Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Can't beat fresh

Who all roast their own coffee here?
Got into roasting my own about a year ago, using a hotair popcorn popper. Works wll enough doing 1/3-1/2 cup batches of green beans. There truely is a difference in fresh, and beings I don't know how much age is on the the local store's roasted, it has them beat as well. The other good part, one can chamge roast levels and origins, so something different all the time. I usually roast about 3-4 days worth at a time, changing in between.
I get most of my beans from BurmanCoffee.

I just order mine from Boca Java. They roast and ship it same day. I usually get it in 2 days.

I did likewise at first, although not with them. What I found, (and it is highly personally subjective),,,, that for me, I had to buy at least 3 lbs. for it to be somewhat economical with shipping cost. With that, I found that freshness was starting to disipate by the time I got to the end of the second lb..
Hence, is why I don't roast more than 3-5 days worth.
But certainly, it is one of those,,,,,"each to their own" thingys!

I can only drink decaf for medical reasons. My favorite coffee before that was Green Mountain breakfast blend. I used to get it at the supermarket and grind it a pound at a time. I saw a special on the History Channel in Modern Marvels on coffee and it's everything you ever wanted to know. Breakfast blend is the lightest roast, easiest to drink to start the day coffee. The longer you roast coffee, the less I like it. The one thing I was most impressed with was that they said the enemy of coffee is heat. They say percolators destroy coffee, and any restaurant that leaves coffee in pots on hot pads for more than 15 minutes is also ruining the taste of the coffee. They say boiling water and letting it cool to 200 degrees and then using a French press is the best way to enjoy coffee. We have Dunkin Donuts here and sometimes their coffee is good, and sometimes it tastes like they are putting out their cigarettes in it. I always thought it was inconsistency in roasting of the beans. Now, I more likely think it's the time on the burner.

Some good points Rob. Fortunately most grean bean supplier do carry decafs, although not the widest of origins.
I too have heard drip methoods are better with the water in the 190-200 degree range, so that's what I do.
I'm also not a huge fan of the dark French roast,,,, for the most part it is on the verge of being burnt. But once in awhile that smokey flavor is ok. Lighter roast in that City area and lighter, are a little too light for me. A bit too bright and acidic. FullCity to FullCity+ is where I take in most of the time, just to or into the second crack. But the true character of origin, does come out best at the City roast so it seems, just at or after 1st crack. Vienna is dark as I go, when I have an origin I want to bring out the chocolate notes. The Indian Mysore is one of favorites and does well at City to FC, then I also take to FC+/Vienna for also, and that is where I truely like it best.
But like most anything else, it's each to their own. And so it is with all this. Just like our thoughts on presses. For me the French Press is a little too slow with steep time for the coarser gring it requires. One can gring course with the Areopress as well, but one can also do expresso grinds and not have dregs in the cup. But the French Press doe make a good cup, no doubt.
I might have to give some of the decaf a try myself,,, hate missing coffee on mornings when I'm haead out to serious. shooting. I see Burman's has 3 I would try,,,leavingg behind the Indian Monsooned. I tried that in the regular. It's just a little too musty for me.