Do you roast your own coffee beans?

Off-topic Chatter
1

OK, I came across this TEDx video that… well… be warned—if you’re a coffee lover, you’re not gonna like what you learn here.

What you didn’t know about coffee: Asher Yaron at TEDx Ubud

Premise: Coffee beans, once roasted, is a “living thing.” It’s organic and it has a short shelf-life. The roasting process changes the dried beans from an inert, “stored” thing into a complex organic compound that is rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and flavor. And sadly, this lasts about a week. You really don’t have any sure way of preserving the state of these beans once roasted. Your only imperative is to take a portion, grind it up into coffee grounds, and brew it as you need it.

What that means is that most of the coffee on the market that you buy, is dead. After that week, the nutrients and flavor diminish drastically. Certainly you can have coffee roasted a few months ago that tastes quite good to your palate for coffee as you’ve got it right now. And the caffeine content is still good. Because that’s what you’re used to. But like sleeping on a 15 year old spring mattress, what you’re used to isn’t necessary all that great. Once you’ve tasted coffee roasted within the week and brewed right after grinding… you basically never want to go back.

That’s the gist of this video. It helps explain why so many coffee aficionados in the Western hemisphere have gone to the trouble of roasting their own coffee beans. Meanwhile, in some of the most dirt poor communities you can find in Africa and India, there are people who roast their own coffee beans as a matter of course on a daily basis.

I’m not on this bandwagon yet. But after reading up on a few blogs about how people are doing it and even with the most simplistic of appliances (some people use an air popcorn popper, others just a cast iron skillet), I’m very intrigued and going to make a serious exploration of it.

I’m curious if anyone here is into roasting their own coffee beans — would you be able to share how you do it? Thanks!

2

I’ve roasted for 18+ years.

I don’t know who Ted is.

Oxidation is coffee’s mortal enemy.

Don’t store coffee, roasted coffee, or green beans in the freezer, as a sealed glass jar and the cupboard is sufficient, unless you live in a tropical rainforest, in a grass hut.

Chris

3

I think he’s Bill’s pal. They go on excellent adventures.

But yeah, I just leave whole-beans in the come-with bag. At least they’re foil-lined so should be gas-impermeable (except for the CO2 vent).

Once I open the bag, I’ll fill a small jar that’s about week’s worth of usage, refill as needed, and keep the come-with bag squeezed as compactly as possible.

4

I’ve been home roasting since around 1985. I use a Poppery 1 with variac heat and air flow control and temperature probes for bean and heater. This is a relatively crude and totally manual roaster but it gets the job done with precision in spite of this.

I will take exception to a few things he says:

  • Fresh roast coffee has a “shelf life” before staling a bit longer than 1 week. I will say 2 up to 3 weeks if stored well.( cool and sealed container) Darker roasts stale faster than lighter roasts. Deep freezing roasted coffee can extend the freshness somewhat as well.
  • For Espresso the optimum time from roast to brew is a bit longer that 11 hours… I would say 2-3 days rest is more optimum. This results in better extraction and balanced flavor. Again, darker roast needs less rest.
  • While coffee roasting can be as simple and easy as popping corn, like most things, to do it well requires a good bit more commitment, patience, practice, experience, skill, proper equipment and control. Getting started is relatively easy though.
  • No mention is made about the importance of starting with quality green beans; very important as well.
  • Green beans also will go stale, with a time line of 1-3 years after harvest if properly stored. Some deep freeze greens and get good results for much longer.
5

I’ve been at it since 2010 — first on an iRoast 2, then a Behmor 1600, and now an Aillio Bullet R1. Part of my interest in flashlights is the need for high-CRI light to examine the beans during roasting. You can be terribly misled by both high CCT and poor CRI. Green tint is particularly problematic because it makes different shades of brown all look gray.

6

I have not roasted my own coffee in 20 years, I was a kid and gave up fast. But, now I ONLY buy fresh roasted beans. When you make espresso, you notice old beans so damn fast it’s not even funny. To properly drive this point home, I would imagine (don’t know) that it’s like you’re trying to have sex with someone who’s just laying lifeless. The point is that as you can imagine, that doesn’t sound very fun. It can achieve the desired outcome, but doesn’t leave the greatest taste in our mouth.

Anyway, I would say that his 7 day rule is easily more true and magnified on espresso, but coffee can still be good enough for 2-3 weeks. But he’s right, if you could roast more often, a day or 2 would be consistently the best. When you get fresh espresso drinks, the flavors dance on your tongue because they have such a silky creamy vibrant and robust body. When you’re used to that, then get an old-bean espresso drink…it no joke, ends up tasting like soda with all the carbonation gone. You definitely notice it in other methods too, but on espresso, when you’re used to fresh beans, it’s a huge slap on the tongue.

