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New to roasting - 2007/04/23 03:09I am brand new to roasting. I still am using the sample beans that I bought with my i-roast2. I like my coffee strong but not a dark (french) roast. I'm using the same drip coffeemaker I used with the grocery store beans. Now I can't seem to get my coffee strong enough. I used 40g of beans for 4 (6 0z) cups of coffee and I am having real problems making my cup of coffee strong enough.
Am I not roasting the beans long enough? For 1 cup of beans I roast 340 for 2 min, 400 for 3 min and 450 for 3-4 min (I've been experimenting). 4 min was pretty dark (I thought) but 3 min seems too light.
Is it the roasting? Do freshly roasted beans brew any differently? Any guidance for a newbie would be great.
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colin
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Re:New to roasting - 2007/04/23 09:24I think you are mistaking "strength" for "body" -
Home roasting produces little or no body in the cup. The results might be bright and tangy with some fruit in the cup - but you are not going to get a huge body (the likes of which you would find in a good Sumatra)
Home roasting is a nice experiment and all -- but for me, it is a waste of good coffee beans.Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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Zazenmaster
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Re:New to roasting - 2007/04/23 18:32guest newbie wrote: Am I not roasting the beans long enough?
Different beans will be different shades at the same degree of roast. It's best to go by the cracking sound that the beans make as they roast. You should hear the beans go through first crack (which is a muffled popping) followed by a short pause and then second crack (which is more of a crackling noise). Start by roasting a few seconds into second crack and adjust according to taste.
The amount of body will depend on the kind of bean you're using. Does it say on the samples what kind of beans they are or at least where they're from?
Beans are at their best a couple of days after roasting so let them rest before using.
And don't mind Colin. It's perfectly possible to produce a great coffee by roasting your own. Colin just hangs around with commercial roasters too much.
Robb
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colin
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Re:New to roasting - 2007/04/24 08:42Zazenmaster wrote: guest newbie wrote: And don't mind Colin. It's perfectly possible to produce a great coffee by roasting your own. Colin just hangs around with commercial roasters too much.
Robb
Yea. That and I like to mix it up a bit. Colin is the Senior editor and creator of the CoffeeCrew.Com Website
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caffiend
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Re:New to roasting - 2007/04/25 09:41In my opinion, 40g for 24 ounces is on the lower limmit - and will not produce a strong tasting brew unless the coffee is very heavily bodied. (I use about 20g to 25g for about 8 ounces in my french press, which will generally give you stronger coffee due to greater extraction of this method)
Also, if you are used to Cheaper pre-ground coffees (Supermarket Specials), the extra strength you might be missing might be largely attributed to bitterness of poorer quality/stale coffee.
While I don't have any dilusions that my own home roasted beans can produce a depth of brew to equall a good commercial roaster, I have been quite happy with my home roasting results overall.
I do find that some body is lost in the cup, and that this phenomenon is especially apparent when using convection roasters. (My own homeroasting apparatus, the Gene Caffe, seems to produce depth and body somwhere in between...) As a result I tend to stick with heavy bodied coffies. While I find that many South American varieties can produce a cup that, though very flavourful, can be almost insipid due to lack of depth, I have roasted a number of African/Indo-Asian beans that have managed to retain a very pleasing degree of depth (Particularly a couple of the Sumatras from Sweet Marias - Yum!).
Also, where I am in Kingston Ontario, there is not alot of options for local expertly roasted beans.
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newbie
Visitor
Re:New to roasting - 2007/04/28 02:57Thanks for your perspectives - I guess I'm also a bit ignorant to drinking coffee. There aren't many coffee houses with fresh roasted coffee in central Arkansas so this is all a new adventure for me. I hadn't even heard of "cupping" until about a month ago. This whole coffee thing is a new adventure.
I've been using brazilian and costa rican beans the first few times and it was the brazilian that was low on body. I've just roasted some guatemalan to a darker roast (past the second crack) and it is brewing with more body. I've heard other comment about Sumatra as well. I'll check it out.
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