The fine grind: Whole Coffee Beans

[AntLockyer]

OK I lied about that being my last coffee geek post. I've realised I might have a problem

[messyparrot]

We got hooked on Alterra Coffee during our stint in Milwaukee. [/url]

Alterra is the best I have ever had, living in Milwaukee it's still a treat.
Glad you like it.

[Sasha]

I've consumed coffee at many of the finest establishments in Seattle and Portland. The best cup I've ever had was the Blue Bottle stand at a farmer's market in Oakland. It was sublime.

[DaveS]

my personal fav is old bisbee coffee roasters. pretty sure I have a couple $5 off coupons for new customers if anyone is interested...

[boundgear]

The cold brewing thing is easy as spit. Give it 24 hours, strain, and drink. It brings out whatever sweetness you find in your beans. So a sweet bean will be candy and a balanced bean will be slightly sweet.

I had a cup at the rapha store in ny and watched the last 10K of the stage with the headbutt. Nice spot. Better than average coffee from third rail.

[rwsaunders]

4 ounces for $30....after the beans pass though an animal....where do you go from there?

Life After Coffee » The Straight Poop on Kopi Luwak Coffee

[William]

William/Tom, what home roaster are you guys using??

I use an iRoast2 roaster.

https://www.i-roast.com/index.asp



It doesn't do huge batches, basically about 2/3 cup of green beans per roast. I'll start out doing two roasts in one day and then after that I can keep a steady supply by doing two roasts a week. I find it's best to wait a day or two after roasting to give the beans time to de-gas before I grind for use. By rotating two air tight containers I keep a constant supply of fresh beans that are used a few days after roasting. Nothing beats fresh roasted coffee from good beans.



William

[Too Tall]

queen just laid three lbs of Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters on me for our anniversary. SCORE!

Hands down the nicest roast aside from anything T.K. Does.

[Dmoeny]

Roaster: air popcorn popper from the thrift store. Been that way for a bit over 15 years now; on my third one, I think.

And a 3rd for Sweet Maria's (and Zeke's, for when I've run out of green).

[Too Tall]

Who does not love a good zombie coffee thread?

Sleepy Monk is still great. I'm looking for mail order Costa Rican grown at some decent altitude. The acid and finish of this bean is exquisite.

Talk to me V.

[Tom Kellogg]

I've been at this for so long that I now go into a new green roast without expecting too much. There are few coffees (at least from decent importers) that are bad if roasted properly. And there are even fewer that are clearly above, or different from the fray. I do have a preference for East African coffees, but beyond that, Im just fine with almost anything that is roasted, ground and brewed properly. Mostly, the subtle differences between beans and roasts at 5:30 in the morning are pretty irrelevant. The distinctions do come into play later in the day when one is sitting down to enjoy a brief moment of repose and in taking the time to appreciate the changing flavors and feels of the cup as it goes through the temperature ranges. There are a few green beans I've roasted that are VERY different in good ways. It is just so sad that the most interesting of them are no longer available since they come from Yemen. Some day, we will be able to again purchase Yemeni beans and to support the very ancient way that they process their crop.

[Jimmybagadonuts]

I have been micro-roasting for a few years now. Absolutely love the process and outcomes. Some great, some not so great. I can't do Starbucks, Pete's or any other chain coffee anymore. Double espresso's from home roasts less than 5 days old is my current addiction.

Coffee.jpg

[Too Tall]

Now I want to know. What's your process?

I have been micro-roasting for a few years now. Absolutely love the process and outcomes. Some great, some not so great. I can't do Starbucks, Pete's or any other chain coffee anymore. Double espresso's from home roasts less than 5 days old is my current addiction.

Coffee.jpg

[Cookietruck]

i'm guessing he has a roaster, perhaps a Behmor...

i've been roasting on a Behmor for about 5 years or so. I usually get the green beans from Sweet Marias. Sometimes I'll hit up a local coffee roaster I know and get some stellar green coffee from him.

for the most part, there is not much difference between all the varieties from the same area. For example, all the Brazilian stuff carry very similar characteristics, all the Costa Rica coffees are very similar...so on and so forth. If you're slamming straight espresso then yes, you will catch all the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) differences. If you're pushing the french press (I've been doing this some lately) then the differences are much less apparent. Especially if, like Tom said, you're not spending the time to sip the coffee through the varying temp ranges.

You might have to go from a Central American origin to a Natural Process Ethiopian to catch the big differences with french press...if you try that in the espresso though, it'll knock your socks off.

My favorites are the good (there can be huge variances with these) natural process Ethiopians, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador. I think most of the Brazilian origins are a little boring, but work well as a base to blend, aka. throw some of that huge Sidamo in to get a little character and make the Sidamo in my coffee stash last longer. Sometimes though, you can find a Brazil that, if you roast it right, you will get crazy baking spice flavors. Mistakenly roasted some slightly darker once and drank it anyway. It blew me away...

[Jimmybagadonuts]

Now I want to know. What's your process?

I built a home made roaster out of an old bread machine and heat gun. Works great and can do a 1lb at a time. I cool the beans in a home made cooling tray as shown in the photo attached to a shop vac. This set up works very well for my needs.

Beans look good.

Bean.jpg

[Too Tall]

Those beans look amazing.

[Jimmybagadonuts]

Those beans look amazing.

PM Me and I'll send you some