Roast Your Own Coffee

I'm excited to present another guest author today!

Steve is an urban homesteader friend of mine and has tried something I thought was a great idea. Steve is roasting coffee in small batches for his own use.  Did you know you could do that? Roast coffee yourself? Honestly, the thought never occurred to me, but gosh, I'm excited to try it now!  

Here is the article he graciously wrote to describe his experience. Thank you, Steve!

                Not long ago at dinner the topic of coffee came up. It seems that due to the drought in South America we can expect coffee prices to rise as much as 25% some time in 2014. And we all know that once the prices rise on anything, rarely will we see them come back down to what we're used to. Add to that my favorite place to buy fresh roasted coffee decided to stop roasting in house and instead started having it shipped in. This got me to thinking about roasting my own coffee, I mean how hard can it be...right?

                The first commercial coffee roasting machine came out in the 1940's, that means every bean roasted up until then was done by hand. Out on a cattle drive over an open fire to the fanciest hotels they roasted by hand. So like everything I'm interested in, I started researching.  And truth told I found that there is no real mystery to roasting coffee, no double top secret recipes and no high priced equipment required. With a few necessities and some patience it's possible to roast fantastic coffee at home and for a fraction of the cost.

                First let's talk beans. Un-roasted coffee beans (actually they are seeds) 

 are pale-greenish in color. They are small, hard and there is a huge variety out there from every continent. Un-roasted or green coffee beans are cheap and can be stored for several months. You can find hundreds of places to buy green coffee beans online for prices that range anywhere from $5.00 per lb for Sumatra to as high as $15.00 per lb for Jamaican Blue. I found a local place here in Albuquerque that sells green coffee beans from all over the world for $6 per lb. You can find beans from all sorts of exotic places and you can buy directly from small farmers as opposed to buying from big business. The sky is the limit on what type of bean you roast, try beans from different continents and see how different they are.

 Next let's talk about roasting the beans. Understand there are all sorts of different ways people roast coffee, all you need is high even heat and a way to keep the beans moving. You can roast in a frying pan on the stove, in a hot air popcorn popper, a Wok,  in the oven and use a hot air gun. My first attempt was on the stove in a skillet. Seemed simple, you turn on the burner, pour in the beans and stirring like crazy. Let me stop here and give the guys a friendly warning. Before deciding you're going to roast coffee in your wife's skillet, on her stove and in her kitchen you may want to warn her ahead of time. Walking in on a smoke filled kitchen, smelling to high heaven with bits of chaff floating in the air....well let's just say I get myself in the darndest messes.

So...how did it come out? Actually not bad at all. What I did notice was how unevenly the beans roasted.

Some were very dark where others were a light tan. This was a result of two things, first my heat was too high and second I did not stir the beans often enough to get an even roast. This method would clearly take some time to get good at so I started looking at other options. After a good bit of consideration here's the method I settled on. 

The Whirley Pop popcorn popper! 

Remember those? It's the perfect set-up for roasting coffee. The pan is large, has a lid which helps with even heat and the wire rotating inside keeps the beans moving which results in a much more even roast

Some information on what's happening when you roast a coffee bean. The bean goes through several stages and color changes. One of the best explanations I have found is at the following link 

Sweet Maria's How to Get Started Roasting Coffee

Here's how I do it:

Turn on stove and get the Whirley Pop hot, you're looking for a temp of between 375 and 400 to start. You will notice in the pic I added a thermometer to the Whirley Pop. 

This is something you'll want to consider to help better manage the heat at first. After roasting several batches I roast now by sight and sound.

Once the Whirley Pop is good and hot, pour in the beans. I found 8 oz. to be a good amount to roast at one time and still get an even roast. Now Crank, Look and Listen!

The beans will begin to change color, turning yellow, then light tan and eventually depending on the roast very dark. Keep that handle cranking, as the beans get hotter the window of time between a good tasting roast and charcoal gets smaller and smaller.

