Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim on March 8, 2008 at 10:02am

I think it is a really fun hobby. I have 2 Fresh Roast plus 8 and I roast every weekend. I also have a website to sell green beans. I started roasting about a year and a half ago. I love the coffee selections and the freshnest of the coffee. I have to roast out side because my wife hates the smoke. It is too windy hear to roast out side today.

Permalink Reply by The GreenBean Coffee Espresso & Tea LLC on March 8, 2008 at 7:25pm

I also have problems with smoke. I seem to set off the fire alarm almost every time, even if the windows are open. I'm hoping to find a Monsooned Malabar for my next green coffee purchase.

Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on March 17, 2008 at 4:41pm

I am new to home coffee roasting as well with only five or six months under my belt. I roast on a Gene Cafe and having a ball. I've done just over a 100 roasts with it so far with no problems or horror stories. My coffee cellar consists of about 13 or 14 different coffees.

I've been roasting in the kitchen, under the vented hood above the stove, and haven't had much in the way of complaints from my wife. I'm setting up a special spot in the garage, so when summer comes around I'll be roasting out there.

If you're looking for a monsooned Malabar you'll find it at Sweet Maria's (a bit pricey @ $5.40 lb) or Burman Coffee Traders @ $4.50.

Do you guys keep roasting log sheets? I've attached one of mine from an 8 oz batch of Costa Rica Dota Select if you're interested (this is the first file I've tried to upload so not sure if it will work). After stopping the roast (without going through the machine's cooling cycle), I dump the beans into my homemade cooler (you can see photos on my BE page - there's also a couple of videos of my Gene Cafe in action).

Great sharing with you. Look forward to more visitors.

Attachments:

• Roasting Log pdf.pdf, 133 KB

Permalink Reply by Jim on March 17, 2008 at 6:34pm

I don't keep a log because it is kind of hard with a fresh roast plus 8, I go by sight and sound. I am learning how to cup though. I went to my first cupping at an organic grocery store and this Friday I am going to Counter Culture Coffee for a cupping. It sounds real cool.

Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on March 18, 2008 at 7:00am

Jim;

I haven't found any places around here yet that hold cuppings like they do at Counter Culture. I've been to their website before (even ordered some of their Espresso Toscano) and their cuppings do sound cool. That's a bit of a drive to go taste some coffee, must be 90 miles or so. It's about 2500 miles for me so, I probably won't see you there.

Permalink Reply by Tyler Kleinow on March 18, 2008 at 9:54am

I roast on on Poppery II hot air popcorn popper. I got this idea from sweet marias, my favorite home roast site so far. The popper works wonderfully, get a great city to full city+ roast in 5-9 minutes. I just cool it in a big colander, too. Crazy cheap and great coffee.

Permalink Reply by Jim on March 18, 2008 at 10:11am

Check out my site. I have some green beans from Nicaragua you can't get any where else called Howling Monkey!

Permalink Reply by The GreenBean Coffee Espresso & Tea LLC on March 18, 2008 at 11:58am

I don't keep a log either, but I do when I homebrew. So maybe I should start one. I generally go by sight and sound as well. Cuppings are always fun. I cupped some coffees with one of our roasters when I visited. We plan on having cuppings on a monthly basis when we open in July

Permalink Reply by John Despres on April 9, 2008 at 6:27pm

I do indeed keep log sheets. I use a Gene Cafe, a slightly modified Fresh Roast 8 and my home built "Junk Yard Tow Truck".

When I cup a new coffee, I keep the logs in front of me as I make aroma and tasting notes. Later I'll sit down and compare logs and notes to see where I may tweak a coffe more to my liking. It's all experimentation and I'm making headway. I've had a lot of help along the way and am very thankful for everybody who's stepped up and offered opinions and advice.

I log date, time, ambient temp, batch #, time of 1st, end of 1st, time of 2nd, end of 2nd, pre and post roast weight, general notes and the temperature every 30 seconds. My log is designed to produce a graph of the roast profile so there's a "picture" of the roast as well as the data on page one.

I have an older laptop dedicated to logging. I just fire it up and fill in the blanks. If I want to print, I email the logs upstairs and run 'em off.

Logging is fun and gives me a lot to think about while I taste that roast. I tend to first cup a coffee about 12 - 16 hours after roasting it. All the development that comes after more rest is a bonus I look forward to with delight!

Permalink Reply by John Despres on April 9, 2008 at 6:33pm

This is a great site! I just cupped for the first time a few weeks ago. Real cupping. With the breaking the crust, breathing in the aroma, all the slurping. What fun! I show my sculpture in a gallery that has just added a small roaterie cofe shop. When I say small, I mean tiny, really. Anyway, Kurt almost always has some new sample roasted up ready to cup and I'm more than willing to offer him my opinion. He's buying quality beans; mostly COE beans and auction lots. Yesterday I had a Tanzanian Peaberry that knocked my socks off.

While enjoying the coffee that is in your cup is the best way to enjoy it, cupping is definately fun. If you get the chance, go try it!

Permalink Reply by Hugh Mooney on April 9, 2008 at 10:35pm

I rely on my log sheets to reproduce a specific roast. When customer A reorders a Colombian Supremo from my website it's important to be able to provide him or her with a consistant product. Without my logs I would never be able to do it.

My Gene Cafe is going to be getting a little break. I just bought a Diedrich HR-1 and hope to have it in a week or two. I'll be looking at a whole new learning curve and hope that my logs from the Gene Cafe will be of some help in getting up to speed. I'm sure I'll have to develop a new log because the Diedrich has considerably more control over the roasting cycle and profile development.

Permalink Reply by John Despres on April 10, 2008 at 5:35am

I'm jealous, Hugh! Let us know how the HR-1 works out for you!

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