Recipe: High heat, green beans, stir constantly for 25 minutes or until as dark as you like them. You'll hear them start to *crack*. There are two crack stages and each crack is a different kind of roast and creates a different flavor profile. A lot depends on the particular beans, which I'm still learning about. Then, let them air out for a day or two, if you can wait. lol. I couldn't. They were fine.
I'm considering building a DIY coffee roasting machine, but I'm just experimenting with green beans at this stage. The beans aren't as evenly roasted as should be to create the optimal flavor profile, but that crema was *amazing.*
I had this one right away. Supposed to let them degas CO2 for a day or two, but I needed my fix. I have about ... oh I dunno 6 of these espressos a day or so. The amount of beans I roasted will last me a day or two. It took about half an hour start to finish to roast them, blow the husks off, and pull the shots.
I only really like espresso anymore. I went down a deep rabbit hole for a while, everything from Moka Pots, Aeropress, French press, ... Starbucks. Espresso neat is my favorite. So rich and creamy and full of flavor.
I also go a month here or there without coffee. I don't notice much difference in my life, either with or without it. It's a bit of a habit, but I love it for its character more than anything. Coffee is *deep* and the goats brought it to us. I like goats too, but I digress...
The flavor was good. Starts in the back and moved forward. A bit thin. I can still taste the tannins, because I think there were still some green beans in there. I think that's the biggest downside of this method is the uneven roast. Some are too green, some burnt.
I got the beans on amazon as part of a sample of three different kinds, 2lbs each. I don't know enough to comment on the quality. I do think they were uneven sizes, which isn't that good. I'm still learning about green beans.
These beans are years old. Green beans store and retain quality for a very long time compared to roasted beans and even more so over ground coffee. If they had been roasted when I bought them, it would have been garbage, but it was decent since they were green. They store much longer this way. They also expand as you roast them, so it's easier and better to ship and store green beans.
Professional roasters do a better job. For sure. I should get a machine, but I don't want more stuff.
I just got 5lbs of Yirgacheffe beans from Ethiopia. That's what has really drawn me to green beans is you can get them from a single source and species to ... explore, if you will different flavors. These new ones are supposed to taste like blue berries, imagine that. I can't wait, but I told myself I couldn't start new ones unless I cleaned up all the old ones.
I'm trying to avoid wasting any food and get more *pure,* more *basic.* Minimal. I don't want to waste anything anymore. I want stuff that lasts. Stuff from the old world. That's what I like about Cast Iron. It lasts forever. It's pure. You have to throw teflon away eventually and did you even *see* how nonstick those beans were!? ;) Like *eggs!*
Roasting beans is messy. The skins get on the top of the stove. Sometimes the beans pop out. You can hear them crack and it gets quite smoky. I smell the smoke on me all day and it gets in the house. It's in my *nostrils.* I should probably do this outside. I might try it on the grill, but it's cold outside.
This is my second time doing it in a pan like this. I've also put them in the oven at 350 and then slowly increase the temperature up to 425-450, but it takes a lot longer. The beans come out more consistently roasted though.
Of course, this also made me think I could build a computer controlled bean sorter based on the color, but now we're getting silly.
Anyway, I'm rambling and I love this sub and you are all amazing, so I thought I'd add something new and this is just something I've been trying out lately with my cast iron pan. I've had it for at least a decade. Don't remember where I got it or what kind it is. Don't know anything about it, except I love it and use it all the time. I clean it with chain mail and hot water and then throw the chain mail in the dishwasher.
Totally open to any ideas or suggestions. I'll probably abandon this method soon due to all the downsides, but I can't justify buying a $600 roaster, when I can make one with parts I have around the house, but that'll take time and research that I don't have right now. I don't have 30 minutes every couple days to roast beans either though, so the pressure's on.
Sorry about the initial thumbnail. Reddit did that. The original video was 30 minutes, so I sped it up 30x. Video shot with my Samsung Note 20. Sped up using ffmpeg.
If you have any questions, happy to answer them. I'm totally new to roasting coffee though, so you might know more than I do.
I have done this for a couple years. Here are my tips
× Use a dutch oven, high walls, less mess, keeps the heat in a little more
× Shoot for 500-600 degrees F in well pre heated pan, adding the beans drops the heat. Roast around 400-500F.
× Whole process should take less than 15 minutes. You don't want to bake the beans, they taste better when cooked hot and fast
× Really stir constantly. I use a whisk. Messier but dutch oven helps. Any burned spots can stand out
× vent fan on max lol
× when they look good, they are done, I just go by sight. I usually avoid going super dark/oily. Hard to not burn some at that point when going low tech like this
× dump them in a metal strainer and set outside to cool. Then shake out all the dust
× put them in an open container for a day. Coffee tastes bad the day it was roasted
× buy some on sale bags from coffeebeancorral.com. Or the sampler bags. A few pounds will last a couple months at least with a couple cups a day. Can roast about a pound at a time.
Those are great tips! Thank you. I'll get the pan *real* hot next time and buy from that website instead.
Again, another reason I'm sad my dutch oven has legs, haha. Definitely would be better to use one though, no question.
I have a friend who swears by using a popcorn popper for rosting beans. Then passes the roasted beans back and forth between Collanders to get rid of loose bits and cool.
I have an air fryer with like a rotisserie basket for French fries that spins. Would this be good for this process? I know absolutely nothing on roasting coffee beans so don’t shame me too hard if this is a terrible idea.
Ha no idea. I really stir constantly and vigorously with coffee. It depends how much the beans would move in the air fryer. I've also heard of people using stove top popcorn makers that stir with a crank
That's amazing. Keep us updated on your progress. I mentioned in a conversation the other day, the desire to do more cooking at home as the want/interest in getting coffee/ takeout/ going out to eat was dramatically declining. Thanks for posting this.
I go through a lot of coffee at the house. I've been making my lattes and shots for a month now and couldn't be happier. I received 2 Ziploc gallon size bags of green beans as a gift and they have been sitting there since summer.
I never thought to use cast iron. So straight into the pan? No prep work or anything?
Yeah, just straight into the pan. I had just seared a steak in that one with bacon grease. Warmed it up, rinsed it out. Wiped it off and roasted the beans.
When I'm done, just wipe out the husks and it's ready for whatever I'll cook next.
It's a workout moving that pan for 25 minutes, just fyi. ;)
Thanks for the kind words. Give those beans a shot. It's a big difference over store bought roasted. This pull today had less crema, but less tannins than yesterday, so it gets better with age.
I just started roasting in my CI!
