Home roasting - what's the big deal?

[Worldman]

I suppose that I like espresso as well as any of you and probably better than some of you. The difference that fresh beans make vs. stale beans is drastic.

I just don't see the need to roast my own when freshly roasted beans are available to me at will (as long as I drive to the roastery or a couple of coffee bars to get them). One supposes that most of you also have decent local roasters. Why then do you home roast? What is the advantage?

If your reasons are "craftsmanship" or some such, OK that is understandable. But even then, there are so many variables (roast temperature, roast time, which green beans to use, which beans to blend with which, etc.) that the possibilities for both good and ill become endless.

Len <--- already suffering from too much anxiety

[another_jim]

Roasting is good for learning about coffee. A typical coffee shop or roaster will have one coffee from each major growing area, roasted in one way. Homeroasters usually have access to probably half a dozen coffees from each area, and can roast them lighter or darker as they please. This leads naturally into comparing and cupping.

Homeroasting is also very tedious if one doesn't enjoy the actual process. If you value your time at even minumum wage, homeroasted coffee is also more expensive than coffee bought from a roaster. So you had better like doing it.

Finally, homeroasting machines are not very good -- there are no semi-commercial home roasters. You'll get results better than most medium sized commercial roasters using a popcorn popper, just like you get better espresso than an average cafe at home with almost any machine. But this is a fairly meaningless standard unless you are really inconveniently located; it will take time, learning, experience, and lots of roaster mods before your results will compare with the coffees we talk about here.

[Worldman]

Jim,

Well said! I can appreciate that home roasting allows one to experiement and to know experientially what goes into the roast, and absolutlely to know about different coffees. It is just a lot of work/tedium.

If I understand you correctly, you are saying (in so many words) that home roasting takes the anal retentivity of espresso to new levels.

Len

[miKe mcKoffee]

If I understand you correctly, you are saying (in so many words) that home roasting takes the anal retentivity of espresso to new levels.
Len

(Not Jim here of course) Not at all IMO. It can take tastes to new levels! Different people home roast for different reasons. Some thinking to save money (sometimes mistakenly), other's it's all about quality, freshness and choices. Jim was around and one of those I looked for guidance from when I began my home roasting journey going on six years ago.

My reasons for starting home roasting strictly because had been chasing fresh roast whole beans since I began drinking coffee late in life in 1984 after first tasting fresh ground fresh brewed fresh roast, then age 30. During the ensuing decade and a half first one local micro-roaster discovered in Vancouver way back then went under, they were ahead of their time. Found another an hours drive away and then they too went under after happily buying from them for 5 years. Bought online a couple years but just wasn't satisfied with variety or quality. While searching for online sources that you could order not only specific SO varietals as well as blends but also able to order different degrees of roast stumbled on home roasting.

I agree you must enjoy the process of home roasting to stick with it. Sometimes it's a hassle or chore, but most of the time it's actually relaxing, Zen like being one with the bean for me. Or spend thousands on a commerical automated roasting system. Though there is a 1/2# totally automated PID controlled P1 roaster being marketed out of The Dalles OR, under the radar as it were. Does an excellent job BTW! That said having full manual control of my roast via mods I'd put my espresso blends and roasts against the likes of Stumptown Hairbender. Seriously. And while their Hairbender is a quite good espresso blend IMO, having it all the time would be quite boring. Then there's the almost endless SO choices. I virtually always have 4 or 5 different coffees roasted and rested, seldom having the same cup back to back. Typically start the day with a SO Americano, followed by a SO or espresso blend cap' but usually a SO, then to straight shot(s) of blend and or a SO.

Fortunately Stumptown was just starting up about the same time I started home roasting, and I'd not discovered them yet. Had I discovered them I well may not have started home roasting. However no way I'd quit home roasting, they and no commerical roaster I know of offer near the choices I have at my beck and call. At one time peaked at 63 different greens, now down to around 40...

