Completely new to home roasting/tips on beans

[Horeb]

Hello all. I am new to the whole idea of home roasting. Yesterday I did 2 batches in a popcorn popper. If I end up liking the results (so far, so good), I will end up with a better system. Unfortunately, our stove vent is not the greatest so I am forced to find outdoor solutions.

Anyhow, back to the 1st attempt. My beans are a Cameroon Peaberry, I roasted one batch light and one dark (the dark was not on purpose, but at least I did not burn them). It roasted pretty fast 6-8 minutes). While both batches are drinkable, the results were not quite what I was expecting. Don't get me wrong, it is much better than I expected when you consider I bought a $2.99 used popper (I thought it would just catch fire), but the flavor seems to be lacking a bit and the Darker of the 2 (By eye I would call it a light French Roast) does not have a lot of oil. I thought when you roasted dark that a lot of oil would be brought to the surface. Is that incorrect?

I will be traveling to San Diego (Yay! Comic Con) this upcoming week. While I will not be able to roast, I am sure I will be thinking about it. IS there any must try coffee houses that I should hit while I Am in town and are there any places to buy good coffee beans?

On that note, what is the best way to buy beans in general? I am considering a 4 or 8 lb sample pack from Sweet Marias, but am I better to get 5lbs of the same bean from one source rather than a variety?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[peterjschmidt]

Oils will migrate to the surface over time, unless it's a very dark French roast. Give it a few days.

If you feel the beans are lacking, it could be the roasting, but could very well just be the beans. Cameroon is not known for great coffee.

You'll hear both opinions on sampler pack vs. 5# of one origin. The thinking is that with 1 or 2# of something, by the time you figure out the best way to roast it, it's gone.

The main rule is that there aren't any hard and fast rules. Sure, you can mess up some beans, etc, but your palate and how you like it is the only real criterion.

 

[Redswing]

Depending on your interest level, how about tracking down a local roaster? Call them up and find a good time to stop by...they'll have some good options of green beans to sell you, and probably cheaper than you'll find on sweet marias.

Plus, you get face to face interaction with someone who knows about roasting. I haven't come across a roaster who isn't willing to at least give a little guidance to somebody like yourself just roasting at home.

 

[Horeb]

Brief update. Woke up this morning and the darker roast was oily... thanks

I read somewhere on the forums that Colombian and Monsoon Malibar are a "forgiving" bean. Are all Colombian beans more forgiving or just one specific type?

The nearest roaster that I know of is 45 minutes to an hour away. I have visited one roaster a few hours from here in Manchester, KY (Creative Coffee Roasters). The tour was great and we (My wife, sister in law and myself went) had a blast. Next time I am near the place I will stop and get more beans from them.

On a side note, my wife came home from work yesterday and one of her co-workers flipped out when they heard I was trying to roast. They have been looking into trying it as well. I am hoping I just found someone to learn with (because you know it is always more fun messing up a batch when there is someone there to laugh at/with you). Seriously though, I am excited about this.

 

[peterjschmidt]

Check out greencoffeebuyingclub.com... I think registration is open again. There's a handful of us there who buy full bags, and split them into smaller lots at a small mark-up. There is generally a 5# minimum, but if you're ruining beans anyway, you don't have to worry about that. ;-) We have a few members in KY too, and lots of great info on learning to roast.

 

[cestrin]

For what it's worth, I got 8# (2# of 4 varieties) when I first started. This was useful as I could get a feel for how soft a bean was and the differences in roasting between origins. Once I had gone through ~10 or so origins I felt like I had a better idea of what I liked. Now I buy in 5# increments and play around with the roasting time/levels to get each variety even more dialed in.