. Using the technique I just posted, the first half drains fairly quickly - half is drained in about 30 seconds and it slows up after that. Before, I was stirring like mad during the draw down, I think that actually clogged the filter even more.. now I stir lightly at 1:00, making sure not to stir up the bed of coffee at the bottom. For the first time ever my CCD completely drains in approx 2 minutes. Stalling can be a variety of things: grind size, grind consistency, filter and agitation. Try the method in my post above and report back, I'm curious. For reference I use Filtropa filters from SM's and noticed a big difference, I hear the Chemex filters work even better. edit: Also make sure you're rinsing your filter well before you put your grounds in it. My procedure it to put the filter in the CCD, turn on the faucet to a medium/light stream of hot water and fill up the CCD 2-3 times. BE sure to empty the water out of the top, NOT draining it out of the bottom. If you let it drain, it clogs the filter with paper fines. Google Butt fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Apr 7, 2013 |
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Apr 7, 2013 00:20
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Archer2338 posted:Thanks for the help! I am using the Filtropa #4 filters (white), and I do the stir at 1min following the SM video. I tried the SM method as accurately as I could - put it on the cup at 3:00, but it ended up draining completely by 3:55. Maybe I stirred a bit too much, dunno. The pre-rinsing thing might be a factor as well, so I'll try it. It sounds like your grind is too coarse. A small change in grind size can make a huge difference in draw down characteristics, in my experience at least. Try adjusting your grinder to a bit finer, one notch at a time until you find the sweet spot. Try to shoot for a finishing time of 4:30. Edit: I thought doing a finer grind would clog it more as well, but it helped. I read that if you agitate too much during draw down it actually makes the grind "dusty" and leads to clogging. Finer grind -> less agitation seem to work for me. Double edit: Rinsing your filter is HUGE for a few reasons - it gets rid of the papery filter taste and it clears the filter of paper "fines". Google Butt fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Apr 7, 2013 |
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Apr 7, 2013 00:50
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Doh004 posted:I'm just saying, the whole point of a pourover like the CCD is you control all of the variables. You control how many grounds to use, how much water, etc. You can still make that perfect one cup of coffee each time because you're measuring out how much coffee and water by weight (I hope) already. Yeah, definitely get the large CCD. There is no reason not to in my opinion.
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Apr 11, 2013 17:22
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GrAviTy84 posted:challenge accepted. I can't argue those points as I've never had a small ccd! Makes sense though. I was glad I bought the large though. It took me about 2 months of playing with all the variables to get to where I feel like I'm finally getting a great cup. The large CCD might allow for a bit of flexibility when it comes to finding your perfect cup (taste, volume), especially if its your one and only method of making coffee, like me! Personally, I felt like 10oz was a bit small for my morning cup. Also with the wetted filtropa filters, I can't even really notice the paper taste, don't have filterless method to compare it to though 
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Apr 11, 2013 17:40
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Boris Galerkin posted:OK, I didn't consider making less coffee with the bigger CCD. Not a bad idea actually. If you go back a few pages I posted my step by step process for making a cup with a large CCD. I use 350g of water, makes about a 12oz cup. I was considering making a video, maybe I'll do that today!
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Apr 11, 2013 17:49
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withak posted:Sweet Maria's deserves your money. 100%. I'll pay the extra $5 to support that place.
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Apr 16, 2013 19:22
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I'd definitely suggest starting out with a popcorn Popper. It taught me what each roast level sounds/smells/tastes like, while being basically fool proof. It made the transition to heat gun easy, because I already knew what my roast should be doing. Once you get the heat gun down there's no going back, roasting a half pound or more at a time is so worth it.
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Apr 17, 2013 19:31
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Dramatika posted:OK, dumb question - let's say I forgot to roast coffee last night and don't have any ready to go this morning - how bad is it to brew coffee that hasn't had a chance to degas for the proper amount of time? Say, 30 mintues as opposed to 12 hours? Gotta do what you gotta do. Grind it a little earlier than you normally do so it has a bit of time to degas.
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May 6, 2013 18:40
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