The Coffee Poet

If you have decided to roast your own coffee then your first port of call will be to consider how to select a coffee roaster that is right for you. This decision is probably one of the hardest coffee-related choices you'll have to make – there's nothing worse than buying the wrong kind of roaster for your needs.

We're going to be primarily looking at automated custom coffee bean roasters for the purposes of this article. But, it's worth noting that you can roast your own coffee beans fresh at home without having to buy a roasting machine.

It is possible to roast beans in or on the stove, on a barbeque or fire or even, sometimes, in a popcorn popper. But, if you take your home roasting seriously and want some help with the process (the do it yourself approach can take a lot more time and effort) then a proper roasting machine may be your best option.

So, why do people roast their own beans at home? Well, it's basically all about freshness and the quality of the roast you will ultimately get. If you buy green coffee beans – i.e. beans that are unroasted – you can simply roast them at home when you need to use them in batches so they'll be ultra fresh. Green coffee beans are cheaper and last longer than ready roasted beans into the bargain. By the way, more information on bean roasting can be found here: http://www.coffee-n-beans.com/roasters.html

The ability to roast your own beans is a desirable must with many coffee aficionados – you can do away with stale coffee, get the level of roast you want when and where you want it and save yourself some money into the bargain!

In very simple terms there are two main types of machine to consider when you're deciding how to select a coffee roaster which are Fluid Bed/Air Roasters and Drum Roasters.

Fluid Bed/Air Roasters

If you want to roast your own coffee beans at home then the first thing you should look at is getting hold of a standard fluid bed based roaster. These machines are small, can be compact and are primarily designed for small-medium home use. So, they will roast your beans for you fairly quickly and with minimal fuss – you don't have to stand over them for example, as you would if you were home roasting on the stove top.

These kinds of roasters kind of work like popcorn makers in that they use hot air during the roast process. You can see how the roast is progressing in most cases so you can control it more effectively and you will sometimes also be given pre-set roasts to choose from in any case. If you're a home roasting ‘newbie' then this kind of machine may suit you best as you will get a feel for the whole process as you go along – you can always upgrade to a bigger and more complex roaster at a later date when you have more experience. These machines are also cheaper than other options and are relatively easy to use in the kitchen.

There are a couple of downsides with this kind of roaster, however. You will find that some models won't roast that much coffee at once and will burn out if you use them too often. Some models also don't have such great controls or pre-sets (some don't have any) – so it may take a while for you to get used to using the machine if this is the case.

Drum Roaster

If the option of a fluid bed roaster doesn't seem quite right to you when you're thinking about how to select a coffee roaster then you could also look at drum roasting as an alternative. Drum roasters were once only seen in coffee shops and stores that roasted their own coffee beans but, nowadays, it's real easy to buy machines for domestic use.

Drum roasting machines can basically roast more beans at once – in most cases – than fluid bed machines as they are bigger. Most will work on a convection or conduction method. With this kind of machine you place your beans in a drum, close it up, set it running and wait until the roast is done.

This is more of a pro machine – although they are designed for use at home – simply because they can be more complex to operate than fluid bed roasters. But, the majority of true coffee fans will prefer this method over time as it is held to produce better results in coffee taste terms.

The downsides with many drum roasters is that they don't have a window so you can't always look inside them as you can with most fluid bed roasters. So, you may have to rely on your sense of smell or hearing (as you listen to the coffee bean cracks!) to work out when your roast is perfectly done. This is one of the reasons why these machines may not suit ‘newbie' roasters to start off with.

Some of these drum machines can also give off a lot of smoke so you may need to sort out adequate ventilation or even do your roasting outside if this is the case. And, as you might expect you'll pay more for drum roasters than for fluid bed machines. At the end of the day you'll need to think long and hard about how confident you are with the home roasting process – if you haven't roasted at home before then you may be better off starting off with a fluid bed machine but if you feel more confident and need the extra functionality then a drum roaster may suit you better.

Whichever type of machine you choose to buy do remember that it's absolutely vital to read some user reviews on the Internet before you buy a roaster as these will tell you stuff the manufacturer won't. These reviews are written by people who have used these machines and they will give you a real good idea of the pros and cons of any machine from people that have used them regularly.

Some example tips to look out with for fluid bed roasters include:

■   How well do the programs (if there are any) work?

■   How easy is it to use and what kind of functions does it have?

■   How well made is the roaster?

■   How evenly does it roast?

■   How well can you see into the roasting chamber?

■   How noisy is the machine?

■   How easy is it to clean the machine/parts?

