new to roasting

[mdwest]

oh.. I meant to add....

I dont know if how I prepared the coffee made any difference or not... but I used my new quisinart burr grinder... and a simple 4 cup french press (unknown make/manufacturer).. the grind was between coarse and medium...

I plan on using a much more coarse grind on the next couple of ounces of beans..

 

[thejavaman]

Great job, Dave. Very impressed with your assessment. I'll let a couple more guys post their thoughts & then I'll add my two cents. You'd add 50 points to your subtotal to get your final score out of 100. Coffees that score above 84 are recommended to the group I buy with. Really great job!

 

[mdwest]

thanks Kev!

one more addition..

I changed my mind on the coarse grind....

I went back and ground up a few more beans on the finest grind my grinder can produce (It's got 16 settings.. this is damn near a confectioners sugar fine )... in an attempt to get some expresso type potency out of the next couple of cups...

it worked!

Im getting a WHOLE lot more strength in this cup than the last 3 (Im about to be bouncing off the walls... 4 cups in 2 hours is a lot for me)... and its profiling much more like the other ethiopian coffee's Ive been buying in duty free in Addis, etc.. (lots more silky/oily mouthfeel... wet aroma is a whole lot more pronounced... etc..)...

I may go through the entire review process again tomorrow morning with the fine grind once my palate is clear and my brain is back operating at normal bandwidth...

 

[dscl]

This conversation is relevant to my interests 'call me javaman jr' Time to go read through the whole thread.

 

[thejavaman]

thanks Kev!

one more addition..

I changed my mind on the coarse grind....

I went back and ground up a few more beans on the finest grind my grinder can produce (It's got 16 settings.. this is damn near a confectioners sugar fine )... in an attempt to get some expresso type potency out of the next couple of cups...

it worked!

Im getting a WHOLE lot more strength in this cup than the last 3 (Im about to be bouncing off the walls... 4 cups in 2 hours is a lot for me)... and its profiling much more like the other ethiopian coffee's Ive been buying in duty free in Addis, etc.. (lots more silky/oily mouthfeel... wet aroma is a whole lot more pronounced... etc..)...

I may go through the entire review process again tomorrow morning with the fine grind once my palate is clear and my brain is back operating at normal bandwidth...

A general rule of thumb is to grind as fine as possible without clogging up your brewer. Grinding finer creates more surface area on the ground coffee & therefore enhances solubility & extraction. If you grind too fine, the coffee will be over extracted & bitter, if you grind too coarse, the coffee will be under extracted & thin. You have to try to find that perfect equilibrium for perfect extraction.

I start at around a "medium" grind (for drip preparations) & then adjust to suit my tastes. This is even more important in espresso preparation when the grind size is very important in pulling a good shot. Most high end espresso grinders are "stepless", which means there are an infinite amount of grind settings that you can use to perfectly "dial in" the perfect setting for a particular bean, thus creating the perfect extraction - whole other, exceedingly deep conversation though.

 

[CATom]

Interesting experiment, I've been looking to get one of the Bemoore roasters from sweet Maria's... I think the best coffee I've had was a Panama Esmerelda geisha- carnival lot that sweet Maria's had a few years ago.

 

[thejavaman]

Interesting experiment, I've been looking to get one of the Bemoore roasters from sweet Maria's... I think the best coffee I've had was a Panama Esmerelda geisha- carnival lot that sweet Maria's had a few years ago.

Take the plunge, brother! I use my Behmor all the time & it's a great little roaster. The Geisha varietal grown in Panama (Hacienda La Esmeralda, specifically) is one of the finest coffees money can buy. It's a varietal that originated in Ethiopia as well. VERY expensive, but totally worth it, IMO.

 

[Red Raider]

OK.... so Kevin is going to inadvertently shove many of us right off this cliff! Let's say one finds a roaster, several have been mentioned in this thread alone, is there a recommended way/website/etc to purchase beans.

I would love to take the method of stopping at a roadside stand in Ethiopia and picking up a bag, but that is a little out of my way...

Roaster, beans, time to experiment... anything else required for initial setup? Other than lots of research of course.

