Spyke
lemmy.world

What do you find the benefits are of roasting at home vs pre roasted?

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lemmy.world

There's a lot of benefits, at least for me. I got into home roasting because I wanted Jamaican Blue Mountain (after a friend had gifted me some). Found out how much it cost, then as I went down the rabbit hole, I found out that I could get green beans for significantly cheaper than roasted.

Now, I find that I enjoy trying all different kinds of single-origin that I've never heard of/seen from bigger roasters. I've had coffee from Nepal, Puerto Rico, Yemen, Java, Sulawesi, and countless other farms around the world.

Cost is also a factor. I can get a pound of Jamaican Blue Mountain for as little as $20, whereas roasted (depending on estate) can be $40-$80.

It can be a pain in the ass, if I realize I'm out of roasted beans and want a cup of coffee. It takes a good 30 minutes to roast and cool, but in the end, trying something new is worth it!

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Oh, and forgot to mention - green beans also last significantly longer. 8-12 months versus 1-2 months for roasted. I can buy in bulk, save money, and have fresh roasted for the week!

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I think you might have sold me on trying out home roasting. Ive been enjoying trying out different brands since I got a machine a year ago. Cost looks roughly half of buying roasted!

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I got them from homeroastcoffee.com he hasn't had them since. They don't seem to be exported from Puerto Rico all that often, and it was definitely before Hurricane Maria.

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Most store bought coffee is stale. Whole bean roasted coffee has the same shelf life as bananas before exhibiting off flavors. As someone that goes through a pound a week I was buying from specialty roasters that roast to order like Counter Culture. Green beans store better and I can buy high grade beans for $6/lb. Behmor paid for itself in a few months.

2

I have finally found my people on lemmy!

I roast on an SR800 with the OEM extension tube. I've accumulated about 25lbs of different greens so far. I've been really enjoying a washed Colombian for espresso and natural Kenyan for filter. I really can't justify buying roasted at the prices they're selling at anymore.

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lemmy.world

Nice. What equipment do you use for roasting? Good results?

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lemmy.world

I have a Fresh Roast SR-500, with the extension tube (long story about getting that after it had been discontinued). Usually get my beans from homeroastcoffee.com but I just ordered some from coffeebeancorral.com

I get pretty consistent results, but it took a lot of fiddling to figure out my process for best results. I now get a pretty consistent result with 8 oz of green beans.

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cgardnerreply
lemmy.world

I got started with a whisk, a pan, and a colander for cooling. You really don't need anything expensive to get started.

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I am currently using a $20 air popcorn popper, and while there is some variance between roasts the result is still loads better than store bought imo.

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Just roasted three small batches for the next few week. Enjoying some Colombian, Ugandan, and Guatemalan.

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I roast my own beans too. I use a genecafe. It’s a weekend ritual that I’ve been doing for years. For the two of us, who both drink a lot of coffee, I roast 2-3 batches of coffee a week.

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lemmy.world

I'm a home roaster but it's been about a year since I've roasted any.

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Same here. Found a local roaster that I really liked, so I was buying their roasted beans for a while, then decided to roast some Nepalese beans (hadn't had them in a while, and it is my favorite cup). Back in to it now for a least the next 5 pounds of beans!

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I home roast on a diy drum roaster for my household and a couple neighbours/family. I need to modify the roaster still. Its direct drive and I'm burning through the gearhead from the wobble of my poor metal working.

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takeoreply
lemmy.world

How do you like the Ikawa Home? I’m very tempted, but the app reviews are pretty brutal. How’s it working for you?

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WFHreply
lemm.ee

Ah yes, the old "it's gonna pay for itself in 3 years tops" paradigm :D

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I roast in an old popper, but I've fallen off the wagon... I have a bag of beans from Sweet Maria's just waiting for me. Maybe this post is the kick I need...

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Very nice! I myself hope to start roasting coffee too, not exclusively but as part of the hobby.

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lemmy.one

How do you brew it? Would it not take time and beans to dial in the espresso machine for every different origin?

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I primarily use my super automatic. I won't lie, my palette isn't developed enough to dial in beans based on origin.

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I keep thinking about a drum roaster, but am of the mind "if it ain't broke..." My superautomatic holds about 10 oz of beans, so 8 oz at a time is perfect. I haven't tried anything from Rwanda yet, but I haven't really found an African coffee that I truly like yet. On this journey, I've found out that my favorites regions are Nepal, Haiti, and Yemen. Unfortunately, I think other people are finding those less-than-common beans, because their price has been rising as of late. Used to be I could get Haiti for around $10/pound, now it's $20-ish.

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I’ve roasted beans once before, albeit at a roast your own bean shop, not at home. Made an Ethiopian Yirg and think it was to 215F or so. Came out medium-light. Was pretty good but I think if I did it again I would’ve gone a little darker. What’s your favorite bean and roast combo?

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