OK I Admit It - I'm a Coffee Snob. Who Else??

[Fueling Around]

I lived in Seattle from the mid 80's to 2001 and experienced the coffee and craft beer market explosions.
I once worked less than a mile from a Starbucks roasting facility. I sure wish the coffee tasted better than the aroma from the roaster. Great place to get burlap sacks for gardening needs.
Lot of coffee history, but that is another novel.
Today, I'm a decaf expresso drinker from a 25 yo baby Gaggia. Use Caribou Cross Fox up north. Florida I use the beans from a local coffee shop.
Tried three different grinders and gave up on the quality. Get my my beans ground and vac pack in 1/4 pound packages.

My wife is the coffee gourmet in the house.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I am looking at the Fresh Roast SR540 Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster.

 

[JckDanls 07]

This subject has been discussed extensively on here... do some searching and you'll find many of threads... Roasting your own was often discussed as well...

 

[BBQBeth]

I too am a coffee fiend and have spent embarrassing amounts of money on both coffee and makers. A few years ago my son bought me a Nespresso and honestly that makes the best cup of coffee I have ever had and part of that is their coffee too. I now keep that one for weekends and special coffee and have a brewstation I use during the week. I have not tried the Nespresso using the refillable pods. However, I have tried their Expresso pods in my brew station and its not the same. Good but not as good. Part of that is centrifugal force that aerates the coffee and gives it a great mouth feel.

 

[noboundaries]

I am looking at the Fresh Roast SR540 Automatic Coffee Bean Roaster.

Brian, why not get the SR800? Twice the capacity (8oz vs 4oz). Sound familiar? "Should I get the 18" or 22" WSM?" "Should I get the 36" or 48" offset?" Should I get the 24" or 36" Camp Chef?" Most folks agree you'll be happier with the bigger one.

Spend the extra $100. You'll be glad you did.

8 oz of green beans roasts down to about 6 oz of roasted beans due to expansion and loss of moisture. That's half a bag of roasted coffee from the grocery store. I go through that much in 5-7 days. You'd go through that in half the time with the SR540. Trust me, you'll wish you had the larger one.

One of the reasons I put together my ad hoc roasting gear is so I could roast a pound or more to extend the time between roasts. Weather and schedules often get in the way. I only have to buy store-bought beans now in extreme circumstances, and I can't remember the last time I did so. But, hey, I'm old. That's not saying much.

More capacity is better.

Ray

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Brian, why not get the SR800? T

I did not know about the SR800. Just kept seeing recommendations for the SR540. I first checking out what it take to get green beans that wont break the bank. I checked our local and they $18 a lb. Sounds high but not done much looking yet.

 

[clifish]

I did not know about the SR800. Just kept seeing recommendations for the SR540. I first checking out what it take to get green beans that wont break the bank. I checked our local and they $18 a lb. Sounds high but not done much looking yet.

at that point you might just jump to this package, comes with extension tube and the coffee bean cooler. With the 10% off coupon it comes out to $351

https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Roaster-Bundle-Extension-Cooler/dp/B09MDLK417/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1LSS9KX11J4OY&keywords=sr800+coffee+roaster&qid=1682627579&sprefix=SR800%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRzY0UTU1U0FQUERHJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDQ4NzIzMldRWlBYQloxUFBEMSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODExMjM0TzBJMzVRUjk1N1laJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

or if you need the burr grinder this set up for $387 after 10% coupon

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Coffee-Roasting-Starter-Grinder/dp/B0BMNSFTTB/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=1LSS9KX11J4OY&keywords=sr800+coffee+roaster&qid=1682627692&sprefix=SR800%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzQjdIQjZWNk9NQ1E1JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODQ1Njk4MjlESkpBRDNNTk5NMiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjQwOTY3MkYyUDREOFBVVVJKMCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

 

[LoydB]

Get the Behmor roaster. I’ve tried every roaster below $1,000. The Behmor is the best IMO.

 

[noboundaries]

I checked our local and they $18 a lb. Sounds high but not done much looking yet.

My first green beans were from Amazon. 3 lbs of Nicaraguan. Total cost was like $19 with Prime free shipping, but that was 5 years ago. I burned thru that 3 lbs pretty quickly.

After that, I've ordered everything from Sweet Maria's in Oakland, CA. I order 5 lb bags of each coffee and order 15 to 20 lbs at a time because the shipping is basically the same whether I order 5 lbs or 20 lbs.

 

[LoydB]

Sweet Maria’s and Coffee Bean Corral are my go-tos.