■   What happens to the chaff?

Some example tips to look out with for drum roasters include:

■   How well do the programs (if there are any) work?

■   How easy is it to use and what kind of functions does it have?

■   Does it produce a lot of smoke?

■   Can you see inside the drum from the outside?

■   Does the machine get too hot?

■   What happens to the chaff?

■   How easy is it to clean the machine/parts?

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The Muslims are considered as the first people who perused coffee as early as the ninth century. Its popularity became widespread in Europe because of the business dealings of the Venetians in the Arab countries. In contemporary time, coffee has become the second most valuable openly traded commodity. It is only next to oil. A lot of national economies depend on its mass production and international distribution, such as Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and some Central American nations.

According to researches, coffee consumption prevents Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, dementia, heart ailment, liver-related problems, and gout. The aroma of coffee restores lost appetite thus it is recommended for those who are having eating problems due to lack of appetite. Recently a lot of small and medium enterprises have thrived because of their specialization in coffee. Book lovers and athletes alike would often be seen frequenting coffee shops. Some have complained though that expensive coffee served in coffee shops have lost their originality. If you were a coffee lover or even if not yet one, better do home coffee bean roasting and drink coffee to the full content of your heart without worrying about high costs of ambience and originality of tastes.

The Importance of Roasting

You could buy the green coffee beans online or any neighborhood store. Roast them using equipment and tools that you could find in your home or buy home roasters and grinders. The taste of coffee is greatly achieved by manipulating the bean. As the beans are roasted, they lose moisture and gain volume thus losing density. The lesser the density of the coffee beans are, the better is the coffee produced. Roasted beans of darker color have lesser caffeine and more sweetness. Lighter ones have greater caffeine content and are more bitter. The process of home coffee bean roasting is done by heating the green beans until they reach 200 degrees Celsius. As the beans are roasted, caramelization takes place where the starches inside the bean are turned into simple sugars. The external appearance of the beans change from green to brown.

Online Coffee Roasters

The Internet has made it possible to buy an inexpensive, efficient, and effective home coffee bean roasting machine without leaving your city or state. Coffee roasters available online are capable of performing the following:

▪ Roasting at least one cup of green beans
▪ 3-stage roasting up to fifteen minutes
▪ Temperature adjustment as the roasting proceeds
▪ Monitoring and manipulating the roasting time
▪ Memory functions that could store at most ten of your roasting styles
▪ Showing the roasting time, temperature, and current roasting stage through LCD monitors
▪ Even roasting, which eliminates too much or too little roasting of any of the coffee bean

Avail of the warranty and after-sale services offered by online suppliers of home coffee bean roasting machines such as The Grape and Granary. Be wise and keep wise, drink coffee you roasted at home. Grab the opportunity to drink coffee or even sell it which are roasted according to your specifications. Enjoy your home-roasted cup of perfect coffee while enjoying the new day or relaxing from a hectic one.

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Do you dream of waking up to the wonderful aroma of roasted coffee?  Most coffee lovers will definitely answer yes to this question, especially if the coffee were talking about its gourmet coffee.  The only problem with such wonderful dream is that for most people buying gourmet coffee on a daily basis is just not affordable, especially when a pound of gourmet coffee can be as high as $10.

So what can we do about this?  Do we throw the towel in and resign to the thought of only being able to buy this type of coffee for special occasions? Not at all! -- There are many ways to work around this problem; one of them is referred to as coffee roasting.

Roasting coffee beans is not as complex as you may think. The advantages of roasting your own beans and making a gourmet cup of Java are that it is affordable and actually becomes the hobby of many coffee lovers. If all this sounds good to you let us go ahead and mention the many methods available for roasting your very own coffee.

Air Roasting

This is a popular method that relies on hot air in order to roast the beans.  People who choose to use this method will often buy air popcorn popper machines because they are easy to use and get the job done.  Compared to other methods, air roasting can be considered the best because it produces even roasts, the only problem with air roasting is that if you use an air popcorn popper you might only be able to roast 3 to 4 ounces at a time.

Oven Roasting

Unlike the previous method this type of roasting relies on heat generated by an oven, the problem with oven roasting is that you are not able to see the beans as they are being prepared, the oven will vent smoke and the roasting can be uneven.  Some people say that uneven roasting can add to the flavor of the coffee but if the oven produces results that are too uneven it will have negative effects.

Gourmet Coffee Roasters

If you want to get a true cup of Gourmet coffee then the best decision you can make is to purchase a machine that has been specifically designed to roast coffee beans using different modes.  You can purchase shade grown Gourmet flavored beans at a very low price (2-5 dollars) and then roast them at home with your own machine.  A few examples of Gourmet roasters are the iRoast, the Nesco roaster and the Gourmet roaster created by Hearthware.

