Archive through May 28, 2002
The ClubHouse: Archives: ANYONE ROAST THEIR OWN COFFEE BEANS?:
Archive through May 28, 2002
Faerygdds | Wednesday, May 15, 2002 - 06:04 pm     I know... I may start drinking it more often now! This stuff is great! only 1 more hour until my dh comes home... |
Gail | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 05:58 am     Okay, I had some time to play with the french press - definitely 2 thumbs on this too! Is that true? There's not as much caffine in fresh roasted? That's good - I would have thought the opposite. I know I did drink 2 cups each morning before work and still had my usual two at work and actually slept really good each night. I ordered a burr type coffee grinder off of QVC this morning - that should make things a bit easier. I bought a mill type grinder last week - I have a perfect use for it though - I needed some kind of mini-blender for soaping and the other grinder will be just perfect. |
Gail | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 08:10 am     Oh Kstme - I talked to my brother this week - he said he had gotten his roaster and beans at Sweet Maria's too. |
Kstme | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 01:28 pm     Gail...I use a blade grinder ALL the time. I find the burr grinder will sometimes pulverize the coffee beans. (I took mine back.) A book I have on beans, roasting and such, recommends you have both. LOL...what do I know? Let me know how you like the burr, please? Sweet Maria's should be giving us BIG discounts on all the business we're sending their way! That's too funny!! There are a lot of other places on the net that sale coffee beans, but I think SM really takes the time to explain what "each" bean is about. Their prices are just a bit better also. But, for me, it's the explanations and the fact, he has cupped every bean group!! Our downstairs closet is beginning to look like a warehouse!  |
Gail | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 01:56 pm     I went ahead and ordered their espresso blend this morning. I can never find beans I like here. The burr grinder I ordered is supposed to do them coarse to fine. The mill one I have does them way too fine - that is okay for oatmeal and lavendar though. I also like that the burr grinder has a container attached for storing. |
Babyruth | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 01:59 pm     Roast your own, eh? I have enough trouble just getting up in time to GRIND them never mind roast them too. Roasting does sound fun though. I guess you would do a batch every few days? Ms. Sweetpea and I are seriously addicted to and spoiled by Peet's coffee. http://www.peets.com/ We get ours shipped fresh the day it is roasted and receive it 2 days later, per our monthly subscription. Our fave types are Guatemalan and Sumatran, although there are others we enjoy, too. |
Faerygdds | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 03:41 pm     I just roasted up some Guatemalan today! I can't wait to try it. I haven't had good Guatemalan coffe since my friend FROM Guatemala brought me some from home on his last visit (7 years ago)... I can't WAIT! |
Kstme | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 04:37 pm     Babyruth...Major Dickerson was my "best friend"...LOL I LOVE Peet's too! I found them before I decided to do my own roasting...after my roaster quit here. I would recommend Peet's highly!!!! Gail...that sounds like a really good grinder!! I like the idea of a storage container also!! Have you tried roasting some of your Costan Rican coffee to different levels yet? Amazing how a bean can taste SO different!! Faery...I'm drinking Guatemalan and Columbian right now. Guatemalan done just to first crack and Columbian to just after second crack. It's pretty darn good stuff!!! |
Gail | Saturday, May 18, 2002 - 04:45 pm     Kstme - I think I roasted the Costa Ricans to all new levels the other night - the first batch was probably just right - the second batch - I think because the roaster was already warmed up it heated the second batch up a lot faster - I don't think they were burned though. I mixed them together and ground them up and they were fine. This morning - I roasted them just right and ground them and it was a really good cup of coffee. I haven't tried the other beans I got yet - I like the first ones so much I haven't had the urge to move on yet. |
