Good for you!!!!!!!!!!!
Favorite and Everyday Coffee
- Thread starter The Amish Tyrant
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Looking good. I can't even imagine what that big rig costs.
Wow, that Hot Top looks puny next to the beast on the right! What is that, and how do like using it? My roasters are far more modest (for apartment use in Brooklyn, a Nesco and a Behmor).
Brewing a cup at a time using a Keurig machine is my preference, with Starbucks Sumatra is my go-to. I used to be a bean grinder kind of guy but don’t seem to want to mess with it anymore.
It's a BC Roaster 3 kilo machine with all the Computer interface so you can connect it to your computer to manage the roast profile, time and temps. If you're careful you can roast as little as a half pound at a time but since it takes 25 minutes to get it up to a consistent and stable temp (it's a double wall roasting drum) I usually do at least a pound and usually a kilo or 2 at a time and freeze the extra if it's just for me. Once warmed up, it will do 3 kilos every 16 or so minutes. It's a hobby, not a job. I know the machine like the back of my hand now so I don't use the computer much anymore unless I am roasting a made to order blend that I am not familiar with, then I watch the temps and interval times, as well as sounds.
I have a few fans that enjoy my blends so I keep them supplied on a monthly basis. I love South and Central American beans the most as I like a full bodied, chocolatey coffee with a mouth watering eye opening wet note and they seem the easiest to draw this out of in the roast.
I don't use the Hottop much anymore and am thinking of selling it.
I drink Eight O'Clock French Roast made in a Cory vacuum pot
I have the dual Keurig that allows for both a pot of coffee and the pods. Kinda handy and space efficient.
I'm too lazy to grind my own (okay, not lazy but just can't find the time).
I will say I like my coffee how I like my women - hot and lightly whipped by an 18 year old barista.
Keurig - Petes Coffee Major Dickason's Blend Coffee. Best I have found. Used to get 100% Hawiian Kona and grind/press it but I got lazy and the beans got expensive.
Me too! Lots of fun plus you get control over the level of roast, etc.
Pete's is the best of the major houses (Starbuck$, CBTL, etc.) and Major Dickason's is my favorite too.
Edit: Peets!! They do online as well. Major Dick as my lady and I call it, is superb, and has been for 40 years.
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Man, I need to proofread my posts more. I keep leaving words out lately. Maybe replying using my phone doesn't help. Me feel like caveman.
Correction: how do like = how do you like
My choices were limited to machines with catalytic converters, due to apartment living. I can do an acceptable City+ on the Behmor, but, the biggest problem with both machines is the cooling, which is not really fast enough. I never do a pound in the Behmor. While possible, the beans would tend to bake if doing more than half a pound. The other drawback, is I need to let the unit rest before I do the second eight ounces, which means waiting an hour between roasts. I had a second Behmor that was gifted by a friend, and was going to run both machines at once to be able to do a pound at once, but, I paid it forward to a another friend who liked my roasts (I don't think he's used it, which bums me out).
Now that I have a house, I might explore something like the BC. A friend of mine used to roast with a Hottop, but, he said it was too smoky for indoor use and he had to do it in his garage in Ohio. It looks like you've vented your BC. How does using the Hottop compare to the BC? How do you cool your beans? I've seen elaborate setups with colanders and Shop-Vacs hooked up, etc.
Gimme! Coffee out of Ithaca, NY produces some really nice roasts, but, they tend to be a bit pricey.
Arbuckles Ariosa freshly ground every morning.
I started roasting beans about a year ago because it's the only way I could get organic coffee at reasonable prices.
Prior to that I had a local roaster I would exclusively buy from. He only offered 4 single origins but they were utter perfection. So far the year of roasting has been purely exploration. I am only now starting to settle on my go-to green beans and only then will I begin perfecting their roast profiles. It's been fun but I am looking to finally size my list down. There are a quite a few organic coffees available, some crops are in their infancy and thus vary from year to year, others are quite reliable. I like how when you order the green beans it tells you the lot number and a little bit of info, like a bottle of good tequila. I've always been an explorative person though. I have meals I like making whenever I think of them for instance, but I'm always on the lookout for something new.
I have 10 Ethiopian heirloom plants germinating here in Florida, they take quite a while but the seeds were fresh. I will be interested in trying out some of the more unusual fermentation methods.
I have a thing for Guatemalan and Ethiopian coffees, but I love anything, Indonesian, Colombian, recently Mexican, Dominican, Costa Rican, Uganda has some interesting ones lately, so much variety online these days.
Prior to that I had a local roaster I would exclusively buy from. He only offered 4 single origins but they were utter perfection. So far the year of roasting has been purely exploration. I am only now starting to settle on my go-to green beans and only then will I begin perfecting their roast profiles. It's been fun but I am looking to finally size my list down. There are a quite a few organic coffees available, some crops are in their infancy and thus vary from year to year, others are quite reliable. I like how when you order the green beans it tells you the lot number and a little bit of info, like a bottle of good tequila. I've always been an explorative person though. I have meals I like making whenever I think of them for instance, but I'm always on the lookout for something new.
I have 10 Ethiopian heirloom plants germinating here in Florida, they take quite a while but the seeds were fresh. I will be interested in trying out some of the more unusual fermentation methods.
I have a thing for Guatemalan and Ethiopian coffees, but I love anything, Indonesian, Colombian, recently Mexican, Dominican, Costa Rican, Uganda has some interesting ones lately, so much variety online these days.