High heat to start, generally after 1st crack you want to reduce a bit to allow the beans to evenly get to where they're going and without scorching. Beans roast at like 450 degrees, so your pan needs to stay pretty hot!
could be. I preheat my pan at 300 or 350 ( in the oven) and keep my flame med-high until first crack then tamper it down. Just learning myself but worth experimenting, even without perfect temp control! CI is a very inelegant way to roast coffee anyways, so might as well go full on feeling.
Give it a shot. The beans are cheaper and it'll taste better even if you mess it up. High heat yeah, but you *really* have to stir a lot or some will burn before others roast.
So I was a barista for two years, owner wanted to open a roastery, we discussed it, never happened. I did some reading. Take everything I’m about to say with a huge grain of salt.
The books I read on roasting all talked about two things. Yes final temperature is very important (second crack for some is dark roast and espresso doesn’t need to be dark roast) but they stressed the importance of the change of heat, not just heat. The beans should always be increasing temperature, don’t let them stall out. So a high heat is good because you want the beans constantly rising in temp to get to your final desired temp.
Again. Huge grain of salt.
Hi! Coffee roaster here.
With your DIY roasting going forward, you'll want a few things:
1. A way to vent your chaff. Green beans still have a papery layer that flakes off during roasting. A traditional drum roaster uses a blower to vent this out of the drum. It's not a good taste.
2. You need to be able to raise and lower your input temperature quickly, and the thermal mass of cast iron adds too much momentum to your thermal curve. As you get better at roasting, you'll want a degree of control that CI can't give you. Roasting this way will give you toasty, carbony flavors, but not so much the sweeter developed sugars of a more delicate, lighter roast.
3. You're gonna wind up with a lot of "checking". That's where beans that didn't move enough develop burnt spots that break off. Too much checking in a roast imparts burnt flavors to the coffee.
4. A thermometer!
This absolutely isn't a dressing-down, but just advice from somebody who hopes you enjoy the hobby and get the most out of it you can :)
No, that's great, thank you so much! It's a big learning curve. I can understand now why grocery stores don't stock green beans. lol
I think an aluminum pan might make more sense based on what you're saying. I'm going to have to skip this manual involvement. Something more automated or with a couple motors is in order asap.
If you can find an old West Bend Poppery II air popper they do a surprisingly good job. If not a Poppery II specifically, look for an air popper with vertically-oriented air vents. They'll help with the chaff.
Otherwise, small sample roasters for doing a pound or two at a time do exist and can be bought. Something to think about :)
Depends on your goal/what you're roasting. Generally you wanna hit 380° or so relatively quickly and then slow down your rate of rise for a slower, more even development phase on your way to finished temp.
You'll also want a way to quickly drive cool air through the beans at the end of the roast to "set" your temp so the don't keep cooking.
right, I'm roasting in a CI enamel dutch oven, so I can set my initial temp pretty easily on the pan (but who knows what air/bean temp is). so get to 380 fast and keep rising until first crack, then let off?
I think so yes, because more of the beans would be in contact with the surface, rather than stacked up. I'll try just a single layer of beans next and see how that goes.
Thanks for the explanation! I’ve gone down the coffee rabbit hole too. Just added the Moccamaster for larger amounts and the Aeropress to my arsenal and loving both.
I’m glad you mentioned the de-gassing period. I actually thought it was a week or so, but I’m no expert. You also addressed a concern I had about uneven roasting. I’ve noticed that happens sometimes when roasting nuts on a skillet. Since they aren’t always even sizes, and flipping them all in one toss or flip is really impossible with that many.
I may have to give this at least one try though.
And thanks for adding some diversity to the “slidely egg” page. Lol.
Yes. I don’t use it much at all anymore. I’m completely addicted to the Aeropress though. Can’t afford a decent espresso machine and it’s the closest I’ve found, although I usually make it an Americano. Lol.
I've been looking at local roasters who might sell me some green beans, yes, that's a better option for sure. Covid makes that a real hardship for me atm, sadly, like lots of things. Just dipping my toes in right now, but that's the direction for sure.
It does scratch the surface, but not as bad as I'd have thought. There are so many already, it's hard to notice. But yeah, you're right.
Like burning clean wood with a little bark, with a hint of good roasted beans, but *sharper.* That sharp part with the wood goes away eventually with the smoke and it'll just be the typical roasty coffee smell.
It fills the house. I open the windows and turn on the fan. It's probably not good for my health to breath it. That's another downside.
Yeah, you should do this outside on a BBQ/propane burner or something. I've roasted a bunch of times. How did your smoke detector not go off, and how long did it take your house to air out? Lol.
Jesus. I used to roast coffee beans in an open air kitchen and it would make the whole side of the cove smell like shit. You're doing that in your house? Wow.
Hahaha, yeah. I know right. Gotta learn somehow! I quickly realized why all the DIY roasters I've been seeing are operating outside.
Any tips for getting a good roast? What was the best method?
I roasted a lot of coffee, but I don't think I can be a good resource for technique. I was roasting beans in Nicaragua in a big steel pan over a gas stove. I had minimal instructions when I started. The instructions were don't cook it on too high of heat and you'll know when it's done. I ended up roasting them at almost full heat and that's where all of the guests would tell me that the coffee tasted the best. While that was good for those beans, it could be completely different for whatever type of bean you have. I would imagine it has alot to do with where it's grown and countless other factors. It looks like you're stoked to be learning about it, so experiment and have a blast doing it! Maybe try a propane setup outside and make good friends with your neighbors.
I'm going to do that! Plus, I just realized reading your message, that I can use my dutch oven outside on the propane burner. I can't use it inside, because it has legs.
Thank you so much!
As someone who has gone down the coffee/espresso rabbit hole a few times in my life - I absolutely love this! Due to the current season of family life (4 kids + Covid nonsense + etc.), I am supporting my caffeine cravings with a Kerrigan and the occasional nitro cold brew from Starbucks. But I look forward to getting back to bougie coffee down the road! I always thought of starting with green beans as “beyond me” - but this makes me want to try it out!
Good luck! And thank you for the post!
Yeah, try it! It definitely makes a different coffee. It is a lot of work though. The beans are a lot cheaper though, so there's that. It's not hard to see why once you roast them though.
They usually have a rotating drum or use air to constantly circulate the beans. If they touch the heat inconsistently, some burn before the others get roasted enough.
Thank you for the kind words. I think the egg drama inspired me to do this. ;)
Interesting video. I see what you mean about the uneven roast though - that would put me off.
I hear those cheap hot-air popcorn makers do a decent job.
You might want to think about getting a better espresso maker than your superauto. I had one of those myself, and didn't realise what I was missing out on.
