Coffee tech

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Re: Coffee tech

Postby lesuther » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:59 am

emflys wrote:How much can your practically roast?

I use an I-roast. It has probably gone through maybe 500-600 batches, and works as well as when I bought it. I had a fresh roast and it gave up the ghost after maybe a month and I sent it back for a full refund, and then got the i-roast. One roast does enough for roughly a week of a daily cuppa (about a cup of green beans). A friend has a drum (pricey), but it s also still kicking after several years, roasts a pound at a time, and he drinks WAY more coffee than me.
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Coffee tech

Postby emflys » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:43 am

Iroast is no more :(
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby TomD » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:38 pm

Haven't been paying close attention to this thread evidently.

One of my customers turned me on to home roasted coffee a few years ago. I popped for an I-Rost2 and got hooked. I drink a fair amount of coffee and roast 8oz about three times a week. It got where I could not control the roast as I wanted w/ the IRoast , bit the bullet and got a Gene Cafe from Burman Coffee www.burmancoffee.com (where I also get my beans). The GC really improved control produce a better cuppa Joe.

I figure buying premium beans at ~$6/ lb paid for the roaster in about a year. The better coffee has no price. No more Starsucks charcoal !!

www.homeroasters.org is where the true coffee maniacs go to yak. Lot of these guys must not have a life or are just way too caffeinated. No wait there is no such thing as too much caffeine :lol:
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby blackrock » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:40 pm

I also use an iroast - too bad they don't make them anymore but other "air" roasters are being made. I like the drum roaster, but yes it is pricey. I moved to a Barista burr grinder and cut coffee usage in half due to the consistent grind compared to a blade grinder and also use an Aero Press.

Em, I can blame TomD, he's the one who got me hooked on this stuff. I like the Central American (Mexico to Columbia) coffees including Jamaica. Kona is excellent but expensive. I just roasted some Indonesian Sumatra tonight; can't wait to try it in the morning as I think it will have a nice chocolate flavor. Most of my coffee comes from Burman Coffee Traders, another excellent TomD recommendation.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby TomD » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:49 pm

Em, I can blame TomD


Like the boys on the street "The first taste is free." 8)

Got some good buys on some Tanzanian and Kenyan Peaberry at Burman and they have a really smooth rich flavor.

Tip for those using Burman. If you email them and ask for your shipment to come via one of the fixed price Priority Mail boxes, you will get the shipment faster and cheaper than UPS. They can tell you how much will fit in each of the boxes,and they are masters in jamming them full. I keep the price per pound down by filling one of these boxes on each purchase.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby emflys » Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:58 am

I would like a Gene Cafe, but not sure I'm ready to spend $500. Course, I'll probably spend that much trying to do a homemade jobee. Its my engineer buddy and my homebuilding leanings that have my head clouded. If one could provide all the components in a simple to assemble fluidized air roaster that allowed fan speed, heat, and maybe a very simple programming ability through like a cheap PID, as well as a cool down cycle, that would allow you to roast at LEAST a 1/2 lb, and could sell it for $199, that actually WORKED well - I'll bet you could sell quite a few. Take the guess work out of design, but allow some good control for individual taste - I think that appeals to the home roaster genre. At least some of them. But...probably more trouble than it's worth.

I like the price point of the Behmor better, but not sure it will give all the options for darker roasts that I would like sometimes.

In the short term, I would just like to control the roast well enough to be able to sample different regions somewhat on an equal playing field. I know some (hard vs. soft beans) may require different roast profiles to get the true character of the bean, hence whey I would like some control. But I don't really know much about the different regions. I know so far my favorite has been an Ethiopean wet process from Sweet Marias.

Boy, Rob and Gump must just be laughing their asses off at this. :roll: :lol: I don't care!! I'm a coffee fairy and I'm proud!! :D
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby lesuther » Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:46 pm

emflys wrote:If one could provide all the components in a simple to assemble fluidized air roaster that allowed fan speed, heat, and maybe a very simple programming ability through like a cheap PID, as well as a cool down cycle, that would allow you to roast at LEAST a 1/2 lb, and could sell it for $199, that actually WORKED well - I'll bet you could sell quite a few.

