I am constantly learning something new from this group. Honestly, I prefer the off topic conversations we have here. I don't generally go for off topic stuff in most forums but the MBZ badge has brought together such an incredibly diverse group of folks, with so many different life experiences in this group that it would be a shame to not read them all.
Never had a clue about coffee roasting. I love coffee. I have an old hot air popper. My Mom gave me a Mr.Coffee grinder a long time ago that I have never used. Hmmmm. I am inspired to go shopping for some fresh beans. Thanks for the knowledge, Mike On Jun 1, 2013 5:14 PM, "Peter Frederick" <psf...@earthlink.net> wrote: > We do range rather far afield, eh? > > I roast a couple ounces at a time, takes three or four rounds to roast a > pound! > > I use a hot air pop-corn popper, the cheapest way. If you are interested, > the old West Bend ones are the best. They must have an air inlet on the > side of the roasting chamber, not the bottom (the beans don't circulate > well enough with the bottom screen, and tend to catch fire). > > Easy enough to do, put just enough green coffee in the popcorn popper so > that it barely moves around when you switch it on. Gently stir with a > wooden spoon handle (or gently shake the popper, which is what I do) until > the beans begin to dry enough to swirl around on their own. > > As they heat up they will turn yellow, then tan, then brown and start to > make loud snapping noises -- this is "first crack" stage. The paper skins > will fly off while this is happening, so I roast outside or in front of the > fireplace with the cover on the popper inside, this sends the chaff into > the fireplace instead of all over the kitchen. Once the beans stop > cracking, you have a standard roast. Tip them out onto a cookie sheet to > cool quickly. > > Roasting makes smoke, so good ventilation (outside or in front of the > fireplace, or a good stove hood) is required. > > If you don't stop the roast, the beans will continue to get darker and > eventually start to crack again, this time a much quieter sound and little > bits of bean will fly off. Watch, those bits burn if they land on you, the > beans are something like 425 F by this time. This is called "second crack" > and is the sort of roast one wants from Indonesian coffee, etc. > > If you keep roasting, you will get lots of smoke and have, in increasing > color and "burnt" flavor, Espresso, Vienna, and French roast. Past that > point, there is nothing but carbon in the beans and they will eventually > ignite. > > Green coffee prices are way down at last -- typically 5-7 dollars a pound. > Crop failures last year drove the price way up, that was bad. I get most > of my coffee from Sweet Maria's in Oakland, CA, but there are other > sources that are often cheaper. Sweet Maria's is definitely premium coffee. > > Peter > > ______________________________**_________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives > http://www.okiebenz.com/**archive/<http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/> > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/**mailman/listinfo/mercedes_**okiebenz.com<http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com> > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