Sia | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 05:11 pm     You coffee snobs will laugh at this post, but I think you'll be pleased at the effect you've had on me. I've been lurking in this thread since you all began it, and you've been planting suggestions in my mind. Recently I took the first steps towards becoming a more refined coffee-drinker. I bought my own coffee maker so I can have my OWN coffee and not have to share it with my husband; mine is just a (so-called) 4-cup auto-drip maker (it makes 2 cups the size I call a cup of coffee). You all just overwhelmed me with the descriptions of your favorite blends/brands/varieties of coffees, and I know nothing abot roasting the beans. Anyway, as another preliminary step towards coffee-snobbery I just yesterday GROUND MY OWN BEANS. Granted, I used a national brand and ground them at the grocery store, but I chose a flavor that I like--without caring that my husband hates flavored coffees. That's why I have my own small coffee pot now; we used to have arguments over who got the first cup, the last cup, whether my having a cup would run him short for his thermos for work, etc. I feel a new sense of independence. (I hid my bag of vanilla coffee, too; I'm afraid it seems selfish, expensive, too self-indulgent for me to have bought something like coffee just for ME!!) Like FaeryGoddess, I often didn't finish my first cup of coffee, although my reason was usually that I'd get distracted by the kids or DH and have to go solve a crisis somewhere in the house while my cup got cold. Now I want to finish my coffee--and have another cup! My husband used to say, "You just aren't a coffee-drinker; if you were, you'd have finished the cup!" I think he was right, but I didn't finish the coffee because it was so ordinary, so bland. Okay, now what is the next step, o connisseurs of coffee? Point me in the right direction. Should a coffee-novice even consider roasting her own beans? Sounds expensive, heady, dangerous, and self-indulgent to me! I think I might need to stay in the grocery store's coffee aisle grinding my beans for a while, and then venture to a store that lets you design your own blend! Isn't that a novel idea? It is for me! |
Kstme | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 05:48 pm     Sia...WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEWFOUND INDEPENDENCE!!!! (((((((applause))))))) What "I" would recommend and it is ONLY MY recommendation...is to find an excellent coffee company online or near you...NOT Starbuck's, PLEASE! I LOVE Peet's Coffee and they have some wonderful blends and coffees to taste and try. Get the "beans" so you'll grind your own! Once you've become a "snob" and think this is something you'll keep up with, THEN invest in the roaster! It will pay itself back in about 3 months time!!! Each person is so different regarding their taste...Gail likes the Central American Coffees, I like the Ethiopian more. Some LOVE Kona and some think it's too mild. You have to taste, test and try. I blend A LOT! Some people don't. I like the subtle differences in my cup of a coffee roasted to French or Vienna with a milder coffee roasted lighter to carry the flavor. At Sweet Maria's they will tell you everything you need to know about what the bean "should" taste like when roasted. Go there...it's really worth your time. Here are the sites (I couldn't get the links to work, sorry, I think they are already posted here further back) to Peets and Sweet Maria's... http://www.peets.com http://www.sweetmarias.com (look under "greenbeans" |
Gail | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 06:35 pm     Sia, another thing to consider is getting those flavored coffeemates. I personally prefer plain but at work everyone likes french vanilla, chocolate raspberry and swiss mocha. They are pretty tasty. |
Gail | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 06:58 pm     I just ordered 5 pound of a Guatemalan coffee from Sweet Maria's. I have some espresso beans coming in pretty soon - hopefully tomorrow and I think in about a week I have some more costa rican beans arriving. That should do me for a few months I think. |
Sia | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 07:17 pm     Gail, I have used the flavored Coffee-mate nondairy creamers; they're delicious! I just wanted my coffee to taste good--and to discourage hubby from taking a cup of my brew, LOL, so that's why I was starting to explore the grind-your-own beans!! |
Kstme | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 08:58 pm     Gail...I just got my order today...4 lbs. La Minita...2lbs. Ethiopian Harrar...5 lbs. Yirgachee (sp?the bag's in the other room...LOL) and 2lbs. of SM's Moka Kadir Blend. I'm trying the blend tomorrow...whoohoo...roasting day today!! I'm going to order 5 lbs of Kona Purple Plantation on the 25th. My DH keeps asking IF I have enough? I'm calling my new cubbyhole "Bean Celler Por Moi!" Let me know how you like the espresso? WE ARE NOT NUTS!! (that's my story and I'm sticking with it!) Sia...when you talked about drinking coffee when it's cool or cold, I was thinking...LOL...that's how I REALLY judge my coffee! If it has a bitter aftertaste and I've done all the "stuff" correctly, I don't want those beans! I sometimes run around the house, which is very air-conditioned, with a cup of coffee that just doesn't stay hot for long. If it taste as good as "I think" it should "cold as well as hot," it's a winner to me! |
Abbynormal | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 09:40 pm     I have a confession. I absolutely, positively and some more words I don't even know yet, can not stand the taste of coffee. I don't care how fancy smancy it is. I don't care how cheap it is. As far as I'm concerned Juan Valdez can go to h*ll on the freakin donkey he rode in on. I have tried to like it. I really have. I've tried it every way imaginable. I must admit, I was a bit curious when someone mentioned a coffee that tastes like it smells. Because I LOVE the way it smells. That is just wrong! Ok, coffee snobs, can I be helped? Am I just hopelessly flawed and nothing can be done for me?  |
