4 ms·

First off, what makes you happy is its own reason. I think what makes these communities tick isn't about going for what's fashionable, but enthusiasm however th

First off, what makes you happy is its own reason. I think what makes these communities tick isn't about going for what's fashionable, but enthusiasm however that might take form. Personally, I started liking really dark roasts in a French Press which pushes it even further. But, I learned that what I was looking for were chocolate and earth notes, and that the roast wasn't an especially good predictor of the intensity of those flavors. I had good coffee gear specialty shops that did flights for purchasing beans, and Starbucks Reserve (with some hits and misses) for getting more variety in flights.

nkozyra 4y ago
> But, I learned that what I was looking for were chocolate and earth notes, and that the roast wasn't an especially good predictor of the intensity of those flavors. And in fact, dark roasts are more likely to obscure those flavors. Too light a roast and you'll get too much floral/grass, too dark and you'll get too much of a burned flavor, for obvious reasons. The brew method also plays a big part, which is why dark (ish) roasts do better with cold brew than hot brews for pulling out the beans flavors. I typically do a medium roast with no oily sheen to them and it serves me well. A honey-wash might take more roasting while keeping its flavor, though I haven't figured out why. Roasting at home also saves a ton of money and the beans can last two years in storage versus a few weeks post-roast.
- jcla1 4y ago
  > I typically do a medium roast with no oily sheen to them and it serves me well. I thought an oily/shiny appearance of coffee beans was due to them being roasted too long ago and then some of the coffee bean oils "leaking" out of the beans. Is this not the case, i.e. something that might even be controllable with the roasting process, even something desirable in some cases?
  - ajmurmann 4y ago
    I've only been roasting for a few months but the correlation seems to be with how dark you roast not with how long ago the roast happened. I roasted some beans a little over a week ago and they were covered in lots of oil one or two days later.
  - nkozyra 4y ago
    I don't find much support for it in the coffee snob community, but everyone has their own preferences.
  - barrkel 4y ago
    The appearance of oil on the surface comes from roasting beans to the second crack: https://mtpak.coffee/coffee-roasting-basics-guide-to-first-second-crack/ https://mtpak.coffee/coffee-roasting-basics-guide-to-first-s... Oily beans are dark roasted and have a different flavour profile. If you get cheap supermarket espresso beans, they're usually roasted to this point. I think it gives a more consistent product given input variability, varietal differences are no longer so apparent.
- richiebful1 4y ago
  Do you have any recommended resources for getting into home roasting? I've always been interested in trying it out, but I don't know where to source green beans without paying more than craft roasted coffee.
  - cproctor 4y ago
    Sourcing: Sweet Maria's. Roasting: Follow their suggestions and buy an air popper at Goodwill. If you get a flimsy one, don't roast more than one batch in a row or the machine's innards will melt. The one caveat is you need somewhere outside where nobody will object to acrid smoke.
  - 2020aj 4y ago
    If you're on the east coast: happymug. As far as roasting equipment... I actually recommend starting with stovetop/pan roasting. You may struggle more to get an even roast vs buying an appliance or using a popper, but it's cheap, and pan roasting heats via conduction (not convection) which is the de-facto method of most roasteries.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
    I tried it some time ago with a pound of green beans and a hot-air popcorn popper. Beans were bought somewhere on Amazon and I already had the popper. It was cheaper than buying freshly roasted beans at my local coffeeshop and tasted about the same, and it was a nice experiment, but not something I'd continue with. Not enough benefit for the time spent.
  - nkozyra 4y ago
    Start with your oven. It's a totally acceptable option just make sure you have good ventilation or your smoke detectors will go crazy. 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes (you can eyeball the beans will get you started). I've used a few vendors for the green beans but will recommend https://www.coffeebeancorral.com/ https://www.coffeebeancorral.com/ (no affiliation). I usually buy beans in the $40 (shipping) / per 5 lbs. You'll have to deal with chaff but as you go forward you can get into more elaborate options. And to be honest I end up grinding a not insignificant amount of chaff (it doesn't affect flavor).

nkozyra 4y ago

> But, I learned that what I was looking for were chocolate and earth notes, and that the roast wasn't an especially good predictor of the intensity of those flavors. And in fact, dark roasts are more likely to obscure those flavors. Too light a roast and you'll get too much floral/grass, too dark and you'll get too much of a burned flavor, for obvious reasons. The brew method also plays a big part, which is why dark (ish) roasts do better with cold brew than hot brews for pulling out the beans flavors. I typically do a medium roast with no oily sheen to them and it serves me well. A honey-wash might take more roasting while keeping its flavor, though I haven't figured out why. Roasting at home also saves a ton of money and the beans can last two years in storage versus a few weeks post-roast.

jcla1 4y ago
> I typically do a medium roast with no oily sheen to them and it serves me well. I thought an oily/shiny appearance of coffee beans was due to them being roasted too long ago and then some of the coffee bean oils "leaking" out of the beans. Is this not the case, i.e. something that might even be controllable with the roasting process, even something desirable in some cases?
- ajmurmann 4y ago
  I've only been roasting for a few months but the correlation seems to be with how dark you roast not with how long ago the roast happened. I roasted some beans a little over a week ago and they were covered in lots of oil one or two days later.
- nkozyra 4y ago
  I don't find much support for it in the coffee snob community, but everyone has their own preferences.
- barrkel 4y ago
  The appearance of oil on the surface comes from roasting beans to the second crack: https://mtpak.coffee/coffee-roasting-basics-guide-to-first-second-crack/ https://mtpak.coffee/coffee-roasting-basics-guide-to-first-s... Oily beans are dark roasted and have a different flavour profile. If you get cheap supermarket espresso beans, they're usually roasted to this point. I think it gives a more consistent product given input variability, varietal differences are no longer so apparent.
richiebful1 4y ago
Do you have any recommended resources for getting into home roasting? I've always been interested in trying it out, but I don't know where to source green beans without paying more than craft roasted coffee.
- cproctor 4y ago
  Sourcing: Sweet Maria's. Roasting: Follow their suggestions and buy an air popper at Goodwill. If you get a flimsy one, don't roast more than one batch in a row or the machine's innards will melt. The one caveat is you need somewhere outside where nobody will object to acrid smoke.
- 2020aj 4y ago
  If you're on the east coast: happymug. As far as roasting equipment... I actually recommend starting with stovetop/pan roasting. You may struggle more to get an even roast vs buying an appliance or using a popper, but it's cheap, and pan roasting heats via conduction (not convection) which is the de-facto method of most roasteries.
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
  I tried it some time ago with a pound of green beans and a hot-air popcorn popper. Beans were bought somewhere on Amazon and I already had the popper. It was cheaper than buying freshly roasted beans at my local coffeeshop and tasted about the same, and it was a nice experiment, but not something I'd continue with. Not enough benefit for the time spent.
- nkozyra 4y ago
  Start with your oven. It's a totally acceptable option just make sure you have good ventilation or your smoke detectors will go crazy. 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes (you can eyeball the beans will get you started). I've used a few vendors for the green beans but will recommend https://www.coffeebeancorral.com/ https://www.coffeebeancorral.com/ (no affiliation). I usually buy beans in the $40 (shipping) / per 5 lbs. You'll have to deal with chaff but as you go forward you can get into more elaborate options. And to be honest I end up grinding a not insignificant amount of chaff (it doesn't affect flavor).