Coffee Roasting and Tasting – It’s Still the Nose and the Tongue

I’ve been experimenting with different roast profiles.

I gave my popcorn-popper-roasted Sumatra coffee beans to the scientific adviser of our lab. I told him one roast was stopped at seven minutes and thirty seconds. The other roast was stopped at eight minutes. A few days later, he commented about how different the taste profiles were when the difference in roast was only thirty second.

My quick description was that the lighter roast seems to maintain delicate aromas for the nose. The darker roast seemed to give characteristics that were more noticable to the tongue – thicker body, nuttier, heavier attack to the tastebuds. To get the best of both worlds, just put the two together and make yourself a good cup of coffee.

So tasting still comes back to the nose and the tongue. So in this flu ridden time – do your best to protect your nose and your tongue.

Home Roasting – Going to the Dark Side

Most coffee aficionados recommend light roasts. They say that it maintains the subtle flavors of the geographical origin in which the coffee was grown. The darker the roast is, the more the subtle flavors are roasted away.

Now let me explain some basics about roasting coffee beans. The two points of reference are the “first crack” and the “second crack.” The “first crack” marks the real beginning of the roasting process. The art of roasting is knowing when to best stop the process after the “first crack” has occurred. Stop soon after the “first crack” you have a light roast. Continue to the beginning of the “second crack” you have a medium roast. Let the beans roast after the “second crack” has begun, you have a dark roast.

I’ve been home roasting since January. The first set of beans that I began to roast and enjoy was a mixture of Kenya AA and Brazilian beans. Individually the Kenya AA beans were too “bright;” the Brazilian beans were sweet, but too boring. Together they seemed to compliment each other.

I typically roasted my blend of Kenya AA and Brazilian beans just up to the beginning  of the “second crack.” So it was basically a medium roast. I liked this roast but after a while I began to use less and less Kenya AA beans in my blend. The “brightness” of the Kenya AA started to irritate me. I liked coffee that had more flavor and richness, rather than just the sensation of brightness. Finally, I ended up with a bag of Kenya AA beans and no more Brazilian beans. So now, what to do?

This past Sunday, I decided to roast the Kenya AA beans darker than usual. I actually let the beans roast 30-45 seconds into the “second crack.” I wondered what it would taste like – burnt Starbucks coffee?

Monday morning I made myself a cup of this fresh roast.

Mmmm. The “brightness” was slightly muted, but still there. The coffee also had a nutty taste. The best thing though, was this cup of coffee was real “sticky” in my mouth. I drink my coffee black, without sugar or milk. But the stickiness of the coffee was as if I had added a tablespoon of sugar to it. Now that was a good cup of coffee!

A Life Full of Stories

Does it drive you crazy to think that you might be the same a year from now as you are today? It drives me crazy. If the stories I have to tell tomorrow are the same as the ones I tell today, then there’s been no change – just living in the status quo. Well I don’t think it has to be so. Education can change us. Certain experiences can change us. If we are driven by something within us – change should come.

Let’s get back to coffee. I began this little journey about five months ago. All I wanted was a better morning cup of coffee. Nothing overly ambitious. Then as I traveled down this path, I stumbled on some wonderful discoveries and even had an epiphany! My morning cup of coffee has definitely improved.

I now have stories: 1) eye-opening flavors by using a French press, 2) filling my house and my brother-in-law’s house with smoke, while attempting to roast coffee in the oven, 3) finally roasting coffee with a popcorn popper from Target, 4) realizing that bad tasting coffee from the supermarket may just be rancid.

Am I done yet? No way! I’m sure there is much more to discover out there. I have purposely decided to wait a little while before embarking into the universe of espresso.

I don’t have an unlimited budget. I can’t afford $600 coffee grinders or $2000 espresso machines. But I don’t think it really matters. A really good cup of coffee doesn’t demand ultra high prices. Maybe a perfect cup of coffee requires a pretty penny. But I’m still not sure that my palate can appreciate the perfect cup.