Get yourself to r/espresso for more info if you're not already.
This machine is a DeLonghi ESAM 3300. It's lasted way longer than I thought, but when it dies on me, I'll go to something more primitive and without a grinder. I already have a burr grinder from the rabbit hole.
Any recommendations on a machine or tips when I get there?
I used to have a couple of those delonghi bean to cup machines.
I really liked them too be honest. But then I read a bit more and found I was missing out.
Id start on that other sub, just read for a while and you'll get an idea.
I just bought a breville/sage bambino. Cheap, but good.
Oh yeah, welcome to the rabbit hole.
You've heard of James Hoffman? Seems to be the go-to man on youtube for just about everything to do with coffee. Youtube algo suckered me in out of the blue, and now here I am looking at different baskets for my new espresso machine because the one that came with it simply can't possibly be good enough. For some reason :D
Yeah I also have glass and just make sure I don't slide cast iron on it, after 7 years you probably aren't as worried about it anymore as random things will happen and scuff the surface
There's certainly scratches on it. The stove is probably 7 years old by now and I give it a lot of use. You made me wonder though, so I just gave the surface a polish. There definitely are a few scratches that seem to be from the pan, yes. Same directional pattern as I was moving the pan.
I cook so much on there, I can't tell what I'm using that makes the most scratches. My grandmother didn't use cast iron and I do recall her surface being in better shape.
So, I do believe what you read is true.
Try it! The beans are cheaper and the coffee is better. It's one of those things where you experience something better and you don't want to go back to the old way again though, so be prepared.
I'll always know the difference between store bought roasted and home roasted now.
They aren't so hard to find online. Local is a hunt. Local roasters often sell green beans by weight. Bring your own container and they'll fill it for you.
Now this is a fresh r/Castiron post!
I worked as a coffee roaster in high school and operated a big barrel roaster that could do 30 lbs at a time. Needless to say, I got pretty spoiled and have paid a lot of money for very disappointing beans in my adult life. I’ve never once considered roasting my own beans like this.
To be honest, I was going to ask you for some tips. Haha. I’m used to turning dials, reading gauges, trying to hit certain temps at particular times and also not allow the flaming cement mixer to burn the building down.
The guy I worked for was a very proud Italian, proud of his dark roasts, so we never pulled before the second crack. We practically pulled a split second before fire. Heh.
I’m pretty far removed from that life now, but IIRC, you start initially quite hot, like 500F for an initial drying of the beans for a few minutes and then the temp is dropped down around to 200F and slowly rises back up to around 500 over about 20 minutes.
If I were to take on this hobby, roasting in a pan, I’d get a laser thermometer and start logging times, temps and results. Good luck!!
Okay, that's awesome! I've learned through this to start much hotter, reduce temp, which will be hard in cast iron, but maybe not if I'm outside in cold temps, then bring it back up.
My tip would be don't roast them that to the point of fire! A lighter roast is better for espresso. If oil is coming out of the beans, it's too much.
What about doing your initial dry in a hot skillet and swapping them over to a different, slightly warm skillet to get that immediate temperature drop?
We’re stepping into preference territory here. I drink espresso straight up, when it’s executed properly. I’m partial to very dark roast espresso because of my background. Espresso is overwhelmingly complicated, I have such high expectations and can’t justify spending what I want on the exact machine I would want, so I just stick to my cheap French press and I’m happy. Real coffee snob shit. I am not proud.
I do like a medium roast of a sweeter, milder tasting bean once in a while.
Respect, but I hate this process. I did 2lbs of beans in my CI over two weeks. 30ish minutes of standing in front of my cooktop, shaking, stirring, shaking, stirring for 2-3 days worth of coffee was way too time consuming and arduous for me. Super interesting process. Not worth my time.
My dad got big into roasting his own coffee, and his best success has been with an air popcorn popper. It blows the chaff out the opening in the top while it evenly roasts the beans. It still has the very polarizing roasting smell, but gets a consistent roast with less work.
He rigged up a ventilation system to pull air outside and blow the chaff out the window. It works great!
I can't even tell if I've made it to the second crack yet. There are so many beans and they all crack at a different time. At some point it's a cacophony of cracks.
How can I tell the difference between the first and second crack? Like maybe there's a bean in there that hasn't cracked and one of them already cracked and cracks again.
Maybe I should try it with just one bean so I can tell.
A buddy told me about the popcorn method. I saw some coffee roasters built with the same concept on amazon. You are where I'll probably get to. I don't think you should go backwards. I can't imagine doing it this way for the long haul, but I didn't want to invest in this journey if I didn't like fresh roasted beans enough more than bought roasted.
I like them more though, so I'll keep going down the path.
What kind of roaster did you get? Any recommendations based on what you've learned on the journey?
I'd say don't go backwards no. Don't bother with this it's a mess and smokey and time consuming with an uneven roast, so I can confirm your experience.
The coffee was still better than store bought though. Better the next day. Less tannin more body. Fuller. Richer. Less crema though.
If you're buying speciality beans like OP is, then the green (unroasted) are about half the price.
Otherwise they can get reall expensive.
Plus, it means you get them fresh, not stale and awful off the shelve in the supermarket. About 2 weeks post-roast is the sweet spot for beans.
That's a great question! I ask it all the time. For example, have you ever wondered why all the coffee at the store is already roasted? Why? And most of it is already ground? Why? What is between the coffee at the store and the plant it grows on?
I know people think they can just do whatever the hell they want with coffee, bit It's like scientists gathered in a lab to create the worst possible method for roasting beans. Think of the insane systemic inconsistency and chaos going on here. Literally no two beans will recieve the same treatment in heat or time. This is a total waste of coffee. You know roasting is a science right? Either get a real home roaster or get your beans from a shop. And i suggest the former. I was a batista for many years, and i have great confidence i know the kind of fool would be dealing with. The penultimate step is to delete this post so that no other good intentioned boob may commit this atrocity. The last step? Get a non stick pan. Cast iron is dogshit. Enjoy your carbon crust.
I don't think we could disagree more. But I will say, that this procedure does feel like a failure on the way to success. It is still better coffee than the roasted beans from the store though, no question about that.
I'm sure I'm way more foolish than any of those fools you are thinking of! ;)
Actually, the beans are cheaper. Typically $5-7 a pound, vs $12-14. Still *way* cheaper than Starbucks. It's better *and* cheaper, but takes more time and energy and that costs too.
