Thread: Coffee or Tea

This is a stock photo of the model roaster I have.



It's built like a tank and weighs about 150 lbs. It's a trip roasting on this. I don't have a lot of controls to play with, I can control the ramp with a combination of turning one or both of the elements on or off. I regulate air speed with a can over the exhaust. I had to relearn all my temps in Celsius too. I had to reset the bean temp prob as when the machine came it was improperly placed. Eventually, I figured out I had a 220 V element when the machine is 110v.

After all that, it roasts like a champ. I was able to get my roasts down to 12-15 mins and get a little control over the ramp. I can now slow it when it is going through Caramelization or malliard and Strecker reactions to enhance sweetness and varietal character.

The only thing I would change is I would rather have a gas version than electric. There is less lag time between adjustments and effect with gas heat. I am learning to compensate for the lag time. But this is a completely different way of roasting than my prior roaster. Conductive heat is MUCH more important than my prior roasters which were mainly convective. Considering the deal I got on this, I am pleased as punch.

Anyone know where I can get food grade high temp grease?

Originally Posted by leadduck

I prefer coffee, nice and strong, the way they serve it at Fourbucks. But I also enjoy a good cup of tea. as Jean-Luc would say, "Earl Gray. Hot."

Summer's coming. Earl Gray also makes an excellent iced tea!

Any roasting I have done has been in the oven. You can get a good visual that way if you have a decent oven light. When I worked in North Beach we had the huge roaster in the back - it had a little drawer you could pull out which would catch a few beans to check. That was pretty cool. We would line up the beans in a sort of darkening rainbow for the new hires to show what the roasts looked like.

Originally Posted by Pyment

City-this is the roast that people use for critical evaluation of coffee. It tends to have the most origin character, but some good flavors may be underdeveloped at this point.

If you home roast (or even professionally roast) coffee beans then you know that coffee goes through two very distinct stages. The first stage is the first crack. As the bean heats up it turns from the pale green you see when you buy it to a grassy yellow. As the bean continues to heat up it starts to develop a brown raosting color. Just past this the bean starts to the first crack. It actually sounds like popcorn popping. This caused by the water vapor pushing through the bean and escaping. Right after the cracking it is at the City roast level.

Originally Posted by Pyment

City+ not really an official roast level. It is really a slightly darker city roast. Here the flavors are more fully developed than at a true city roast. This is my favorite level for coffees with "high" notes. Lime, lemon, cherry, blueberry, etc. Certain coffees tend to do well at this roast Ethiopians (Harrar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe), Yemeni and others.

City+ is a bit past the city roast stage. The oils haven't started to come to the surface, but the colors are turning a darker brown. A goodly number of coffees are very good at this roast level. Fruity and floral flavors and scents are most prominent. I have a few African coffes that exhibit prevalent strawberry and blueberry notes at City+. Central American coffees are best at the roast (to my taste anyway).

Originally Posted by Pyment

Full City - different people define this differently. I have ordered city roasted coffee from some roasters that roast to order and gotten coffee roasted way too dark. They didn't get a second order from me. this is a medium roast. There really should be no oil on the outside of the bean. This roast should have a medium body and you can start to get notes of chocolate and caramel here (providing you are roasting the right bean. Roasting to this level can tame some wild notes that may have been overbearing in a lighter roast.

Full City is where the browns are rich and deep, and the oils are just beginning to surface. Floral and fruity flavors begin to drop off, and cocoa and chocolate flavors begin to come to the forefront. However, the second crack has not quite begun.

Originally Posted by Pyment

Full City+ again this is not a conventional term. I use it to describe a slightly darker Full City roast. A lot of coffees have their "sweet spot" here. Particularly the well balanced Central American coffees and some South American.

Full City+ is where the second crack begins (the other distinct stage). Although still audible the second crack is not as pronounced as the first crack. The beans have developed a deep, dark brown. Rich chocolate, caramel flavors are fully developed by now. And the oils are very prevalent on the bean surface. Indonesian coffees (such as Sumatra) are best at this roast level, or even just past the second crack.

I have ended my part of the tutorial here because I don't roast past the above stages as these are where I like my coffees. If you haven't tried it, then I beseech you to try home roasting. It doesn't take a lot of expensive equipment to do so. My first roaster was an air popcorn popper. You will also need a grinder. An inexpensive grinder will do just fine. When you home roast you have total control over not only the roast level, but the bean you roast. I get my supplies from www.sweetmarias.com There are other places that sell roasting equipment and green bean as well.

Thanks Dan.

I will only roast past FC+ as part of a blend. Sometimes the darker roasts make a good accent note in blends.

I have 2 places I get greens. Garry Burman is a friend and does a pretty decent job with greens.

Then there is the Green Coffee Buying Club. We started about a year and 1/2 ago with 4 guys. Now we are international with about a thousand members.

I feel funny about posting s link here, but if you Google it, you should find your way there.

There's no such thing as too much GARLIC. Eat the whole bulb when we have a crawfish boil.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

I made a similar mistake with garlic cloves/bulbs.
But I liked the meal!

I think pump-driven espresso machines are best, but I was given a Mokka Express for Christmas a few years ago. It looks like a toy but works very well for espresso or cappucino alike.

One thing that scares me about these stove-top espresso makers is that pressure-relief valve. I always think it will go off like a bullet.

I do enjoy a cup of tea but recently in college i started drinking more coffee out of a french press and i really like the brews ive tried (mostly zeke's coffee my neighbor had) up till then id have an ocassional espresso. i just was watching the food network show unwrapped and they were talking about western food... does anyone know any methods of brewing tricks of western or cowboy coffee? on the show the pot was next to a camp fire (nearly in it) and the coffee inside looked very think like mud also they said egg shells were added sometimes, anyone heard of this?

Originally Posted by chrisxc5

i just was watching the food network show unwrapped and they were talking about western food... does anyone know any methods of brewing tricks of western or cowboy coffee? on the show the pot was next to a camp fire (nearly in it) and the coffee inside looked very think like mud also they said egg shells were added sometimes, anyone heard of this?

I wonder if eggshells act like finnings in beer and wine. There is a mention here of using egg whites.

Resisting urge to link to Blazing Saddles video.