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I started homeroasting coffee in December 2003 after learning that green coffee beans could be roasted at home. I ordered a sampler of premium green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's http://www.sweetmarias.com, purchased a $10 Toastmaster™ popcorn popper from Bed Bath & Beyond and discovered how easy it was to roast great coffee.
I retrieved my old Chemex coffee pot and Kitchenaid burr grinder (both 1975 vintage) from the attic along with a 1986 Krups espresso maker. The espresso maker was dead. I had just joined Sweet Maria's Homeroaster's e-mail list and wanted to try this wonderful espresso elixir that everyone was talking about. I probably should have waited and read and listened and learned before I rushed into things, but I didn't and ended up getting a Starbuck's Barista espresso maker. Actually, I found it on eBay for $150 plus shipping. It was a "returned" item, still under warranty. When it arrived it turned out to be in the original box and as far as I can tell it was a new unit in perfect working order. (More about espresso makers later.) I bought several vacuum pots on ebay and have three French press coffee makers. Although many say that the French press makes the best brewed coffee, I still think I get my best brews from my Chemex. I enjoy the vacuum pot brews sometimes, especially the "show" as the hot water magically travels north and mixes with the coffee grounds then flows back south as perfectly brewed coffee, but to me Chemex is the hands down winner in terms of full flavor and clarity while preserving the coffee's characteristics.
As Spring arrived, I thought that coffee roasting in a wok would be a cool thing to try so, without reading anything about wok roasting, I attempted this feat. It just seemed logical that I could use the gas burner from my turkey fryer and a steel wok to roast 8 ounces of coffee with ease. Wrong! First of all, I had the flame set at flamethrower strength which was far too high to properly roast coffere and it resulted in charred beans. This is the most uneven and certainly the worst roast I have ever done. When I finally finished I had a melange roast that ranged from lighter than cinnamon to charcoal nuggets. I didn't even bother to try brewing any of this batch.
In June 2004 the Hearthware iRoast became available and I bought one from Sweet Maria's. This roaster poses a bit of a challenge to get proper roasts, but whoever said life was supposed to be easy? I was able to increase the size of my roasts and it was easier to see the degree of roast as the beans roasted. Unfortunately it is noisy and I had a hard time hearing the cracks. I can honestly say that I have never heard 2nd crack on a roast in this machine. I have since sold the iRoast and it has found a happy home in Florida.
A few months later I had $100 burning a hole in my pocket and I found myself in The Home Depot looking at heat guns. Well, $76 later I had a heat gun from Home Depot and a 96 ounce stainless steel dog bowl from PetSmart. Hoorah! My first 12 oz. roast! Ahhh.. the different smells and colors and sounds of the beans roasting as they passed through the different stages were such a delight. I could actually see the beans expand in size as they reached first crack and watch the roast color even out between 1st and 2nd crack. THIS is coffee roasting! Heat gun/dog bowl (HG/DB) roasting became my primary means of roasting, even though I was still roasting 1 or 2 batches a week in the iRoast. I found that a 12 to 14 oz. batch size works best for me in the HG/DB. I have rigged a Lazy Susan so I can spin the bowl while I roast and find that it has facilitated even mixing of the beans while roasting. I can even get away with some stirring of the beans with the heat gun, but keep the gun 1" to 2" above the beans for most of the roast.
In October 2004 I purchased a used Rancilio Rocky from a fellow list member and put the old Kitchenaid back into mothballs. Rocky worked fine for espresso with the Starbucks Barista, but I noticed a little play in the burr assembly and I was getting dust that caused cloudy brews when using the press pot or vacuum pot. But remember, I was using a pressurized portafilter on the Barista for espresso and they are quite forgiving (although not really capable of producing a God shot). So I went ebay shopping for grinders and landed a Mazzer Major for a reasonable price. When it arrived it was missing the hopper and one of the burrs but the seller eventually made good on it. The Major is a monster but with a new short hopper he fits on my counter under the cupboards and with new burrs he does a superb job. Now, what to do about this pressurized portafilter espresso maker?
The Barista, like the Rocky and the iRoast (and now Venus) have moved on to new homes. I replaced the Barista with an Isomac Venus. Wow! What a learning curve. No pressurized portafilter to make fake crema. Grinding and tamping suddenly became important. It took a while to get the Major dialed in and figure out a temperature surfing technique, but I've finally experienced what great espresso is. And yes, one can taste blueberries in Horse! Now after nearly two years with Venus I worked a trade for a direct connect Fiorenzato Bricoletta Volante (The Bric). The Bric arrived December 31, 2007 and now I find myself at the bottom end of the learning curve again. I must be doing something right because I am getting great shots - and wow... what steam power! I'm getting microfoam with 2% milk (Venus insisted on whole milk to give good microfoam).
This is a picture of "The Bric", the TV (Technivorm) and the two Majors. I performed a sex change operation on one of the Majors and removed the doser and added the spout. I use this grinder for brewed coffee and the doser model for espresso. The hopper shown in the picture is the new short hopper and barely fits under under the cupboards. I put felt pads under the grinder feet which allows the grinder to easily be pulled out from under the counter for filling then pushed back into place for grinding and dosing. The felt slides smoothly on the formica countertop. The Thor Hammer you see was custom made by Les at http://www.thortamper.com. The matching portafilter handle went with Venus to her new home in Michigan.
I in 2005 I bought an RK Drum from Ron at http://rkdrums.com which is a stainless steel drum powered by a high speed rotisserie and heated in a gas BBQ grill. After 2 years of roasting with the 4 pound RK Drum I upgraded to the 6 pound RK Drum in 2007 and installed roller bearings on the rotisserie. I built the "almost world famous" JavaJerry Turbo Bean Cooler which cools coffee beans from around 450°F to ambient temperature in a short matter of minutes. This setup is the cat's meow! I cannot say enough about roasting with the RK Drum. Ron Kyle is a precision craftsman and these drums are commercial quality and built to last many, many years. The learning curve to gas grill roasting was surprisingly short and I have consistently gotten superior roasts with the equipment you see in the photo below.
RK Drum and the JavaJerry Turbo Bean Cooler
JavaJerry dumping fresh roasted coffee beans into the Turbo Bean Cooler
"The Stash"
JavaJerry's Special Blend
Ingredients: Guatemala Antigua (50%), Sulawesi Toraja (20%), Kenya AA (10%), Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (10%), Ethiopia Harar (10%)
New Toys:
(He who dies with the most toys wins!)
The Bric & The Majors
Fiorenzato Bricoletta Volante "The Bric"
Hottop Digital
Shortly before Christmas 2007 I found a hot deal on an 11 month old Hottop Digital roaster (originally purchased from Sweet Maria's)and couldn't pass it up. It is the newest addition to my roasting equipment inventory. The RK Drum will remain my primary roaster, especially for coffee beans I sell, but the Hottop will assist in blend development and small batch roasting for my personal use.
To order coffee by e-mail click HERE
Here's some great places to visit:
Sweet Maria's for great coffee and coffee related equipment and items http://www.sweetmarias.com
For top quality stainless steel roasting drums and drive motors visit Ron Kyle's RK Drum website http://rkdrums.com
Les' Thor Tampers are beyond description. They are more beautiful than the pictures http://www.thortamper.com
Chocolate making is even more fun than roasting coffee. For a decadent glimpse into the other side visit Alchemist John's Chocolate Alchemy site at http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/
Updated: January 14, 2008
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