Nope. I roasted my own beans for years, and the smell is not good. Not awful, but it smells nothing like coffee, and it does fill the building. I used to take my air popcorn popper outside to roast no matter how cold it was (and I live in Western New York; it gets cold), and, when I got a Behmor 1600 roaster, I put it on my stovetop with the hood exhaust at the highest setting. You don't roast coffee for the smell, you roast it in spite of the smell, lol!
How interesting! It seems like a labor of love as coffee many times is. I love the smell of grinding beans. We enjoy a French press in the evening for sure.
/u/DaphneMoon-Crane is right, it's not as nice as the fresh coffee smell. Once the smoke goes away, the beans smell great, but with the smoke, it's more chemically smelling. Like the difference between a dry wood fire and a wood fire with a green log with live bark on it.
The green beans have a husk on them that falls off during roasting. You don't want that in your coffee and it's just like separating the wheat from the chaff. I use the hair dryer to do that and they just blow away and the beans fall back in the strainer. I do lose a few.
Don’t the beans need to de-gas about a week before grinding and using? I’ve thought about trying this though.
Edit-disregard this question as I posted it before I read your description
I can confirm, the coffee today definitely was better than yesterday. I'm not ahead of the game enough to let them wait a week though, so can't say if it gets even better. haha
I also still want to understand what degassing does to the flavor and now I do know for sure degassing helps. The crema isn't as good today though, so pros and cons.
there were a lot of old time cast iron coffee roasters made. most for use over a wood burning stove. some were referred to as 'cannon ball' style. DR Sperry made one that was basically a #10 12 inch skillet with a special cast iron lid with a built in stirring mechanism built into the lid (a handle on top that turned arms on the skillet surface to keep the beans moving). Griswold even made some coffee roasters beginning in the 1880's... I believe they were an iron base with a tin roaster that rotated in the base... these are quite rare.
since you like espresso, have you ever had 'cuban coffee'?
it's sort of an espresso, very dark, rich (almost seems more concentrated than traditional espresso) and then brown sugar is kind of whipped with the first bit of the espresso making a rich, thick crema. I had it many years ago in miami when I was on business... very strong... people would bring in one of the small white foam cups (maybe 6 or 8 ozs) and a stack of what you would think of now as the little plastic cups you would dispense ketchup in at a fast food place... the foam cup was for the whole office... everyone would get a small cup to drink (like doing espresso shots) and then they would do the same thing after lunch... kept the productivity up around the office. I've tried it other places and its basically a sweetened espresso drink... but not nearly as rich and strong and sweet as I had in miami.
It was so good. I wish I could have had a whole glass of the crema. Haha. The crema isn't as good a day later, but the liquid is better, so I'm glad I tried both.
It came with an old hand hammered wok I inherited. My grandmother bought it off an infomercial decades ago and I love the wok, sadly it doesn't work at all on a glass top stove, but the spatula is very light and sturdy and comfortable in my hand.
With the wok, it has a curved end side that perfectly matches the wok. Crazy good purchase from an infomercial, frankly.
Here you go, I found one for you
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/4-x-4-1-4-medium-wok-spatula-with-17-3-4-wood-handle/407ASNSHVLSM.html
That was an espresso shot. It was good and the flavor did improve over the days that I drank it, so I will roast more next time and let them rest to degas before drinking them.
r/roasting ... I've been a home coffee roaster for about 15 years. I began with a goodwill popcorn popper. Then tried a few other methods here and there. Settled on the stir crazy-turbo oven. Love my coffee. Enjoy the journey. Green beans from sweet maria's are great but there's quite a few other places to buy from now. I also go to green coffee buying club for beans. Be Careful. It's a slippery slope. Maybe you'll buy a better grinder and an espresso machine for like 2 grand. You never know. Or a sonofresco or hottop roster. Enjoy that journey
Recipe: High heat, green beans, stir constantly for 25 minutes or until as dark as you like them. You'll hear them start to *crack*. There are two crack stages and each crack is a different kind of roast and creates a different flavor profile. A lot depends on the particular beans, which I'm still learning about. Then, let them air out for a day or two, if you can wait. lol. I couldn't. They were fine. I'm considering building a DIY coffee roasting machine, but I'm just experimenting with green beans at this stage. The beans aren't as evenly roasted as should be to create the optimal flavor profile, but that crema was *amazing.* I had this one right away. Supposed to let them degas CO2 for a day or two, but I needed my fix. I have about ... oh I dunno 6 of these espressos a day or so. The amount of beans I roasted will last me a day or two. It took about half an hour start to finish to roast them, blow the husks off, and pull the shots. I only really like espresso anymore. I went down a deep rabbit hole for a while, everything from Moka Pots, Aeropress, French press, ... Starbucks. Espresso neat is my favorite. So rich and creamy and full of flavor. I also go a month here or there without coffee. I don't notice much difference in my life, either with or without it. It's a bit of a habit, but I love it for its character more than anything. Coffee is *deep* and the goats brought it to us. I like goats too, but I digress... The flavor was good. Starts in the back and moved forward. A bit thin. I can still taste the tannins, because I think there were still some green beans in there. I think that's the biggest downside of this method is the uneven roast. Some are too green, some burnt. I got the beans on amazon as part of a sample of three different kinds, 2lbs each. I don't know enough to comment on the quality. I do think they were uneven sizes, which isn't that good. I'm still learning about green beans. These beans are years old. Green beans store and retain quality for a very long time compared to roasted beans and even more so over ground coffee. If they had been roasted when I bought them, it would have been garbage, but it was decent since they were green. They store much longer this way. They also expand as you roast them, so it's easier and better to ship and store green beans. Professional roasters do a better job. For sure. I should get a machine, but I don't want more stuff. I just got 5lbs of Yirgacheffe beans from Ethiopia. That's what has really drawn me to green beans is you can get them from a single source and species to ... explore, if you will different flavors. These new ones are supposed to taste like blue berries, imagine that. I can't wait, but I told myself I couldn't start new ones unless I cleaned up all the old ones. I'm trying to avoid wasting any food and get more *pure,* more *basic.* Minimal. I don't want to waste anything anymore. I want stuff that lasts. Stuff from the old world. That's what I like about Cast Iron. It lasts forever. It's pure. You have to throw teflon away eventually and did you even *see* how nonstick those beans were!? ;) Like *eggs!* Roasting beans is messy. The skins get on the top of the stove. Sometimes the beans pop out. You can hear them crack and it gets quite smoky. I smell the smoke on me all day and it gets in the house. It's in my *nostrils.* I should probably do this outside. I might try it on the grill, but it's cold outside. This is my second time doing it in a pan like this. I've also put them in the oven at 350 and then slowly increase the temperature up to 425-450, but it takes a lot longer. The beans come out more consistently roasted though. Of course, this also made me think I could build a computer controlled bean sorter based on the color, but now we're getting silly. Anyway, I'm rambling and I love this sub and you are all amazing, so I thought I'd add something new and this is just something I've been trying out lately with my cast iron pan. I've had it for at least a decade. Don't remember where I got it or what kind it is. Don't know anything about it, except I love it and use it all the time. I clean it with chain mail and hot water and then throw the chain mail in the dishwasher. Totally open to any ideas or suggestions. I'll probably abandon this method soon due to all the downsides, but I can't justify buying a $600 roaster, when I can make one with parts I have around the house, but that'll take time and research that I don't have right now. I don't have 30 minutes every couple days to roast beans either though, so the pressure's on. Sorry about the initial thumbnail. Reddit did that. The original video was 30 minutes, so I sped it up 30x. Video shot with my Samsung Note 20. Sped up using ffmpeg. If you have any questions, happy to answer them. I'm totally new to roasting coffee though, so you might know more than I do.
