Coffee - May require it's own heading!

Coffee, cigars and rum go togther like priests and choirboys. Indeed the brothers are known to have a tipple now and then. Oh and some rum, cigars and Belgian beer as well, lol...
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sleepy
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Coffee - May require it's own heading!

Post by sleepy »

Note: this is the post from "Sleepy" that led to this new section...



I love my rum, my beer and my malt whiskey, but I CANNOT live without coffee. Since I lived up the street from the original Whole Foods in Austin in the early 80s and encountered fresh roasted coffee from multiple origins, it's been an obsession.

A decade ago, or so, I started roasting my own after too many local roasters started getting it right, then folded. And for someone who hates mornings, I love my coffee - and Yuban ain't gonna do it!

I raise this issue because much of what transpires here pertains to tasting. To find OBSESSIVE tasters, one needs look no further than coffee cuppers - the folks who go out and taste each harvest and farm by rigid protocols and evaluate the quality of that crop for both market and competition.

I have a long-standing relationship with http://sweetmarias.com - they sell excellent small-batch green coffee from around the world, I buy it, I roast it, I smile in the morning. The reason why is their clear consistent reviews of each coffee offered by Tom Owens, the proprietor. I often disagree with his descriptions, but now know exactly how I will. In a decade, I can think of two batches that he liked and I didn't (needless to say, he rarely offers anything outside of his comfort zone "If you really want to know - this is truly awful coffee for $1 per pound").

If you have the time, peruse the library there (modern technology has made a total mess of it), or just scan the coffee reviews of what's in stock. An excellent balance of the art and talent of tasting.
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Post by da'rum »

Interesting.

Cheers
in goes your eye out
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

I agree...


Coffee does deserve its own section. And here's why I agree. First and foremost, I come from (in part) a coffee family. My beloved grandfather was a pioneer in coffee roasting. Prior to his invention, production and sales of the very first electric coffee roaster and continuous roaster, all coffee was batch roasted in both statiionary and tumbling roasters over gas flame.

He simply loved coffee and felt that the burnt gases polluted the roasting beans. He observed that as the beans roast, both the burnt gases and products of roasting were exuded and usually drawn off by exhaust fans. He felt that electric heat was clean and non-polluting, and further that the aromas of roasting coffee should not be exhausted away, but recaptured.

His continuous roaster achieved that. The coffee was roasted in a slowly rotating horizontal, electrically heated cylinder, and moved along by a spiral ridge from the unroasted bean at the entry, to a fully roasted bean at the end. The beans roasted during this journey in a continuous process. The expanding and roasting beans gave off a wonderful aroma, which he captured and instead of exhausting it, he reintroduced these clean and flavorful aroma at the end, where the cooling beans reabsorbed these aromas.

The result he believed: a cleaner, stronger, more flavorful roast. The market agreed and thousands of his roaster were sold throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America. I believe some are still in use.


So what coffee did he recommend?

One and only one - Columbia Supremo (allegedly Columbia's finest). He had access to everything, but chose this bean which he used to roast in 50 or 100 pound batches to give to family members. And all this 50 years ago! I have enjoyed CS ever since and would buy no other for my daily two cups...


*******
Note: A visit to sleepy's wonderful coffee link led me to understand that Columbia Supremo is a size grade (and of course, size DOES count), and not necessarily an indicator of quality. Still there seems to be a correlation between size, altitude and quality. So there!
sleepy
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Wao! That's a tale

Post by sleepy »

Honestly Jimbo, drop Tom a line - he probably knows where one or more of your grampa's roasters still work!

I agree WTR to the issue of flavoring by combustion products, but nonetheless I use a rotating SS drum in a propane grill. I just got terminally sick of advanced electronic devices with a life expectancy of 9 months.

I takes me a bit over an hour to roast 5# of 5 different varieties of which I usually distribute a couple to friends. The only time the flame roasting is apparent is with ultra-delicate light roasts for some Colombian beans and the grossly over priced island coffees (Hawaii and Jamaica).

