Smoked Coffee

[smokensweet]

A couple of comments.

To those roasters who so vehemently said dont at the beginning and referring to their years of coffee roasting experience, where are you now?

Second. Smoke after roasting, cold-smoke or regular smoking temperature doesnt matter as you are not coming anywhere near the temperatures needed to carmelize the bean any further. Unless you are trying to roast and smoke simultaneously which seems needlessly stressful.
End result will be a direct result of type of bean, type of roast, type of wood smoke used.
Obviously this is being done with success now and should be pursued by anyone who wants to pursue it.

 

[noboundaries]

Wow, I have no idea how I missed this original thread. I roast my own coffee beans over a propane camp stove with my own ad hoc setup. I can roast a pound at a time. Takes 12-15 minutes. I have 14 lbs of Ethiopian beans in my cabinet, three different types. Ethiopian is a smaller, more dense bean. It is sweeter and less complex than others I've tried at a Full City roast level. I'm going to roast another pound tomorrow or the next day. Might have to whip out the AMNPS and cold smoke this batch in my Kettle to add some flavor and complexity. If I do, I'll try to remember to take some pics.

It was fun seeing some of the old faces who no longer post. I miss Leah. She was unique.

 

[noboundaries]

I cheated, because I wanted to experiment before roasting, then smoking, a pound of coffee.

When pour-over brewing my coffee this morning, I put 4 drops of Wright's Liquid Smoke (Hickory) in my 20 oz mug of Ethiopian Sidama - Bensa Segra Farm roast. I basically abhor Wright's for cooking. No telling how long that bottle's been in my fridge. The result, though, was favorable. Like I mentioned above, the Ethiopian was sweet and simple, lacking complexity. The smoke toned down the sweetness a tad and make the taste more interesting. It reminded me of how smoke tones down the sweetness of scotch.

Definitely going to try smoking coffee immediately after my next roast.

 

[illini40]

I cheated, because I wanted to experiment before roasting, then smoking, a pound of coffee.

When pour-over brewing my coffee this morning, I put 4 drops of Wright's Liquid Smoke (Hickory) in my 20 oz mug of Ethiopian Sidama - Bensa Segra Farm roast. I basically abhor Wright's for cooking. No telling how long that bottle's been in my fridge. The result, though, was favorable. Like I mentioned above, the Ethiopian was sweet and simple, lacking complexity. The smoke toned down the sweetness a tad and make the taste more interesting. It reminded me of how smoke tones down the sweetness of scotch.

Definitely going to try smoking coffee immediately after my next roast.

noboundaries - I just came across this thread, after corresponding with you on the other coffee roasting thread.

Did you ever try smoking any beans? I’m assuming cold smoking beans that are already roasted?

Thanks again!

 

[noboundaries]

I have not tried smoking beans yet, either hot or cold. I've only been buying beans I enjoy so I haven't experimented lately.

Recently I bought some inexpensive green beans from El Salvador, Tanzania, and Peru. I figured if I didn't like the roast results I could experiment with them. The El Salvador bean roasted up nicely so I won't be using it. Tanzania is next to try.

 

[noboundaries]

You know what, I'm at the tail end of some Ethiopian beans that were roasted three weeks ago, so they are borderline no different than storebought beans. I think I'll cold smoke some as soon as this rain passes.

 

[illini40]

You know what, I'm at the tail end of some Ethiopian beans that were roasted three weeks ago, so they are borderline no different than storebought beans. I think I'll cold smoke some as soon as this rain passes.

Please keep me posted on how the smoke experiment turns out.

Am I also following that after 3 weeks or so, you can tell no difference or advantage of your own roasted beans versus store bought?

 

[noboundaries]

Am I also following that after 3 weeks or so, you can tell no difference or advantage of your own roasted beans versus store bought?

Freshly roasted beans practically boil as hot water is added to start the brew as they release their CO2 gasses. That's called the "bloom." Those gases carry the flavors into the hot water, and the flavors taste sharp and "alive" when you sip the coffee.

Freshly roasted beans last about three weeks before they go "flat." By then they've off-gassed their CO2, kind of like a soda does after it has been opened. The flavors are still there, but taste more muted or muddy. The bloom changes from big bubbles to smaller bubbles to practically no bubbles the older the bean is since it was roasted.

Freshly roasted beans, once ground, go flat in about 12 hours. That's why you only grind what you need for your morning brew. When I give roasted coffee as gifts, I always ask if the recipient has a coffee grinder. If they do, they get freshly roasted, whole beans. If not, I grind it for them and know they won't recognize the difference, except the base flavors will be better than what they are buying at Costco, Starbucks, the grocery store, etc.

Store bought beans will have a "sell by" or "best by" date, and it can be up to a year or more down the road. Those beans will be flat as heck. Rarely will you find a "roasted on" date on a commercial package. The exception is local commercial roasters. They usually have a "roasted on" date printed on the package.

Older beans are good for making cold brew and adding extras to your coffee, like Irish cream.

Roasting coffee is like smoking meat. When I first started smoking, I couldn't taste the difference between the different woods. As my experience developed, I could taste if something was smoked with hickory, apple, mesquite, oak, etc. The same kind of thing happens with roasting coffee. Your taste buds slowly develop the distinction between freshly roasted and older coffee. I notice it when I visit friends who throw on a pot of coffee made from store bought beans. Not only were the beans probably sourced from commercial, high volume, mechanized farms in Columbia or Vietnam, they are beans modified to grow fast, typically at lower altitudes. The coffee lacks character, but still tastes fine with Irish cream or whiskey!