Home roasting isn't for everyone just as other culinary skills aren't for everyone. It's as much art as science as is the case with most cooking. If someone has a high aptitude in the culinary arena chances are they'd be good at home roasting. OTH if someone is the type who tends to burn water they'd most likely be better off finding a good retail roaster!

FWIW my espresso journey didn't actually begin until about a year after home roasting.

[John P]

We microroast at our caffe (1-3# at a time) and I'm here so much, it might as well be 'home' roasting.

I mostly enjoy roasting single origin coffees and blending for espresso. I've learned a lot about how different beans interact, at what level of roast they work best, what days are peak for that particular roast, etc.

For only about nine months of roasting, I am still in my infancy. I frequently read what home roasters are doing, because I think there's much to be learned there. Knowledge is knowledge, the only real difference is equipment, volume, and frequency and access to high quality beans. Most passionate and serious home roasters will have better coffee than your average indie and most all of the chain stores. Roasting, whether it's at home or at a 'home away from home' allows us to create an orchestra of flavors from an array of very finely tuned instruments. One cannot be a Concert Maestro in a day, a week, or even a year, but once you experience the softest whisper of a single violin note to the rousing crescendo of the brass coning together in a way such that all seems 'right' in the universe, you are hooked for life. (sorry for the poeticalness )

[Ken Fox]

We microroast at our caffe (1-3# at a time) and I'm here so much, it might as well be 'home' roasting.

I mostly enjoy roasting single origin coffees and blending for espresso. I've learned a lot about how different beans interact, at what level of roast they work best, what days are peak for that particular roast, etc.

For only about nine months of roasting, I am still in my infancy. I frequently read what home roasters are doing, because I think there's much to be learned there. Knowledge is knowledge, the only real difference is equipment, volume, and frequency and access to high quality beans. Most passionate and serious home roasters will have better coffee than your average indie and most all of the chain stores. Roasting, whether it's at home or at a 'home away from home' allows us to create an orchestra of flavors from an array of very finely tuned instruments. One cannot be a Concert Maestro in a day, a week, or even a year, but once you experience the softest whisper of a single violin note to the rousing crescendo of the brass coning together in a way such that all seems 'right' in the universe, you are hooked for life. (sorry for the poeticalness )

I don't spend a lot of time in SLC, but I do pass through it a couple of times a year. It is great to hear that there is a cafe there to check out. All of my previous forays into SLC espressodom have been beyond disappointing.

ken

[Ken Fox]

I suppose that I like espresso as well as any of you and probably better than some of you. The difference that fresh beans make vs. stale beans is drastic.

I just don't see the need to roast my own when freshly raosted beans are available to me at will (as long as I drive to the roastery or a couple of coffee bars to get them). One supposes that most of you also have decent local roasters. Why then do you home roast? What is the advantage?

If your reasons are "craftsmanship" or somesuch, OK that is understandable. But even then, there are so many variables (roast tamperature, roast time, which green beans to use, which beans to blend with which, etc.) that the possibilities for both good and ill become endless.

Len <--- already suffering from too much anxiety

I'm definitely someone who, if I had the chance, would simply buy excellent fresh beans from a pro. It isn't because I can't do it but because to me it is a time consuming activity that I do a reasonable job at but there are other people who are as good and hopefully better at it, and I'd rather do other things.

Because I live in a rural area with no reliable nearby source of fresh coffee, and because I don't feel like paying $15 or more per pound, including shipping, to have good fresh coffee available all the time, I home roast. I have reduced the hassle factor by investing in a 500g commercial sample roaster, and by judicious use of the freezer. Since I'm almost entirely interested in espresso, and since I hate throwing out sink shots, having 12 different types of roasted coffee available at one time is not something that attracts me. I have two grinders, and having given up on decaf I now use both of them for caffeinated beans, so I can easily have two different SOs or blends available at one time, but not more.