A Caveat for using the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target

My Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target

ffgeeks inquired if I would recommend the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target. My quick answer is YES. For $39.99 plus tax, bring the box home, open it up, plug it in, pour in 1/2 a cup of green coffee beans, turn it on, turn your timer on, and in 8-9 minutes you’ve got yourself some home roasted beans. It is that simple.

But let me describe the battle wounds my Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popcorn Popper has received after using it for the last 5-6 weeks every 2-3 days. Remember that the popper was not made to maintain the higher temperatures for the length of time needed for roasting coffee beans. So things MELT.

Inside the plastic cover

So here is the inside of the plastic cover of the popper. As you can see the plastic is melting. When the popper was brand new, there was a aluminum cylinder used to guide the popcorn that is poured through the hole in the top of the popper. A measuring cup, that also doubles as the container to melt butter, is supposed to sit on top of the hole while the popcorn is popping. The very first time roasted coffee in this popper, I kept the measuring cup covering the hole, just in case it would help help maintain the temperature in the popper. Well it certainly helped maintain the temperature. Actually the popper got so hot that the aluminum cylinder melted from the plastic cover and fell into the hot air chamber.

I’m a little slow, so I kept the measuring cup over the hole in subsequent roasting sessions. The plastic around the hole continued to melt, producing little red plastic stalactites hanging down. A couple times the plastic stalactites melted onto some of the beans. Then I finally got the idea – I no longer kept the measuring cup over the hole.

So the Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper from Target is not perfect, but nothing is. The popper was not made to roast coffee beans. But it was made with enough power to roast coffee adequately. I don’t know how long it will last. But I will let you know when my popper coughs its last breath.

In the meantime – ffgeeks, welcome to the wonderful world of home roasted coffee. It’s been only a couple months for me. But I’ve enjoyed every day of it. It is really hard for me to drink coffee I have not roasted. I’m really spoiled.

Are all supermarket coffees rancid?

After drinking freshly roasted coffee for about a month, I tried two store-bought coffees: 1) Dunkin’ Donuts and 2) Marketplace Coffee from Giant Eagle.

The Dunkin’ Donuts coffee was on sale for about $5.50 for a 12 oz. bag. After making a mugful in my French press, I took it on the bus on my way to work. I found my stomach was upset. Since it was on sale, I chocked it up to old beans, hence the sale.

This past weekend I got the La Prima’s Coffee Roaster too late on Sunday afternoon to replenish my green bean supply. So I went to Giant Eagle to get some coffee, especially since my father-in-law was coming to work on my basement. I decided that for the price at approximately $6.50 a 1b. I filled up a bag with whole Sumatra beans. It looked dark roasted, with the oils shining on the surface of the beans. I made a pot with my Cuisinart Grind ‘n Brew. It wasn’t bad. The next morning I made a mugful with my French press with the same beans. I took that on the bus on my way to work. Just like the Dunkin Donuts, my stomach was upset.

Hmm. What’s up with these store-bought coffees? In the past I’ve always attributed the upset stomach to the caffeine content. But during the month I drank my fresh roasted coffee, I never had this problem. Actually, I really looked forward to my bus rides with my mug in hand. I found the best cup of coffee was made with beans half from Kenya and the other half from Brazil. The Brazilian beans give the coffee a very sweet taste that becomes more and more chocolaty and nutty as the cup cools. The Kenyan beans makes the cup bright in flavor – tantalizes the taste buds – when first sipping the brew. As the coffee worked its way down to the gut, there was a warm comfortable feeling, especially on cold mornings in the teens and twenties.

So what do I think? I think the upset stomach is from the oils in the roasted coffee beans going rancid. I’m a chemist working in a lab analyzing proteins being studied by biologists and medical doctors. Just by being exposed to air proteins readily oxidize and hydrolyze – both being chemical processes that take place when things decompose.

I’ve heard that the rule of thumb for roasted coffee beans is that they are good for two weeks. Anything longer than that – they are going bad. So how long do beans sit on the shelves or coffee bins at Giant Eagle? It’s hard to believe it would be less than two weeks.