@Streeper541 turned me on to Iron Bean, so I've enjoyed quite a bit of that the past few months and will continue to do so - fun people to deal with. I still bounce around a little bit with different roasters, so working through a batch of Counter Culture at the moment, for example, Olympia is good and I usually am ordering their holiday blend in December, and there's a place about 90 miles from here I'll pick up beans from when I'm there.
At home we brew a pot of Cameron's Velvet Moon (available at Costco) in the morning. At work I have a subscription to a local roaster that delivers 8oz of freshly roasted, ground to my specs coffee for an aeropress every 2 weeks.
Not only does this support the local, it lets me try different things in turns. Also, I can tell you that a couple of vacuum canisters for the grounds cost much much less than a decent grinder.
Not only does this support the local, it lets me try different things in turns. Also, I can tell you that a couple of vacuum canisters for the grounds cost much much less than a decent grinder.
I love the machine. It's been with me for 3 years and has been 100% reliable. The double wall SS drum produces consistent, even roasts and you don't even start wetting your pants if you decide to go for a french or Vienna roast (although a squirt bottle of water and a real extinguisher should always be near at hand just in case). It's double vented to the outside, one for the roasting chamber and 1 for the cooling tray so your space stays smoke free with just the aroma of the coffee after its been cooled and you shut off the cooling fans. Frankly, there's not a better smell on this planet than the aroma of a nice pipe of tobacco and the roaster going at the same time. I LOVE roasting days.... sigh. But I digress......
The hottop and BC are very similar in function except the Hottop is electric and fully automatic (or manual if you choose), and the BC is gas and manual.
The Hottop has a cooling tray that sucks air our of the finished roast quite efficiently. Your beans will hit room temp in about 2 minutes with its system. Obviously, so does the BC.
If you plan on roasting hard core as a boutique business or have a fan base to keep supplied, I think the BC is the best roaster you can buy under 10 grand. The Hottop is awesome for personal use and is the best machine you can buy under 2 grand to be sure. It's fully programmable and if you record a roast that turns out perfect, you can just start that roast anytime and it will repeat the profile; changing temps, ROR, drum speeds, durations, and finally drop your roast all automatically. It's a great machine! YOMV...
Sorry for the diarrhea of the mouth.... If you get me talking about one of my hobbies it's hard to shut me up!!!
I have a small collection of brewers... AeroPress is my quick, 2 minute go to. For espresso the Cafelat Robot is primetime, anything beyond it is a diminishing return on investment, the only electric machine I would buy is an Olympia Cremina if I want purist aesthetics, and a Decent if I want everything else.
I also use a Hario Woodneck, V60, very rare Chemex (should've gotten the smaller one), Turkish ibrik, I had a vac pot but that too was too big for my purposes. I am a specialty coffee enthusiast while my family drinks Maxwell. Ignorance is bliss, it is a neverending struggle and search like with all hobbies, the joy of pursuit and day to day variable management are what distinguish the craft. These days Maxwell House smells quite foul, nearing rancid, not anything like coffee I am now accustom to.
I use a cheap SR800 fluid air roaster, it does the job and is very even if you get the temps up quite quickly initially but slowly hit 415-435F a bit later on. I played it safe because I did not know if I would stick with it, now I haven't purchased pre roasted coffee in said year so I will be upgrading at some point to a drum.
I also use a Hario Woodneck, V60, very rare Chemex (should've gotten the smaller one), Turkish ibrik, I had a vac pot but that too was too big for my purposes. I am a specialty coffee enthusiast while my family drinks Maxwell. Ignorance is bliss, it is a neverending struggle and search like with all hobbies, the joy of pursuit and day to day variable management are what distinguish the craft. These days Maxwell House smells quite foul, nearing rancid, not anything like coffee I am now accustom to.
I use a cheap SR800 fluid air roaster, it does the job and is very even if you get the temps up quite quickly initially but slowly hit 415-435F a bit later on. I played it safe because I did not know if I would stick with it, now I haven't purchased pre roasted coffee in said year so I will be upgrading at some point to a drum.
I drink the oldest coffee in existence. It has been made consistently since 1862.
I had all my years of fancy beans, French Press, Borum Santos Vacuum brewer and got rid of them all for my favorite coffee Cafe du Monde from New Orleans.
I fell in love with it the first time I went to their restaurant. They sell Coffee and Beignets and orange juice. That is all they sell and they are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. They only take cash and the place is a gold mine.
It is a strong coffee made with Chicory. I make it different than they do at their store as they use way more milk and I only use a small amount of half and half with my Stevia.
I buy it cheaper off of Amazon than I used to ordering directly from their factory. Their shipping costs are high on a case of 24 cans. Now I buy 6 at a time with free shipping.
If you have never tried it, you should as it has a really unique flavor.
I had all my years of fancy beans, French Press, Borum Santos Vacuum brewer and got rid of them all for my favorite coffee Cafe du Monde from New Orleans.
I fell in love with it the first time I went to their restaurant. They sell Coffee and Beignets and orange juice. That is all they sell and they are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. They only take cash and the place is a gold mine.
It is a strong coffee made with Chicory. I make it different than they do at their store as they use way more milk and I only use a small amount of half and half with my Stevia.
I buy it cheaper off of Amazon than I used to ordering directly from their factory. Their shipping costs are high on a case of 24 cans. Now I buy 6 at a time with free shipping.
If you have never tried it, you should as it has a really unique flavor.