Does any one roast their own coffee. it's great stuff with a morning cigar.


Big Puff=p~

Do you use an air roaster?

Quite a few guys on here actually roast though I'm not one of them.

I used to, until I developed an allergy to caffeine. I had a very nice Behmor 1600 drum roaster. It could do a full pound at a time, with electronic controls, smoke suppressor, chaff collector, and automatic, fan forced air cool down. It even came with an extra, finer mesh roasting basket for doing peaberries and such.

The sucker burned out after 3 years of very heavy use (3 to 4 lbs. per week). I almost replaced it, before I discovered my allergy, and had to give up coffee for good.

^ That SUCKS!

Never roasted my own coffee.

Still remmeber the best cup of coffee I ever had though.

A friend of mine lived in SF and I went to visit. We stayed out late and had a great time that first night. The next morning I was awakened by the scent of coffee. After stumbling to the bathroom and washing the sleep out of mye eyes I made my wa to the kitchen. Thought my friend had gotten up early and made a pot of coffee. Into the kitchen and Mr. Coffee was sitting there staring me in the face....empty.

So I look around in the cupboards. After a minute or two of searching I am hot on the trai. Success! I find coffee filters. Chek the rest of the kitchen and no coffee. Check the fridge? No dice.

Was my friend still here? Go back to the bedroom to check and yep there he is passed out. Well I'm up so now what???

Time to get dressed. Maybe its a coffee shop down the block.

So I throw on some clothes and head down stairs. Outside the morning air is brisk. Its still early. What time is it? I've got no idea as I realize I left my watch....and oh sh@t the key to the apartment on the night stand.

Damn.

Well who knows maybe I can find that coffee and a breakfast taco. So I look around no street vendors.

Just then someone exits the building. "Hey!", I ask, "Know where I can get a good cup of coffee around here?"

The guy gives me a sidelong glance and says "Try Starbucks" and hurries off.

Friendly. Not!

So I start walking doen the street figuring I might get lucky. As I walk down the block the smell gets stronger.

Well maybe its at the corner I think.

So I kepp walking but the smell diminshes. I figure its just the wind shifting since there was a slight breeze and continue to the end of the block in anticipation. Finally I get tho the end of the block and look around expectantly but alas there is no coffee shop.

Ok so now I'm thinking it must have been the opposite way so I start hoofing it to the OTHER end of the block. As I get closer to the apartment though I pick up that familiar aroma. This is nuts I think.

So I stop at the walk up next to the apartment building and figure what the hell. I knock on the door and after a minute or so I hear some shuffling and a muffled voice.

Another miute passes and I turn to leave when I hear the click of a laock openeing. As the door opened a shorter dark skinned man with close cropped black hair stood in the door way. "Good morning", he said, "ho can I help you?".

Well I intoduced myself and asked him if he could tell me where the lovely cofee smell was coming from.

He lauged and then said, "Of course! It is form my kitchen.".

He then invited me in and offered me a cup. Now I was desperate for some coffee but what I tasted was like coffee I have never had before or since. Turns out the neghbor's name was Jorge (but is friends call him Georgie) and he was from Nicaragua.

He pan roasted beans in an iron skillet on the stove. I've never tried to replicate that cup of coffee (cause I'm sure I would fug it up) but it remains to this day the best cup of coffee ever.

Great story, and in SF, no less. You get any cream? j/k

Thanks for the read.

😂

That was a great story. I roast my own and also have a small coffee roasting business for 4 years know.


BigPuff

recommend a home roaster,please


wheel

Go here:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php 

Spend a long time reading and learning. Eventually decide the Nesco is the best bang for the buck. Purchase and start roasting...

Thanks BJ !

How much coffee does your family drink, Bill? That Nesco only does 4 oz. at a time, and most home roasters are not designed to do multiple batches in a row without a good amount of cool down time between. If you're are only drinking a couple cups a day, it may be enough, but if you a coffee nut, like I was, and go through 3 pots a day, you need something a whole lot bigger, like the Behmor 1600.

Sweet Maria is a great place for really good beans, but I usually could find better deals on the roasters and stuff. Once you decide on one, search the internet. Even thought most places sell the roaster for the same price, as mandated by the manufacturer, some throw in several pounds of free beans and free shipping, giving you a much better deal.

Here's a picture of my Behmor 1600 and the rest of my setup from back in the day.

http://www.cigarbid.com/Forum/c/posts/315998/What-Ill-Go-Through-For-a-Cup-of-Joe 

The smell of fresh roasted coffee beans is wunnerful! Unfortunately I don't roast my own. 😞

San Fran story is great!

Bro that is impressive !

we drink a pot and maybe another 1/2 daily.It's mostly just me and Nurse Terrie...
what would you suggest ?

Yes. Nesco. I'm the only one drinking it. 02 hitler has a behmor and loves it. That's what I wish I got.

+1 on sweet Maria's.

Never heard of allergy to caffiene, but don't doubt it. How did it manifest?

I roasted on a San Franciscan for 10 years

http://www.coffeeper.com/sf-25b/ 

now I use a gene cafe at home

RD

I've thought about it several times.

Have two lever and one pump espresso machines that I use, rotating between them.

I do buy "custom roaster" beans. But, the last thing I need is something else to take up time.

Use a Mazzer Major grinder, an 87 Olympia Cremina lever, or 2009 Olympia Cremina, or S1 V2, vivaldi plumbed in.

I do grind and weigh right before pulling each shot.

Roasting would be nice, but at this point in my life, just easier and quicker to pay a roaster.

Right now I'm buying Metropolis Red Line, pretty nice.

Big thread about this a while back. I started to notice that every time I drank coffee, my throat would feel like there was something stuck in it. The sensation was so bad, I kept trying to cough up the lump. At first, I wondered if it had something to do with cigars. If I felt the outside of my throat, there was no swelling or lump, but it sure felt like a big chunk of food was stuck in it. I did a search on caffeine allergies, and that was a major symptom. Tightening of the throat muscles to the point of feeling like something large was stuck in it.

I tried decaf, but my throat would lump up after only 1 cup (decaf contains between 8 and 12 mg of caffeine). I've been off all caffeine for a couple months now (including chocolate). A few days ago, I tried another cup of decaf, and I wasn't even finished with it, when I once again, had that lump in my throat sensation.

I was one of those folks who drank so much coffee, that I couldn't even function without my 3 morning cups. It's actually nice to wake up in the morning, and not have brain fog, or having to get my caffeine fix to start the day.

Triodes,
If you roast your own, you'll discover that coffee is pretty much like fine cigars or fine wine. Beans from different regions or even different farms will have different flavor notes, body and acid levels. Sweet Maria sells a lot of small estate green coffee beans, that you're just not going to find in pre-roasted coffee.

You can get flavor notes all the way from chocolate, mushroom and earthiness, to banana, peach, strawberry or even green apple. Some are full body, others are light, and some are in between. Some have high acid levels, in others the acid is almost none existent. You can also custom roast the beans to your own preference of darkness. Light roasts better highlight the individual characteristics of the bean, while darker roasts tend to mute the bean's uniqueness.

Great hobby with great rewards, if you can find the time.