As a result, I usually have 3-5 coffees on the counter when I stagger forth in the morning. How do I feel, what's right? I often think - how about blending the nice, bright acidity of this light roasted Yemeni with the smooth milk chocolate tones of this darker roasted Guatemalan - or whatever. Usually very good. More than two - getting balance starts getting crazy and I don't bother!

Hence, one basis for this post as an homage to the remarkable senses and sensibilities of master rum blenders. To create the potables we love, they select the proportions from not just 2 or 3 casks, but more. ...and successfully nail the target flavor year after year. I doff my cap to a skill beyond my ken!
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Whirly, twirly...


Sleepy, nice stuff. What do you think abou the "Whirly Pop" method of roasting? Or perhaps the air popper method? BTW I highly recommend all who read this to visit these three fascinating pages of Sleepy's terrific link:

1. Home Roasting of Coffee
http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions ... ooseMethod

2. Using a common popcorn air popper:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php

3. Using an old-fashioned "Whirly Pop" (you'll love this one!):
http://www.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.php

Super stuff. All lovers of coffee and home distillers of uh, perfume, will love these links...
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Post by sleepy »

The popper-derived roasters are fun and functional but can be MESSY - also smoky! As coffee roasts the bean expands and the paper-thin chaff goes flying! Best done outdoors :D

If you want to see a great collection of "shade tree mechanic" roasters, look here: http://www.sweetmarias.com/homemade-homeroasters.php. There's a great automated whirly-pop down near the bottom - uses an electric drill to turn the agitator!

For several years, I used IRoast roasters that operated on the same principle as air popers, but had pretty good chaff collection for 1/4 pound (I think) batches. My first one lasted over 2 years, but when I replaced it, I ended up with crap machines that, if they worked correctly on arrival (2 did not), died in a matter of a few months - great roasters when they worked, but Sweet Maria's got so fed up with covering the warranty that they stopped carrying them.

The air roasters actually do seem to produce somewhat cleaner, more delicate light roasts than drum roasters, but can struggle with darker roasts.

But, I have no regrets regarding the bucks I spent on my drum system: dedicated gas grill, custom 5-pound capacity SS drum that fits on a BBQ spit, industrial electric motor to turn the spit, thermometer and timer. Cooling at the end of a roast is equally high-tech - a wire mesh colander, a slotted spoon and a fan. Most important item? A pair of top-notch welder's gloves! My setup is basically the Ron Kyle drum roaster about halfway down the page cited above.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

For some reason I'm attracted to the Whirly Pop...


The first reason is simple. I'm on BP meds, lol. Second is my inherent cheep nature. I seek the sweet spot of simplicity AND quality. Like Barbancourt Five Star (a world class rum that until recently sold for maybe $18 or $19). And the last reason is that I once had the chance to fly with a trauma helicopter crew flying to car accidents. Pretty amazing stuff...

I recommend that anyone who wants to get a feel for home roasting view this video at Sweet Maria's...

http://www.sweetmarias.com/library/cont ... pop-part-1

Amazon has one for $21, free ship plus a basic Krups whirly coffee grinder for $19 and all I need is a stove (check) with exhaust hood (check), and a colander. Enought to give it a...
sleepy
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Post by sleepy »

I love the stoner brothers whirlybird pop video!

A suggestion if you go this way, buy a few pounds of the cheapest beans you can find and practice roasting - get the sounds and smells of roasting down. This both trains you in roasting and seasons your roaster before you use good beans. I got some "Baggie" beans for $2/lb to break in my drum and ran 10 pounds through.

As you love Colombian, check the reviews of the Columbian beans Sweet Maria's has in stock. One pound green yields about .8 pound roasted.
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Freeze...


Let's freeze this thread, as it makes a dandy intro. If anyone has any questionsl, you know what to do...
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