Late to the show, first, Iāll follow Nutmegās rules then pontificate for the āother side.ā
Good morning, Iām Jim and Iām a coffee āhome-roaster!ā
Off the shelf ā Dunkin Donuts original blend or Community Coffee, Breakfast Blend or with Chickory (Louisiana Company). When we ran the coffee ministry for our church, Jamaican Blue Mountain from Costco was a good option.
Coffee extraction ā daily a Cuisinart 12 cup drip, last one lasted about 8 years. In the cupboard for weekends or special use, two sizes of French Press, a large Chemex pour over carafe, two single cup pour over filter holders, a āpour over potā (the spout shape does make a difference) and a Baratza Encore burr grinder.
My story: Wife and I visited my sister in Boquete Panama in 2008 and toured the Ruiz family farm and processing/roasting company. My immediate thought was, āLife is too short to drink bad coffee!!!ā I havenāt changed my mind.
The result of my quest is understanding the water makes more difference than you think, you can taste the roast or you can taste the bean (cultivar, region, environment), pick a bean and roast and extract for your desired taste. If the roasted bean is shiny and oily, itās not for me!
I started home roasting in 2010 on an air popper with the temp limiter disabled. I modified with a rheostat for the fan and measured the temp with a candy thermometer. The downside is roasting only 1/3 cup of beans at a time.
In 2012, I joined
Seeds Coffee Co, a non-profit in Birmingham and roasted for them for 5 years on 2, 5, and 10kg roasters. They roast and sell medium roasted, City and City+, single origin coffees, and an espresso blend. They trained me and I was able to get certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
Just before leaving Seeds in 2017, I purchased a Behmor 1600 roaster, for home roasting, that would roast up to 1lb of green coffee. Over the subsequent years, Iāve settled into the manual mode roasting about 300gms at a time. Total time from warm up to cool down is about 30 min per roast.
My favorite coffees are from Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Papau New Guinea. I pretty much stick with Central American and central African coffees. I tend to avoid South America, Mexico, Sumatra and Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and India unless the review of the coffee is off the charts. Iāve found the best source of green coffee beans to be
Sweet Maria's Coffee in San Francisco. They also sell roasters and have helpful technical articles.
Good luck and have fun in your quest for the best cup of coffee!