For me it is part convenience and part economics. If I lived down the street from a competent roaster, I would never have bothered with any of this home roasting stuff.

ken

[jesawdy]

I just don't see the need to roast my own when freshly raosted beans are available to me at will (as long as I drive to the roastery or a couple of coffee bars to get them). One supposes that most of you also have decent local roasters. Why then do you home roast? What is the advantage?

Len et al.-

The above statement is exactly where my mind was just a few weeks ago. Why would you go through all that trouble?

Well, I do not home roast, and I probably won't even try for sometime.... I quite simply don't have the time to invest in learning roasting right now.... That and the fact that I have available to me multiple local roasters, and online retailers that can reach me within a few days post roast. But, that being said, I can see why one would go through the trouble now.

Why would I like to home roast:

CONTROL

With a roaster, large or small, there will be changes out of your control... and you will most likely never know about the change until you've suffered a noticable change in the cup. Unless you keep close tabs on or are super friendly with a local roaster, you'll not know that a blend has changed, this or that lot ran out, etc, etc. Now, your roaster should be cupping and reformulating blends, and keeping things as close to the same as possible, but there will be changes. Beyond lots and blends, I experience a little frustration in roast level changes from batch to batch with a local roaster. Home roasting offers complete control (and potentially complete failure I suppose).

DISCOVERY

I imagine that learing to cup and roast coffees and utimatley blend some coffees can be a pretty incredible journey. Could *I* do it right now, even given the time in my schedule to magically home roast, I'm not so sure I could. I think my palate is too young to understand where to even begin right now. I've only been serious about espresso for a very short time, and I feel like I need to spend a lot more time learning from the good coffees (and bad coffees too) that are out there right now. I hope to become involved with some local cuppings someday soon to start this journey.

MY THIRD POINT?
Huh, I thought I had another major reason why.... it escaped me! Something like for the fun, satisfaction, ownership, craftsmanship, artistry of it all. Or something...

[John P]

Ken,

I used to live in Chubbuck, next to Pocatello. Fun times! (NOT)

We run a 2 group Synesso here, used to have a Linea. We fresh-roast coffee to order, no drip, press-pot only. I agree with your findings in SLC. After hitting places like Vivace, Lighthouse, Hines, etc.; the only way for us to enjoy a great espresso was to open our own place.

Drop me a line anytime.

[RapidCoffee]

I just don't see the need to roast my own when freshly roasted beans are available to me at will (as long as I drive to the roastery or a couple of coffee bars to get them). One supposes that most of you also have decent local roasters. Why then do you home roast? What is the advantage?

Why cook a meal when you can get take-out food? Why play an instrument with the world's greatest music in your CD collection? In fact, why participate in any amateur endeavor when a professional product is available for purchase?

Quite simply, I home roast for the love of it. It's part of my ongoing passion for coffee. There are endless possibilities for wonder, enjoyment and satisfaction in coffee roasting, just as in coffee brewing.
________
John

[Ken Fox]

Ken,

I used to live in Chubbuck, next to Pocatello. Fun times! (NOT)

We run a 2 group Synesso here, used to have a Linea. We fresh-roast coffee to order, no drip, press-pot only. I agree with your findings in SLC. After hitting places like Vivace, Lighthouse, Hines, etc.; the only way for us to enjoy a great espresso was to open our own place.

Drop me a line anytime.

Idaho is a funny place; most people conjure up pictures of huge potato fields when they think of the place. The reality is that the northernmost 3/4 of the state is very wild mountains and river valleys. I wouldn't trade that part of the state, for anything; I live at the southern end of it and we get a bit of the moderating climactic influence of the high desert to the south, but don't live in it.

Pocatello is a whole different matter. Actually, I'd add Idaho Falls, Burley, Rupert, and Twin Falls into that mix of places I could not conceive of living in for more than 2 or 3 days. Although similarly located in the flat, southernmost part of Idaho, Boise is in a different league; it's not a bad place, and reminds me of Salt Lake 25 years ago but without the overwhelming Mormon influence.