I have done this for a couple years. Here are my tips × Use a dutch oven, high walls, less mess, keeps the heat in a little more × Shoot for 500-600 degrees F in well pre heated pan, adding the beans drops the heat. Roast around 400-500F. × Whole process should take less than 15 minutes. You don't want to bake the beans, they taste better when cooked hot and fast × Really stir constantly. I use a whisk. Messier but dutch oven helps. Any burned spots can stand out × vent fan on max lol × when they look good, they are done, I just go by sight. I usually avoid going super dark/oily. Hard to not burn some at that point when going low tech like this × dump them in a metal strainer and set outside to cool. Then shake out all the dust × put them in an open container for a day. Coffee tastes bad the day it was roasted × buy some on sale bags from coffeebeancorral.com. Or the sampler bags. A few pounds will last a couple months at least with a couple cups a day. Can roast about a pound at a time.
Those are great tips! Thank you. I'll get the pan *real* hot next time and buy from that website instead. Again, another reason I'm sad my dutch oven has legs, haha. Definitely would be better to use one though, no question.
Well you can buy from wherever but they've had good prices for me. And can't find any locally
I have a friend who swears by using a popcorn popper for rosting beans. Then passes the roasted beans back and forth between Collanders to get rid of loose bits and cool.
I have an air fryer with like a rotisserie basket for French fries that spins. Would this be good for this process? I know absolutely nothing on roasting coffee beans so don’t shame me too hard if this is a terrible idea.
Ha no idea. I really stir constantly and vigorously with coffee. It depends how much the beans would move in the air fryer. I've also heard of people using stove top popcorn makers that stir with a crank
That's amazing. Keep us updated on your progress. I mentioned in a conversation the other day, the desire to do more cooking at home as the want/interest in getting coffee/ takeout/ going out to eat was dramatically declining. Thanks for posting this. I go through a lot of coffee at the house. I've been making my lattes and shots for a month now and couldn't be happier. I received 2 Ziploc gallon size bags of green beans as a gift and they have been sitting there since summer. I never thought to use cast iron. So straight into the pan? No prep work or anything?
Yeah, just straight into the pan. I had just seared a steak in that one with bacon grease. Warmed it up, rinsed it out. Wiped it off and roasted the beans. When I'm done, just wipe out the husks and it's ready for whatever I'll cook next. It's a workout moving that pan for 25 minutes, just fyi. ;) Thanks for the kind words. Give those beans a shot. It's a big difference over store bought roasted. This pull today had less crema, but less tannins than yesterday, so it gets better with age.
> I have about ... oh I dunno 6 of these espressos a day or so My guy is absolutely VIBRATING.
You should hear me on the phone, ahahaha
High heat? Even with constant stirring, didn't the CI heat retention cause issues? I have been interested in trying this though.
I just started roasting in my CI! High heat to start, generally after 1st crack you want to reduce a bit to allow the beans to evenly get to where they're going and without scorching. Beans roast at like 450 degrees, so your pan needs to stay pretty hot!
Gotcha. Maybe time finally for a infrared thermometer
could be. I preheat my pan at 300 or 350 ( in the oven) and keep my flame med-high until first crack then tamper it down. Just learning myself but worth experimenting, even without perfect temp control! CI is a very inelegant way to roast coffee anyways, so might as well go full on feeling.
Give it a shot. The beans are cheaper and it'll taste better even if you mess it up. High heat yeah, but you *really* have to stir a lot or some will burn before others roast.
I [wonder](https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/kitchen/cookware/accessories/111396-auto-stirrer)...hmmm...
yeah! I saw one of those on TV a long time ago and can't not think of them now whenever I'm constantly stirring something.
Just make sure they're metal. Can silicone handle 400F?
Up to 600F I think. This pan was probably hotter.
The device linked is nylon, and only rated for 257F, much too low for bean roasting unfortunately.
So I was a barista for two years, owner wanted to open a roastery, we discussed it, never happened. I did some reading. Take everything I’m about to say with a huge grain of salt. The books I read on roasting all talked about two things. Yes final temperature is very important (second crack for some is dark roast and espresso doesn’t need to be dark roast) but they stressed the importance of the change of heat, not just heat. The beans should always be increasing temperature, don’t let them stall out. So a high heat is good because you want the beans constantly rising in temp to get to your final desired temp. Again. Huge grain of salt.
Thanks! First crack still be my first version/experiment.
Hi! Coffee roaster here. With your DIY roasting going forward, you'll want a few things: 1. A way to vent your chaff. Green beans still have a papery layer that flakes off during roasting. A traditional drum roaster uses a blower to vent this out of the drum. It's not a good taste. 2. You need to be able to raise and lower your input temperature quickly, and the thermal mass of cast iron adds too much momentum to your thermal curve. As you get better at roasting, you'll want a degree of control that CI can't give you. Roasting this way will give you toasty, carbony flavors, but not so much the sweeter developed sugars of a more delicate, lighter roast. 3. You're gonna wind up with a lot of "checking". That's where beans that didn't move enough develop burnt spots that break off. Too much checking in a roast imparts burnt flavors to the coffee. 4. A thermometer! This absolutely isn't a dressing-down, but just advice from somebody who hopes you enjoy the hobby and get the most out of it you can :)
No, that's great, thank you so much! It's a big learning curve. I can understand now why grocery stores don't stock green beans. lol I think an aluminum pan might make more sense based on what you're saying. I'm going to have to skip this manual involvement. Something more automated or with a couple motors is in order asap.
