Why drink stale coffee? (Part 2 Roasting)
Ripe coffee cherries on the vine.
Picked for processing.
To extract the seeds which are the coffee beans.
Bag of coffee greens!
You don’t need expensive equipment to roast coffee at home.
You can roast green coffee using a $5 hot air popcorn popper from Goodwill or even on a stove top using a skillet. Just keep in mind that there will be a lot of chaff and smoke so I strongly recommend roasting outdoors.
There are also many commercial home units for roasting that can sit next to your other kitchen appliances like your toaster and blender.
The two most important events during roasting are:
1st Crack
Your beans will start popping as they approach 400 degrees Fahrenheit. It will sound like popcorn popping or twigs snapping. You may stop your roast anytime once 1st crack has completed and quickly cool your beans to stop the roast.
2nd crack
Your beans will start sizzling like rice krispies in milk. Reaching 2nd crack means that you’ve already achieved a very dark roast and are rapidly approaching the upper threshold. Coffee roasts are stopped somewhere between end of 1st crack and partially into 2nd crack, depending on how dark a roast you want. I do not recommend going more than 30s into 2nd crack or your beans may scorch or even catch fire.
Once you’ve roasted your beans, you want to wait a couple days for your beans to “degas” or release CO2. I like to roast just enough to last my household two weeks so that I always have fresh coffee on hand. In Part 3 I will talk about grinding your beans, which many people consider the most important part of coffee preparation!
Well, look at that. I was literally going to make a "how to roast coffee at home with a $5 air popper from Goodwill" post this weekend, and you beat me to it. You probably owe me some money for telepathically stealing my idea. In fact, I'm just going to apply for my share of your profits.
Just kidding, of course. Nice post and maybe I still will roast me some Steem coffee this weekend. ;)
👍From the results of the process, enjoy your coffee....
Mmmmmmmm....
This is a beauty! Thank you for the info, this will come handy, I think, for many, me included. Namaste :)
Great pictures!
I love coffee...and am crazy about coffee.
Just wanted to add that cold brew is one of he easiest ways to enjoy coffee during the summer months.
Cold Brew
Pour the cold water on to the grounds and move the container holding the grounds in a circular motion to let the coffee grounds be fully immersed.
Let the brew sit for 6 hours. (Optional: stir the brew)
As soon as it has brewed for 12 hours, you can refridgerate the cold brew or enjoy it immediately over ice.
Or if you are doing big batches its 1 cup coffee grounds to 4 cups water. I just got the Primula MyBev which does cold brew and it's changed my life. I recommend 24 hours steeping for full flavor.
Thank you for the info, this will come handy, I think, for many,
Love coffee @justinlaak . I know the Bulletproof Exec has stated that there is a "mold" issue on a majority of coffee beans. Do you have any experience with the problem of these mycotoxins? I think Aflatoxin is one such substance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin
nice post.. when is part 3 coming...
This is kinda funny, because I actually do have an article started about roasting at home with a popcorn popper I got at Goodwill. @biophil might have been kidding, but I'm not.
I've been doing it this way for years now. While I'd love to get a Hottop or even Gene Café, it's just so cheap to do it with the Poppery. I roasted a pound about two hours ago.
Fun post. Yes, agree - milling is very important. But if the beans area already a failure, no grind will fix it. Get good berries. Learn to roast (don't bake - if it's not reaching 400 degrees F, it's baking and can't quite get "there"). Get a good mill, whether electric or manual, and then move on to various methods of brewing.
Fun post @justinlaak. Following to get more. :)
Great post and I love the pictures!