Reviews for Coffee Roasting at Home: The Magic Bean

The average rating for Coffee Roasting at Home: The Magic Bean based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-04-09 00:00:00 Robert Tachna I roast my own coffee. It's really quite simple. Easy to do. And if you're devoted to a nice cup, you have no alternative. Sure, that four dollar paper cup down the street is swell and all, but I'm sure maybe you can do better. (I still enjoy the other guys' coffee now and again -- especially those really fancy ones that are like three bucks for a little thimble=full of the stuff!) We started roasting on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet. I think it was one of those eight inch Wagner models. What you want to do first is really burn that thing up, removing whatever seasoning you can from it because you don't really want last night's vindaloo in your morning's coffee. Heat it up on the stovetop 'til it smokes, then dash it under the faucet for a quick rinse (splash -- steam -- Vorsichtig! it's hothothot) ; repeat once or twice. Now your cast iron's been more-r-less deseasoned. Now for roasting with it, you'll want it dry (no oil! no butter! this is a fat=free dish!) ; heat it up til it's roasting temp. Add some of those green coffee beans, enough so they make like about approximately a layer one bean deep or maybe two. You'll be here the whole time stirring stirring stirring because you want to roast those beans, not burn 'em up ; and you'll want to roast them as evenly as you can, but you won't be able to and it won't matter -- diversity is a virtue. Make sure your stovetop is equipped with a range hood that vents to the outside because there's going to be a lot of smoke. Just before you get the beans to the color you want, remove them from the heat and dump 'em right into a heat=proof bowl (cuz those beans are hot!) in order to cool. They'll continue to roast a bit till the temp drops. Let those beans breathe about 24-48 hours before grinding 'em up ; they need some time to allow that CO2 to escape. I like the KitchenAid grinder. I've had mine for like 10+ years which is twice as long as any of those itty bitty cheapy things have lasted. By the way, I get no kick=backs for any of the PRODUCT mentioned in this space. It's just a matter for your convenience. In addition to the cast iron method (which is really pretty cowboy!) you can also do a thing where you convert an air=pop popcorn maker thing into a coffee roast (if your popcorn comes out of a microwave, you're not reading this little post of mine today! Mine is stove top with a crank, a strawberry variety a grew a few years back). Roasting with hot air! ---...I've never attempted that method, but you can probably find some advice about doing so somewhere on these oh=so informative internetz. I've even heard of using a metal bowl and a heat gun -- the kind used to melt paint off of stuff. But what I do now is roast with a FreshRoast SR-500 coffee roaster which I got from Seven Bridges Cooperative. They're located in California and I get all my coffee stuff from them. They also do organic homebrewing stuff ; that organic IPA you had last night probably got its (certified organic) hops via Seven Bridges. Just a heads up. I'm on like my third or fourth roaster. They wear out. They are home appliances, not industrial grade=machinery. What happens is that the heating element becomes less ROBUST ; which means that it won't be a problem if you prefer those lighter roasts. For consistent hyper dark black and oily things though you'll want a bigger machine. Or just do that thing with the cast iron I told you about up above. I get all my green coffee beans from Seven Bridges. Their beans are organic, Fair Trade, typically shade grown. Coffee is like the biggest traded commodity, after oil, in the world. And its growers tend to not be making much of a living off of it ; it's all middle men. So here it might make a bit of a world=economic difference to pursue a line of Ethical Consumerism ; reducing suffering probably much more than going vegan would. Here's a documentary on the situation of the coffee growers in Ethiopia :: Thing is, the fresher your (roasted) beans, the better your coffee. But you do want those beans allowed to breathe about 24-48 hours, depending. And with your own home roasting, you know, you can get whatever you want. (but be sure you have some adequate ventilation ; this stuff smokes!!!)

Review # 2 was written on 2017-02-19 00:00:00 Justine Turner This little book was given to me by Jim (my husband) when he returned from a trip'he knows my penchant for latte's. The author uses the many facts about coffee as metaphor for how to improve one's life'I like both parts. For example, Principle #1 compares reheating coffee and rehashing the past'both contribute to bitterness. And the final Principle "Drink It While It's Hot"'obviously the best way to drink coffee, which the author compares to living in the present. Besides philosophy, the book has lots of interesting trivia about coffee, like: "In 18th Century London coffee houses were often known as 'penny universities''you paid a penny to enter and 2 pennies for the coffee and a paper." A fun and worthwhile read.