In order to get the best taste from Gourmet flavored beans it is important that you use a precision roaster such as the ones mentioned before, there are many other brands and models that you can purchase but if they do not use a precision instrument you might end up over roasting your beans and you might end up with a funny tasting cup of Java.  Most of these machines can only roast small portions of green beans (1/2 cup to 1 cup) but the results are nothing short of amazing.

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Yes, you can roast coffee bean at home! The process of roasting green coffee beans on a small scale and for personal consumption is called home coffee bean roasting. This method has been practiced for many centuries already and is still very popular in recent times. Many also prefer home coffee bean roasting than instant coffee because it is fresh and very aromatic. this is really in contrast to the myth that it cant be done in your own house!

The use of equipment like the I-Roast 2 Coffee Roaster and the Coffee Grinder - Supremo for home coffee bean roasting is fundamental during the home roasting method in order to produce a very flavorful and aromatic product.

I-Roast 2 Coffee Roasters

The I-Roast is the finest coffee roaster to use in home coffee bean brewing. It works by using direct stream of hot air that penetrates the beans with an upward movement that could both roasts and mixes it in the process. Then, this air stream carries the chaff away from the roasted beans and moves them to the collector that surrounds the top neck of the roasting pot. During the final minutes of the roasting cycle, a special cool down mode cools both the beans and the roaster to the appropriate temperature since roasting temperature can be as hot as 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here are some important tips and reminders when using the I-Roast 2 Coffee Roaster:

▪ Roasting cycle is only up to 15 minutes.
▪ Roasting time and temperature should be adjusted accurately.
▪ Always check the roasting temperature during the roasting cycle.
▪ In order to control the final roasting results, either decrease or increase the roasting temperature during the roasting cycle.
▪ The device has a memory function. It can store up to 10 roaster curves and 2 pre-programmed curves even if the unit is unplugged.
▪ It has a patented well tunnel and thermoreflector design that is very well suited for evenly roasting the coffee beans.
▪ It has an LCD that can display the time, temperature, and other functional and processing information.

Coffee Grinder - Supremo

A coffee grinder is needed in home coffee bean brewing. This coffee bean grinder has a 17 position grind selector that can grind the coffee beans from fine to extremely coarse particles. It can be cleaned easily as it has the removable burr and the container with the lid can be stored in the refrigerator. Aside from that, the Coffee Grinder - Supremo also has the following features:

▪ A large ¼ pound hopper
▪ A powerful 130 watt motor
▪ It is UL listed with 110 volt
▪ It can automatically grind 1 to 12 cups of coffee beans

Home coffee bean roasting equipment are commonly available at many appliance shops and even in malls. But if you are too occupied to make the trip or just want to save time, fortunately for you the equipment for home coffee bean brewing can be ordered online at The Grape and Granary website. There you can find all the necessary things for home coffee bean roasting that are not only competent but also of good quality.

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Roasting Unit for Home Coffee Roasters
Price:

• Roasts up to 1lb of green coffee beans
• Portable, use it outside or in a garage
• Heat produced on top and bottom
• Stirs beans during roast
• Creates a very even roast

Roasting Unit for Home Coffee Roasters
Product Description
Includes a convection oven lid and modified popcorn popper base. Convection oven lid allows you to finely tune the heat and easily change it if needed during your roasting cycle. Lid is made of glass and allows you to view the roast in process. A built-in fan in the convection oven lid blows any chafe out in a ring around the unit, making it easy to clean up and producing and very clean batch of roasted coffee beans. The base unit stirs the beans continuously during the roast and heats from the bottom, helping keep the roast steady and even. This is an awesome roasting unit that we build and use ourselves. Roasts up to 1 lb of green coffee beans!
Roasting Unit for Home Coffee Roasters

Roasting Unit for Home Coffee Roasters

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Behmor Home Coffee Roaster + 8 pounds coffee + free shipping
Price:
Behmor Home Coffee Roaster + 8 pounds coffee + free shipping
Product Description
Behmor 1600 $299 includes 8 lbs coffee, free shipping and the new, improved low profile chaff tray. In stock and shipping. We are a prominent dealer of Behmor roasters. Shipping discount to Hawaii, Alaska and Canada.
Behmor Home Coffee Roaster + 8 pounds coffee + free shipping

Behmor Home Coffee Roaster + 8 pounds coffee + free shipping

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