Listen for what is known as the "First Crack", this is a distinct sound made by the bean as the internal temperature rises and causes the water and oils to escape. It will sound much like a kernel of corn popping, or maybe the sound of a toothpick snapping in two. And just like when you pop popcorn you're listening for when most of the popping stops.

At the moment of First Crack the bean is considered roasted and you could stop here. This would be a very light roast, almost like tea. Most of us however prefer a darker roast so continue to roast the beans, again cranking continuously. You are now listening for the "Second Crack". I have found this to be more subtle than the first crack, almost like the sound Rice Krispies makes when you first pour milk on it. At the point of second crack you are well on your way to a dark roast. I like a dark roast so this is where I usually think about stopping depending on the color of the beans. 

Once you reach the roast you're looking for remove the beans immediately from the Whirley Pop and cool them, this will keep the hot beans from continuing to roast. I use two colanders and pour the beans back and forth between them. You will also have the roasted exterior of the bean known as the chaff floating around as you do this. Blow on the beans as you cool them and the chaff will float away.

Now here's the main point. Somewhere between the first and second crack is the place where your favorite roast sits. Nobody else knows where it's at and the only way you're going to find it is through experience. It will only take you a few roasts to know by the color, smell and sound of the beans that you're at the place that brings you what you think is the best cup of coffee.

A couple final comments. Be aware that this can produce a lot of smoke depending on how dark you roast and it will smell up the kitchen. Open a few windows and you should be fine, better yet move outdoors and roast on a grill or camping stove like I did (ok I was kicked out).

Finally I have given you a cursory explanation of how I roast my coffee, what works for me. I'm sure I left out information that I'll remember later. Roasting coffee is like anything else, there is a wide range of opinions out there. There are also lots of very good resources online that will give you good information and  good ideas on how to roast your own coffee. I encourage you to spend time reading, learning and finding the way that you feel best helps you with what is the freshest cup of coffee you'll ever taste.

God Bless 

This Little Piggie

From time to time, special guest authors will contribute articles to Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

Today's guest is my New Mexico friend Barb. Barb is raising a couple of pigs this year and has agreed to share her experiences with us.  

Living with Pigs!

Yes we live with pigs, not the human kind!

This is our first attempt in raising pigs.  We have bought 2 pigs, one female and one male.  

We bought them on May 5^th and they were 40 days old.  The male was castrated about 4 days before that.  I won’t go into how they castrate them but I know why he is more frightened of humans than the female and I can’t really blame him. 

However we brought them home on a Monday night in a dog crate in the back of the car. I would not suggest that but our truck is broken down and we had to have the windows down all the way home.

We had the stall in the barn all ready for them before we went for them. When I went to take them out of the dog crate I got the scare of my life the male actually tried to bite me and growled so I left them for a while to let them get used to their new surroundings.  They did not come out of the crate so I had to tip it up for them to come out.  Of course they ran into the corner where I had the heat lamp set up. We had shavings and everything for them so they were very cozy.

I made them some mash that consists of hog feed and water since they are so young.  My husband made a 55 gallon barrel with water in it with a metal nipple on it for them to drink from as hogs will knock over their water all the time.  Presently they have both a water bucket and the barrel to drink from as they as still too little to knock over their water.

They next day I stayed in the stall most of the day with them just doing things and having them get used to me.  Little by little they have come around.  I can now pet them and feed them food from my hands and they climb on me. 

They are now 46 days old and can go out in their outside pen also, we made the pen with cattle panels and buried them 6 inches in the ground as hogs like to borrow underneath so hopefully that will keep them. 

I have made a mud hole for them and put sunscreen on them in the morning so they don’t get sunburned.  They can be outside or in their stall out of the sun.

They have grown so much in the 1^st 6 days we have had them I am told they grown 1.5 pounds a day.  The one thing I have found interesting about them is when they sleep they really sleep.  I went in one morning and they were sound asleep and I petted them and they didn’t move but they were breathing.  I was very worried that something was wrong with them but they were fine.   

It will be hard for me when the time comes for them to go to slaughter but I know that is why we got them and just to know that they will have a wonderful life while they are with us.

