Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:16am Subject: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
So I haven't roasted any coffee yet, but I have 5 lbs of MG sitting on the kitchen table, and potentially another 40lbs of coffee coming (I'm waiting for some bags to fill on the coffee co-op) I have a tendency to dive in 100% whenever I become interested in something.
The coffee I have/hope to receive includes the following:
5 lbs Malabar Gold 5 lbs Nic Segovia 5 lbs Eth. Yirg 10 lbs Ugandan Bugisi 10 lbs Red Sea Blend 10 lbs Brazil Cerrado
I will roast a bit of everything first, try each alone using my Silvia, and then start experimenting with blends. Sound good to all of you?
I'm assuming I might have some difficluty getting even roasts with the blends listed above. Anything I should look out for with these?
FYI: I am set up with a stir crazy/Galloping gourmet. No mods on the stirring rods, disconnected heat on the stir crazy, and 3 legged GG wire roasting rack to lift the GG another 1/2 inch or so. The GG I have was a Salvation Army purchase for $10, and is the 1470W version. The stir crazy is new from Target for $25 on sale.
I originally was planning on trying the WBP2, but this looked easier (compared to a popper with mods such as separate heat and fan, variac, etc...), and sounded like a better long term solution.
I bought the green listed above because I really like MG, and the others because of recommendations here, and on the coffee co-op.
I thank all of you for all of the time, effort, and input which has allowed me to initiate another habit-forming, time-consuming, and money-devouring interest (among my others such as golf, Tae Kwon Do and video games). Most of all my wife (the one who hates coffee, and only drinks very weakly brewed tea...decaf at that) feels nothing but contempt for CG, the co-op, and AC, where I seem to spend all my spare time browsing in the evening and into the early morning.
bxntrk Senior Member Joined: 5 Mar 2004 Posts: 496 Location: Central Kansas, USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: S'Bucks Barista Grinder: Rocky DL, Bunn G1, Solis M+ Drip: Presto Scandinavian Roaster: Hot Top, RK Drum on the way
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:30am Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Yes, you have gone off the deep end, but so have we all. But since I'm a novice I can't really answer any of your other questions.
I just placed a $200 order from Sweet Maria's, myself. I did my first roasts last week-end and I'm totally hooked on it. I bought various coffees to try out for espresso blending as well as several for single-origin use &/or blending.
I'm using an air popper because I could buy one for $15 (couldn't find a GG or air popper at the thrift stores). I already plan to buy a Zach & Dani's so I can roast inside this winter. I haven't gone the Variac route yet, though.
I keep telling myself this will actually be cheaper in the long run, compared to spending $12+ per lb that I also then have to get shipped to me. I'll foist some of my espresso output onto my brother and some Columbian onto my parents. I can see now that it will be like people who have zuchinni in their gardens and can't get rid of it. Better not leave you car unlocked near my house, once I get going on this!
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:37am Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
bxntrk Said:
I can see now that it will be like people who have zuchinni in their gardens and can't get rid of it. Better not leave you car unlocked near my house, once I get going on this!
I love zuchini. Give me a couple of weeks and I'll trade you for some roasted coffee!!!
I read your thread. It was certainly ecouraging for me, not so much for my wife (the one who hates coffee ...blah,blah,blah). I'm getting pretty excited!!! Tomorrow I'll be sending up aromatic, roasted-coffee-infused smoke signals!!!
expobar Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 3,003 Location: .
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:38am Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Roasting is one of the most amazing things you can do with your coffee. It makes the drink just that much more phenominal. I have a new favorite espresso blend, freshly roasted Harar. Not a blend, but its fantastic. its not overly acidic, but has a nice little acidity to it, not bitter at all, nice body, great aftertaste, wonderful crema.
try it out if they have it on the Co-op sometime. I really want to try this out, but I'm 16 and my mom thinks that 3 dollars for a pound, if you buy 10 pounds (30 dollars+shipping+service) is a lot of money, but doesn't mind me buying coffee for 7.25 a pound, once a week.
my cats are funny, i know this is off topic but its happening right now. I have a laser pointer, so I play with them with it, and when i turn of the laser, they get an anxiety attack, so whenever i make a noise (i've been making a beep noise) one of my cats meows and gets tense....
bxntrk Senior Member Joined: 5 Mar 2004 Posts: 496 Location: Central Kansas, USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: S'Bucks Barista Grinder: Rocky DL, Bunn G1, Solis M+ Drip: Presto Scandinavian Roaster: Hot Top, RK Drum on the way
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:45am Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
expobar Said:
. . I really want to try this out, but I'm 16 and my mom thinks that 3 dollars for a pound, if you buy 10 pounds (30 dollars+shipping+service) is a lot of money, but doesn't mind me buying coffee for 7.25 a pound, once a week. ....
