Author Topic: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?  (Read 3589 times)

Kat57

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Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« on: February 02, 2016, 05:59:12 PM »
Following recent success making my own yogurt I want to begin roasting my own coffee!

I have read lots of internet and finally decided that the old West Bend 1500 watt corn popper ($3.99 thrift)
was the right level for me to start. 

Now I have spend 2 days in analysis paralysis trying to pick the right beans to get a good dark roast coffee.

I could use some advice if we have some self roasting coffee enthusiasts out there.

jengod

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2016, 08:31:12 PM »
I do this.

I use a Whirley-Pop (found new-in-box at a thrift store) in a cast-iron skillet to even out the heat.

I just order these green beans from Costco.com ($4/lb) and have been very pleased with my outcome.

http://www.costco.com/Rainforest-Alliance-Green-Unroasted-Arabica-Coffee-3.75-lb.-Can-6-pack.product.100054969.html

Kat57

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2016, 09:13:59 PM »
I did bite the bullet today and ordered some individual pounds from HappyMug.com. 
Probably any of these will taste better than the ground grocery store cans I have been drinking!

Spork

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #3 on: February 03, 2016, 08:45:02 AM »
We played with it a while back.  The results were good (but we are not really connoisseurs).  We stopped when CostCo opened and we could get freshly roasted beans in the store that were cheap and good.  When we moved away from the CostCo, we settled on Sam's coffee which is probably not as good as the home roasted, but still probably cheaper.

Kat57

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2016, 07:49:12 PM »
A good friend did a terrible thing. She brought me back some fresh roasted premium coffee and in one cup, I knew my coffee habit was going to be upgraded.  I have shopped across the beans pre roasted in my area and, well, not even close to fresh.  Who ever knows when they reload those hoppers?  So I began reading and researching and then found out a friend twice removed does his own roasting. They have recently suffered a lss of a family member or I would be making a pest out of myself over there ;-)

Anyway, I am all in now, with beans already shipped. I am looking forward to this new experiment!


DirtBoy

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2016, 12:24:54 PM »
I've been roasting my own coffee for several years.  I also use the Whirlie-Pop with my propane grill on the porch.  I usually buy 5lbs or greater a time from Dean's Beans:

https://deansbeans.com/roasted-coffees/green-coffee-beans.html

Everyone that has tried my home roasted coffee says it is very very good. I used to get them for $4/lb, but Dean's prices have bumped up recently.  I also only drink organic fair trade coffee.  So, maybe $5/lb is as good as it gets.

Hope this helps.

jengod

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2016, 12:29:03 PM »
I've been roasting my own coffee for several years.  I also use the Whirlie-Pop with my propane grill on the porch.  I usually buy 5lbs or greater a time from Dean's Beans:

https://deansbeans.com/roasted-coffees/green-coffee-beans.html

Everyone that has tried my home roasted coffee says it is very very good. I used to get them for $4/lb, but Dean's prices have bumped up recently.  I also only drink organic fair trade coffee.  So, maybe $5/lb is as good as it gets.

Hope this helps.

Thx for the link to Dean. Been looking for a mail-order alternative to Costco in case I drop my membership there and I think this may fit the bill. Appreciate it.

curly1973

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2016, 12:40:15 PM »
Gosh, I finally have something to contribute to the forum!  I've been roasting my own beans for close to 20 years - I enjoy the process, the output and everything in between (including the cost savings).

A hot air popcorn popper served me well for many years, and is a low cost way to start.  While I live in Canada, I purchase all of my beans from Sweet Marias in Oakland - great selection, and I like the detailed bean descriptions:

https://www.sweetmarias.com/

Have fun!

CRG

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2019, 10:47:57 AM »
I've been roasting for about 15 years using a variety of roasters. I'm currently using a Behmor 1600 with beans purchased through a green coffee cooperative - https://greencoffeebuyingclub.com/. Someone else mentioned Sweet Marias, which is also great, but a bit pricier than the option I'm using now.

I recently started to drink tea more often, so my roasting has temporarily slowed. Still, it's a great thing to get into and the results are fantastic.


SilveradoBojangles

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Re: Does anyone here roast their own green coffee beans?
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2019, 08:14:00 AM »
We have been roasting our own beans for about 5 years. We started with an old air popper we bought at the good will, but after a while my husband's parents gave us a FreshRoast coffee roaster (similar to an air popper, with slightly more temp control). We get our beans from Sweet Maria's (in Oakland) - they have an excellent selection and we are (unfortunately) coffee snobs. However, Costco sells green beans, and one year we did buy those and they were fine and very affordable (something like 3.30/lb).