We all have those days that seem to never end. At times it is trouble at home, at others, maybe waiting for the cable guy to show up. Lately, most of mine are of a different kind altogether. If you think you are a freak, hang on; this one may help you feel a little better about your coffee obsession.
I have three roasters at home. Two fluid bed air roasters and one drum roaster. Most of the coffee I drink I blend & roast myself. It is labor of love, and if you are a person who enjoys the road as much as the destination, you may find the experience very rewarding.
Occasionally, when I get caught up in the pace of living in New York, or have an unexpected party of friends over, I will be behind on my roasting schedule, and end up without coffee. What is the problem you ask? You have three roasters, so take 20 minutes, roast a batch and you're good for another week. Well, there lies the problem: Most blends require a few days of rest after roast to degas and mature before they reach their peak. I have tried it out of the roaster at various times, only to learn that I prefer it on the 4th-5th day.
So here I go: roast a batch, and wait. It is like watching a kettle boil for four days. On most occasions, I put it at the back of my mind and go on with my life. There's nothing I can do to speed up those beans, so why ponder? But every once in a while, on a full moon, my coffee gene kicks in, and waiting for the 4th day to arrive is all I think about.
Last week I had my roasting emergency. An unexpected party on Monday left me beanless on Tuesday. I rush to roast a batch before I go to work. Done! On my lunch break I stop by Whole Foods and pickup a 3 day old Mokah Java. It is going to be Americanos for me for three days.
The days pass, it is now Sunday morning, 9:00 a.m. and I'm having breakfast at home with a friend. We planned a bike ride to visit a Native American Powwow. You look a little distracted she says, what's going on? It's those beans, I say. What beans? The coffee beans I roasted on Tuesday. They are going to be ready in five hours while we'll be miles away. Abe, this is not the moon landing; you do not have to watch it live. They'll be here when we come back.
She had a point, but how could I explain it to her? She never roasted a peanut in her life.
We hopped on our bikes and made it to the powwow by 12:00 p.m. It was a very festive event. Many Native Americans in costume, dances and songs, Native American crafts, hundreds of people around, and I am lost in thought. I was watching it all as if I were not there. With all that commotion around me, all I could think about was those darn beans.
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), and one roaster batch will last me 2-3 days. I have a batch degassing while I'm finishing the current batch. I get a different bean/blend every few days. There's no way I could have that variety, or those bean options, if I were buying roasted beans.
