Juju2bigdog | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 03:57 pm     I would hide the little scoop for a while and tell somebody I lost it. |
Kstme | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 04:16 pm     Juju...LOL...what a GREAT idea!! Sia...the coffee pot is nice from Gevalia, but I, personally, don't care for their coffee. It seems old and musty to me. Again, it's all up to YOU and what YOU like from a cup of coffee!  |
Sia | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 05:15 pm     Hey, Juju, that is a good idea! And exactly like me to lose something. I can lose stuff pretty easily. |
Faerygdds | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 07:35 pm     OK... the coffee consumtion in the house has now gone from 1/2 lb a week to 1/2 lb every other day... HOWEVER... I notice that my dh is not drinking sodas anymore (which make his ankles swell due to the sodium)... definitely a fair trade, but I'm roasting ALL the time now... btw.. I love it!!! Still experimenting.. and the dh is the happiest guinea pig around |
Kstme | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 08:02 pm     That is so cool, Faery!! It is FUN, isn't it???? |
Faerygdds | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 11:29 pm     I have had a BUNCH of fun... I have had what I thought would be "wasted" batches that turned out to be the best... my double rosted batch comes immediately to mind... it was one of those... it looked darker in the roaster, but then after I pulled them out and put my glasses on I found it was lighter than I wanted... so I double roasted it having no idea if it would be ok... My dh had his first pot of it tonight... he has now requested that I make this error often!!! lol!!! |
Sia | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 08:35 am     I got BUSTED this morning. When I emptied the coffee grounds at 5:35, DH saw an unground bean in my "special coffee" and questioned me. I had to admit that I ground my own beans at the store. He wasn't mad! Jealous, yes; mad, no. I told him about the coffee snobs and roasting beans at home. He said, "You mean there are people who ROAST THEIR OWN COFFEE BEANS???" He was just amazed. Now you all are legendary. See, that's how legends get started. |
Faerygdds | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 06:34 pm     HEHE... sorry you got busted... and you would be really shocked at just how simple it is to roast your own. My dh was so enamoured of me for a whole week until he saw me roast a batch one evening... then he went, "Oh... wow... that's pretty simple!" Of course he has not roasted one single bean, but I am not the coffee drinker in the house (primarily).. so I do it only for him... just one of the ways I try to show him that I love him, care for him, and never, NEVER take him for granted. How easy is it to roast your own??? For those of you who are wondering... here's the scoop... Can you crank a handle for a few minutes (5-10)? Can you hear and recognize the sound of popping popcorn? Can you follow explicit directions once or twice? If you answered yes... YOU... yes YOU can roast your own beans. I went to sweetmaria's thinkning (as a popcorn lover and not a coffee lover)... if the home roasting does not go well, I can use the popper for popcorn. and then I looked and they sold a whirley popper for 39 bucks with an 8 pack sampler (4 lbs of green coffee beans). So I thought... how long, if successful, would it take to pay for my investment... and here's where I got sold... Good coffee in my home town is 10.50/lb at the grocery store... 4 lbs of coffee would be about $42. (actually it's a bit less as green beans are heavier before roasting) So I figured that by the time I finished the sampler I had paid for the popper. NOW... I am finding that my dh has stopped drinking sodas (a $12/week habit)... BUT he has turned to drinking coffee... at about $6 bucks a week.. and no sodium which is a concern for him... I won ALL THE WAY AROUND! All I can say is this... green beans are cheap (between $4-$5 /lb) and they can last a long time! If you really like coffee or if your dh is a big coffee drinker... it's worth the small investment of a popper... OR... if you guys really love your coffee... the cost of a roasting machine (automatic) will pay for itself rather quickly. Check out the site at the top of this thread.. discuss it with your dh... you never know what you may get into! And sidenote.... since I've started roasting... I've quit using air fresheners because my house always has that fresh coffee smell... however the down side is that the smell of coffee is beginning to affect me by making me hungry! Sipping a primo cup of the "whoops" batch (it's the best mess up ever)... FaeryGdds PS... Sorry... didn't mean to write a novel! |
