In honor of National Coffee Day (September 29th), I thought I would share a previous post about roasting your own coffee beans. If you love your coffee ground fresh every morning you will absolutly love fresh roasted coffee. From what I have heard (and I explain below), letting them sit in a container for 24 hours after roasting gives you the best flavor. It's hard to be patient after roasting them at home! You will want so badly to ground those glossy babies up and brew a cup!
One of the beauties of coffee is that everyone makes their cup a little different. Black, creamer, sugar, both. I did away with the flavored creamers a few years back. It turns out it was causing migraines. If you take a peek at the ingredients, it is mostly chemicals and little to no cream. I don't do dairy well, so I have used an almond milk or coconut milk creamer that has real ingredients. My favorite is homemade cashew mylk and just a pinch of sugar, I have found that making coffee in the french press is my favorite. I don't even have a drip coffee maker anymore. It somehow adds a richness for me to where I don't want as much sugar or any kind of cream. A lot of times I will just put a half teaspoon of sugar and that's it.
This morning's coffee turned out wonderful, as it should on National Coffee day.
So cheers to you coffee lovers, enjoy your cup and the post!
Since as long as I can remember, I have loved coffee. As a kindergartener, Or perhaps younger, I would visit my maternal grandparents on most Sunday's. They would sit around the kitchen table with coffee and the Sunday paper. I was not about to be left out of anything so I would always ask for a cup of "Hot". I assumed that was what it was called since whenever I was around it I was told, "Be careful Jennifer, that's hot".
My cup consisted of a tiny bit of "hot", some sugar, and a lot milk. It was delicious! There were two things I loved most about it.
1) I was participating in what seemed like such a grown up event that had a certain feeling of camaraderie to it (plus my grandparents thought it was adorable and played it very serious for my enjoyment).
2) They let me pick my favorite orange measuring spoon to slurp it down with. Somehow that made it WAY more special. It was always there in the drawer waiting for me.
In later years at age 25 and pregnant with my first child, I started visiting those same grandparents every Sunday. We had "Hot" together, except at that point I would have a full cup with a little sugar and milk. The Sunday paper was out, breakfast rolls were being munched on, and conversations and smiles were shared. There was that familiar camaraderie again that draws you in so close. I would fill them in on how things were going in my life, my work, my pregnancy, and they shared stories, praise, and offered advice when I needed it.
I hold those memories close to my heart. I'm so thankful that life happened how it did and I ended up moving back to the Central Valley from Southern California when I did. That's when I started visiting them so often, becoming so close, and watching them enjoy my first baby. I didn't know then that I would lose them both by the time my son was a year old. Pa and Mother Jeri, they will always be the beginning of my love for coffee.
So here we are ten years later. I faithfully drink coffee solo (which holds its own camaraderie for me) most mornings. Drinking a hot cup of your favorite coffee while sitting in the quiet is a meaningful act that starts a day on the right, caffeinated note. I cherish my coffee dates with my girlfriends and I enjoy coffee at the end of a family get together. I make "kid coffee" for my kids sometimes and hope it will be as special of a memory as it was for me.
I'm a bit of a coffee snob now, I can admit that. Not too snobby, I will drink what coffee is made for me, but at home I'm loyal to Pete's Coffee, with The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf being a close second or any other preferably organic, rich, dark roast. I don't go out for coffee much, but when I do I try to avoid Starbucks, although their 'on every corner' convenience wins me over sometimes. I have my own reasons but that is another post.
Today though, a new taste of coffee begins for me. I got my hands on some green (unroasted) coffee beans. Green coffee beans are technically the seeds of a coffee plant. I learned a lot about the seeds and the processing at this website I found via Pinterest.
My husband does not drink coffee, but was interested in the roasting process. To be fair, he did most of it while I watched, took photos, and kept an eye on how dark I wanted my beans. Thanks Louie!
So here it goes!
We decided on using our Whirley Pop popcorn maker. It's not an air popper but I've read those work great too. The Whirley Pop basically is a pan with a lid and a handle that you can crank, moving the beans around for even heating. It's awesome. You want to leave the lid open so the smoke can escape and you can watch your seeds turn to beans.
There's the pretty green coffee seeds.
I used this helpful color chart to determine how dark I wanted my first roast to be.
You can find it at this link:
We started heating them on a medium-low setting. No oil, just the cute little green seeds.
It doesn't take lng for them to start browning. We moved them around quite a bit in the first few minutes, then would allow them to sit still and heat, moving every few minutes.
Listen for the crack. They will start cracking. There is the first crack and the second crack (down the middle of the bean). The second crack is closer to the end.
I favor a rich taste that usually comes with a darker roast, so for my first batch I went for dark.
At this point they are getting nice and smokey. Let me tell you, the house does not fill with beautiful aromas of smooth coffee. You will need to turn on your stovetop exhaust fan and open a window. It will smell charred and smokey mixed with a hint of coffee.
I'd say we roasted them for about 12-13 minutes. They look to be done enough at about 10 minutes, but again, I was going for a dark roast. They will continue to cook before they are cooked so pull them out just before you see the color you want. It is not an exact science (for me anyway), just watch and look for the color you are after.
Next step is to cool the beans and remove the chaff (the papery shreds of skin from the bean). We did this by transferring the beans to a metal collindar.
Whirl them around like you would noodles and you will see the chaff falling out into the sink (those little black flakes).
Once the beans were room temperature I transferred them into an airtight container.
I had read that for optimal taste you should wait 24 hours to grind the beans and brew. Are you kidding me!? All this exciting coffee roasting and I have to wait a whole day? Ugh! I'm not good at waiting, but I wanted the full effect, so I stored my little container of beans in my coffee cabinet. This waiting period allows accumulated CO2 to vent from the beans, which shows that glossy, oily looking finish.
So New Years Day, it's time! I was a little hung over from a fabulous NYE party the night before and coffee was just what I needed. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling too great and was kind of sloppy with my coffee making. I didn't quite make it as strong as I like and then added much more cream than I like. There was no time for a redo! We had to take off to pick up my stepchildren. So my hungover, sloppy, rushed self kind of blew the first home roasted cup of joe.
Have no fear! I took a nap later that day and I tried again! This time being cautious and particular. I brewed this cup in a French press. This special treat deserves the best, and for me that's a French press. I made it strong and was super conservative on the creamer this time.
What does the fox say? He said that was one fantastic cup of home roasted coffee! The freshness is unreal. It was rich, defined, and a little hint of smokey, which was great! Mind you, I ground the beans this morning and this redo cup was French pressed tonight, so just imagine the freshness when I grind more in the morning and brew it right away.
It sounds like a lot of work, I know. It really isn't though. The whole process is under 20 minutes. If you are looking to blossom your taste and love for coffee, this is an easy way to explore. I hope I can still enjoy my Pete's. I love you Pete, but you may now be for lazy days when I don't feel like roasting. We'll see.
If you decide to try it, let me know how it went in the comments below!
This may be a new hobby for me and I'd love to hear of your experiences!
Happy roasting!
Love always,
A caffeinated freckled woman.
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