How does one roast green beans? (Sorry for the top post. Gmail on mobiles doesn't allow me anything else. Or does it?) Adit.
On 12/13/10, Charles Haynes <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Aditya Kapil <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian >> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> The issue is getting those "any other kind of beans" - which is why I >>> always come back with a pound of beans whenever I travel. Good stuff >>> like blue mountain etc if I'm feeling flush, if not at least Peets, >>> Seattle's Best type above average coffee chains. >> Yes, I think this is important. It's beginning to look like variety will >> only come from travel. I travel quite a bit to SF, Philly, London and >> Basel. >> Let me know of stores where I can pick up beans that are less than 'two >> weeks old' and varieties that are your favorites (describing, if you have >> the time, what you like about them). The problem is that I don't think >> I've >> had enough good stuff to be able to describe what I like. Strong aroma is >> important, but not necessarily too much bitterness... is that a paradox? > > Ok, I am a dyed in the wool, full-on, coffee... "connoisseur." > > I've roasted my own green coffee for the last 10 years, started with > 100 gm in a hot air popcorn popper, and using all sorts of roasters > including a $700+ programmable countertop roaster. > > I've brewed "pour over" drip filter, french press, moka pot, automatic > drip, percolator, over a campfire with eggshells, aero press, cold > extracted, vietnamese drip, thai drip, and yes south indian filter > coffee. I currently prefer two triple ristretto macchiatos each > morning for breakfast. > > I've tried beans from all over, South and Central American, African, > South Pacific Islands, and yes, Asian including India. The single > biggest determinant of coffee quality is how fresh it is. I'm a big > fan of South Pacific Island coffees, and not such a fan of South > American coffees, but I'll take a freshly roasted generic Colombian > over a month old Sulawesi anytime. > > Suresh's quote is exactly right. > > First: do not use pre-ground coffee. Not ever. Not for any reason. Yes > I'm serious and no I'm not kidding. I don't care if it's Illy vacuum > packed espresso. Do not ever buy coffee powder. Just switching to > grinding your own coffee will improve your quality more than anything > else you can do. Do this one thing before anything else. Nothing else > matters until you do this. I would drink coffee boiled over a campfire > made from freshly ground beans over the fanciest high tech espresso > made with pre-ground coffee (and that includes any kind of coffee > pod.) > > Second: use fresh coffee. If it's more than a week or two old it > doesn't matter where it came from. I'd rather have a recently roasted > generic Brazilian over a month old "Blue Mountain." Coffee goes stale > quickly. Vacuum packing hurts rather than helps, because freshly > roasted coffee generates CO2. In order to vacuum pack it they have to > wait for the off gassing to stop at which point the coffee is stale. > If you can't get freshly roasted coffee I suggest you roast it > yourself. If you can't roast it yourself, try to get as fresh as you > can. > > Third: use a decent grinder. If you're going to spend money, spend it > on a reasonable burr grinder. Baratza makes some reasonably priced > ones, or the Sunbeam EM0480/EM0450 is a decent home grinder for under > US$200. (I've got a spare EM0480 if someone wants it. I'll sell it to > you for $50+s/h. I'm in Australia...) > > After this it quickly becomes a matter of taste. With freshly roasted > beans, a decent grinder, and a $20 french press I can be very happy. > > So the next questions are about what styles of coffee you like, what > kinds of roasts you like, and what you like in a coffee bean. Since > it's all so subjective, I'll subject you to my personal coffee > preferences. > > I prefer low-acid robust dry-processed coffees. Low acid inclines me > towards Yemen, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. Similarly for "robust" > coffees. I like a big chocolatey coffee - I'm not into subtle fruity > and winey flavors I like being hit over the head. That said I like the > wild funky complexities of dry processed coffees, so I end up with > Yemens, Ethiopian Yirgacheff and Nekisse, and some Celebes (Sulawesi) > coffees. I prefer a slightly darker roast, so I tend to go to a city > roast, or full city with the Yemeni coffees. > > I buy beans green and roast at home in my oven. I've also successfully > roasted in a wok over the stove or in a BBQ. You don't need fancy > expensive equipment to roast at home. > > I grind using a Mazzer "Mini" grinder, which allows me to both grind > finely enough for espresso, and adjust the grind in a continuous range > rather than in "steps." It uses dual grinding plates and is slow > enough to keep the grounds cool during grinding (though some people > like to cool the grinder.) > > I brew using an Expobar "Minore" dual-boiler espresso machine with an > E61 group head and electronic temperature controls. I use a > "bottomless" portafilter to check my tamp. This setup allows for > varying the brew temperature and pressure depending on the bean, > roast, and grind. > > Anyway, that just indicates that I'm a fanatic, which was already > obvious. That said, I'm quite happy drinking coffee from a french > press, a pour over filter, a siphon, vietnamese cafe sua da, or south > indian filter coffee. I love coffee. If you want good coffee, buy > freshly roasted beans (or roast them yourself), grind them yourself, > prepare them the way you like and be happy. > > One last rantlet. Buying "fancy" brand pre-roasted beans is a ripoff. > I don't care if it's kopi luwak, Jamaican Blue Mountain, or some other > name brand. If you buy it roasted and bring it home it will be stale. > I don't bother bringing home Blue Bottle from San Francisco because by > the time I get to it, it will be stale. > > If, for some reason, you can't get good fresh locally roasted beans > and you have access to a freezer, it is possible to keep roasted > coffee fresher in a freezer. It is a last resort! Freeze in separate > air-tight containers in quantities you will use in a week or less, and > take out no more than a week's worth at a time. > > But really - buy or roast fresh, always grind fresh and be happy! > > -- Charles (drinking home roasted Yemen Ismaili) > > -- Sent from my mobile device God: An invisible friend for adults