I will update next month on their progress.

Sprouts

The baby peeps are huge!  

And cute!  

But, meanwhile back at the ranch...

My experiment with sprouting sunflower seeds for the Team was mostly a success. The seeds sprouted nicely.  

But as far as the Team is concerned, the jury is still out on how yummy the sprouts are. They love sunflower seeds but are now disconcerted by the things growing out of them. They try to separate sprout from seed and only eat the seed part. Hopefully, they'll get it figured out. 

(UPDATE: they eventually ate all of the sprouts. So I guess they decided it tasted "yummy".

Sprouting is a very efficient way to grow food for the Team. One pound of sunflower seeds yields two to three pounds of sprouts in about a week. Not a bad return!

I use this old tub that used to have a mineral supplement for the horses as my sprouting container.  

Soak the seeds overnight, then drain off the water.  

Cover the wet seeds with something...newspaper or a lid. Then check it every few days to see if it's looking dry. If so, add enough water to keep the seeds moist but not so much water that the seeds are floating.

When the sprouts are about an inch long you can feed them to the chickens. 

Or, you can uncover them and put them in a sunny place for another few days. This will allow the sprouts to grow bigger and get green. 

If temperatures are chilly, the seeds take a lot longer to sprout. Be patient! 

One note of caution, I have heard that some sunflower seed has been treated with something that prevents sprouting. I think that's the variety used in bird feeders. Just to be certain, read the bag before you buy any that you intend to sprout.

Have you tried sprouting seeds to feed to your flock? What seeds? How did it turn out?

Let's Get Growing!

Whew!  Busy couple of days here. I'm almost afraid to jinx it by saying it, but I think spring is here.

Some wildflowers are blooming.

The hummingbirds are back. Haven't been able to catch them in a photo, though.

Last year on May 1, the hummingbirds were probably regretting being here. Poor things had to weather a late-season blizzard.

Things are sprouting in the garden.

Garlic

Red onions

Spinach

Lettuce

Kale

Garlic Chives

Iris

Hollyhocks

Peony

Johnny Jump Ups

And of course these.....

It's about four weeks until the last spring frost, and time to start planting.  This weekend, I put in parsnips, tatsoi, carrots,  radishes, green onions, and beets plus more lettuce and spinach.

The gardening method I use, Square Foot Gardening, allows you to plant almost unbelievable amounts in very small spaces. It's because the soilless mix that's used instead of dirt is chock full of nutrients and you do not plant in rows.

This is one of my beds with the square foot grid as a planting guide.

For example, in one square foot of garden space, you plant 16 carrots. Here's a square foot ready for carrot seeds.

One square foot will grow 9 parsnips. Or 9 beets.  I know what you're thinking...that's way too crowded. Trust me. It's not. Square Foot Gardening is a proven method and the plant density is for real!  

If you are curious about Square Foot Gardening, here is a link to the official website.

Square Foot Gardening


Click here for the "Cliff Notes" summary of what Square Foot Gardening is all about.

What is Square Foot Gardening?

A simple internet search will provide many more informative sites, too.  If you have a four foot by four foot space to build a raised garden bed, you will be able to grow more veggies in it than you ever thought possible!

Here is my indoor sprouting operation. 

There are odd reflections in the photo because I'm using foil to reflect the grow lights.

I've planted yellow pear tomatoes, Romanesco broccoli, mini red bell peppers, sage, dill, oregano, basil, cilantro, and St. John's Wort.  These will all go outside in the garden around the middle of May, which is after the danger of any frosts.

At the beginning of May, I'll do the main outdoor planting which will include two kinds of sweet corn, eggplant, two more types of tomato, cucumbers, plus a variety of herbs, beans and squash.

Between now and then I need to build trellises for the beans and squash (trying squash vertically this year) and finish the drip irrigation system.   

Tonight, the forecast is for rain. Not snow. Hooray! First time in 2014 that the precipitation will fall as a liquid and not snow!

How is your garden coming along? I'd love it if you'd share photos! Be sure to tell us where you are located.