Read Online The Art and Craft of Coffee by Kevin Sinnott - Free Book Online
Authors: Kevin Sinnott
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that favors constant experiments. Some will be successful, but there may be more than a few undrinkable disasters. Plus, it’s also fun.
After you have more information about home roasting, judge for yourself.
Getting Started with Home Roasting
If you want to roast at home, you need a good facility. Consider the following:
Space
Choose a space that allows you to spread out. Roasting requires fast action. When the beans are about to finish, you don’t want to be looking around for your tools. Cleanup is also a factor. Beans shed their skins, called chaff, during roasting. Some beans have very little, some have a lot. Choose a space that you can easily sweep or vacuum.
PLAYING WITH FIRE: ROASTING GUIDE TO SAFETY
Although roasting is undeniably fun, keep in mind that beans roast at extremely high temperatures. Fires are a problem in the industry. Commercial roasting facilities, where machinery is at least as rugged as the best home units, still have roasting fires. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. If using a thermometer to measure internal bean temperature, know that it’s difficult to measure these temperatures accurately. Always err on the side of common sense, especially with darker roasts because these beans can catch fire more easily.
< Roasting beans at home allows you total control of your coffee process, and there are few aromas as intoxicating as that of justroasted beans.
Yield/Batch Size
Every coffee roaster produces the best coffee when you make its recommended batch capacity. In other words, follow directions about batch capability scrupulously. Don’t exceed or halve. If you plan to sample various coffees, buy a small roaster such as those by Hearthware. They are easy, capable machines that smoke less than larger machines.
Smoke
All home roasting involves some smoke and aroma. Home roaster marketing literature compares roasting coffee to baking bread. That’s not so. The early roasting stages smell less than wonderful and the later stages are smoky. Except for the Nesco, all roasters exhibit at least enough smoke to require ventilation near the roasting area.
Hearthware makes a vent you can pretty easily adapt and install in your home. Some home roasters position their roasting space to feed a bathroom vent or open a window and drape the vent outside. That could work, though it’s not ideal. The garage is also an option. However, garages in many places get cold in the winter and warm/hot in the summer. Aside from the temperature affecting our own comfort—and how dedicated are you if you care about that?—it definitely affects roasting quality.
Weather
Even if you roast inside, you may notice that weather and climate affect your coffee. Like bakers, you will become attuned to the weather. And like your professional counterparts, you’ll learn to adjust. Home roasting equipment is notoriously temperature-sensitive. An average coffee brewer will still heat water properly if the temperature drops. Not a home roasting machine. If the weather gets too cold, the roaster won’t heat up properly. This means you may not be able to roast outdoors in January. Humidity also affects home roasters negatively, but more subtly. Your home roaster should still work if the humidity changes, but it’s something to which you should pay attention.
Voltage
Did you know that your electric company’s voltage fluctuates between 105 and 125 volts? If you’re like me, you probably don’t normally care. But now you have a reason to care. This fluctuation may mean little to most of your appliances, but to your home electric coffee roaster, it likely means the difference between hitting first crack and getting your roast right or ruining your roast and tossing it (likely into the compost heap).
END THE ROAST EARLY
Some roasting continues beyond the roasting process, for hours or even a day longer. Experience will teach you whether to end the roast slightly earlier to accommodate this effect. Paradoxically, some
After you have more information about home roasting, judge for yourself.
Getting Started with Home Roasting
If you want to roast at home, you need a good facility. Consider the following:
Space
Choose a space that allows you to spread out. Roasting requires fast action. When the beans are about to finish, you don’t want to be looking around for your tools. Cleanup is also a factor. Beans shed their skins, called chaff, during roasting. Some beans have very little, some have a lot. Choose a space that you can easily sweep or vacuum.
PLAYING WITH FIRE: ROASTING GUIDE TO SAFETY
Although roasting is undeniably fun, keep in mind that beans roast at extremely high temperatures. Fires are a problem in the industry. Commercial roasting facilities, where machinery is at least as rugged as the best home units, still have roasting fires. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. If using a thermometer to measure internal bean temperature, know that it’s difficult to measure these temperatures accurately. Always err on the side of common sense, especially with darker roasts because these beans can catch fire more easily.
< Roasting beans at home allows you total control of your coffee process, and there are few aromas as intoxicating as that of justroasted beans.
Yield/Batch Size
Every coffee roaster produces the best coffee when you make its recommended batch capacity. In other words, follow directions about batch capability scrupulously. Don’t exceed or halve. If you plan to sample various coffees, buy a small roaster such as those by Hearthware. They are easy, capable machines that smoke less than larger machines.
Smoke
All home roasting involves some smoke and aroma. Home roaster marketing literature compares roasting coffee to baking bread. That’s not so. The early roasting stages smell less than wonderful and the later stages are smoky. Except for the Nesco, all roasters exhibit at least enough smoke to require ventilation near the roasting area.
Hearthware makes a vent you can pretty easily adapt and install in your home. Some home roasters position their roasting space to feed a bathroom vent or open a window and drape the vent outside. That could work, though it’s not ideal. The garage is also an option. However, garages in many places get cold in the winter and warm/hot in the summer. Aside from the temperature affecting our own comfort—and how dedicated are you if you care about that?—it definitely affects roasting quality.
Weather
Even if you roast inside, you may notice that weather and climate affect your coffee. Like bakers, you will become attuned to the weather. And like your professional counterparts, you’ll learn to adjust. Home roasting equipment is notoriously temperature-sensitive. An average coffee brewer will still heat water properly if the temperature drops. Not a home roasting machine. If the weather gets too cold, the roaster won’t heat up properly. This means you may not be able to roast outdoors in January. Humidity also affects home roasters negatively, but more subtly. Your home roaster should still work if the humidity changes, but it’s something to which you should pay attention.
Voltage
Did you know that your electric company’s voltage fluctuates between 105 and 125 volts? If you’re like me, you probably don’t normally care. But now you have a reason to care. This fluctuation may mean little to most of your appliances, but to your home electric coffee roaster, it likely means the difference between hitting first crack and getting your roast right or ruining your roast and tossing it (likely into the compost heap).
END THE ROAST EARLY
Some roasting continues beyond the roasting process, for hours or even a day longer. Experience will teach you whether to end the roast slightly earlier to accommodate this effect. Paradoxically, some
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