I bought green coffee beans (Kenia AA farm direct) yesterday and roasted them in a skillet. It took me about 30-40 minutes before they were done and the coffee I made from it tasted nice. Maybe I overdid the roasting a little but in the end it’s still OK. It was the first time I roasted soI didn’t know what to expect, I know you need to wait for the cracking of the beans but it cracked a few times. So when is the right crack coming up? Do they need to crack all? Once? Twice?
mmm sounds good
I roast by timer, not by cracking, in a couple of small hot air roasters, which is why I’m not clear on the ‘cracking’ judgment. I don’t think there’s a rule, as it depends on your tastes and the kind of beans you’re doing, but at least one cracking. I’ll try to dig up the contact info for my bean supplier, but he’s a fellow at the NE corner of Zhongxiao and Jilong in Taipei. In the summer I buy his beans roasted, and in the cooler seasons I buy some green too, and roast those myself, sometimes blending them.
Damn! I didn’t know you took your coffee so seriously, DB!
I bought mine at a coffeeshop on yongji rd. in Taipei … I was early for a meeting and figured I could go and have a coffee when I found this coffeeshop. They had all kinds of roasters and stuff and coffee beans … oh, and good coffee. They were very serious about their coffee.
BP -
Stop in again and ask if they will roast some for you while you’re there.
If they are not too busy most places like that will do it.
Then you can ask them questions.
And from my experience, it looks like you over-cooked those beans.
But its the taste that counts!
And I can’t taste over the internet.
I have a friend who roasts also, and I think I’ve heard him talk about roasting them past the 2nd crack, but he likes a dark French roast, while I like mine a bit lighter than that.
The best thing to do is probably read up a bit on this on the internet – see for example
squidoo.com/greencoffeebeans/
And here’s some from ineedcoffee.com/99/04/homeroast/print.asp:
[quote]Monitoring The Roast:
As you are stirring, you will notice the beans turn from a green to a light brown and will continually darken. Also part of the bean called chaff will begin blowing off the bean. Keep stirring until the beans move on their own in an upward direction(not just in a circular one). This will take about a minute. At this time, you will hear a series of small “cracking” noises. This is what is known as the first crack. This will soon subside.
Now, monitor the beans and watch for the color of bean you desire. Pay attention to the smells as well. If you let your roast continue long enough, you will notice a second series of cracks. This is known as ( you guessed it) the second crack. Little tiny black chips will start blowing off the bean during this phase. To achieve a full city roast, you should normally stop at the beginning of this series of cracks. If you would like the darker roast of a typical Espresso blend or a French or Vienna roast, you should keep the beans roasting. You will notice the beans becoming shiny and a thicker cloud of smoke coming from the roast chamber. The sheen comes from the oils of the bean, which are coming to the surface.
The Cooling Process:
The main objective of the cooling process is to stop the roasting dead in its tracks as fast as possible. Simply dump the beans into your cooling pan which will allow the beans to lie in a single layer. Using a pan with holes, such as a metal colander, will aid this. If you desire, you can use a light mist of water from a spray bottle. This will indeed cool the beans but you run the risk of using too much water which will serve to stale the beans faster.
Once the beans have cooled, they should be stored properly in an airtight container.[/quote]
BTW, the flavor is said to ‘develop’ and improve over the next two or so days.
If you over-roast, one good solution is to do a batch of more mildly roasted coffee and then blend the two. I find that when I blend mine (milder) with the purchased freshly roasted stuff, and also blend 2-3 kinds of beans (often Brazil Santos, Columbia Supremo and sometimes a third variety) I get a delicious complexity.
“fengda” on chengtu road off chunghua in ximmending is a good source for green beans. i have them roast them for me though 
having a cup of their ready-roasted cuban now, not bad, not bad
I went to the Yungji Rd. store, it’s the same company …
I have a man in Kenya to do this for me.
Do what?
Really?
that sounds most interesting indeed, but you don’t. With luck, you have a bloke in Banqiao. Most roasts are done closer to to consumer than you might think. Apart from expensive imported italian stuff, and the coffee in costco, most roasting of coffee here is done locally. it’s the same in the UK (where I actually know a few roasters), Denmark, the US (2,000 roasters), and Australia (500 or so, even they claim more).
There are large differences regarding the popularity of different kinds of roasts. In Denmark, they like it lighter than they do in the US, and there’s differences between north italy and south italy as well.
