Coffee roasting
 

As my interest in coffee has been growing over the last year, I've finally bought a roaster (the i-Roast 2). I'm still figuring out the different stages of the roast, however by know I think I've figured out how the smoke alarms work :lol:.. I've tried roasting a couple of blends and the results are ok. I mostly use an espresso machine, though I use a French press from time to time.

So if anyone roasts their own coffee, I'd like to hear about your experiences, roasts, blends.. Thanks!

I dunno about roasting my own coffee, but I watched the Good Eats episode that he did on coffee- the roast apparently has to be monitored EXACTLY for the coffee to come out right. Perhaps there is a book somewhere detailing all this scientific sumsuch floating around on amazon? I'd also recommend watching the Good Eats episode if you can get your hands on it somehow- it was really, really informative to me!

(sorry if this doesnt make any sense... i've not had a lot of sleep!)

I've been roasting my own coffee for a year or so now. It does make a difference in taste ... but I've also made a few that tasted nasty. I've been trying lighter and lighter roasts. Some cinnamon roasts have been ... interesting. We're so conditioned to the *$'s dark roasts that anything with a light roast doesn't seem to have enough body.

My favorite bean is Killamanjaro(sp?) Top AAA with a light city roast. As for blends ... I've blended that with Central American medium roasts and been pleased.

I use the original iRoast.

I brew my espresso and Spanish roasts in a stove top espresso maker (http://www.coffee-makers-espresso-ma...so-makers.html)

For general coffee I use a vacuum brewer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...74415?n=284507)

There's a new kind of coffee maker out that I'm going to try. It's similar to the French press (http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm).

The links above are for descriptions only. You might want to search for better prices.

Thanks for the Good Eats tip Sage. I had already downloaded that episode but not watched it yet. It's informative. I did buy one coffee roasting book too (the only one that seemed half decent).

Vanblah: thanks for the info. I haven't roasted too darkly yet, but that's because I was interrupted both times by the smoke alarm :). Keep me updated on the Aeropress & the coffee it produces, this seems like a good press for the office..

For the thrifty among us... (ME!!) there's a method that works pretty well - and saves the need of buying expensive equipment -and finally makes use for that hot air corn popper that's been gathering dust since college...


You can use a hot air corn popper to roast the coffee - it creates a lot of smoke but it works pretty well - and it's an easy foray into the world or roasting...

Googled this site for instructions that seem close to the instructions I had..

http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpopmethod.html

I was hoping someone would mention the budget route. Heat guns and a collander work well too, though it's definitely an art.

The mess is at least as much fun as with a corn popper. :)