Tue Nov 04, 2008
But is home coffee roasting difficult?
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"I found your website about roasting coffee at home and how easy it is. I also found others that say it can be really difficult. I would like to try roasting at home to see what kind of results I get. Do you still offer a sample that I can try?"
Thanks for writing! ...Yeah, it really is pretty easy.
Like a lot of things that require some familiarity, if you ask a rocket scientist for a description of how to fry an egg for instance, they may give you way more info than you need, they'll want to tell you everything they know, and make it sound like... well, rocket science.
It's not rocket science.
Home coffee roasting is as difficult or easy as you want to make it for yourself. If you can measure- exactly the same way you measure oatmeal or flour, and you can turn a dial- exactly as you turn the timer on a stove, then you can easily roast coffee too.
There are a lot of professional bakers out there, or professional chefs, and there is some arcane knowledge in most arts and crafts. But there are also a lot of everybody else who also bake or make PB&Js or cookies every day. Home coffee roasting is the very same skill set as making a batch of cookies or frying an egg. Pretty doable.
Yes, we still do the sample beans. The sample beans will be a good introduction for you. They'll certainly take the mystery out of it. AND you'll wind up with some coffee to drink. The sample isn't huge but you'll get the idea.
Home coffee roasting is easy, cheap, fun, good for the world; there's really no downside and no barrier to giving it a try. You'll probably want to eventually have a real home coffee roaster with a plug, but you can do it on a stovetop for free to get the concept. Its easy.
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Sun Aug 10, 2008
Pampojila, Guatemala. Memory lane.
This is a first hand recollection from our friend David Borton about his travels in Guatemala, and his experiences in the region of Pampojila...
Memories Hidden in a Cup of Coffee
Pampojila, Guatemala. Memory lane. Seeing that coffee for sale took my mind rocketing back to Guatemala, Summer 1988. Pampojila, rural western Guatemala, where many of the indigenous Mayan were among the 120,000 that had been murdered by its own army. Civil war. Nothing civil about this unending 30 year war that took its own innocent people as the first casualty.
As we descended into Guatemala City, my mind raced with anxiety...
More...
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Thu Jul 03, 2008
Is there a problem with brewing coffee just after after roasting?
Is there a problem with using coffee just after it cools after roasting... or should we wait some time between roast and grind and brew?
Thats a good question- slightly different than asking if its better to wait. Waiting, letting the coffee "rest" or "degas" does help in creating better flavor. "Problem" is a definite negative.
Its counter intuitive to the idea of fresh coffee, but letting the beans sit for anywhere from a day to even 3-4 days will make a big difference as to when the coffee is at its peak aroma, flavor, taste. Some espresso blends really hit their stride at a week after roasting. It all depends on your personal taste but time is definitely part of the recipe.
As an experiment try brewing three cups at 2 days and 4 days and one immediately after roasting. Just roast them on different days and try brewing all three at the same time to taste the difference.
What you'll see on the just-out-of the-roaster one when brewing is an effect called "bloom" that's the coffee puffing up due to the co2 escaping. There will be less or none on the other two.
And thats the answer to your original question, if there's a problem with brewing straight from the roaster, its because of bloom. When the hot water hits the yet-to-degas coffee all that gas tries to escape and causes the bloom. The escaping gas prevents the water from really well saturating the grinds before dripping on through. As the water is trying to get in to saturate the grounds the gas is pushing back out just as hard. So while it looks wet, its not as wet as it could be and the water isn't leaching out the good stuff as effectively. ...While it can be argued that once ground, the coffee should be as degassed as its ever going to be. In practice it doesn't seem to be true.
Once you're past the coffee degassing, which takes about a day, then its just a matter of where you think the coffee is hitting the mark before grinding it up. You've probably already noticed that a few days after you've roasted you get that experience of "Wow, THAT'S a good cup of coffee! " All you have to do is start taking notice of that experience for each kind of coffee you roast, how you roasted it, and plan ahead for it
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Coffee can be maddening, especially in a home roaster. There's a lot of generalities, rules of thumb, but very few recipes set in stone to master it. If you generally do the same things the same way each time however and only change one factor (as if thats possible) you'll eventually begin doing it by second nature.
...Kind of like cooking a fried egg. You just know how to do it and you don't need charts and graphs and a slide rule to determine the proper BTU's of energy or the coefficient of friction in teflon.
Just do it. Break some eggs, roast some coffee. Its easy.
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Thu Jun 12, 2008
Do you ship to UK?
Yes can ship to UK. The Coffee Project can ship to anywhere deliveries are made, except for coffee growing regions.
The most economical way to ship coffee would be by USPS Flat Rate box. They come in different sizes. The two smaller options will hold up to ten pounds or up to about fourteen pounds for $39, A larger one will hold up to 20 pounds for $50. But I wouldn't recommend filling them to capacity.
There's also a flat rate envelope that will hold about 2 pounds of bean for $12.
When we ship orders outside the US our responsibility ends once the boxes are on the way. If they are lost, stolen, held up, damaged, etc there's no way for us to fix the problem from here. Any import fees, taxes etc are the receiver's responsibility. We will send a confirmation of having shipped the box(es) but once they leave here we have little control over what happens next.
Other services like DHL have much better tracking, but are very expensive.
Travel time is typically estimated up to reaching your local hub, not necessarily to your door. Holiday ordering will probably take longer than normal on both ends.
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Mon Apr 07, 2008
Specials and Coupon codes
Don't forget to occasionally really read our splash page for changes in specials and coupon codes.