I probably will not get back to Salt Lake until maybe February, when I might pass through to go to Southern Utah during Prez. Week, to escape the crowds that come up where I live (Sun Valley area). If I am going to be there long enough to have coffee, I'll give you advance warning!

ken

[espressoperson]

I just don't see the need to roast my own when freshly roasted beans are available to me at will (as long as I drive to the roastery or a couple of coffee bars to get them). One supposes that most of you also have decent local roasters. Why then do you home roast? What is the advantage?

If you love espresso you may be right to stay away from homeroasting. It may actually limit your espresso consumption. I've been an espresso drinker for decades and three years ago started homeroasting for all the usual reasons. For the first year I roasted two coffees, Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey Blend and Decaf Espresso Donkey blend. Life was good. Roasting just enough to almost always have peak Monkey (days 4 through 10) and peak Donkey (days 2 through 5) available.

Then in my second year of homeroasting I got into SOs. First the ones that were recommended for espresso, but eventually many others that sounded intriguing in their own right. I was quickly faced with the understanding that the best roast level to appreciate the varietal uniqueness was often not the best roast level for espresso. So I pushed ahead with these brighter coffees and lighter roasts to consume typically by French press and vac pot (and also Americanos). So now I still roast Monkey and Donkey as staple blends but accompany them with many varietals and other blends too. And this has cut into my espresso consumption.

But now to come full circle back to espresso, this has helped my espresso experience. For example, knowing the constituent coffees in an espresso blend and what they have to offer at their best helps me evaluate whether a blend that uses these coffees does them justice. And stepping out even further on the edge, the more we know and appreciate coffee, the more we can know and appreciate espresso's unique contribution to the coffee experience. Arguably, to stay withing the espresso realm only without appreciating it in the larger context is to limit your ultimate enjoyment of what it has to offer. So homeroasting is an ideal way to expand your view in your own style.

[cannonfodder]

Because I enjoy it and my kids enjoy helping. If for no other reason (and there are) that is enough for me to home roast.

[onemoreshot]

For me:

- It has added a new dimension to the coffee experience.

- It has taught me a lot, far more than I anticipated.

- It is cheaper than paying retail roast prices and depending on your consumption rate that can be impactful.

- It makes for thoughtful and personal gifts (I have gifted four 1/2lb batches in the last four days).

- I enjoy controlling the chain as much as possible.

- It is satisfyingly mine.

[MarkJames]

For me roasting is probably the best part of the whole experience.

When you roast you learn about how the coffee comes from the cherry to the bean - dry processing, wet processing, demucilaging etc.
You get an appreciation for the difference between the large corporate farms and the small estate coffee growers and you gain an appreciation for the influence coffee and its economy has on a large part of the world.

The romance of coffee is unmistakable. You order beans from Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. It's truly wondrous just thinking that the bag of beans I have in my hand got picked on some coffee plantation in an exotic part of the world by people with a different culture. The beans were then processed and sorted and a coffee buyer came to cup them and pick what he wanted for his customers. Then the beans were bagged and shipped to a broker who then sold them to me. I then roasted them to the level I wanted, ground them to the level I wanted and produced a cup of coffee that is precisely tailor made by me, for me. All that for pennies. It's truly remarkable that I can have that for a per liter price less than bottled water!

Roasting gives you insight into the influence the roast character has on the coffee. You stop tasting coffee as merely a function of the bean but of the bean and the roast. You start to notice roast character vs. origin character and find the different characteristics you like or dislike about each.

Roasting lets you pick a kind of bean and a level of roast for a particular coffee style. I'll roast and grind different beans in different ways for press pot coffee than I would for a chemex pot than I would for a drip coffee than I would for an espresso shot.

Roasting lets you taste single origin character in coffees and lets you experience blending of different coffees with different taste sensations. Some coffees make awful single origin espresso some are wonderful.

Roasting truly completes the experience for me anyways and the fact for $5 a pound I can roast better coffee than I can buy for triple that is just a bonus.