Kstme | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 07:58 pm     Faery...I have the "French Roast" coffee bean roaster and all I do is turn the dial!!! It too will pay for itself in about 3 months. Mine was $72 with the 8 pack of green beans. I thought I'd probably set the dang house on fire if I'd used the popcorn popper!  |
Gail | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 08:15 pm     Isn't that Fresh Roast? That's what I have and I just turn the dial too - it is even less time to roast here because of the altitude. I have the 12 oz french press - from Sweet Maria's but a couple weeks ago I was at Lowes and they had a nice 8 cup electric one on clearance for $50 (marked down from $70). It's nice - it boils the water for you pretty fast. |
Sia | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 08:44 pm     It was fun having my own little secret at home while it lasted; isn't it called having "guilty pleasures?" Nothing more has been said about the mysterious vanilla coffee and small scoop. Somebody inform me, please. I can't keep up with all the 'net-lingo. Does 'DH/dh' stand for 'dear husband' or 'dumb husband'?  |
Faerygdds | Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 10:15 pm     Sia.. that would depend on how I felt at the moment... ;) Usually it meas darling husband though |
Sia | Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 04:31 am     LOL, Faery. Thanks! I thought I might stimulate some conversation along this line of thought--but without making the men who post here mad! Sometimes our better halves--whether men or women--just do the silliest things. I love trading stories in that vein. |
Kstme | Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 06:32 am     Gail...thanks for the correction!! I was so brain numbed last night, I couldn't write or see! The Mag has arrived and if I thought Ollie was a handful, having them both is even MORE FUN!!! LOL...don't think I'm doing much better this morning either!! An electric French Press? Never heard of that before, but it sounds like it would be GREAT! LOL...I was thinking...dh...dingy half...LOL OK...I need more coffee this morning!! |
Juju2bigdog | Thursday, May 30, 2002 - 06:02 pm     On some days, dh could also mean duckhead or something like that.
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Kstme | Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 03:46 pm     AAAHHHHMMMM...can't let this thread go too far down the line! LOL Gail...have you received and tried SM's Espresso Blend yet? How do/did you like it? I got the Kona today. I'm going to play around with it next roast. |
Gail | Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 04:21 pm     Kstme - I tried the espresso but don't think I roasted them enough - not sure. They were okay but it had been so long since I made a mocha latte I was probably out of practice. Now . . . I did get my guatamalen beans in last week also and I am really hooked. I have no desire to experiment or try anything else - they are excellent!! Those beans and the coffee I get from them could just possibly make me a coffee snob. I have not touched any other coffee anywhere since last week. My brother sent me a package which I should get tomorrow or Friday - he said he was sending me some goodies and I am assuming he is sending me some coffee or coffee related stuff. Looking forward to it. |
Kstme | Wednesday, June 05, 2002 - 07:04 pm     Gail...Remember I found the same to be true with the Kadir Moka Blend...VERY bland! Isn't funny how quickly you can get hooked on a roasted bean? I LOVE my Columbian Ethiopian Blend (I do myself) and that's the one I keep coming back to. I'm just having fun trying all sorts of stuff!! A "bumette" who has way too much time on her hands! OHHHHH! A SURPRISE package????? Let us know what "goodies" he's sent!!! Ohhhh...HOW TERRIFIC!!! You do know you're going to have to take your roaster to RG's this summer, don't you??  |
Faerygdds | Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 01:13 am     I just got my shipment in today as well... Guatemalan and am trying the Kenyan... the kenyan is really yummy! But I still love the Guatemalan better. |