Kstme | Thursday, May 23, 2002 - 09:47 pm     Abby...Oh my! btw...dh feels the same way! Little known fact...there is NO substitute for real coffee flavor. Every thing that says "coffee" must contain some coffee. Has to do with all the chemical components that make up this neat little bean! |
Honey51 | Friday, May 24, 2002 - 06:21 am     I'm from Baton Rouge (that's in Louisiana) we are famous for our coffee. We have a local company, Community Coffee, that makes a wonderful dark roast amoung other blends. Whenever I go out of state for any reason, I bring it with me. I have friends that have moved to other locals and have it mailed to them. The company is located on the Mississippi River and when driving down River Road everyone rolls their windows down just to smell the aromas. It's not "making your own", but I don't think it can be any better. |
Kstme | Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 11:47 am     Gail...I roasted the Moka Kadir Blend three different times. Twice by itself, once darker than the first time. I added some Columbian on the third roast and did them ALL dark. My opinion...it is flat. I asked TheKid to taste it and she thought it tasted like hot water with a very mild coffee flavor! I was VERY surprised. I'm going to play around with it and add some La Minita and Columbian to it next time. Meanwhile, I'm back to my standard blend for a while! LOL |
Gail | Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 11:58 am     I roasted the guatemalan Huehuetenango beans last week and kept them pretty light - it is actually really good. In fact, I think this could be my favorite so far. I received my espresso beans in the mail Friday - haven't had a chance to open the box but am hoping to roast some beans later today so I can have a mocha latte or cappucino tomorrow. Those I definitely have to do early in the day otherwise I won't be able to sleep. |
Sia | Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 05:05 pm     Abbynormal, you say you've tried coffee every conceivable way. Well, I wonder if you've tried what my fellow dorm-mates and I used to do (waaaayyy back in the day) to increase our caffeine intake for those frequent all-nighters. Now, real coffee-snobs, I'm sure, sneer at instant coffee, but we clever kids stirred a packet (about a heaping teaspoon) of instant coffee crystals into a cup of vanilla soft-serve ice cream in order to make the most perfect dessert. (You don't want to let the crystals dissolve; you get a snappy bite of coffee with crunch with each spoonful of ice cream.) Another delicious alternative: get a cup of soft-serve vanilla ice cream and a second cup filled with hot, freshly-brewed, strong coffee, and then dip the ice cream into the coffee one small spoonful at a time. You then eat the bite of ice cream floating in coffee in the bowl of the spoon. The hot coffee sort of makes the ice cream melt at the edges of the spoon, so you end up with a lukewarm cafe' au lait by the time you're finished. Oh, that brought back some wonderful memories. |
Kstme | Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 09:17 pm     Sia...the second alternative actually sounds WONDERFUL!! A good cup of espresso...YUMMMMM! Some vanilla Hagen-Daz could replace the soft-serve? What a way to wake up!!!  |
Sia | Monday, May 27, 2002 - 09:51 pm     Hi, Kstme! How are you? I just finished another cup of my own "special" vanilla coffee and really enjoyed it. I'm not ready to start roasting beans yet, but am enjoying being able to tell Hubby, "That's MY coffee. You wouldn't like it." He looked pretty shocked this morning when I told him I'd filled the ceramic canister that I recently bought for MYSELF with MY coffee. See, he'd commandeered it for himself--and even made a point of taking back the coffee scoop to measure his plain Maxwell House. I'd put a measuring cup in his 3-lb can that exactly equals the 3 1/2 small scoops he uses every day, but he will not accept this little change. Why do I go on beating my head against the wall? He can have his tiny scoop back and I'll just use something else. I'm more flexible, I guess. (And would you believe I'm younger than he is?) |
Kstme | Monday, May 27, 2002 - 10:25 pm     Sia...LOL...we'll be your SUPPORT GROUP here! I PROMISE!! You're doing GREAT so far!!! |
Sia | Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 11:27 am     Thanks, Kstme. It makes me feel "special" doing something just for myself. Oh my heck, I haven't taken a BATH by myself since my older one got big enough to strip and climb into the tub! Now I take showers; luckily, my kids HATE showers! Which flavor to try next? You all have very refined tastes; I doubt my local store has such select coffees. I think I will check out the web-sites referenced above. Any opinion about Gevalia? My sister-in-law got a coffee pot from them with her first order of coffee. |
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