momv630 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Wisconsin Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Saeco Vienna de Lux
Posted Thu Mar 20, 2008, 3:40pm Subject: I'd like to start roasting at home
I've been an espresso fan for years. I have an Expobar Lever and love it. Just recently I started looking into roasting my own beans. I have so many questions. What's the best machine? I think brewing 1/2 pound at a time would be good. Do the machines smoke a lot? I thought I could do this inside the house but I'm reading more and more about smoke problems. Is SweetMarias a good place? I live very close to Burmans. Any recommendations on all of this would be great. Thanks
CoffeeRoastersClub Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2005 Posts: 2,028 Location: Vernon Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Vintage La Pavoni Lever... Grinder: KitchenAid Pro Line Burr... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Aeropress, French Press Roaster: "EL SUPREMO" w/QuikSPIN-CRC...
Posted Thu Mar 20, 2008, 4:06pm Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
momv630 Said:
I've been an espresso fan for years. I have an Expobar Lever and love it. Just recently I started looking into roasting my own beans. I have so many questions. What's the best machine? I think brewing 1/2 pound at a time would be good. Do the machines smoke a lot? I thought I could do this inside the house but I'm reading more and more about smoke problems. Is SweetMarias a good place? I live very close to Burmans. Any recommendations on all of this would be great. Thanks
A great way to start is with a Toastmaster popcorn popper. For only $15 you get to see if you like the whole roasting thing. SweetMarias has alot of info on using the popper on their site. I would say that alot of people who really get info roasting started in this manner. I certainly did, and every now an then I still break it out for a quick roast.
Posted Thu Mar 20, 2008, 7:48pm Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
Have you seen Buman's site lately mentioning their new showroom? That looks pretty nice and you can sample their beans there although it sounds like it's still in progress right now. I've bought beans from them and they were really good, and they're not far from me so the orders come overnight which is nice. Yeah, read up on Sweet Maria's and I'd suggest trying them sometime as they offer a lot of high quality beans and information on each variety. I used to roast indoors under the vent hood in the kitchen but there was always some lingering roast scent in the house so I moved out to the garage. Just did some today and it's an enjoyable process for many people.
gimpy Senior Member Joined: 8 May 2007 Posts: 90 Location: Flagstaff, Az Expertise: I like coffee
Grinder: Zassenhaus Drip: the AeroPress Roaster: Walgreen's hot air corn...
Posted Thu Mar 20, 2008, 9:15pm Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
Hi, I would definitely start roasting outside, especially using a popcorn popper. Until you get used to it, most people seem to go too far with their early roasts (I did on my very first one--the beans came out black and I had smoke all through the house, and not just a little smoke either, :>)). You also usually have chaff that can be quite messy. So, yes, definitely do your first roast or two out doors.
Zerileous Senior Member Joined: 7 Mar 2008 Posts: 7 Location: Missouri Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Fri Mar 21, 2008, 12:09am Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
Lighter roasts will produce less smoke, but with espresso you are probably going into second crack, which will smoke quite a bit. Unless you have an exhaust vent in your range hood, outside might be a good bet (unless you don't mind the smoke). You can also do it near a window with a fan pretty well.
Posted Fri Mar 21, 2008, 1:24am Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
I did my first popper roast in the kitchen and my wife almost killed me, I have now set up in my garage. The popper died after I tried doing 5 roasts in a row, so now I have graduated to a "Corretto" --a bread machine, heat gun, cooling fan, temperature datalogger and have the capacity to roast 300-800g beans at a time with total control over timing the 1st and 2nd crack etc, after pulling the roast I have a cooling box with a fan blowing up through an aluminium screen to quickly cool the beans. A quick vacuum of my workbench and put the gear away for next time, and my garage has a lovely roasted smell for a few hours.
momv630 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Wisconsin Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Saeco Vienna de Lux
Posted Fri Mar 21, 2008, 7:49am Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
greeneye Said:
I did my first popper roast in the kitchen and my wife almost killed me, I have now set up in my garage. The popper died after I tried doing 5 roasts in a row, so now I have graduated to a "Corretto" --a bread machine, heat gun, cooling fan, temperature datalogger and have the capacity to roast 300-800g beans at a time with total control over timing the 1st and 2nd crack etc, after pulling the roast I have a cooling box with a fan blowing up through an aluminium screen to quickly cool the beans. A quick vacuum of my workbench and put the gear away for next time, and my garage has a lovely roasted smell for a few hours.
Posted Mon Mar 24, 2008, 10:13pm Subject: Re: I'd like to start roasting at home
I haven't personally done 800g but fellow CS'ers have, can't tell you times but when I do 600g depending on bean variety it can range from 10-15 minutes and then I try to stretch 2nd crack to another 6 minutes. I started out 300g and gradually upped the amount with no apparent drop in roast quality or times.
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