strawberrykoi Senior Member Joined: 11 Oct 2012 Posts: 28 Location: USA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto 3,... Grinder: baratza vario, mr Coffee Drip: chemex Roaster: whirly pop
Posted Thu Oct 11, 2012, 8:24pm Subject: First time roasting... left with questions.
First of all, hello! First-time poster and aspiring-coffee-maker here.
Well, I roasted my first batch of green coffee beans. The experience was a blast; exciting, relaxing... almost meditative. But I am afraid the results were less than satisfactory... I was left with a tad bitter taste and not-so-sweet aroma. So here I am, wondering what I can do differently the next time.
The beans seemed to be taking forever to crack... my husband recommended that I turn the burner higher, and when I did.. they finally cracked. It took them at least 20 minutes though... and even though the tutorial I watched said to keep the burner at medium to medium-high, I had to turn my burner HIGH to get them to do anything. Is high best then? Is that right?
Oh, and the beans are from Coffee Bean Corral... is that a recommended site to buy beans from? Just checking to make sure it isn't the beans fault :P
oldgearhead Senior Member Joined: 25 Jan 2010 Posts: 354 Location: Go Colts! Expertise: I like coffee
Grinder: Virtuoso by Baratza Drip: Chemex,Dilongi DCM900 Roaster: 1/2K Fluid-bed
Posted Fri Oct 12, 2012, 8:52am Subject: Re: First time roasting... left with questions.
Hi, and welcome to the forum. My first six questions are: 1) How dark did you roast them? 2) How long did you let them rest before grinding them? 3) What did you grind them with? 4) How long before brewing did you grind them? 5) How did you brew them? 6) What was the hot water temperature?
Because I do mostly light roasts, I usually leave my fresh-roasted beans in a one-quart Mason jar, with the lid loose, overnight. Then seal the jar the next morning, than I wait 4-5 days before grinding.
I agree it sounds like pan roasting. It really is not that difficult and excellent results can be had, I still like to pan roast a couple times a year just to stay in practice. Many Ethiopian restaurants do the coffee ceremony where they roast the beans in a wok and stir before brewing and serving. Open pan roasting with stirring needs a powerful burner to keep the heat up. Closed pan with shaking or a stove top popper that has veins to stir the beans hold heat better so less heat can be applied (setting would depend on your stove top). Peaberry beans are very good for pan roasting since they remain rounder they have less chance of scorching. I usually preheat my pan to 450f in the oven before roasting.
Sweet Maria's has some info on pan roasting in their coffee library as well as a topic in their forum.
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