Most work the same way with a simple thermistor, a two speed fan, and a cheap processor to run everything and control the roast. The fan is toggled between hi/low speeds to control air temperature (PWM/duty cycle). The heater stays on at a single unregulated current, and relayed off for cool down. A PID might be a touch too fancy for this sort of thing, although the PID would not cost anything more except in programming time if you're already using a processor. I thought about it myself for a while, but after costing hardware & overhead, and throwing guesses at volume, the off the shelf units really didn't seem exorbitant at all.

If some foo foo trendy magazines had a few articles to generate interest, it would make it all possible. 95% of folks prefer to grab a bag of whatever at the store, and the rest associate good coffee with Charbuck's. The DIY thing just doesn't cut a very wide swath.
emflys wrote:I know so far my favorite has been an Ethiopean wet process

Yah, my fave too (Sidamo or Yirgecheffe), but this stuff is really good too: http://bcrcoffee.com/bcrcoffee/.
I'm not much of a coffee connoisseur at all- I just know what bad coffee tastes like.

I started to roast because it was a lot cheaper and tastier a few decades ago. It's more expensive now, but my tastes have grown too far apart from anything I can find in a store or coffee house.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby GumpAir » Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:09 pm

emflys wrote:Boy, Rob and Gump must just be laughing their asses off at this. :roll: :lol: I don't care!! I'm a coffee fairy and I'm proud!! :D


Far be it for me to say anything about you fairies coming out of your closets. I've said for the longest time that a fairy is born, not made, and that's how their brains are wired. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Now Rob's leather vest on the other hand... Pure choice!!!!! :shock:




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Re: Coffee tech

Postby emflys » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:04 pm

I sent Zane a little care package and think I have him convinced on an Aeropress (can't say enough good about the little sucker).

Image

I also made a field mod to my Kyocera burr hand grinder, cuz...well...my arm was tired. Works swimmingly.

Image

The obsession continues.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby courierguy » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:40 pm

It all seems a bit complicated, though my hat is off to you guys who go through all that for some caffeine, but I know where I'll be in the AM at JC. With an empty cup and a please give me coffee look.....and looking to get converted to the roasting your own beans mindset.

That reminds me, a retired school teacher buddy was all into that, and was going to get me lined out on the subject. Before he could, he died of a sudden brain anerism (not correct spelling, close enough for this crowd), not that there would be any connection :roll: I like my coffee, any coffee, though I do draw the line at the swill the Flying J truck stops serve up at about 5 in the morning, that stuff is deadly, the worst I have ever had, and if I hadn't been 20 miles down the road I would have demanded my money back :shock:
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby Zzz » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:14 pm

courierguy wrote:my hat is off to you guys who go through all that for some caffeine


It's not about the caffeine. If it was, a simple cup of Folgers swill would be adequate.

It's about flavor :)
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby hotrod150 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 10:04 am

After watching this thread for a while, I got the urge to upgrade my coffee habit & hit the grind-it-yourself aisle at the QFC. Man, it was worse than eating at Fridays-- there was at least 30 different beans to choose from. Even narrowing it down to local roasts didn't help as there was close to a dozen of those. I was overwhelmed and retreated back to my usual Costco Columbian dark.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby RanchAero » Thu Apr 05, 2012 6:34 pm

I enjoy a good cup in the morning...pep in your step or a hitch in your get along, and excellent flavor. In the last year or so I discovered Ravens Brew Coffee, who roast in Anchorage, Ketchikan and Tumwater. Two of theirs which I prefer are Wicked Wolf, "Grannie's gone but the coffee's on", and then Deadman's Reach, which is some waters off Baranoff Island in Peril Straits. It's rumored the fisherman and bush pilots in Alaska have been known to indulge in these brews.
http://www.ravensbrew.com/dmr.html
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby Zzz » Thu Apr 05, 2012 6:57 pm

I tried some of Emmet's 2-day old Ethiopian full-city roast this afternoon.... tasty!!!
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby RanchAero » Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:06 pm

This afternoon I had some;

Three Peckered Billy Goat®
Our professional espresso blend is composed of some very rare selections. Velvety mouthfeel, uncanny high notes of fruity sweetness on top of dry-chocolaty-like flavor base. Long, sweet finish. Dark Roast.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby hotrod150 » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:16 am

donknee wrote:....Velvety mouthfeel, uncanny high notes of fruity sweetness ...... Long, sweet finish.....