 

[Worker62]

I must admit that I'm with Brew on this. You can tell me all day long it's a bad idea, but chances are I'm gonna have to find out for myself. It's the "mad scientist" in me that makes me do these crazy smokes. I have plans to cold smoke mango flesh and make a salsa with it, but that's another thread.

p.s. I'm still gonna try this and Harry you do understand I am talking about COLD smoking, not roasting? I will not burn the beans with a cold smoke. I'm also going to grind some cinnamon into my dust for the cold smoke. I'm hard headed what can I say.

I smoked some good quality fair trade coffee, already ground on a cookie sheet, and smoked with applewood for about 10-15 minutes, far far away from the heat. Since I wasn’t trying to re-roast the beans, and it came out fabulous! I too am hard headed and have to learn for myself. I am certain that the naysayers are correct if you smoke over direct heat, but cold/cool smoking over applewood worked perfectly.

 

[Jersey Jimbo]

So I know its mainly adding the smoke flavor to beans, but can you use say a coffee filter and put some fresh coffee grinds in it and cold smoke it like you do seasonings and cheeses and start with say 10 minutes and go longer to adjust to your taste or this does not work, thanks
Jim

 

[noboundaries]

So I know its mainly adding the smoke flavor to beans, but can you use say a coffee filter and put some fresh coffee grinds in it and cold smoke it like you do seasonings and cheeses and start with say 10 minutes and go longer to adjust to your taste or this does not work, thanks
Jim

Give it a shot and let us know how it works. No reason not to try.

 

[Jersey Jimbo]

Give it a shot and let us know how it works. No reason not to try.

ok doing some smoked coffee grinds now will try 10 mins 15 mins and 20 mins and check for taste I prefer and then see if more or last time is needed I did single serving sizes in grinds, 10, 15, 20 smoke taste was overpowering so I mixed each group with 3 single serving sizes. so it made 4 cups this turned out better a nice smoke taste, not overwhelming the 15 min tastes the best to me but to each his own.

 

[ArgyleBill]

A chef I work with recently went to Texas and visited some BBQ joints. She tried mesquite smoked coffee and said it was so good she's considering going back to Texas just for the coffee. I mentioned this to someone else I work with who does a lot of smoking and he said that he's tried it before and it's really good. I just don't know how to achieve it. He said that it's really good to drink, or you can grind it up and add it to chocolate, or butter and make a paste with it. My thoughts were also making coffee rubs or a wet rub with the beans. I have several recipes for coffee rubs for beef.

I'm definitely going to look into this some more and try to figure it out. I'll try either cold smoking some beans, or getting a light roast and doing a brief smoke. apparently 1 hour was too long so maybe start with a half hour and see how it goes. I'll update if I'm successful

She might have tried 'Freshly Roasted and Brewed Mesquite Coffee' made from freshly roasted, whole mesquite pods. Pods are picked from the mesquite tree itself, They have a slightly sweet taste and the way the pods smell are like cookies as they're roasting. Check recipe at https://www.thefrayedapron.com/mesquite-bean-coffee/

 

[noboundaries]

I'm glad this thread popped up again. I've got a Peruvian coffee that I was thinking of roasting for one of my wife's coworkers. The problem is my current roasting setup (collander with metal lid inside a stainless Dutch oven with a lid over a propane stove) doesn't have any access for smoke. BUT, I could toss some wood chips or pellets in the DO near the end of the roast to see if that would work.

Hmmm.

 

[ArgyleBill]

I'm glad this thread popped up again. I've got a Peruvian coffee that I was thinking of roasting for one of my wife's coworkers. The problem is my current roasting setup (collander with metal lid inside a stainless Dutch oven with a lid over a propane stove) doesn't have any access for smoke. BUT, I could toss some wood chips or pellets in the DO near the end of the roast to see if that would work.

Hmmm.

Try using a stainless steel mesh sink strainer as mentioned in this link:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...k-strainer-as-a-fire-box.322534/#post-2451383 in your colander, as a thought.

 

[paulgeorge]

A chef I work with recently went to Texas and visited some BBQ joints. She tried mesquite smoked coffee and said it was so good she's considering going back to Texas just for the coffee. I mentioned this to someone else I work with who does a lot of smoking and he said that he's tried it before and it's really good. I just don't know how to achieve it. He said that it's really good to drink, or you can grind it up and add it to chocolate, or butter and make a paste with it. My thoughts were also making coffee rubs or a wet rub with the beans. I have several recipes for coffee rubs for beef.

I'm definitely going to look into this some more and try to figure it out. I'll try either cold smoking some beans, or getting a light roast and doing a brief smoke. apparently 1 hour was too long so maybe start with a half hour and see how it goes Starbucks cake pop price. I'll update if I'm successful

That’s spot on. Coffee before a run is common and can enhance energy and focus. The quick carbs from something small—like a cake pop (even if the Starbucks cake pop price makes you pause)—can give just enough fuel without weighing you down. Alternatives like green tea or a banana are great if you’re sensitive to caffeine or want something gentler. It's all about what works best for your body.