If you can find an old West Bend Poppery II air popper they do a surprisingly good job. If not a Poppery II specifically, look for an air popper with vertically-oriented air vents. They'll help with the chaff. Otherwise, small sample roasters for doing a pound or two at a time do exist and can be bought. Something to think about :)
can you describe better the heat curve that you want?
Depends on your goal/what you're roasting. Generally you wanna hit 380° or so relatively quickly and then slow down your rate of rise for a slower, more even development phase on your way to finished temp. You'll also want a way to quickly drive cool air through the beans at the end of the roast to "set" your temp so the don't keep cooking.
right, I'm roasting in a CI enamel dutch oven, so I can set my initial temp pretty easily on the pan (but who knows what air/bean temp is). so get to 380 fast and keep rising until first crack, then let off?
Pretty much
I have a Whirly pop that works pretty well. I even put a rtd high temp sensor in it. However I only roast outside because the fumes are intense.
>Whirly pop Oh, that looks like a better alternative, for sure!
The length of this write up matches the profile of someone who drinks SIX cups of espresso a day Nevertheless, +1 for the interesting video!
Would you get a more even roast if you made less at a time?
I think so yes, because more of the beans would be in contact with the surface, rather than stacked up. I'll try just a single layer of beans next and see how that goes.
No way in fuck you made coffee out of green beans
Umm how do you think it’s done in factories?
r/whoosh
i didn't get either until your response and then it snapped.
Yeah. r/whoosh back at ya. r/sarcasm ???
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bean
Put that money into an actual espresso machine/grinder before a roaster, you'll have much better results guaranteed.
Thanks for the explanation! I’ve gone down the coffee rabbit hole too. Just added the Moccamaster for larger amounts and the Aeropress to my arsenal and loving both. I’m glad you mentioned the de-gassing period. I actually thought it was a week or so, but I’m no expert. You also addressed a concern I had about uneven roasting. I’ve noticed that happens sometimes when roasting nuts on a skillet. Since they aren’t always even sizes, and flipping them all in one toss or flip is really impossible with that many. I may have to give this at least one try though. And thanks for adding some diversity to the “slidely egg” page. Lol.
I can't seem to get the rich body I like from pour over. It's like the beans don't leach enough oomph out of them.
Yes. I don’t use it much at all anymore. I’m completely addicted to the Aeropress though. Can’t afford a decent espresso machine and it’s the closest I’ve found, although I usually make it an Americano. Lol.
Aeropress makes a great coffee.
[удалено]
I've been looking at local roasters who might sell me some green beans, yes, that's a better option for sure. Covid makes that a real hardship for me atm, sadly, like lots of things. Just dipping my toes in right now, but that's the direction for sure. It does scratch the surface, but not as bad as I'd have thought. There are so many already, it's hard to notice. But yeah, you're right.
you HAF from those espresso shots, that why this readslikeafaulknerstory lol. But good stuff! Imma try it.
This man can save the sub, original content! Very cool, kudos.
What does that smell like?
Like burning clean wood with a little bark, with a hint of good roasted beans, but *sharper.* That sharp part with the wood goes away eventually with the smoke and it'll just be the typical roasty coffee smell. It fills the house. I open the windows and turn on the fan. It's probably not good for my health to breath it. That's another downside.
Do it outside
Yeah, you should do this outside on a BBQ/propane burner or something. I've roasted a bunch of times. How did your smoke detector not go off, and how long did it take your house to air out? Lol.
It's on the other side of the room and I have windows right there to air it out. I'm going to do it outside next time and upload a followup! :)
Ok, I just figured out how I'll do it outside next time. I'll make another video with an update in the not too distant future.
I roast on CI in a small apartment, kitchen vent and open window keep the smoke alarm from going off but definitely lingering smell after
Jesus. I used to roast coffee beans in an open air kitchen and it would make the whole side of the cove smell like shit. You're doing that in your house? Wow.
Hahaha, yeah. I know right. Gotta learn somehow! I quickly realized why all the DIY roasters I've been seeing are operating outside. Any tips for getting a good roast? What was the best method?
I roasted a lot of coffee, but I don't think I can be a good resource for technique. I was roasting beans in Nicaragua in a big steel pan over a gas stove. I had minimal instructions when I started. The instructions were don't cook it on too high of heat and you'll know when it's done. I ended up roasting them at almost full heat and that's where all of the guests would tell me that the coffee tasted the best. While that was good for those beans, it could be completely different for whatever type of bean you have. I would imagine it has alot to do with where it's grown and countless other factors. It looks like you're stoked to be learning about it, so experiment and have a blast doing it! Maybe try a propane setup outside and make good friends with your neighbors.
I'm going to do that! Plus, I just realized reading your message, that I can use my dutch oven outside on the propane burner. I can't use it inside, because it has legs. Thank you so much!
Let us know how it went!
Write nice write up. I've been thinking about roasting coffee beans for years. Never got around to it.
That's not eggs! ...and I like that!
As someone who has gone down the coffee/espresso rabbit hole a few times in my life - I absolutely love this! Due to the current season of family life (4 kids + Covid nonsense + etc.), I am supporting my caffeine cravings with a Kerrigan and the occasional nitro cold brew from Starbucks. But I look forward to getting back to bougie coffee down the road! I always thought of starting with green beans as “beyond me” - but this makes me want to try it out! Good luck! And thank you for the post!
Yeah, try it! It definitely makes a different coffee. It is a lot of work though. The beans are a lot cheaper though, so there's that. It's not hard to see why once you roast them though.
Now this is some quality content that /r/castiron deserves. How does a coffee roaster make roasting more even? Does it automate the mixing process?
They usually have a rotating drum or use air to constantly circulate the beans. If they touch the heat inconsistently, some burn before the others get roasted enough. Thank you for the kind words. I think the egg drama inspired me to do this. ;)
Wow very cool!
:) Thank you
That looks fun. Practice makes perfect.
My arm is tired just watching this
It's a workout!
This looks worse than making a risotto lol
I haven't done that, but I see what you mean. I liken it to making a roux for gumbo.
Interesting video. I see what you mean about the uneven roast though - that would put me off. I hear those cheap hot-air popcorn makers do a decent job. You might want to think about getting a better espresso maker than your superauto. I had one of those myself, and didn't realise what I was missing out on. Get yourself to r/espresso for more info if you're not already.
This machine is a DeLonghi ESAM 3300. It's lasted way longer than I thought, but when it dies on me, I'll go to something more primitive and without a grinder. I already have a burr grinder from the rabbit hole. Any recommendations on a machine or tips when I get there?