 

[fltsfshr]

You have to know what you are buying in green beans. Even the very mountainside can make a difference. There are a few different species of beans and various strains in different growing areas of the same strain. There are male & female beans. And one particular crop like Blue Mountain or Royal Kona are dependent on the grower.(Sangsters or Dowe Egbert) It's like varieties of corn or any other crop. Coffee is commodity traded around the world. Coffee comes green in big bags.

Next comes the roasting. If you look around you may find a sample roaster. They'll do 5#. They will have the roaster and the cooling pan in the same unit. If you can find one an antique Jabez Burns is a score.

This is the oldest coffee company in the USA. Check out Gillies 1840 as a green bean source. https://www.gilliescoffee.com/

 

[noboundaries]

The thing I LOVE about Sweet Maria's is their info on each coffee. Talk about snobbing out. I use their filters, go to flavor profile and choose " chocolate bittersweets" and "good for espresso," but that's my taste preference.

The price shown for each coffee is for 1 lbs. If you select a coffee and choose 5 lbs, the price per lb drops, which you only see if you click into the coffee.

I just looked at one coffee that was $6.85lb. I clicked on the coffee, changed the amount to 5 lbs, and the price was $27.50, or $5.50/lb. Shipping to my location is like $9 whether I choose 5 lbs or 20 lbs (4 x 5 lb bags of different coffee). 20 lbs lasts me about a year. Shipping to your location may be a different price.

 

[LoydB]

You have to know what you are buying in green beans.

I'd amend that to "You have to know who you're buying from." Sweet Maria's is almost always buying relatively small batches of green beans. Something that I buy this month will almost certainly not be available three months from now. So you have to trust their recommendations. And I've *never* had a bad batch of beans from SM, even though my usual order method is "get something Ethiopian, and a couple of random things they cupped high."

 

[fltsfshr]

I looked up their website and it looks like Sweet Marias is showing up the grower origination. When I was in the coffee business there were only a few of us in the whole US. Starbucks was just starting out and it was a 1 store retail business. Later they bought out the company that bought mine.

 

[Heart of Dixie]

I drank my first cup of coffee around the age of 6 back in 1958. My father was an Englishman that despised tea and drank Maxwell house continuously. I drank stove-top percolated coffee until joining the Navy where until going to sea had to get used to mega mass made brews. Once on sea duty in the Silent Service the coffee was made in smaller batches with water that was produced from a 3 k gallon a day still. The coffee came in 25 pound, rectangular tins, that were kept down in the lower level near the bilge. Coffee snob then? Obviously not.
Now I wake up every morning looking forward to that first cup of black coffee made with fresh, finely burr ground Eight O'clock Original run thru an inverted Aeropress.
For me, it can't be beat.

 

[Heart of Dixie]

Sorry for the second post, I meant to edit. I drank my first cup of coffee around the age of 6 back in 1958. My father was an Englishman that despised tea and drank Maxwell house continuously. I drank stove-top percolated coffee until joining the Navy where until going to sea had to get acquainted with mega, mass made brews. Once on sea duty in the Silent Service the coffee was made in smaller batches with water that was produced from a 3 k gallon a day still. The coffee came in 25 pound, rectangular tins that were kept down in the lower level near the bilge. Coffee snob then? Obviously not.
Now I wake up every morning looking forward to that first cup of black coffee made with fresh, finely burr ground Eight O'clock Original run thru an inverted Aeropress.
For me, it can't be beat.

 

[Displaced Texan]

My current setup.

What it produces.

Seattle's Best Post Alley number 5. I had bought the San Fransisco beans at Costco someone mentioned earlier. Very good, but the 3 pound bag is too big to keep the beans fresh.

 

[noboundaries]

I have that Breville grinder. Best of the three grinders I've owned by a mile.

 

[seenred]

I drank my first cup of coffee around the age of 6 back in 1958. My father was an Englishman that despised tea and drank Maxwell house continuously. I drank stove-top percolated coffee until joining the Navy where until going to sea had to get used to mega mass made brews. Once on sea duty in the Silent Service the coffee was made in smaller batches with water that was produced from a 3 k gallon a day still. The coffee came in 25 pound, rectangular tins, that were kept down in the lower level near the bilge. Coffee snob then? Obviously not.
Now I wake up every morning looking forward to that first cup of black coffee made with fresh, finely burr ground Eight O'clock Original run thru an inverted Aeropress.
For me, it can't be beat.

Great story Heart of Dixie…and thank you for your service!

Red

 

[fltsfshr]

When you go to Costco pick up the bag and sniff the one way valve. You'll know instantly if it carmelized or stale. When you get it home freeze the bag, grind it frozen and put the bag in the freezer immediately. Don't let it thaw. Freezing slows down the oxidation and the bag will keep.