Coffee Roasting 101
Special event: Coffee Roasting Hack/Workshop!
Thursday 10 October, 7pm, NOISEBRIDGE, Back/Kitchen Area
(fyi No Vegan Hacker)
If you love coffee and you haven't yet tried roasting your own-- you're missing out!
Roasting your own coffee beans is simple, quick, and cheap.
Get high-quality specialty coffee for half of the price that you pay in the store!
Come learn how from Maggie and Dana who have been home-roasting coffee beans for years. Have questions? Email VeganHackerSF at gmail dot com.
We will discuss:
- History of the coffee/ the coffee trade
- Where to get green beans
- Where to get the very, very simple equipment
- Coffee flavors and different types of roasts
- Demonstration of how we roast coffee
- DIY coffee roaster hacks!
We'll provide samples of home-roasted coffee, and our stash of coffee is overflowing so we may also have some spare green beans we can sell.
Noisebridge Coffee Group Buy
We're working out logistics of buying a 75kg sack of green coffee to split! This will enable us to get very high quality coffee at a low cost. Join the Caffeine mailing list for discussion of this and other coffee, tea, and caffeinated goodness.
Equipment
There are many ways to roast coffee. The basic requirements are heat and motion.
A few things that work well:
- cast iron pot and spoon
- heatgun, metal bowl, and spoon
- baking sheet in your oven
- stovetop or electric popcorn popper
- rotating metal drum over a barbeque
Helpful hints
- Though it may be tempting to immediately drink coffee after you roast it, wait a few hours. The taste will improve considerably.
- Coffee roasting can produce a bit of smoke. Make sure the area where you roast is well ventilated or use a fan if you roast indoors.
- A lighter roast will preserve more flavor and character of an individual coffee.
Where to get green coffee
- Bulk purchase from a coffee importer @ Port of SF/Oakland - Most economical, but requires $$, a truck and willingness to move 75kg sacks!
- Your favorite local coffee roaster (many will sell you beans at half the cost of roasted)
- Sweet Maria's - Oakland (you can pickup your order at their warehouse)
- 7 Bridges Cooperative - Santa Cruz, organic homebrew and coffee roasting supplies!
- Green Coffee Buying Club - Semi-structured online coffee buying club.
- Green Coffee Cooperative - Online coffee buying co-op.
- Lions Gate Kona Coffee - Wonderful Kona coffee from a small family farm! (supply is extremely limited this year, due to kona coffee shortage)
- Middle Eastern and Ethiopian Grocery stores!
- Rainbow grocery (they sell green beans in a small jar in one of the bulk isles)
Resources
- Homeroaster.com- Ideas, tips and resources for the home coffee roaster
- Coffee roasting Instructable
- Black Gold - a movie about the coffee industry and an ethiopian farmers co-operative
- Caffeine - noisebridge mailinglist for coffee, tea, club mate and other caffeinated goodness