Phil

 

[CATom]

Interesting experiment, I've been looking to get one of the Bemoore roasters from sweet Maria's... I think the best coffee I've had was a Panama Esmerelda geisha- carnival lot that sweet Maria's had a few years ago.

Take the plunge, brother! I use my Behmor all the time & it's a great little roaster. The Geisha varietal grown in Panama (Hacienda La Esmeralda, specifically) is one of the finest coffees money can buy. It's a varietal that originated in Ethiopia as well. VERY expensive, but totally worth it, IMO.

How's the smoke suppression on that roaster, indoor ok? I'm assuming as long as you don't go to far into second crack.. I think I'm going to get one, even though I need another hobby like I need a second wife...

 

[mdwest]

I just checked ebay... they have a couple of iroast2's on the cheap..

is buying a roaster used worth considering? or would it be better to just go new?

wondering what the operational life of a roaster is.. if its only a couple of years.. Im guessing used is probably not a good option... if they last 10+ years.. then maybe its worth it?

 

[thejavaman]

One stop shop for the home coffee roaster:

http://www.sweetmarias.com

Group of home roasters that buy large bags of coffee & then break them down into smaller quantities & sell to other home roasters. Kinda like BOTL for home roasters (I have the same username here):

http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com

My best advice for someone just starting out is to save enough for an entry level roaster (FreshRoast or Behmor) and then spring for the green coffee sampler from SM's (its free with a $300 Behmor), so you can sample as many different coffees as possible to see what you like. Don't forget the plastic valve bags too - storage is very important for fresh roasted coffee.

 

[thejavaman]

Interesting experiment, I've been looking to get one of the Bemoore roasters from sweet Maria's... I think the best coffee I've had was a Panama Esmerelda geisha- carnival lot that sweet Maria's had a few years ago.

Take the plunge, brother! I use my Behmor all the time & it's a great little roaster. The Geisha varietal grown in Panama (Hacienda La Esmeralda, specifically) is one of the finest coffees money can buy. It's a varietal that originated in Ethiopia as well. VERY expensive, but totally worth it, IMO.

How's the smoke suppression on that roaster, indoor ok? I'm assuming as long as you don't go to far into second crack.. I think I'm going to get one, even though I need another hobby like I need a second wife...

It's pretty good. You still will need some sort of ventilation though - that applies to any coffee roaster. You're right that the darker you go, the more smoke is produced. Roasting dark is one of the Behmor's deficiencies, but it can be worked around.

 

[thejavaman]

I just checked ebay... they have a couple of iroast2's on the cheap..

is buying a roaster used worth considering? or would it be better to just go new?

wondering what the operational life of a roaster is.. if its only a couple of years.. Im guessing used is probably not a good option... if they last 10+ years.. then maybe its worth it?

IRoast2's have been discontinued, but I've had mine for at least 6 years & I've never once had a problem with it. It really depends on how well it's been taken care of & cleaned to know if its a good deal or not. How much are they asking?

 

[mdwest]

its currently at $39.00.....

Im sure it will go higher...

but I was thinking anything less than $100 might be worth taking a shot on it...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRoast-2-Home-Coffee-Roaster-/130830532695?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item1e761b8057

 

[thejavaman]

its currently at $39.00.....

Im sure it will go higher...

but I was thinking anything less than $100 might be worth taking a shot on it...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/iRoast-2-Home-Coffee-Roaster-/130830532695?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item1e761b8057

I think I paid around $150 for mine new. I agree that if you can get one for under $100, it's worth the risk of buying used.

However, it looks like that one is missing the top "chaff collector" piece which is definitely needed for it to work properly. Not sure how easy it would be to find replacement parts for one either. It also looks like that particular one might have been on fire at one point or another. If the electronic components are fried, it's useless. I'd keep looking for another deal if it were me...

 

[mdwest]

gotcha...

Ive seen a couple of other new roasters (different brands) for less than $200... I might check around a bit.. and if all else fails.. grab something new

 

[mdwest]

4x more cups of our experiment coffee this morning.. got me bouncing off the walls like a raquetball.. I need to slow my roll or Im going to give myself a head injury....

 

[javajunkie]

amateur! o)

 

[dscl]

amateur! o)

+1 :tonguerol

 

[mdwest]

No one else has tried our experiment beans yet?