Are all coffees sold at supermarkets rancid or at least starting to go rancid?

More About Roasting Coffee Beans

I don’t have the fine skills of an experienced roaster, but with every roast, I’m getting one more step closer.

Coffee beans at different stages of roasting

So let me tell you what I know about what a roasted coffee bean looks like. The picture shows the coffee bean at different stages of being roasted.

The bean to the far left is unroasted. Unroasted beans don’t even smell like coffee. They actually stink, smelling raw.

The second bean from the left right has begun to roast, but has not even gotten to the “first crack”. At this point you should smell a slightly sweet aroma – kind of like sugar starting to caramelize.

The third bean has reached the “first crack”. The “first crack” sounds like popcorn popping, occurring around 4.5 to 5 minutes in my popcorn popper. This is where the water in the bean has finally evaporated and the bean begins to really roast. Roasting caramelizes the sugars and releases the oils found in the beans. The roasted sugars and the oils produce the wonderful aroma and flavor of the coffee.

Coffee roasting requires a sense of smell, hearing, and sight. I’m not able to monitor the temperature of the beans – so I rely on those three senses. Once you hear the “first crack” now it’s time to pay close attention (this is usually when one of my kids ask me to do something for them). Trust your nose and the color of the beans that you see. The beans start to smell like coffee after the “first crack”.

For a medium roast, I typically stop the roasting at about 8 minutes. The beans have roasted beyond the “first crack” but not to the “second crack”. The fourth bean is a sample of this. As you can see in the picture, a medium roasted bean is nicely browned, but not yet shiny – like you see in dark roasted coffee. Medium roasted coffee typically gives you the inherent taste of the beans.

If I let the beans go to about 9 minutes, you will begin the hear the start of the “second crack”. When I pour these beans out they usually continue to crack on the cookie sheet until they cool down. These beans are a medium-dark roast. I like this best for my blend of Kenya and Brazil or Sumatra.

Most coffee drinkers that I know like dark roasted coffee. They like the strong attack of their taste buds. For a dark roast I’ll let my popcorn popper go all the way up to 12 minutes. Most of the beans have reached the “second crack” by this time. The fifth bean in the picture is a dark roasted bean. It begins to shine since the oils have made its way to the surface of the bean. Starbucks likes to roast their beans pretty dark. In fact, they have a carbon taste to me. I like dark roasts, but I think I like to stop just before the carbon taste kicks in.

So that’s it. One key to roasting is knowing what the beans should look like. The difference between a medium roast and a dark roast in the popper is about 4 minutes. My 12 minute mark for a dark roast is a basic guidline. It’s still best to watch the beans, making sure they look like beans at the level of roast you want.

Roasting and Tasting with Guy

I got my green coffee beans from La Prima, a local Pittsburgh coffee roaster. I bought 2lbs of Sumatra, 1lb of Kenya, and 1lb of Brazil. I first roasted the beans on their own and tasted them.

I roasted the Sumatran coffee dark and it tasted great. It was thick and syrupy. As the coffee cooled, the taste of chocolate was left in my mouth.

I roasted the Kenyan medium. The flavor was brighter than the Sumatran and did not have the syrupy body of the Sumatran. But I liked the brightness.

I roasted the Brazilian both medium and dark. It had more body than the Kenyan and the flavor was even sweet, but it was kind of boring – not exotic like the Sumatra, not bright like the Kenya.

GUY’S BLEND – so I found that my favorite was actually roasting the Kenyan with the Brazilian. This is  what I liked drinking on the bus on my way to work. The brightness of the Kenyan made the coffee flavorful, but the sweetness and body of the Brazilian made it perfect. I did the same with Kenyan and Sumatran – even better – more exotic.

