Roast Your Own Coffee Beans

I've decided I want to try roasting my own coffee here at home.  I want to be able to use terms like "first crack".  More importantly, I want to taste really truly fresh-roasted beans, and have the satisfaction of knowing I did it.

I've been reading on the net, and I found a couple of posts where regular folx like me have tried this (as opposed to the uber-knowledgeable barista-types with big budgets).   It sounds like something I could at least try at home on the cheap.  Then, if I like it, maybe I'll invest in some gadgetry. 

There's the oven method here and the skillet method here, and this one uses a special popcorn popper.  And here's something from Engadget on converting your popcorn popper into a coffee roaster.  I don't know if I'm up for all that.  I think I'll go with the oven method.  And I better do it soon while it's still cool enough here to open the windows, which all the destructions I've read say is extremely important.   I gather a lot of smoke is generated. 

The smoke issue led me to this gadget .... 

The Smoke-Free Home Roaster Kit from Zach & Dani's.  Smoke-free, it says.  That would be cool.  The kit comes with the roaster, 3 bags of beans, an instructional video, and optional grinder. 

For $150, it sounds like a pretty good deal, especially if it really IS smoke-free.  Then I'd be able to use it here even in the summer months. 

But I can't find any testimonials or posts about this roaster.  Has anybody used it?  Any words of wisdom?  Tips in general on roasting your own?

Comments

[Christine]

Hey Andrew, thanks for the link. I'll go check it out right now.

[andrew dingfelder]

My friends at Roast Your Own Coffee (www.roastyourowncoffee.co.nz) roast theirs in their home oven. They have researched a number of different strategies (popcorn poppers etc) and the oven method seems to work the best for them. Their website has a page called "Roasting 101" that walks you through the process.

[Christine]

MC, Ian, thanks for your input! Not 100% smoke-free, eh? I probably will get this roaster, but I guess I'll have to try it the smokey way first and compare. I'm going to check out that coffeegeek link right now. Thanks!

[Ian McKenzie]

I've been using the Zach and Dani's for a few months now. I started roasting in a popper, moved to a Heathware precision, which is a glorified popper ;) and, when that broke down, bought the Z & D. You can read a handful of reviews at the Coffee Geek site >>http://www.coffeegeek.com/reviews/accessories/zachanddani. From 16 reviews it gets an 8 out of 10 rating.

I'm not roasting expert, but I like the way the Z&D works. It takes anywhere from 20+ to 30+ minutes to roast, depending on the bean and darkness. My previous roasters created what I called a brightness to the coffee's flavour --almost felt like drinking a soda.

Smoke free is a bit of a stretch. The unit still produces enough smoke to activate our smoke detector, just down the hall. However, it is little enough that the range ceiling fans can eliminate the smoke.

[mostly cajun]

I own one, actually my second, and I am very happy with it.

I roast Sweet Maria's Papua-New Guinea Kimel Estates at 24 minutes, for brew in either a French press or an AeroPress, and I roast Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey blend at 27 minutes for espresso.

The machine is easy to use and care for, and if you've been buying roasted coffee, even whole bean, you're in for a treat.

Both Zach & Dani's and Sweet Maria's sell this roaster with a starter assortment of coffees. Buy it with the assortment and go hog-wild trying them.

As you're sitting there in your post-experimentation caffeine buzz, you'll be happy...

MC