Everyone knows I’m an Espressionado, so family on vacation has brought me beans from all over the world. Paris, Greece, Hawaii and more, just not Italy yet (sigh). Not too sad really because most of it arrives old anyway, so it’s a huge let down usually. Sometimes if you’re lucky, you get it right at the end of it’s life still. So you can get a few good drinks, but it dries so fast after opening at that point (like 1-2 days). I had a $50 half-pound of Kona that was DOA. And that was on top of being dark roast (also very bad for exquisite espresso). I got a fresher non-dark roast from Hana Coffee Company that thoroughly out-performed the Kona in every single category.

Most don’t get it, they’re like “what do you mean the coffee is too old”? I explain that proper espresso machines bring out every single flavor in a bean. That means everything from, Berries to fruits to chocolate and every sweet ester your coffee can secrete. But, if your coffee is even slightly burnt, guess what, that char will be magnified in your cup too. If it’s slightly old, that void of flavor will be magnified too. So being used to quality espresso is a gift, but kinda a curse too because it really limits your coffee sources.

I give everyone in my family my espresso drinks, so they hear me out because the proof is in the pudding. Everyone’s eyebrows go up every time they get one, and I constantly get asked “where is MY coffee” when I come over. But I still get some joking eye rolls from like my brother who recently brought me some Nates from Kentucky beans. I gave it away to my mom when the date passed, like I do with all my month-old coffee’s. But he see’s me doing this even with coffee’s I buy, so he can’t really act like it’s a slight.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is, this guy is right. But it’s pretty common knowledge for enthusiasts in the same way we know not to go looking for flashlights at Target. This guy is just forming the message for the masses. Or maybe, the masses that can take a trip to Bali it seems, but I digress. I would honestly love a damn good roaster and constantly fresh beans, so his message is still spot on about the beans needing to be fresh. When you do pour-over, a fresh coffee literally blooms and rises like a slow atomic bomb explosion. Fresh FRESH coffee beans is just one of those things (especially for espresso) that when you get there, going backwards is basically like you now being forced to buy all your future flashlights from either CVS or Walgreens only.

7

Great post, now you have me interested.

8

I used to roast my own beans with an iRoast :P Now I just buy roasted beans in bulk and freeze most once the package arrives. My tastebuds aren't refined enough to notice any degradation from freezing. I grind beans right out of the freezer.

9

I’m still using my iRoast v.1 and it’s still chugging along after 18 years.

I drink Eight O’clock 100% Colombian Peaks when I’m out of green beans, which is now!

I’m a green bean roaster, but not a coffee snob.

Chris

10

Uhhhh… well…

Nope, I won’t. I promise, I won’t. :clown_face:

11

That’s funny, ’cause I think that’s exactly what I just got a coupla days ago.

12

In one form, or another, they’ve been around for a hundred years, or so.

Good stuff IMO and even better on a BOGO deal.

Chris

13

since LumenMax posted: “…buy roasted beans in bulk and freeze most once the package arrives.”…
how long do the frozen beans remain “good enough” to make coffee you would actually want to drink?

14

Yeh, I remember as a kid, mum getting 8:00 at the local A&P.

Measure out the beans from a huge hopper, put ’em through the industrial-strength grinding machine, and right into an empty bag loaded up under the spout.

No such thing as grinding ’em at home back then, so that was as close to fresh-ground as anyone could get.

It’s still a commodity coffee, not “gourmet” or “specialty” or anything, but they’re good enough for me.

15

Thanks everyone for chiming in. Great to know that there’s coffee nerds on BLF, or just folks who have enjoyed doing home coffee bean roasting. Good stuff here, walking away with more knowledge. I’m definitely encouraged to give it a go. Maybe I can find a used iRoast or similar locally and grab one just for a cheap entry point into doing home roasting.

I find Eight O’Clock Peaks is pretty decent, for the price. I don’t know if “Signature Select” is exclusive to ACME, but I discovered their beans recently. Their medium roast (with the Indian woman graphic on it) is really quite decent. Before the supply chain probs you could get a 2 lb bag for $10! Now it’s up to $15.

16

Nobody who’s into coffee freezes their coffee.

Chris

17

Then I stand alone on top of my castle of frozen beans, holding a bottomless portafilter in the air.

18

Don’t trust me and just Google it.

Or better yet, just roast in smaller batches and drink it. Then start the process over.

Chris

19

I find the beans themselves make more of a difference than freezing. Fresh is best, of course, but to save $, I buy in bulk and for me, it works well enough. Try buying 1lb of your favorite beans and freezing a small bag. Try the frozen beans next day and then try them again in a month. See if you can tell the difference.

Coffee machine: Rocket Espresso R58

Grinder: Compak K6

Drink: Cortados

Beans: 5lb bags of Stumptown Hair Bender, Redbird Ethiopian Aricha, Storyville Prologue, etc. Stumptown Hair Bender beans do well in the freezer.

20

Not an issue of trust. It's a matter of time and economy. I prefer fresh, of course, but freezing is fine for me.