Anyone roasting your own coffee beans?

[YOHOHO]

Seems like I remember a few of you may roast coffee beans. I'm considering it...

It is worth the effort? I see people roasting in anything from popcorn poppers to super expensive roasters. Any opinions on what roaster may offer simple and consistent results with lowest/lower costs?

[JP Chestnut]

My dad grows his own beans in HI, sells them, and does tasting competitions - he doesn't roast himself. I get the impression that doing it yourself isn't worth the effort.

[YOHOHO]

My dad grows his own beans in HI, sells them, and does tasting competitions - he doesn't roast himself. I get the impression that doing it yourself isn't worth the effort.

Wow, that's cool as hell. He send regular shipments your way?

[toxicavenger]

I have personally done it recently and for me personally it wasn't worth my time/cost ratio. To many people already put out a great product.

[ChuckW]

I roast with a Behmor 1600, which has a smoke suppression system that enables me to roast indoors. With this rig, a range hood is more than adequate to deal with any smoke as long as you don't burn the crap out of the beans Charbucks style. I buy my green beans from a not for profit co-op, so I'm able to get quality beans in the +/- $5 per lb. range delivered. I normally order 15 lbs. at a time. It's nice to roast beans as you need them and always have fresh coffee to brew.

[ericf4]

Ok I'll tap out here with my Keurig...

Sent from my Moto Z Force

[toxicavenger]

We just buy small quantities of beans at the local coffee shop here in Italy.
They know how to roast so it's very hard for a regular guy to do a better quality of roasting at home.

The two things (assuming quality of bean and quality of roasting are equal) that make the BIG difference in quality of coffee are

1- time since roasting
2- time since grinding

The more you minimize both, the better.

So you will experience the largest increase in quality of coffee by

1- buying small quantities of whole beans frequently
2- grinding them every day

Whole Foods (at least the one in south TriBeCa where I shopped when I lived in NYC) does a GREAT job with coffee, albeit at obscene prices.

Good info. I have found that for me personally the organic whole beans have a better taste also, maybe because they haven't had pesticides sprayed on them? I dont' know really. I also measure how many beans I will need for the next day and I let them "sweat" on the counter (I keep mine in the freeze since I buy weeks worth at a time) before I grind them.

[YOHOHO]

I roast with a Behmor 1600, which has a smoke suppression system that enables me to roast indoors. With this rig, a range hood is more than adequate to deal with any smoke as long as you don't burn the crap out of the beans Charbucks style. I buy my green beans from a not for profit co-op, so I'm able to get quality beans in the +/- $5 per lb. range delivered. I normally order 15 lbs. at a time. It's nice to roast beans as you need them and always have fresh coffee to brew.

Sweet setup. I like the smoke suppression. I found a few on the Behmor 1600's on Craigslist, maybe I'll give that a shot.

[YOHOHO]

We just buy small quantities of beans at the local coffee shop here in Italy.
They know how to roast so it's very hard for a regular guy to do a better quality of roasting at home.

The two things (assuming quality of bean and quality of roasting are equal) that make the BIG difference in quality of coffee are

1- time since roasting
2- time since grinding

The more you minimize both, the better.

So you will experience the largest increase in quality of coffee by

1- buying small quantities of whole beans frequently
2- grinding them every day

Whole Foods (at least the one in south TriBeCa where I shopped when I lived in NYC) does a GREAT job with coffee, albeit at obscene prices.

I'm 3 blocks from Whole Foods here in Laguna Beach, so I may give there beans a shot.

I've been grinding beans daily and am slowly developing my coffee palate. Seeing where it goes...

[unsub073]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

[matt.wu]

How do people have time for this???

I love well-made coffee and will always BUY it if available, but for my day-to-day, I just drink Nespresso. Maybe I can even think about dabbling in this once my kids are grown...

[unsub073]

How do people have time for this???

I love well-made coffee and will always BUY it if available, but for my day-to-day, I just drink Nespresso. Maybe I can even think about dabbling in this once my kids are grown...

I still have the Nespresso, but I haven't touched it since I got the Aeropress. The difference between the two is night and day. The Aeropress takes me about 5 min's to make a cup of coffee and that includes waiting for the water to get to temperature. I will never go back to a pod machine again.

[toxicavenger]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

[toxicavenger]

How do people have time for this???

I love well-made coffee and will always BUY it if available, but for my day-to-day, I just drink Nespresso. Maybe I can even think about dabbling in this once my kids are grown...

Honestly I use a cheap 12 year old Saeco semi-automatic machine and it takes 15 minutes for me to make my wife and I a mocha in the morning.

[mikeylacroix]

We just buy small quantities of beans at the local coffee shop here in Italy.
They know how to roast so it's very hard for a regular guy to do a better quality of roasting at home.

The two things (assuming quality of bean and quality of roasting are equal) that make the BIG difference in quality of coffee are

1- time since roasting
2- time since grinding

The more you minimize both, the better.

So you will experience the largest increase in quality of coffee by

1- buying small quantities of whole beans frequently
2- grinding them every day

Whole Foods (at least the one in south TriBeCa where I shopped when I lived in NYC) does a GREAT job with coffee, albeit at obscene prices.

Good info. I have found that for me personally the organic whole beans have a better taste also, maybe because they haven't had pesticides sprayed on them? I dont' know really. I also measure how many beans I will need for the next day and I let them "sweat" on the counter (I keep mine in the freeze since I buy weeks worth at a time) before I grind them.

I sweat mine too night before use. I get fresh roasted beans from Australia so gotta freeze them when I stock up.

The home set up

[toxicavenger]

I sweat mine too night before use. I get fresh roasted beans from Australia so gotta freeze them when I stock up.