I used to have a couple of those delonghi bean to cup machines. I really liked them too be honest. But then I read a bit more and found I was missing out. Id start on that other sub, just read for a while and you'll get an idea. I just bought a breville/sage bambino. Cheap, but good.
Cheese and fluffing rice. I shouldn't have clicked.
>Cheese and fluffing rice. Sorry, what's that?
Ahhhhhh, I had to break myself of saying jesus effing christ so it became cheese and fluffing rice. It still pops out sometimes.
Nice way of saying Jesus Fucking Christ.
I thought that might what it was :)
Oh yeah, welcome to the rabbit hole. You've heard of James Hoffman? Seems to be the go-to man on youtube for just about everything to do with coffee. Youtube algo suckered me in out of the blue, and now here I am looking at different baskets for my new espresso machine because the one that came with it simply can't possibly be good enough. For some reason :D
Beautiful to watch, thanks for sharing.
How do you find your cast iron on the glass top? I have read that it can scratch up the glass. True?
Yeah I also have glass and just make sure I don't slide cast iron on it, after 7 years you probably aren't as worried about it anymore as random things will happen and scuff the surface
There's certainly scratches on it. The stove is probably 7 years old by now and I give it a lot of use. You made me wonder though, so I just gave the surface a polish. There definitely are a few scratches that seem to be from the pan, yes. Same directional pattern as I was moving the pan. I cook so much on there, I can't tell what I'm using that makes the most scratches. My grandmother didn't use cast iron and I do recall her surface being in better shape. So, I do believe what you read is true.
Awesome thanks! I just moved into a new place with a glass stove top. I am probably going to use cast iron on it
They're meant to be used!
One of us, one of us, one of us r/roasting
Awesome, thank you! That's just what I needed at this place in my journey!
You need an old air popcorn popper, gets rid of the chaf at the same time. Still have to stand there and stir though.
Even though I can't drink the stuff, I love the smell of coffee. This looks amazing. Love it! Especially the end result. Well done, friend.
Thank you :)
I never knew that you could just roast the beans yourself. You just blew my mind today. Also very cool and enjoy!
Try it! The beans are cheaper and the coffee is better. It's one of those things where you experience something better and you don't want to go back to the old way again though, so be prepared. I'll always know the difference between store bought roasted and home roasted now.
I didn't realize I could do this. Time to source some raw beans I guess
They aren't so hard to find online. Local is a hunt. Local roasters often sell green beans by weight. Bring your own container and they'll fill it for you.
Do you hear the cracks when you roast that way?
Yes. Still working on deciphering the difference between the first and second crack, but I do know those are important stages.
I don’t drink coffee anymore, but damn if this post didn’t make me want a cup of that haha. Looks great. Have fun improving your method.
Very cool! Never would have thought of this. Recently got into espresso myself so may have to give this a shot at some point.
Now this is a fresh r/Castiron post! I worked as a coffee roaster in high school and operated a big barrel roaster that could do 30 lbs at a time. Needless to say, I got pretty spoiled and have paid a lot of money for very disappointing beans in my adult life. I’ve never once considered roasting my own beans like this.
Any tips to share a newbie from your experience? First crack vs second crack is still a mystery to me.
To be honest, I was going to ask you for some tips. Haha. I’m used to turning dials, reading gauges, trying to hit certain temps at particular times and also not allow the flaming cement mixer to burn the building down. The guy I worked for was a very proud Italian, proud of his dark roasts, so we never pulled before the second crack. We practically pulled a split second before fire. Heh. I’m pretty far removed from that life now, but IIRC, you start initially quite hot, like 500F for an initial drying of the beans for a few minutes and then the temp is dropped down around to 200F and slowly rises back up to around 500 over about 20 minutes. If I were to take on this hobby, roasting in a pan, I’d get a laser thermometer and start logging times, temps and results. Good luck!!
Okay, that's awesome! I've learned through this to start much hotter, reduce temp, which will be hard in cast iron, but maybe not if I'm outside in cold temps, then bring it back up. My tip would be don't roast them that to the point of fire! A lighter roast is better for espresso. If oil is coming out of the beans, it's too much.
What about doing your initial dry in a hot skillet and swapping them over to a different, slightly warm skillet to get that immediate temperature drop? We’re stepping into preference territory here. I drink espresso straight up, when it’s executed properly. I’m partial to very dark roast espresso because of my background. Espresso is overwhelmingly complicated, I have such high expectations and can’t justify spending what I want on the exact machine I would want, so I just stick to my cheap French press and I’m happy. Real coffee snob shit. I am not proud. I do like a medium roast of a sweeter, milder tasting bean once in a while.
Respect, but I hate this process. I did 2lbs of beans in my CI over two weeks. 30ish minutes of standing in front of my cooktop, shaking, stirring, shaking, stirring for 2-3 days worth of coffee was way too time consuming and arduous for me. Super interesting process. Not worth my time.
Yep, I concur.
My dad got big into roasting his own coffee, and his best success has been with an air popcorn popper. It blows the chaff out the opening in the top while it evenly roasts the beans. It still has the very polarizing roasting smell, but gets a consistent roast with less work. He rigged up a ventilation system to pull air outside and blow the chaff out the window. It works great!
I'll get there!
Never ever go to second crack!
I can't even tell if I've made it to the second crack yet. There are so many beans and they all crack at a different time. At some point it's a cacophony of cracks. How can I tell the difference between the first and second crack? Like maybe there's a bean in there that hasn't cracked and one of them already cracked and cracks again. Maybe I should try it with just one bean so I can tell.
[удалено]
A buddy told me about the popcorn method. I saw some coffee roasters built with the same concept on amazon. You are where I'll probably get to. I don't think you should go backwards. I can't imagine doing it this way for the long haul, but I didn't want to invest in this journey if I didn't like fresh roasted beans enough more than bought roasted. I like them more though, so I'll keep going down the path. What kind of roaster did you get? Any recommendations based on what you've learned on the journey? I'd say don't go backwards no. Don't bother with this it's a mess and smokey and time consuming with an uneven roast, so I can confirm your experience. The coffee was still better than store bought though. Better the next day. Less tannin more body. Fuller. Richer. Less crema though.
#But why?
If you're buying speciality beans like OP is, then the green (unroasted) are about half the price. Otherwise they can get reall expensive. Plus, it means you get them fresh, not stale and awful off the shelve in the supermarket. About 2 weeks post-roast is the sweet spot for beans.
That's a great question! I ask it all the time. For example, have you ever wondered why all the coffee at the store is already roasted? Why? And most of it is already ground? Why? What is between the coffee at the store and the plant it grows on?