Mark

[Worldman]

Man! Some of you guys are almost poetic in your replies...most of you being both pithy and poignant. (Except that Cannonfodder's "my son and I do it together" thing is a bit "campy" in my opinion.)

I am curious, how many of you home roasters drink coffee other than espresso? I ONLY drink espresso (5 to 7 shots per day). Does the press pot or drip brewing method add something to home roasting that is lost on espresso only roasting?

Len

[miKe mcKoffee]

Man! Some of you guys are almost poetic in your replies...most of you being both pithy and poignant. (Except that Cannonfodder's "my son and I do it together" thing is a bit "campy" in my opinion.)

I am curious, how many of you home roasters drink coffee other than espresso? I ONLY drink espresso (5 to 7 shots per day). Does the press pot or drip brewing method add something to home roasting that is lost on espresso only roasting?

Len

Once upon a time many many moons ago French Press was the weekend special brewing method and drip was the weekday workhorse. Later came electronic vac brewing for the week day morning convenience pot. Along the road a Gold plated Royal Balance Brewer appeared for entertaining brewing. Then Miss Silvia joined the family. Soon Americanos became the cup of coffee of choice regardless the varietal. Took a couple years with Miss Silvia's promptings before an espresso epiphany finally happened and on to ristretto exploration in earnest. A year later decided to explore other traditional Italian espresso beverages like cappuccino which soon became my usual second cup of the morning. To Miss Silvia's dismay this caused her to be evicted in less than a year and replaced by the uppity Bricoletta. Though I have 7 French Presses of various sizes they now only see use for easy coffee cupping comparisons. Poor elegant Royal hasn't seen water, flame nor grind in over a year (but makes a very attractive table centerpiece ) One of my favorite brewing devices is a Costa Rica peasant choreador but I've never brewed with it. (coffee sock hung from a plain coat hanger like wire stuck in a plain chunk of wood stand.)

Which is to say the Bricoletta is used for virtually all brewing be it straight shot, Americano or cap (and once in awhile someone will request a milked to death latte, but the most they'll get from me is about 5oz milk before steaming for a double shot latte and haven't gotten complaints.) Someone visits and wants simply a cup of coffee it be an Americano and they always love it.

I don't roast SOs differently for the Bric' than I would for vac or press or whatever since they mostly get brewed Americano or Cappuccino. Love a bright SO for caps. But I do occasionally also pull ristrettos of virtually any SO. (temp management becomes very critical for something like a City+ WP Yirg ristretto or wild Kenya!)

[RapidCoffee]

I am curious, how many of you home roasters drink coffee other than espresso? I ONLY drink espresso (5 to 7 shots per day). Does the press pot or drip brewing method add something to home roasting that is lost on espresso only roasting?

Espresso (well, cappuccino) is clearly my beverage of choice. But at work I drink mostly Krups Moka Brew coffee. When traveling, I take the AeroPress. If I have a large group over for dinner, it's usually drip coffee (I know, I know). Regardless of the brewing method, it's (almost) always home roasted coffee.

AeroPressing on a backpacking trip in the Bighorn Mts of Wyoming this summer.
________
John

[cannonfodder]

Man! Some of you guys are almost poetic in your replies...most of you being both pithy and poignant. (Except that Cannonfodder's "my son and I do it together" thing is a bit "campy" in my opinion.)
Len

Really, my kids, 5 year old son in particular, loves to help me roast. He still enjoys doing thing with me, I haven't gotten uncool yet so I take advantage of it as much as I can. I brought him and my daughter (11) a t-shirt from Metropolis and Intelligentsia from my Chicago visit. They thought they were the greatest things on the planet.

The other reasons have been apply stated by others.

[JR_Germantown]

My son (the 13-year-old one) not only roasts with me, he likes to talk trash when pulling shots and pouring his lattes. "Haha, you got channeling!"..."Dad, my rosetta's better than yours!" It's a running battle and we have fun with it.

Jack