Who roasts their own coffee on their BBQ or Grill?

[Hockeydudde]

Funny this came up. I just roasted a Sumatra. Usually Sumatra tastes like diapers to me, so was planning to try this pepper trick. But miraculously, I actually like this Sumatra. First time for me.
Might still try it, i just like coffee so much. Hard to convince myself to add anything to it.

 

[fltsfshr]

Sumatra Blue Lintong is one of my favorites.

 

[bill1]

Doubled the peppercorns (heaping half TSP) in my grinder this AM per Ray's latest suggestion. This gave the taste profile I like from (a lot less) fine ground pepper. As noted before, my grinder can't grind pepper as fine as coffee. Can't say it tasted "better" as fresher...not at all like the difference from using fresh-ground pepper in a fresh salad. Might try worse-case and compare with fine ground pepper I've left spread out on a sheet uncovered for a week and see if nature's packaging of the peppercorn is worth it for hot and wet applications like coffee.

 

[fltsfshr]

Almonds work with coffee as does 24% cocoa butter Dutch Cocoa and you have Jamocha Almond add a little Coconut & you've got Almond Joy. Roast the almonds with it roll the cocoa on .

Apple juice and Cinnamon will give you Apple pie coffee. Spray apple juice concentrate on the beans as they fall into the cooling tray and roll them in cinnamon and sugar and you have Apple Pie coffee.

Mexican Vanilla is also fun to play with.

 

[BigBrisketHookah]

I love coffee, have since I was a kid delivering papers early mornings. Grew up on Folgers, then fell in love with coffee overseas when in the Navy. I've been searching for that perfect cup ever since, but for some reason I never considered roasting my own beans. I was perfectly happy buying roasted beans at the grocery store and grinding them for use.

Thanks to hillbillyjim and ljroller in a thread called Smoked Coffee, the seed of roasting my own beans was planted between my ears. I had no desire to buy an expensive coffee roaster, so I started watching YouTube videos about roasting coffee beans in a frying pan, plus dozens of other videos about home roasting coffee. Due to smoke and chaff, this is something you want to do outside. My gasser side burner was perfect.

All that was needed to home roast coffee was any type of frying pan, an infrared thermometer (and this isn't essential), something to stir the beans while roasting, a timer, and something to cool the beans quickly when they are done, like a fan and a strainer.

I had everything I needed except the beans. Went online to Amazon and purchased 3 lbs of unroasted, Nicaraguan, Single Ranch, Specialty beans from Primos Coffee Company. Price was $18.99, or $6.33/lb.

I've always liked a darker roast with an oily finish. Extremely dark French and Italian roasts, which I have consumed for years, have an oily finish. Then I learned that's how bad beans are roasted to be sold. I decided to try something just a little lighter with my own roasting. The beans are still dark brown, but not black, and they have a satin finish, not oily.

Roasting process: Preheat the pan to 350F on a gas grill side burner, or over a hot charcoal fire (looking forward to doing the charcoal thing), add the beans to your pan, start the timer, and stir continuously, watching for color changes, listening for 1st crack (popcorn popping sound), second crack (Rice Crispies snap), and the color you want on your beans. If things progress a little too quickly, just lift the pan off the heat and keep stirring.

The majority of the beans should crack between 6-8 minutes, as late as 9-10 minutes. A couple minutes later, the second crack sounds. When you see the color you want, turn off the heat and cool the beans quickly over a fan, putting them in a strainer or colander while you stir the beans. They cool in a couple minutes. Put the cool beans in a Ziplock bag, not completely sealed, and let them outgas CO2 for a few hours (4 to 48, depending who you're listening to). Grind what you need for a cup or pot of coffee, and enjoy.

First roast ever: 10/20/17. 1/2 cup of green beans and a small frying pan. I over heated my pan, scorched the beans, but still ended up with great tasting coffee. Total roasting time was 12 minutes, then another 3 minutes to cool. Beans were inconsistent in color from black to dark brown. Let them offgas for about 18 hours then ground enough for my single cup (12 oz) cone filtered coffee maker. Wow. Later, made an 8 oz cup in one of my three Italian Moka pots (3 cup, 6 cup, 9 cup, but they are espresso cups, like 2 oz each). Unbelievably rich and delicious, even with the scorching issue.

Picture of first roast. You can see the color inconsistency.

View attachment 341761

Second Roast ever, 10/21/17. Went to GoodWill and for $2.88 I purchased a 4" deep by 8" diameter, heavy duty pan and a wooden spatula. The deeper pan stopped me from splashing beans out of the pan while I stirred them. It worked like a charm.

View attachment 341762 View attachment 341763

I prepped everything I thought I'd need, but never used the gloves. I needed them with the frying pan, but not with this deeper pan.