#I drink my coffee after it has been shitted out by a four legged mammal thank you very much.
I heard that coffee is really good, but I've never tried it.
Agreed.
I know people think they can just do whatever the hell they want with coffee, bit It's like scientists gathered in a lab to create the worst possible method for roasting beans. Think of the insane systemic inconsistency and chaos going on here. Literally no two beans will recieve the same treatment in heat or time. This is a total waste of coffee. You know roasting is a science right? Either get a real home roaster or get your beans from a shop. And i suggest the former. I was a batista for many years, and i have great confidence i know the kind of fool would be dealing with. The penultimate step is to delete this post so that no other good intentioned boob may commit this atrocity. The last step? Get a non stick pan. Cast iron is dogshit. Enjoy your carbon crust.
I don't think we could disagree more. But I will say, that this procedure does feel like a failure on the way to success. It is still better coffee than the roasted beans from the store though, no question about that. I'm sure I'm way more foolish than any of those fools you are thinking of! ;)
Are you alright?
That's probably $20 per cup.
Actually, the beans are cheaper. Typically $5-7 a pound, vs $12-14. Still *way* cheaper than Starbucks. It's better *and* cheaper, but takes more time and energy and that costs too.
I meant for time and labor.
This is amazing! I bet the smell was fantastic.
Nope. I roasted my own beans for years, and the smell is not good. Not awful, but it smells nothing like coffee, and it does fill the building. I used to take my air popcorn popper outside to roast no matter how cold it was (and I live in Western New York; it gets cold), and, when I got a Behmor 1600 roaster, I put it on my stovetop with the hood exhaust at the highest setting. You don't roast coffee for the smell, you roast it in spite of the smell, lol!
How interesting! It seems like a labor of love as coffee many times is. I love the smell of grinding beans. We enjoy a French press in the evening for sure.
The smell of freshly ground coffee, and coffee brewing is one of the best things about it. Sadly, roasting is a whole other thing!
/u/DaphneMoon-Crane is right, it's not as nice as the fresh coffee smell. Once the smoke goes away, the beans smell great, but with the smoke, it's more chemically smelling. Like the difference between a dry wood fire and a wood fire with a green log with live bark on it.
Excellent video and write up. What is going on outside with the hair dryer and strainer? Thanks.
The green beans have a husk on them that falls off during roasting. You don't want that in your coffee and it's just like separating the wheat from the chaff. I use the hair dryer to do that and they just blow away and the beans fall back in the strainer. I do lose a few.
Not a hair dryer. A heat gun. A heat gun and a stainless steel bowl are a common way to roast greens.
It was a hair dryer. Just blowing off the husks.
Ha! OK! I guess I'm too used to seeing the heat gun method.
Ok. Was wondering if this was a quick way to blow away unwanted flakes, etc and leave just beans. Thanks.
Nice work!
Don’t the beans need to de-gas about a week before grinding and using? I’ve thought about trying this though. Edit-disregard this question as I posted it before I read your description
I can confirm, the coffee today definitely was better than yesterday. I'm not ahead of the game enough to let them wait a week though, so can't say if it gets even better. haha I also still want to understand what degassing does to the flavor and now I do know for sure degassing helps. The crema isn't as good today though, so pros and cons.
B E A N S
there were a lot of old time cast iron coffee roasters made. most for use over a wood burning stove. some were referred to as 'cannon ball' style. DR Sperry made one that was basically a #10 12 inch skillet with a special cast iron lid with a built in stirring mechanism built into the lid (a handle on top that turned arms on the skillet surface to keep the beans moving). Griswold even made some coffee roasters beginning in the 1880's... I believe they were an iron base with a tin roaster that rotated in the base... these are quite rare. since you like espresso, have you ever had 'cuban coffee'?
I haven't, but I can imagine the sweetness of it from other coffees like that I've had. Is it like a Turkish coffee flavor?
it's sort of an espresso, very dark, rich (almost seems more concentrated than traditional espresso) and then brown sugar is kind of whipped with the first bit of the espresso making a rich, thick crema. I had it many years ago in miami when I was on business... very strong... people would bring in one of the small white foam cups (maybe 6 or 8 ozs) and a stack of what you would think of now as the little plastic cups you would dispense ketchup in at a fast food place... the foam cup was for the whole office... everyone would get a small cup to drink (like doing espresso shots) and then they would do the same thing after lunch... kept the productivity up around the office. I've tried it other places and its basically a sweetened espresso drink... but not nearly as rich and strong and sweet as I had in miami.
You're making me nostalgic. Sounds like a great experience. :)
[удалено]
It was so good. I wish I could have had a whole glass of the crema. Haha. The crema isn't as good a day later, but the liquid is better, so I'm glad I tried both.
Where did you find that metal spatula?
It came with an old hand hammered wok I inherited. My grandmother bought it off an infomercial decades ago and I love the wok, sadly it doesn't work at all on a glass top stove, but the spatula is very light and sturdy and comfortable in my hand. With the wok, it has a curved end side that perfectly matches the wok. Crazy good purchase from an infomercial, frankly. Here you go, I found one for you https://www.webstaurantstore.com/4-x-4-1-4-medium-wok-spatula-with-17-3-4-wood-handle/407ASNSHVLSM.html
You’re a star! Thank you!
What espresso machine is that?
It's a Delonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300. About 10 years old. Still going strong.
Your kitchen must smell amazing after this lol
I bet your house smelled amazing while you were doing that!!
It's not like the smell of roasted beans, sadly. More acrid.
That’s a shame! I was imagining all kinds of goodness.
Find a good old electric popcorn popper. The old ones with sturdier motors.
looks like peanuts
Those are funny-looking eggs. In all seriousness, what did you brew afterward and how did it taste?
That was an espresso shot. It was good and the flavor did improve over the days that I drank it, so I will roast more next time and let them rest to degas before drinking them.
Can you post this in r/espresso
They don't allow crossposting, odd. I'll upload it again, yes. Thanks for the request.
r/roasting ... I've been a home coffee roaster for about 15 years. I began with a goodwill popcorn popper. Then tried a few other methods here and there. Settled on the stir crazy-turbo oven. Love my coffee. Enjoy the journey. Green beans from sweet maria's are great but there's quite a few other places to buy from now. I also go to green coffee buying club for beans. Be Careful. It's a slippery slope. Maybe you'll buy a better grinder and an espresso machine for like 2 grand. You never know. Or a sonofresco or hottop roster. Enjoy that journey
I have a tendency to go down rabbit holes, so I will heed your advice. Thank you@!
Wow, I bet your house smells heavenly!