Bringing new meaning to the phrase "City Roast"

[Missjune75]

I am thinking about roasting my own beans in small batches. However, I live in a small NYC apartment. Does roasting make smoke? Will it set off my fire alarms which are quite loud and sensitive.
Any and all comments & suggestions appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[DLRuth]

Unless you have some kind of smoke elimination system or ventilation system on your roaster then yes it does smoke a lot. I roast in the garage and even from out there the whole first floor of the house smells like roasting coffee. What are you planning on using to roast?

 

[Missjune75]

Thank you for your honest response. That's what I was worried about. I'm really grateful you responded. It killed a dream. However, I still have friends and family in the country if its still something I'm itching to do.

 

[Musicphan]

Thank you for your honest response. That's what I was worried about. I'm really grateful you responded. It killed a dream. However, I still have friends and family in the country if its still something I'm itching to do.

You may want to look into the Pulley Collective in Brooklyn... they are a co-roasting facility. In the past they offered classes that may be good to attend.

 

[Missjune75]

Thanks I'ld love to do that! I need a surgar Daddy or some tremendous windfall to afford the $2500 class or classes. However the $250 class might be for me. Is $250 for one class a little steep or maybe I'm not with the times. You go home with 5lbs of coffee so that takes at least $50 or so off the price right there but as a coffee roaster what do you think? Is a $200 class worth it for someone looking to take up roasting coffee for themselves? My boyfriend who I've lived with the past 15 years is a tea drinker so it really would be just for me and maybe a friend or two on a special occasion.
The coffee I ordered from you Musicphan on the Encore Coffee Co. website is so delicious I'm feeling very spoiled. I look forward to making a pot every morning! Musicphan- I'm a big Phan of your coffee. And if you took this $250 class and that's part of what makes your beans so delicious I might be sold right off! Ha!
PS. Part of my reluctance might also be that the enormously popular JOE chain of coffee is associated with the coffee roastery. I had a tastless cup of super dooper hot coffee there that I drank with my friend Eliza amongst a not so nice clientele. The staff were nice but the place was small and crowded and might have put the people I interacted with in a bad mood. Eliza was puzzled that the coffee seemed to have all flavor removed from it replaced with high temperatures. It wasn't burnt. That would mean it gave offf so semblance of a flavor - this was just piping hot and bland. We left singing PUblic Enemy's Don't Beleive the Hype. Maybe their espresso and lattes are fantastic but I haven't been back to find out. Gimmee Coffee is a zillion trillion times better in every way. And they don't get a third of JOE's business. New Yorkers puzzle me sometimes.

 

[Musicphan]

It looks like the $2500 class if for people serious about getting into the business... its the first step in order to join the collective. The $250 class would be a good intro and allow you to really see what a Pro does. You may want to call them and see if they know of any other more 'home roaster' focused classes. I'm sure they get a ton of people that call in with the same question... especially with the challenges of roasting in a urban environment. The collective is what they call a co-roasting space... basically Pro's without a machine can rent storage lockers/roasters/weight and fill machines. Awesome opportunity to start your own roasting business without a ton of capital

Glad you are enjoying the coffee!

 

[uRabbit]

I have never set off alarms. I have also never directly routed any sort of closed ventilated system. What I've done is roast right next to a window with a fan blowing the smoke out the open window.

That, and not roasting very far past first crack. When I drop a coffee, I usually have ~10 seconds of isolated pops still happening.

 

[topher]

Missjune..how big of a roaster are you looking at using in your apartment? If you use a "home roaster" you should not have any issues. If you are talking about investing $5k for a 2 kilo roaster you would have some issues. Then you also have to have natural gas or propane. I have a kaldi home roaster and it roasts like a champ. You need a heat source though...I use a butane camp stove. I can post some pics later if you want.