Anybody roast their own coffee?

[RedNeckRuger]

Anybody here roast their own coffee? I am going to be roasting some Costa Rican and Brazilian coffee beans this weekend. Would these 2 coffees be good blended? Say a 50-50 blend?

 

[dantheman]

Hah ! These coffee threads always degrade into a bragging contest over who drinks the most exotic coffee and has the the most expensive coffee maker .

 

[themcfarland]

I used to have a part time job roasting beans back when the roasting machines were not everywhere. there are so many grades of CR beans.. and depending how long the Brazilian beans have sat they may be better on their own.. two competing strong flavors.. if I were doing it, I would do a light roasted CR and then a medium Brazilian. if you dont like the med BR, then just let it set a while.. the oils in it will really come out..

Oh, the days.. I could roast all day for free now. miss that smell.

 

[RedNeckRuger]

I used to have a part time job roasting beans back when the roasting machines were not everywhere. there are so many grades of CR beans.. and depending how long the Brazilian beans have sat they may be better on their own.. two competing strong flavors.. if I were doing it, I would do a light roasted CR and then a medium Brazilian. if you dont like the med BR, then just let it set a while.. the oils in it will really come out..

Oh, the days.. I could roast all day for free now. miss that smell.

Good info...thanks. That kinda confirms what I have been thinking.

 

[Magdump]

Don't roast my own, but I do love to buy the beans and grind my own. People who don't think there's a difference just don't know coffee. And I still think the old 6 0'clock beans are some of the best. That being said, I've never stepped foot in a Starbucks....

 

[RedNeckRuger]

I have been debating getting a Behmor 1600. I have been using a cast iron skillet on the propane grill with pretty decent results.

 

[TomTerrific]

I used to have a part time job roasting beans back when the roasting machines were not everywhere. there are so many grades of CR beans.. and depending how long the Brazilian beans have sat they may be better on their own.. two competing strong flavors.. if I were doing it, I would do a light roasted CR and then a medium Brazilian. if you dont like the med BR, then just let it set a while.. the oils in it will really come out..

Oh, the days.. I could roast all day for free now. miss that smell.

Good advice. I've never had a Brazilian coffee I liked and Costa Rican can be some of the best.

My tastes go to medium to light roasted Central American and East African.

If you want Brazilian, drink Community.

In the end, it is what you like.

I've read threads where people roasted coffee using a hot air popcorn popper.

BTW, whatever happened with Highland Coffees? Last I heard they were going to close.

 

[bs875]

I've read threads where people roasted coffee using a hot air popcorn popper.

BTW, whatever happened with Highland Coffees? Last I heard they were going to close.

Highland Coffees is not going to close. If I lived closer I would get more coffee beans from them. Their fresh roasted beans are hard to beat.

I use a hot air popcorn popper to roast small batches. I also did a convection oven over a "Stir Crazy" popcorn popper base. It was more expensive and complex but you can roast more at a time if you need to. I get my beans from Sweet Maria's and they have a sampler pack that is worth getting.

If you do the popcorn popper method you will just need an aluminum can to act as a chimney and a popcorn popper that has the side swirling vents and not the one large bottom vent. Walgreens at least used to carry a model that did that. The older West Bend Poppery II is considered a good candidate for a roaster.

FYI, roasting coffee smells terrible. You're basically burning grain so do this outside and before your shower because it will stink up your clothes and hair like a campfire.

 

[RedNeckRuger]

Yep...I roasted in the house one time and set off the smoke detector. It did, however, smell like coffee for weeks. I roasted 1# of the Brazilian beans today split into 2 roasts on the gas grill in a cast iron skillet. I have thought about buying a popcorn popper, but would rather spend a little more for a Fresh Roast or Behmor. Brewstock in NOLA sells green coffee beans.