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Beginning my coffee roasting journey

JM Aggie08

JM Aggie08

Diamond Member
I've not discussed it MUCH here...but I have always been incredibly passionate about coffee. I certainly consider it a hobby, having purchased a pro-sumer espresso machine last year, spending my free time during the COVID learning and honing my craft.

In the pursuit of eventually running my own shop/roastery, I pulled the trigger on a 1kg Mill City propane/NG coffee roaster! These machines are built like absolute tanks, and are a scaled down version of larger, commercial roasters. Hell, I know some smaller operations that use this size for their small operations!

Super excited. Just wanted to share.
 
Wow, that seems like quite a place to start!
I just messed around doing it with a hot air popcorn popper, but that was still a good time.
 
After looking up the price of one of those. Yeah that is not something you buy as a hobby. Its when you are ready to take it to the next level of retail etc.
 
soulcougher73 said:
After looking up the price of one of those. Yeah that is not something you buy as a hobby. Its when you are ready to take it to the next level of retail etc.
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That's definitely the end goal! I've been chatting/working with friends in the industry to better understand the financial components of owning a coffee shop. Margins grow when you roast your own green, significantly. This will always give me more control over the product, from crop to cup, so to speak.
 
Awesome! I've been talking to my wife about her doing something similar when she quits her job. Looking forward to seeing your progress, and that looks like an amazing machine.
 
I have been roasting coffee for a few years now, one of those no-brainer decisions that you only realize with hindsight. Reasonably priced coffee from around the world roasted to your taste. Best coffee you will every taste. If your wife would rather have your coffee than that from the coffee shop, you might be on to something.

Unfortunately, it is a really complicated and expensive procedure. Ten to fifteen minutes with a large cast iron pan will roast three weeks worth of coffee.
 
I worked with a guy that did that. He would buy green coffee online and then connect a few extension cords outside and use a popcorn air popper to roast his beans. (that smoke can be brutal)

There's an art to it and many roasters simply blend dark roasts with lighter roasts to get a better balance of rich flavor vs caffeine. He was always saying, you had to listen to the beans more than anything. I would also suggest looking at the beans by both volume and weight to see if you can crack the code on roasting time based on moisture in the beans....otherwise, sound and visual queues are the most helpful.
 
You have your first crack and perhaps a little smoke. Second crack (sounds somewhat like a sizzle) and smoke with the start of oil on the surface of the beans.

They do swell and loose moisture, but the color will tell you how roasted they are.

I would say a caveman could do it, but they were gone by the time the 1400's rolled around.

If you are not comfortable frying an egg or boiling water, I would definitely recommend not roasting your own coffee.
 
I MAY do a video series on YouTube...for the extra fun of it. Starting with day 0, not knowing what the hell I'm doing, and the journey to creating something drinkable.
 
Update: Machine arrives this week. The following has already been done:
  • 6ft x 2ft stainless prep table with casters install and buitl
  • Raspberry Pi + Canka Kit built and loaded with Artisan (roasting software for tracking temperature curves and all other details!)
  • Monitor arm installed on table + old 27" monitor that's been gathering dust in my closet
  • Other components ordered and ready for use: 110-220v 5000W transformer, propane regulator.

Got a buddy that's getting some green beans this week from our local importer -- going to probably take half of them off his hands to get started. Likely stick with a single origin/bean to start to reduce unnecessary variables.

Also trying to think of a name...but having the damndest time. Something snappy, easy to remember. I'm afriad ATOT Coffee LLC would be lost on most 🙂
 
Wife got a bag of greens to roast as a fun activity given we're both coffee people. Just roasted the things in a large cast iron pot, gotta keep the beans moving, you will get a arm workout for sure.

Ended up with a very solid light roast, good caramel/toffee flavor and enough caffeine to kill an elephant. Its been a while since a cup of coffee has really woken me up like that...
 
JM Aggie08 said:
Also trying to think of a name...but having the damndest time. Something snappy, easy to remember.
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I like trees. I'd use '$tree_name Coffee Roasters'. That gives you a lot of latitude with artwork, and to my knowledge, it isn't widely used. You could do similar with other natural world features, though creeks and small bodies of water ARE probably widely used, and could lead to confusion and brand dilution.
 
JM Aggie08 said:
Also trying to think of a name...but having the damndest time. Something snappy, easy to remember. I'm afriad ATOT Coffee LLC would be lost on most 🙂
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-Depends a bit on the vibe you want your place to give off, but I've always been partial to straightforward no bullshit names for specialty/narrowband establishments. Beans? The Coffee Place? Covfefe?
 
I like the idea of roasting over a pan. Sounds similar to roasting rice or dried peppers that we do. I want to try this.
 
digiram said:
I like the idea of roasting over a pan. Sounds similar to roasting rice or dried peppers that we do. I want to try this.
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You can find traditional cast iron roasting done in Ethiopia on YouTube. Might be of interest.

Smoke will encourage outdoor roasting. You should be able to find some on Ebay for about $5/lb. Never had a problem.

Will be roasting some this afternoon.
 
digiram said:
Wait a minute. How much is it for coffee beans unroasted? This has my interest. I love coffee.
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It all depends on what you want! Buying in bulk gets you much better pricing -- the place I'm buying from, ~$3.25/lb for a 25lb bag for some varietals. Green coffee stays fresh for a looong time, so the quantity shouldn't be an issue.
 
Scarpozzi said:
I worked with a guy that did that. He would buy green coffee online and then connect a few extension cords outside and use a popcorn air popper to roast his beans. (that smoke can be brutal)
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I did it on an enclosed porch, the porch smelled like coffee for weeks. It was great.
 
JM Aggie08 said:
This is why I've always been confused about folks complaining about the smell. It smells like coffee. FUCKING COFFEE. Even folks that don't drink coffee like the smell of coffee.
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Yep, there is a lot of fragility out there these days, but the smoke effect is not zero.

I walked in to pay my utility bill and the girl behind the desk seemed alarmed and said "I smell smoke!"

Told here I just finished roasting coffee.
 
JM Aggie08 said:
This is why I've always been confused about folks complaining about the smell. It smells like coffee. FUCKING COFFEE. Even folks that don't drink coffee like the smell of coffee.
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The smell of roasted coffee is different than the smell of burning oil and beans. I'm sure small batches aren't that bad, but residue on roasting equipment and larger batches is probably what I remember most from the roasters in my old city. It.was definitely more of a burnt smell than a pleasant one....reminded me of how burning sugar bubbles and smokes when it gets hot.
 
I think every apartment building should have someone that roasts coffee in them. It's one of the best smells in the world. If you own a coffee shop, and you aren't even roasting coffee at that moment, bottle that smell and pipe it out the door when you have the most foot traffic. People will come in like moths drawn to light.
 
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