MADE A CONVERT – My friend, John, from work – you know the one who gave me his Maxwell House – he mentioned that he had an old popcorn popper and wouldn’t mind trying roasting himself. I said, I bought 2lbs of Sumatran, just take 1lb. Well he paid me for the coffee. Guess what – I told him roast it for about 12 minutes. It worked like a charm!

How to Roast Your Own Coffee

So I’ve been home roasting with my popcorn popper for 4-5 weeks. The house smells great. The coffee tastes incredible.

If you’ve been reading my posts you know that it took a little time for me to get here. But let me tell you what I now do.

1) You just have to start.

2) Go to Target and get yourself the $39.99 popcorn popper – not the $14.99 one – and begin.

3) Get some raw/unroasted/green coffee beans. I don’t know if you have a local coffee roaster who can sell you green beans, but that is where I got mine. If you don’t know where to go, send me a comment – I’ll try to hook you up somehow.

3) Pour in about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of beans. You can follow the directions of the popcorn popper and put in as much coffee beans as you would have put popcorn.

4) Turn the popper on. Turn on a count-up timer.

5) Just watch the beans change color. There will be a little smoke – nothing like my oven encounters. Keep the popcorn popper near your sink, where the chaff can blow.

6) Around the 4.5 to 5 minute mark, you’ll begin to hear the beans start to crack – just like popcorn popping. Now the fun begins.

7) For a medium roast – I turned the popper off at 8 minutes; poured the beans onto a cool cookie sheet or casserole dish; then shook the beans around to cool.

For a dark roast – I kept the beans going until about 12 minutes; poured the beans onto a cool cookie sheet or a casserole dish; then shook the beans around to cool.

9) Let the roasted beans sit for at least 4 hours – to release any CO2 – otherwise the coffee may taste a little too acidic.

10) Grind the beans and make yourself a delicious cup of coffee.

West Bend Poppery Popper – where home roasting began

West Bend Poppery Popper 1200 watts

This West Bend Poppery Poppers is what began the home roasting phenomenon. I found this one while on eBay. They’re actually readily available on eBay. But let me tell you a secret – the only thing that really matters is the amount of power they put out. These Poppery Poppers deliver 1200 watts. The popcorn popper that I got from Target delivers 1080 watts – which seems to do just fine.

I’ve actually be home roasting successfully now for about a month. It’s really great. There is a little bit of smoke, but nothing like the half pound of beans on a cookie sheet in the oven. Chaff can be directed into the sink. In about 8 minutes -  a medium roast. In about 12 minutes – a darker roast. Voila! You’ve got wonderfully smelling home roasted coffee beans. Let those beans sit for at least 4 hours to degas. The smell just gets better. Then grind those babies up and make a great cup.

Let me tell you another secret: it’s not that hard. You just have to get a popcorn popper that gets hot enough, then get over the fear factor of the unknown.

Roasting with Guy @Home – It finally works!

Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper

I finally found a popcorn popper that roasts coffee beans well. After my failure at my brother-in-law’s, I was still on a mission to make it work for me. Earlier in December, my mother sent a popcorn popper to my kids. Not knowing what roasting coffee would do to the popper, I was hesitant to use it. After popping with the cheap Chefmate popper, I realized that the popper is not really hurt at all. So grandma’s popcorn popper was fair game. It is also from Target – Nostalgia Electrics Hot Air Popper – $39.99. More expensive than the Chefmate – but at least it works.

I poured the beans in. Turned the popper on. Started a timer – counting up. I kept a cool cookie tray nearby to pour the beans in and oven mitts, just in case. At around 4 1/2 minutes, the beans began to pop – first crack. At 5 1/2 minutes the first crack was in full swing. By 6 – 6 1/2 minutes the cracking stopped. The beans continued to swirl in the popper, getting

Home Roasted Coffee - Success at last!

darker and darker. My experience at my brother-in-law’s taught me to not be so impatient. Wait until it is dark enough. Waiting to 10 minutes gave a nice darker roast. I’ve done it a number of times since – stopping as soon as 8 minutes, giving a medium roast; and as long as 12 minutes, giving a dark roast.

Success at last!