Yummy yummy. Guatemalan Arabica
A little bit darker than intended, was reading ELR and not paying attention hehe
Yummy yummy. Guatemalan Arabica
A little bit darker than intended, was reading ELR and not paying attention hehe
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Awesome. So you roast your beans outside? Is that because it produces a lot of smoke?
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It produces quite a lot of smoke and also it smells - a lot! And it doesn’t smell like coffe like you’d expect - more like some sort of bread 
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oh ok, thanks for that. I asked because I watched a video about it and the dude did it in his kitchen. I guess I should watch some other vids eh?
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It’s not that bad though. I’ve seen plenty just roast in their ovens - you just need to ventilate. I like the smell well enough, but it gets a bit much 
Drinking freshly roasted coffee that you roasted yourself is an experience in itself 
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I am so looking forward to said experience. 
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That “bread” smell you are smelling… if I am not mistaken, and I could be… is diacetyl and that is why it is recommended to do this outside.
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Yeah it smells a bit… at first it’s a bit grassy and it goes to bready before you even get a hint of coffee smells
There’s some smoke as well so when the weather’s good, I prefer to do it outside. When it’s cold and rainy, I do it in the kitchen with an extraction fan on and I open the windows to get some fresh air in too.
The amount of smoke isn’t that bad though, I’d rather have someone roast coffee than light up some cigarettes.
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I don’t know why exactly, but it often tastes a bit burnt to me. I prefer to wait at least 3 or 4 days before I grind it.
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Yep, diacetyl is a byproduct of roasting coffee 
Not sure if that is the smell though - definitely a component of it…
Yeah, back then I waited at least 24 hours. The bloom on freshly roasted coffee is insane 
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Growing up in a family of coffee drinkers, I was given the opportunity to try coffee as a wee child. I couldn’t stand the stuff! That is, until I started work and college. I discovered I love coffee, without cream and sugar!
My family all used a metric ton of Cream and sugar in their Folgers instant coffee. Since I was born into that I didn’t know you could have coffee without it. All those wasted years 
I still hold it against them 
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If you’re in a professional roasting company, sure but a little DIY home roasting (even if it is a couple kg), you won’t get popcorn lung though. The amounts of diacetyl or anything else that comes out is small… and it’s not like you’d be doing this every single day either.
I either use an extraction fan and open windows, or I put an aluminium exhaust pipe on the roaster’s exhaust to guide the gasses outside. But however or wherever it’s done, there’s always a bit of aroma that lingers
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I’ve traditionally been a retail brand consumer with little interest in upping my coffee game. I have only one cup a day in the morning and really never got much into the high quality aspects. Heck, I even tried to use a k-cup twice because I’m an indifferent cheapskate.
But, seeing this thread and the enthusiasm and passion of you devotees, it makes me really think I should start thinking better quality.
I won’t be roasting my own little beans of joy anytime soon, but I’m definitely open to at least grinding my own in the morning.
Any suggestions for decent quality beans that won’t break the bank I could start with?
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@anon70102222 I still buy roasted coffee from time to time. Especially when I’m abroad I like to try a local roast. A favorite brand doesn’t really exist IMO. One brand can have several coffees that I love and some that I don’t like at all.
Bigger companies are usually good with blends but when I take a specialty or single origin coffee, I tend to lean more to the smaller roasting companies. Blends are good if you want your daily coffee to taste exactly the same every day. Specialty coffee is like a fine wine and the quality can vary greatly from year to year.
Compare it with our DIY flavors / manufacturers. There’s no single manufacturer that has “the best” flavors and what one person loves is something another hates. Trial and error… try different things, read descriptions and try to find out that way what your style is.
There are fruity, nutty, floral, chocolatey, woody, smokey and so many more different flavor notes in a good coffee and the same bean can taste different coming from 2 different roasters. You may prefer one type of coffee to wake you up in the morning and another to keep you going in the afternoon.
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Find a roastery near you and/or online that gets fair reviews. Go for some “traditional” coffee first. Like Columbian or Brazillian (or similar profile - low acidity, medium to full “fullness/boldness”) - as @anon28032772 mentioned earlier in the thread, you should probably ease into it.
After you get used to tasting different notes in the coffee you can experiment with lighter roasted coffee and end up with stuff like light roasted Ethiopian or Kenyan coffee (they can be amazing)… You can even blend some lighter roasted with darker roasted.
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If you go to the coffee section of your store, start with a cheap bag of beans from a different country. Say Honduran or Guatemalan. You can usually find store brands that wont break the bank. The other thing I would start to try is pour over or French press. You can find cheap models to start with to see what your fancy is on Amazon. I like both a pour over and the french press over regular drip.
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Definitely! But only buy bags that has a roast date on it - it should be roasted fairly recently - no more than a couple of months old (preferably a few weeks at most).
Oh, and if you have to invest, invest in a good grinder first - that is the most important thing of all, regardless of what you want to do, be it espresso, french press or drip/pour over … They can be expensive though, so one might even consider a good hand grinder (though prepare to get tired arms).
Another great way to make good coffee, aside from french press or regular drip/pour over is to get an AeroPress
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If you need a grinder, make sure it has a burr (no blades)
Consistency is the key to good coffee. There are good hand grinders for about $40, electrical ones that are decent are more in the order of $200 and up.
Hand grinders can be good, but be prepared to grind a few minutes per cup 
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I have a friend that uses a cordless drill (on the low setting) with his hand grinder. 
He says it really pays off!
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