The home set up

Sweet Mike, that will be my next machine I think. This is a stolen pic but it is my same setup.

[matt.wu]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

Unsub, try grind them right before brewing once, and you will see the difference, guaranteed 120%
As Terry says it's fuller, fresher.
No contest.
Also the grinder he recommends is perfect.

How do people have time for this???

I love well-made coffee and will always BUY it if available, but for my day-to-day, I just drink Nespresso. Maybe I can even think about dabbling in this once my kids are grown...

I'm going to put my Italian hat (should I say mustache?) on now:
You cannot a-say you like caffè and then a-drink a nespresso. Mamma would spank you.

Jokes aside, nespresso is very meh, and (I would bet you don't know this) the lighter brown thin layer of foam like stuff is not real.
It's made with gum.
That foam in real espressos is due to the high pressure of professional machines. The Nespresso small ones simply do not have the firepower to create it, so they fake it.
Plus the cups are horrible for the environment.
Plus they are insanely expensive.

The Italian rule for coffee is:
Drink espresso in bars

For home consumption, the best by a very large margin is the moka.
Try it and the aero press will be flying out of the window or towards the trash can in no time.
Also, it's much faster.
Bialetti is the brand to own.
Cheap on Amazon if I recall correctly.
Get the 6 cup, because by "cup" they mean espresso size cup. The 3 cup size really makes coffee for 1, and not a very big one.

Coffee from the moka is stronger, so drink less of it.



You're a-welcome

I totally read this in a Super Mario voice.

Truth is, I do prefer and like good coffee. But it doesn't mean that's all I drink. Hell, I drink gas station coffee all the time too.

But I will check out the Moka and Aeropress as well, but I can't be spending more than a couple minutes on coffee in the morning. I drink it all black, so fortunately I don't really worry about milk or any of that jazz. And crema on espresso is meaningless to me.

[toxicavenger]

I totally read this in a Super Mario voice.

Truth is, I do prefer and like good coffee. But it doesn't mean that's all I drink. Hell, I drink gas station coffee all the time too.

But I will check out the Moka and Aeropress as well, but I can't be spending more than a couple minutes on coffee in the morning. I drink it all black, so fortunately I don't really worry about milk or any of that jazz. And crema on espresso is meaningless to me.

Drinking it "all black" is the easiest way to go.

[YOHOHO]

Great stuff. I've been happy with my bonavita electric kettle for pour over coffee using my chemex.

[unsub073]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

Thank you kind sir. I still have a couple bags of ground stuff, so next order I place, I will pick one of those up and whole beans next time to give it shot.

[unsub073]

I totally read this in a Super Mario voice.

Truth is, I do prefer and like good coffee. But it doesn't mean that's all I drink. Hell, I drink gas station coffee all the time too.

But I will check out the Moka and Aeropress as well, but I can't be spending more than a couple minutes on coffee in the morning. I drink it all black, so fortunately I don't really worry about milk or any of that jazz. And crema on espresso is meaningless to me.

The Aeropress is a cheap way to try it out, and I used the microwave for about a month to heat the water before I got a digital kettle for it. I drink mine black as well, and I can get about a half cup of coffee from the aero, and then top it off with a little water.

[toxicavenger]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

Thank you kind sir. I still have a couple bags of ground stuff, so next order I place, I will pick one of those up and whole beans next time to give it shot.

It would be best if you find some local, after 14 days beans tend to start to get acidic or stale. The best taste is within the first few days of the roast.

[unsub073]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

Thank you kind sir. I still have a couple bags of ground stuff, so next order I place, I will pick one of those up and whole beans next time to give it shot.

It would be best if you find some local, after 14 days beans tend to start to get acidic or stale. The best taste is within the first few days of the roast.

Good to know. I know of a couple places I will check out.

[toxicavenger]

I just made the switch from pod's to the aeropress recently, and have been using only the pre ground up coffee. Is there really that big a of difference between grinding your own beans vs pre ground ones even from the same coffee company?

2nd question: What is an acceptable grinder to use?

When they are freshly ground they have a fuller flavor to them. If they are pre-ground they tend to be less flavorful in my experience, they are almost stale in comparison. I use a cheap grinder (Capresso Infinity) that works excellent for the price. Also their warranty is top notch. It takes a little bit to find out the correct grind for each machine but it worth it. https://www.wholelattelove.com/products ... tic-finish

Thank you kind sir. I still have a couple bags of ground stuff, so next order I place, I will pick one of those up and whole beans next time to give it shot.

It would be best if you find some local, after 14 days beans tend to start to get acidic or stale. The best taste is within the first few days of the roast.

Good to know. I know of a couple places I will check out.

There are a few local places I wont use here because they don't care about shelf life, and they won't put a date a roast date on the bag. Believe me it does matter. Kind of like the overroasting Starbucks does, it is foul without all the sugar they put in it to mask the taste of the roast.

[ChuckW]

I roast with a Behmor 1600, which has a smoke suppression system that enables me to roast indoors. With this rig, a range hood is more than adequate to deal with any smoke as long as you don't burn the crap out of the beans Charbucks style. I buy my green beans from a not for profit co-op, so I'm able to get quality beans in the +/- $5 per lb. range delivered. I normally order 15 lbs. at a time. It's nice to roast beans as you need them and always have fresh coffee to brew.

Sweet setup. I like the smoke suppression. I found a few on the Behmor 1600's on Craigslist, maybe I'll give that a shot.

Whatever roaster you use, be prepared to keep an eye on it while roasting is in progress for two reasons: (A) It's practically impossible to accurately pre-program roasting time to get the desired roast, so you need to be there to manually kick in the cooling cycle at the right time and (B) there is always a fire hazard. Bean chaff is especially combustible. Rule number one: Do not burn down the house.