This sort of description is part of why I retreated. "Velvety mouthfeel", "fruity sweetness" -- what the hell does that mean?
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby Emory Bored » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:55 am

My Cuisineart electric burr grinder came yesterday. Wednesday's pot was blade ground, yesterday was a Starbucks day, today was burr ground same beans as Wednesday. I can definitely taste the difference between blade and burr grind. No doubt. I've been undone forever though by the 2.5 pound bag of Guatemala I got at Costco a couple of months back. Nothing tastes right after that stuff. It was simply the best tasting coffee I've ever had. I've got to find some more. Years ago, somebody brought a bag of Kenya up to Pump 1. That was so different that it has become a benchmark of mine. I've never found another African coffee that brings back the memory of that one. If you're a coffee drinker every pot is different. I've been using a little 4 cup electric drip machine, also by Cuisineart for years. It does a good job I think.

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Re: Coffee tech

Postby emflys » Fri Apr 06, 2012 10:57 am

You can spend about $30 and REALLY screw yourself. Blackrock, TomD, and Les weren't kidding.

$19 West Bend Aircrazy Popper hot air popcorn popper, Target or on-line deals http://www.target.com/p/West-Bend-Air-Crazy-Popcorn-Popper/-/A-13788691?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=Froogle_df&LNM=%7C13788691&CPNG=appliances&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=13788691.

Actually, about any hot air popper that has a fluted/vented aluminum popping canister as opposed to a screen at the bottom.

$6.95, plus shipping for some awesome green beans from Africa - Ethiopian. http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.africa.ethiopia.php?source=side#3302

Go here, spend a few minutes, watch the video - it's EASY! http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php




Just dump the beans into a metal colander about 10-20 seconds after you hear the 2nd round of distinct "crack" (sounds kind of like crackling wood burning), and swirl around to cool them. Seal them in a jar for 24hrs. You've got roasted coffee!

It may be hard to control the roast to get exactly what you want each time with this method, but it will be good.

I also recommend spending another $30 and getting one of these, particularly if you only drink a few cups a day: http://www.amazon.com/Aerobie-AeroPress-Coffee-Espresso-Maker/dp/B0047BIWSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333734866&sr=8-1

You can brew a seriously good cup, lots of flexibility to make it exactly how you want it (from espresso to coffee-water), easy to clean, uses less than a french press, etc.
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby lesuther » Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:25 pm

I've used one of these for around 18 years:

http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-3-Cup-Stovetop-Espresso/dp/B0000CF3Q6

It makes very strong tasting coffee, but doesn't have as much of a caffeine buzz as french press or drip coffee. Mine isn't the same brand, but they are all similar. Just change the rubber seal ($1.50 at Ace hardware) every few years, and you're set. Home or camping (stove top).
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Re: Coffee tech

Postby Zzz » Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:31 pm

lesuther wrote:I've used one of these for around 18 years:

http://www.amazon.com/Bialetti-Express-3-Cup-Stovetop-Espresso/dp/B0000CF3Q6

It makes very strong tasting coffee, but doesn't have as much of a caffeine buzz as french press or drip coffee. Mine isn't the same brand, but they are all similar. Just change the rubber seal ($1.50 at Ace hardware) every few years, and you're set. Home or camping (stove top).


That's what got this thread rolling. I haven't used mine as much in recent years because I've been so happy with my autodrip machine that brews an incredibly strong pot. The "moka" pot though is still what I use when making a latte, and brewing on low-medium heat to get the slowest water expansion up through the tube makes the strongest coffee. Tough to do on a campstove. :)
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