The A, B, Cs

[rchristopherwhite]

Hey everyone,

Like I've said, I am just getting in to all of this and I want to know more about it!

My question is, how can I start roasting out of my house? I know there has to be a cheaper way than buying a 3 kilo roaster that costs a couple of thousand.

Any help, tips, or advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[LBBeans]

[h=3]Start with this book: Home Coffee Roasting, Revised, Updated Edition: Romance And Revival by Kenneth Davids
[/h]
You can roast on a cookie sheet in your oven or a popcorn popper to start. A decent home roaster will cost $500-1200. Good luck!

 

[John P]

Agree with the book. My first roasting book as well.

You cannot roast on a cookie sheet, that's called "baking" and the chaff may seriously F up your oven.

A good popper is a start. Or if you have a gas stove, the 'ol iron skillet, a wooden spoon, and lots of stirring! The cheapest method is called "dog dish and heat gun" and it's exactly how it sounds. :shock:

The Quest M3 is the roaster looked at by many enthusiasts.

For a small home roaster, I prefer the gene cafe coffee roaster. At $515, I think it's the best value for the price.

 

[PinkRose]

Ryan,

In a post on another thread you wrote: "I have become friends with the local coffee shop owner and he has been teaching me about roasting and the business in general."

Has he offered to let you help him with his coffee roasting? Has he made any suggestions to you regarding home roasting equipment?

Visit the SweetMaria's website to look at the various roasters for home use. There is a lot of useful information there. If you do some exploring, you wil see that they evaluate and instruct you on how to roast using various methods, including an electric pop corn popper.

Please... Don't even think about roasting coffee beans on a cookie sheet. You'll be sorry if you do!

 

[LBBeans]

You cannot roast on a cookie sheet, that's called "baking" and the chaff may seriously F up your oven.

Have you tried it? I will admit that I have not but I read of a method using a perforated cookie sheet where the beans were agitated at regular intervals. Found in the "The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee" by James Freeman, Caitlin Freeman and Tara Duggan. Coffee roasted in an oven will have heat transferred by both convection and conduction. I would guess that you could achieve results at least as acceptable as what you could get with pan roasting.

 

[coffeejunkie643]

The gene cafe coffee roaster is what I have used. I do believe the price John P. mentioned above is pretty darn accurate. Good roaster!

 

[PinkRose]

Hello "coffeejunkie643"

Welcome to the Coffee Forums.

I hope people don't get you confused with the original CoffeeJunky who is very active on this Coffee Forum.

Rose

 

[tazzadiluna]

What's the "true" capacity of the Gene Cafe Coffee Roaster?