Gail | Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 03:45 pm     Kstme - my package arrived and I just opened it. My brother was just over in England last week and looks like he picked up a few yummy things for me over there - some PG Tips tea (yummy), some dijon mustard from France, some jams from poland, some red cabbage with apple and some chocolate and marzipan from Germany. He also sent me some coffee beans - some more costa rican and some from peru and joy of joys - a pound of jamaica blue mountain. yummy!!! I think his doctor must have told him to lay off of the acidy coffees - he was having some trouble with acid reflux when I saw him in March. I am hoping I don't start having a problem with that - I usually only drink 2 cups a day max. Can't wait til roasting day (Saturday) to try out the Jamaican!! |
Kstme | Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 08:20 pm     Gail...Is your brother up for adoption??? WOW! He went ALL OUT!! I love PG's tea! Good stuff! AND Jamaican Blue Mountain!!! I am so drooling...dijon mustard, jams, marzipan...KEEP HIM Gail!!! |
Gail | Friday, June 07, 2002 - 03:44 am     well, that's probably because I sent him a couple of boxes last week with a cookbook on waffles, a new Belgian waffle iron, some TommyKnocker Rootbeer, a few jars of some really good green chile salsa I bought in Albuquerque along with some Mexican cooking ingredients like red chile pods and crushed red chile, etc. I'll have to get some good breads to try out the jams and mustard. Can't wait to try out the Blue Mountain coffee! Actually a few weeks ago, my brother asked me if I would consider taking a trip to Europe with him in about 5 years. We lived in France when we were kids and both of us were stationed in Germany (with US Air Force) at different times as adults. Both of us have wanted to go back to where we lived when we were small and see the area again. Lots of old memories kicking around I guess. |
Gail | Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 10:32 am     I bought a burr grinder a few weeks ago and thought I would post my thoughts about it. So far, I really love it. A burr grinder kind of grinds the beans in a way similar to a pepper grinder. It let you set the size of the grind from fine to coarse. It is working great using the french press to brew coffee. I bought mine from QVC if I recall. One big plus to this particular grinder is that I can roast up 3 little batches of beans (I guess it come out to over a cup roasted) and then put them all in the top of the grinder. It has a capacity of about 12 ounces I think. You just push the button and grind what you need that morning and they go into the bottom container where you can scoop or pour out the ground coffee beans. The unground beans are waiting for you the next day and day after that, etc. I roasted enough for the week last weekend and finished them up this morning. I roasted more beans this morning - enought to last til next weekend I think. They are sitting in the grinder. This grinder lets you simplify things a lot more then the other type of grinder (the one like a mini-blender?). Very convenient. I roasted up the blue mountain coffee last week - it was "okay" - I am not sure if I roasted it enough. I am still really hooked on the guatamalen coffee though. |
Kstme | Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 12:43 pm     Gail...which brand is your burr grinder? I checked QVC's website and they have 4 listed. You make it sound so terrific I think it would be worthwhile to invest in one!! I tried the Purple Mountain Kona this week and it was pretty good. Because I like a stronger coffee, I roasted one batch to Vienna and the other to City. It worked well. I'm not surprised you found the Blue Mountain "okay"...my opinion only...the price is so high because of the small production and NOT because of the taste! I find I'm roasting every third day. I make two batches at a time. I still can't believe I didn't roast a LONG TIME AGO!!! This is the best way to have you coffee and drink it too!! |
Gail | Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 12:55 pm     Kstme - mine is the DeLonghi coffee mill. I am now only roasting once a week - but, I only make about 2 large mugs of coffee a day. I have an electric french press I got at Lowe's on a close out - it will make 8 cups of coffee (I fill it to 6 cups). IT is nice because it boils the water really fast then shuts off. Then you take off the lid and add your coffee, stir and wait 5 minutes and squish the lid down. The pot itself is not electric, just the base. Really handy. When I used the non-electric - it was a little tedious to have to boil water and pour it in, etc. The electric press is almost as convenient as using a drip coffee pot. |
Kstme | Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 01:35 pm     Gail...thanks, I saw the DeLongi! GREAT PRICE!! Wish I could find an electric French Press here!! I admit, I haven't had a chance to really look though. I'll do some surfing and see what I can find soon! Thanks so much for the info! |