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:53am Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Lefty69 Said:
--- I'm assuming I might have some difficluty getting even roasts with the blends listed above. Anything I should look out for with these? --- FYI: I am set up with a stir crazy/Galloping gourmet. No mods on the stirring rods, disconnected heat on the stir crazy, and 3 legged GG wire roasting rack to lift the GG another 1/2 inch or so. The GG I have was a Salvation Army purchase for $10, and is the 1470W version. The stir crazy is new from Target for $25 on sale.
Hi Eric, I have roasted for several years using FR+, Alp, and now GG/SC. I'd recommend you getting an oven thermometer that tops out at 600°F, and just tie a piece of wire on it and place it at the outer edge of the pan so you can monitor temps. (Tie the wire to something outside the roaster so it stays at the outside of the pan...if you don't tie it, it will be pulled to the middle under the element and you will not be able to see it).
If you stretch the roast gently by following a slow rising profile that raises the temp uniformly (like 10-15° per minute) and have good circulation of the beans during the roast, you will not have difficulty getting even roasts - even from some blends. It would be good if you do something to the arms to promote better circulation of the beans...remember that they double in volume as they roast.
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 3:22pm Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Eric,
You haven't gone off the deep end (yet). When you go over 100lbs of greens in your stash, then maybe you'll be just starting to get a little coffee-heavy <grin>. I've got 87lbs and 39 varieties on hand and that's about right for me. I roast 2-3lbs a week on my homemade Alpen-Grill, so a few lbs (of green) on hand would be way too low for me. The other thing is that many coffee varieties are seasonal crops and not available year round. So, you've got to purchase them when they're available so you can have the ones you like.
Sounds like you're just exploring at this point rather than falling off the edge. The other thing is that home roasting isn't all about saving money (green vs retail roasted). It's more about having truly fresh coffee and the varieites that "you" get to pick. This usually means that you'll spend more to accomplish your homeroasting end, but the result is so much better and worth the effort/expense. No doubt I'd be a certifiable "coffee nut" to someone who doesn't appreciate great coffee...but then again what do they know.
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 3:37pm Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Larry, Thanks for the advice. I see your posts quite often and know that you have extensive experience.
I assume extending the roast will help even out the roast of a blend like the MG, right?
I definitely want to do this one right, because I really like MG. I felt the last couple of pounds I bought from www.coffeewholesalers.com were a bit overroasted (based on what I've read in the roasting recommendations from Josuma) since there was significant oil on the surface of the beans. The coffee still tasted great. I am also almost out of coffee, so this is the perfect opportunity to start roasting my own. With a recommended 72 hour rest time for MG, it is going to be hard to resist tasting my first roast.
Larry, are you using anything to raise the GG higher on the SC, or are you simply resting it on the handles of the SC? The GG rests very securely on the rack that came with my GG, but I am curious as to how long the added 1/2" will add to the roast time.
Any thoughts as to what temp I should start on with my raised setup? My first thought was to just crank the temp to max and listen to determine how fast my setup will get to 1st crack and the time between 1st and second. Then adjust temp to compensate for the speed of the roast, assuming it roasts faster than desired. If it roasts too slow then I might have to lose the cooking rack...
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 4:11pm Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Lefty69 Said:
--- Larry, are you using anything to raise the GG higher on the SC, or are you simply resting it on the handles of the SC? The GG rests very securely on the rack that came with my GG, but I am curious as to how long the added 1/2" will add to the roast time.
Any thoughts as to what temp I should start on with my raised setup? My first thought was to just crank the temp to max and listen to determine how fast my setup will get to 1st crack and the time between 1st and second. Then adjust temp to compensate for the speed of the roast, assuming it roasts faster than desired. If it roasts too slow then I might have to lose the cooking rack...
Hi Eric... Because of the patience and posting of Jim Schulman (another_jim), I was able to develop my profiles and experience. I have done over a thousand roasts on my little FR+ units (with Variacs), and the GG/SC feels very easy to adjust and use.
My first piece of advice...get a thermometer and learn to use it... The thermometers are guides and not necessarily accurate temp readouts. I rely on mine heavily...and I just buy cheap analog ones. The one in the SC is a $6 oven thermometer from Target.