View attachment 341764 View attachment 341765

Added 1 cup of green beans to a properly heated pan (took 1 min 20 seconds to reach 350F), then started stirring. Sorry, didn't get any pics of the beans turning color or cracking off the chaff. Everything happens pretty fast.

View attachment 341766 View attachment 341767 View attachment 341768

Total time on this roast was 15 minutes using this deeper pan and more beans. Result was a much more consistent color and roast. Can't wait to try them tomorrow morning.

View attachment 341769 View attachment 341770

1 cup of green beans weighed 6.25 oz. After roasted, they weighed 5.10 oz and measured almost 1 3/4 cups. Yes, the beans swell when roasted. That amount will last me probably 3 to 4 days. I usually have a 12 oz mug in the morning, and a 3 or 6 cup Moka pot in the early afternoon.

Beans in Ziplock, offgassing.

View attachment 341771

If you love coffee, and you have not tried roasting your own beans, give it a shot. It is SOOOO easy! The difference in taste is amazing.

Thank for hanging in there if you made it this far. Happy Roasting!

Ra

Sorry, but thats a MEGA-NO-GO for me. (but just for me). My Cousin became I'll with a fever after making a Grill Coffee. He's alright now though *knock on applewood*

 

[noboundaries]

Interesting post.

 

[noboundaries]

I haven't made cold brew coffee in years. One of my daughters is visiting this weekend and she brought a bottle of Starbutt's unsweetened cold brew. For comparison's sake, I whipped up a batch of cold brew using Mexican coffee I roasted late last week.

Recipe:
3/4 to 1 cup coarse-ground coffee.
3 to 4 cups cold water.

Place ground coffee in a large Mason jar, pitcher, or French Press.
Slowly add water to wet the coffee.
Stir gently to ensure all the grounds are soaked.
Cover with lid or cling wrap.
Set on counter for 12-18 hours.
Pour thru a fine strainer or coffee filter.
Chill, or
Pour a cup and nuke in MW.

My daughter and I compared the two. Her words: "Wow, the Starbutt's is so one note and has a dirt taste. Yours is complex and rich." Until the comparison, she was happy with the other.

I didn't argue with her assessment, and enjoyed my cup.

 

[bill1]

... I whipped up a batch of cold brew...

My wife makes iced tea this way. You mentioned a microwave oven heating route after the 12-18h slow brew for a hot cup of coffee...have you tried that? How's that compare to the normal pour-over approach? I could imagine more complex flavors could appear in the hot version as well.

Seems appropriate in a forum somewhat dedicated to "low and slow" cooking of meat. I'm thinking of this as Ray's Reverse-Seared approach to coffee.

 

[fltsfshr]

You can't keep cold brew in the fridge for very long as it will develop mold.but you can freeze the concentrate in an ice cube tray. Just add water & microwave..

 

[noboundaries]

A quart of cold brew only lasts maybe three days in my fridge, but it is best right after being brewed, IMO.

For an everyday mug or cup, I prefer pour-over. I might start a 16 oz cold brew if I'm gonna be pressed for time the next morning.

 

[Hockeydudde]

I haven't made cold brew coffee in years. One of my daughters is visiting this weekend and she brought a bottle of Starbutt's unsweetened cold brew. For comparison's sake, I whipped up a batch of cold brew using Mexican coffee I roasted late last week.

Recipe:
3/4 to 1 cup coarse-ground coffee.
3 to 4 cups cold water.

Place ground coffee in a large Mason jar, pitcher, or French Press.
Slowly add water to wet the coffee.
Stir gently to ensure all the grounds are soaked.
Cover with lid or cling wrap.
Set on counter for 12-18 hours.
Pour thru a fine strainer or coffee filter.
Chill, or
Pour a cup and nuke in MW.

My daughter and I compared the two. Her words: "Wow, the Starbutt's is so one note and has a dirt taste. Yours is complex and rich." Until the comparison, she was happy with the other.

I didn't argue with her assessment, and enjoyed my cup.

You ruined Starbucks for her... Blessing or curse, only time will tell, lol.

 

[Hockeydudde]

I had a recent roasting adventure. Last time I ordered beans, they had a natural process robusta. I know of robusta as a high caffeine, cheap commodity coffee, but this was promised to be a high quality offering.
I only had a lb, so roasted it to city+/full city, and gave 1/5 of it to 4 friends.
First cup I thought it was interesting, but the more I drank it, the more I disliked it.
Eventually I realized it tastes like every cheap coffee I ever drank. Couldn't get past it. Fun experiment for $6, but probably won't try it again.

 

[fltsfshr]

Just for fun, here's a pic of my first coffee business. It was a long time ago.