For the home roasters here, I would claim tha the hottop machine is the best. They are even made in Taiwan - tried to buy one once, however their sales manager quoted me NT$21k. For people into lighter roasts, a chep popcorn popper should be almost as good.
Damn. I’m going to plant a coffee tree, or whatever it is these things grow on. Beat that! I’ll put it beside my banana tree, lemon tree, grapefruit tree, and other non-fruiting and therefore completely pointless flora taking up space on my balcony. Passion fruit, mango, mint just died the other day, rosemary won’t grow… yeah, a non-coffee-producing coffee plant would be just the thing.
Coffee trees do give fruit here in Taiwan, actually.
You may try to go to Gukeng in order to see the plantations. Taiwan grown coffee is expensive though.
This reminds me of a conversation my dad told me about back when he was homebrewing beer. The was telling a friend about his experience roasting barley, obtaining spring water, the types of brewer’s yeast he uses, the fermentation process, etc. Then his friend says “My son’s into homebrewing. He grows his own hops!”
Talk about one-upsmanship!!
I pass my own water.
[quote=“Mr He”]Coffee trees do give fruit here in Taiwan, actually.
You may try to go to Gukeng in order to see the plantations. Taiwan grown coffee is expensive though.[/quote]
Not that bad. And very flavorful. I’ve been drinkign Taiwan coffee for a few months now. Very nice.
Chris, there’s a shop right by your house that sells it.
[quote=“Mucha Man”][quote=“Mr He”]Coffee trees do give fruit here in Taiwan, actually.
You may try to go to Gukeng in order to see the plantations. Taiwan grown coffee is expensive though.[/quote]
Not that bad. And very flavorful. I’ve been drinkign Taiwan coffee for a few months now. Very nice.
Chris, there’s a shop right by your house that sells it.[/quote]
They don’t call him Mocha Man for nothing. Oh wait…
I’ve been wanting to try roasting up some green beans for a while now. How much per kg are you guys paying for what quality bean?
I quite like this site for a simple explanation and my plan is just to roast a single layer on beans on the frypan toss them into another cool frypan to cool them quickly (Because Mr He told me they need to be cooled quickly when ready) then grind the bastards and brew a coffee.
http://www.gardfoods.com/coffee/coffee.homerst.htm
[quote]
It doesn’t get any fresher than roasting the bean, and immediately grinding the coffee bean, then brewing the coffee. Roasted coffee beans have a continued chemical reaction from the moment they are taken out of the roaster. The rate of chemical change slows down in time but it continues none the less day by day. Coffee brewed from beans roasted within the hour are completely different than those allowed to sit for a day, a week or a month. This is true with both espresso and the standard brewing of coffee.
Home coffee roasting amazes friend because no one really does it any more. The affect is astounding and if you want to impress someone, you aught to try it. Be sure to practice first before you invite people over to see you do this. Besides, your friends and dinner guests would not be able to buy this type of coffee at any store. [/quote]
[quote]FRYING PAN METHOD. Using a frying pan to roast coffee beans is my favorite method of home roasting. Frying the beans seers the beans which trap the coffeeol. It is the easiest method to clean up after too.
Put the frying pan on the heating element using medium high to high. The temperature of the pan depends on the type of pan, size of element, and power of the element. Preheat to the point you can flick a bit of water on the pan and it spits back. No salt, no oils, no nothing. I like an iron pan too. Pour on the beans to about one layer thick. If you have a top which clips down, use it. Another thing which helps out is a clear glass type cover. Simply, move the frying pan back and forth, rolling the beans. Turn the beans with a spatula from time to time. Don’t let the beans sit on one side during the whole process. You got to move the beans regularly.
Soon, the beans will start to crackle. Then they will start to smoke. Keep moving the beans. Eventually, the beans will start to turn brown, then black. Check the color constantly. Unfortunately, the beans will not turn all the same color at the same time. There will be light spots. This is ok. Also, the silverskin will be breaking off so there will be a little flaky material in the pan too. There are however, beans which have had the silverskin removed. And, there will be smoke, so turn the vent fan on.
For me, and this is not for everyone, the beans are done when 90% black and they sheen. Taste purely depends on the type of beans and the degree of roast required. Take beans off the burner and let cool in another pan.[/quote]