As to temp settings, the first thing I did was throw the thermometer in the pan empty and let it warm up at 300°F on the dial of my GG for 15 minutes, and it was reading well over 400°F. I trimmed it a touch and realized later that it was sitting directly under the element without the benefit of being nestled in beans, so it was reading direct temp and not bean temp.
What I have done since is pre-heat with the unit assembled, and the dial at 300°F till the thermometer reads 350°F and add the beans. The temp drops back to about 225°F with 2.5 cups of green beans, and then starts to rise steadily. When it approaches the 350°f mark, I begin nudging the dial up one mark (20°F) every couple of minutes, or if the element light goes off I go another 20°F.
I keep tweedling it uphill carefully. The thermometer still reads hotter than the beans are, but it rises consistently and predictably. When the beans are about 3/4 through first crack (active and just starting to decline), I will lift the handle killing the element and let them coast for about 30-45 seconds to even out. The way I'm doing it there are no sudden leaps in temp, nor surprises.
If beans start to 'get away', just lift the handle for 30 seconds, and drop the dial 10°F.
After pauses, or if the element goes off, I up the temp another 20°F and work my way toward 2nd crack.
My goals are: 350°F preheat Add beans and start timer 00:00 350°F again at about 04:30 I keep tweaking the temp to rise at a rate of about 10-15°F every minute
I know going in what final stage I want to roast to, so I'm not making on the fly decisions about that phase. It makes a huge difference in how I stretch to City Med over City Full or Full+. I am aiming at a time window of 16 minutes eventually for espresso, and that is 3.5 minutes longer than I stretch beans in my other setup, so I am being conservative in sneaking up on it.
I can control the speed by taking a break to finish 1st crack, and another as 2nd starts. In fact, since we don't like dark oily roasts, when I have heard about 10-20 presnaps of 2nd, I kill the GG altogether, but do not lift the lid yet. I just want it to coast into 2nd for 30-45 seconds. I listen, smell and watch with a flashlight at this point to take them to where I almost want them, and then dump them into the cooler.
When the presnaps of 2nd start, I kill power to the GG and flip the switch on the shop vac on, so when I dump the beans, the air is already moving and it arrests 2nd pretty quickly. There is a lot more momentum with 5 cups of roasted beans than with my little FR+.
So far I've guessed pretty well (watched some drum roasts where they dump beans while rolling 2nd, and boy does 15 kilo of roast have momentum!!).
I do not space the roaster but let it rest on the SC rim. As gentle as I am, I'm not sure it would be hot enough without upping temps with the spacer rack or ring. Don't infer that I know, what I'm saying is I don't know. This is working so I not inclined to change it.
The key to roasting pre-blends for me has been sneaking up on them. I definitely keep the roaster moving up in temp, but never take quantum leaps with temps. 20°F every minute and a half or two minutes has been more even color and better taste for me than big leaps. If you crank it up 100°F then the temp is going to be frying the outside of the beans, and burnt tips begin to appear. When I watch drum roasters, they are very steady in their rises.
This is a rather long and detailed answer, I hope it helps.
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 11:19pm Subject: Re: My wife thinks I've gone off the deep end...
Lefty69 Said:
So I haven't roasted any coffee yet, but I have 5 lbs of MG sitting on the kitchen table, and potentially another 40lbs of coffee coming (I'm waiting for some bags to fill on the coffee co-op) I have a tendency to dive in 100% whenever I become interested in something.
The coffee I have/hope to receive includes the following:
5 lbs Malabar Gold 5 lbs Nic Segovia 5 lbs Eth. Yirg 10 lbs Ugandan Bugisi 10 lbs Red Sea Blend 10 lbs Brazil Cerrado
If that's off the deep end I guess I've drowned :) I got a bunch of beans when Coffee Bean Corral had that sale when they closed the Arizona office. Then I found the co op. The co op prices really make it easy to get a lot of coffees when you order more than one bean type co op fees and shipping are for the total order. Since I'm now doing West Coast distribution I get to keep my share of the beans at wholesale prices and no shipping. so I'm paying 1.37 for that awesome Uganda, 1.40 for the Rwanda. After this next distribution I'll be buried in beans. Hey, I figure they don't expire for a year or so, and I'm bringing coffee with me everywhere I go and everyone loves it. I have the guys at my Air Guard unit and the folks at the office are hooked. I also like experimenting with the Espresso single origin and blends. I've been roasting for a few months now (since April I guess). Love it.
Jon R.
Rawman the Expobarbarian.. AKA the Original Jon R.
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