For instance we're moving along some of the Cocoa nibs that sold brilliantly over the holidays, but now its time to move 'em along. Right now they're free with any order. Can't beat that.
If you ever want to be on our email list that announces new beans, news, and yes, Sales on items; just write to us and ask to be on the list. Easy.
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Wed Jan 23, 2008
Why send a mailer out after a deadline has passed?
Thanks to the many, many, many, many, many of you that pointed out that the recent emailer went out a week after the deadline of the promo mentioned.
Here's what happened. Those were supposed to go out a couple weeks ago but the computer that sends them stalled. When it started up again last night, out went the emails. So, just a simple glitch in the system.
I have turned the code back on for a little while. So dive in, use the coupon code mentioned.
[0] comments (5203 views) |
Sat Jan 12, 2008
Loves the Gene
"Hi James,
I LOVE MY GENE ROASTER!!!!
It's a far cry from the Alpenrost. I have made two batches so far with my new toy and can't describe the pleasure just watching the roasting process, the first crack, and the beautiful aroma which permeates my garage where the roaster does its job.
There is very little smoke from the roast, primarily because the chaff doesn't get burned by the heat coils as with the alpenrost. Actually, the beans come out cleaner because of the "tilt & twirl" rotation.
Now the real question is time vs temperature to keep the flavor in the finished product - lower temp & longer, or higher temp & shorter. But still, it takes a while for the temperature to get to 482.
Oh well, that's not really important, I'm simply a happy Coffee drinker again!
Thanks for your help.
Regards,
John"
[0] comments (376 views) |
Fri Jan 04, 2008
Using Starbuck's Power
http://www.slate.com/id/2180301/?GT1=10837
That's a good article.
The counterpoint to it is also that if your store is dirty, hard to park at, has no visible signage, and the staff is cranky- plus your coffee is old, stale and weak... then it ain't Starbuck's fault if you fail.
One point the writer makes at the end is very true too- Starbuck's isn't giving anything away. Its a very expensive place to go get a cup of coffee. I know from experience that the sandwiches just got smaller. :( They're in business to make money.
Although the article didn't address quality specifically, a small independent coffeehouse can produce way the heck better coffee (specifically espresso) than Starbucks if they even try a little.... I think its because when Starbuck's got shareholders they became a very different company with different concerns. A few years ago Starbuck's actually got rid of espresso machines that require skill and knowledge in favor super automatics. The impact of that is apparent in any single shot that doesn't have a cup of milk added. But- that leaves a LOT of fertile ground available that's already been prepped and tilled for any go getter to step in to and do a better job. A lot of the hardest work was done. Starbuck's established that you can sell a cup of coffee for $3. For gosh sake thank them for that.
Starbucks was brilliant at leading the way, they've educated the consumer to what's possible. But excellence can be hard to maintain on a large scale. As a business grows it becomes a beast that needs to be fed, and in that is opportunity for everyone else. I agree with the article, there's tons of opportunity for small shops to benefit. Absolutely.
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Tue Dec 18, 2007
Shhhhh....it's a secret...or it was, anyhow.....
With the holidays upon us, no matter which ones you celebrate, I'm getting lots of calls asking for Jamaican Blue Mountain, Hawiians, and all of the Cup of Excellence coffees. Yup, they're terrific, especially the Cup of Excellence selections...after all, they're selected by experts as the best of the best from each country. And while the JBM and the Hawiians have the name recognition, ARE the really the best thing going bar none? Welll....let's put it this way...in a good year, JBM is really something, with deep chestnut flavors and that island quality that made it famous. Hawiians are always bright and fun, nicely balanced and everyone recognizes "Kona". A lot of folks don't drink anything else, and it's absolutely good stuff. But are there other less expensive coffees that curl my hair? (And believe me, that ain't easy....) Yup. So, shhh, don't tell, but I'm going to let you in on a few of our selections that I'm really jazzed about, and while it's a fact that nobody's ever heard of 'em (except those of you who are true coffee geeks), they're slam dunk terrific in the cup.
First up is the Papua New Guinea Kimel Estate Peaberry. Cocoa, citrus, and a gorgeous round body. Also on my hit parade lately is the current Guatemala Huehuetenango El Injerto. Fruit, and lots of it, nicely balanced, and a smoooth finish. Third on the list (and no, this list is not in order of how much I like 'em) is the Costa Rica LaMinita. OK, I admit, this is sorta cheating because many people have heard of LaMinita....these beans are so pretty you could put 'em in a bowl as a centerpiece. Clean, clean, clean, beautifully prepped and the flavors are crisp, clean and snappy, with a citrusy finish. MMM. You can't go wrong. I'm going to keep this list short, but I can't finish without mentioning one of the staples on our menu: The Bolivian Shade Grown Colonial Caranavi SHG/Organic/FT. A mouthful even before it gets to the cup. Sweet, creamy body, subtle fruit, did I mention sweet? You can even roast it dark and it doesn't lose all it's fun. Oh, and by the way, while you are ordering for your favorite coffee head, don't forget to have us toss in come cocoa nibs for yourself. Yes, cocoa nibs. They're wicked good, every last flavor. I munch em for extra energy....they have an interesting, hearty texture. Happy holidays and have fun roasting!
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Wed Dec 12, 2007
Behmor small grid cylinder / drum
The smaller grid drums should be arriving at the end of December. This is an estimate so don't ink that in. At this time of year anything could happen.
This smaller grid drum will make it possible to roast tinier beans like Yemen, and our Felucca blend.
Happy Holidays!
Have you seen our Kopi Luwak? No, seriously.
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