Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Coffee Geeks?

I know there are many types of geeks in the world (and on this board). So, I'm hoping the chances are good that someone here has done some home roasting in the past (i.e is a coffee geek).
Specifically, with a machine (not a pan on the stove) taylor made for coffee roasting.
I'd like to ask, what kind of smoke/smell problem did you have. I'd like to try it out. Sweet Marias (a bay are online coffee bean and roaster supplier) has the Fresh Roast Plus 8. I'm thinking of purchasing one.
However, I live in a studio so if this thing is going to create a lot of smoke or a smell that does not easily air out, I'll have to skip it until/unless I move.

Experiences? Opinions?

-james

Wow, that's more geeky that me...roasting your own that is.

I've heard people actually have success w/ a hot air corn popper.

I suggest coffeegeek.com for better informed geeks.

For me the best recommendation was to get beans from Barefoot Roasters in Santa Clara. Element 14 is fantastic.

funny you should mention it. A buddy of mine at work just got into the whole roasting the beans thing and he got that exact model you have. He did mention that after the first time, he'll be doing all his roasting outside from now on. He managed to fill his kitchen with smoke pretty quickly. I was thinking of getting one too, but ~$80 seems kinda steep to me for a hot air popper.

I don't do any roasting but my wife just started getting some different types of coffee from Gevalia, all tastes the same to me

Thanks for the info Ash. I guess I'll be taking a pass until I have an outside space or don't live in a studio anymore.

-j

I Love Coffee. We call it "the Brown Elixir of Life" at our house.

But I just do not have time or inclination to do my own roasting. I would agree with others that smoke is very likely to be an issue. The larger capacity roasters listed on that site specifically mention required venting to the outside.

There has got to be a professional roaster near you; I think for the time / trouble / money that roasting your own would take, perhaps more frequent trips to the freshest possible source might be an adequate substitute to improve the quality of your cuppa joe.

It would be cool, though. Problem is, with my luck, I'd try the inexpensive one, quickly ascertain that you really need (insert Tim Taylor noise here) more power, and then be compelled to buy the $700 one. As if I didn't have enough electrified buttony things to buy.

Really? I usually notice a fairly distinct difference between the Gevalia coffees.

A good mail order one is Caribou Coffee. A tad pricey, but it's better than Gevalia.

It's probably my habit of sweetening up the coffee that kills the flavor, my wife seems to like the Gevalia, I'll have to check the Caribou.

Oh, man, I drink coffee candy. 2 sugar cubes, lots of cream. Not creamer, cream. And we usually make the coffee pretty weak.

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Oh, man, I drink coffee candy. 2 sugar cubes, lots of cream. Not creamer, cream.

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My record is still 8 Sugar Twin (the chemical equivalent of 16 sugar) in a 12oz. cup.

Did I mention this cup I brewed at work at 8am and I was drinking at around 10pm... yes, same pot all day. No one orders coffee at a drive-thru only restaurant.

Bren R.

A couple of years ago Vanity Fair had a funny article about a man who got into roasting his own beans. The upshot was he ended up in a bidding war on Ebay to get a Westfalia Two (or is that a van?) or Westbend II or something-the-second air popper from the 80s - the piece de resistance for people roasting their own beans . . . How smoky would that be?

When you roast coffee the smell isint exactly the same as once its done. (wish it were!)

Havent done it myself but being that i live downwind from more than a couple coffee farms (ever heard of kona coffee?) i get a whif every now and then. It doesnt stink but doesnt have the aroma of fresh coffee.. I would do it outside

You would have to be a real geek to try this. What was going through the first geeks head when he thought of trying this and marketing it.http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/kopiluwak.htm

LINK

Does roasting release flavor or something?

Do beans come pre-roasted, like the stuff in the store?

We were in Jamaica last August and bought 4 lbs. of coffee from this woman who roasted it for us. Best coffee I've ever had.

True, I used to go to school a couple of blocks downwind of this coffee factory Yaucono. I hated that smell; it took me at least 15 years to get over it, and start drinking coffee. jejeje
Smells like diesel engine fumes mix w/ coffee brew...

Dan, unroasted coffee is green. The coffee you buy at the store (either ground or whole bean) is always roasted.

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I live in a studio so if this thing is going to create a lot of smoke or a smell that does not easily air out, I'll have to skip it until/unless I move.

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Assuming that you mean you are leasing or renting the space and apce mods/renos are out of the question? Is there no range hood?

Otherwise adding or changing the existing hood would be in order. The problem with most entry-level range hoods is that they don't move a lot of air. Partly this is due to the restriction of the grease filter but mostly due the small fans. Removing the grease filter for such a process may help but ideally you need a large fan to move some serious air.

Broan has a model of range hood ,the Allure III that can move up to 400 CFM in boost mode. It would require a large exhaust duct to be installed as well; about 8 inches in diameter. Anything above this would be commercial grade and gets quite a bit more expensive.

Never thought about roasting beans. I load my latte’s up with all kinds of syrups and white chocolate, so bean flavor doesn’t matter much. I just get a dark roasted bean that has low oil. Then I let the machine do it’s magic.

http://www.wholelattelove.com/Capresso/F9.cfm

From pushing the fist button to out the door with my mocha is less than 3 minutes. I love it……

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Dan, unroasted coffee is green. The coffee you buy at the store (either ground or whole bean) is always roasted.

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Wow, learn something new every day.

I never thought why coffee beans were brown, now I know.

I drink coffee, but never have really gotten to the point where I notice a difference in flavor. I'll just get a latte if I want that.

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never have really gotten to the point where I notice a difference in flavor

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It's an acquired taste, like audio equipment.

It's going to cost you!

Interesting note here: according to Alton Brown (host of Good Eats), the more roasted a coffee bean is (the darker the roast, in other words), the less caffiene it has.

Not to mention the lighter roasts actually taste like coffee instead of char... <runs and hides>

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It's an acquired taste, like audio equipment.

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Yea I just have coffee with one creme of french vanilla on mondays, wendesdays, and fridays after my 8 AM class when I'll actually be up for breakfast. It doesn't really matter what it tastes like that much, I suppose.

Whenever I go to starbucks it's always something with lots of sugar...like...a venti double shot zebra mocha..mmmm.

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the more roasted a coffee bean is (the darker the roast, in other words), the less caffiene it has

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Ok dark roasted is out, I don't care how good it tastes, I need my caffiene.

Can be quite smoky especially if you like dark roast. There is a fine line between light and dark roast, watch it close. Always loved crossing the Mississippi river bridge in Baton Rouge, LA and smelling the coffee roasting at the Community Coffee plant just below the bridge. I now live in Chicago and still mail order all my coffee from the Community Coffee web site.

The other thing my wife makes me do out side is brew my beer. The first time I brewed beer inside, you could smell it for a week. It did not help that she was pregnant at the time. It has been 8 years since then and she still claims it makes her sick.