General Coffee Questions
How much coffee do I use per "cup?"
Assuming a 4 oz. cup, a good starting point would be 5-6 grams.
http://www.blackbearcoffee.com/Brewing%20Ratio%20Charts.htm
What are the best methods to store greens?
Generally, in a cool dry place, either in a vented plastic bag (pinholes ok) or breathable sack (e.g. cotton, burlap)
Vaccuum Bag Storage: Ideally greens stored in a humidity and temperature controlled environment. If the storage environment is dryer or higher humidity than the moisture content of the beans, the beans may dry out or gain excessive moisture. Vacuum bag sealing greens is a viable option to keep their moisture content stable and eliminate risk of the greens absorbing foreign odors.
Freezing Greens: Recent commercial and home testing suggests that hermetically sealing and freezing greens maintains freshness longer than current more traditional greens storage methods, especially maintaining delicate acidity longer.
See also http://www.sweetmarias.com/greenstorage.html
What are the best methods for storing roasted coffee?
Ideally, roasted coffee should not be stored for a long time. After its initial rest, any airtight container works. Glass container usually preferred because less chance of residual oils from previous roasts after cleaning. They should be stored out of direct sunlight. However, here are some ways people have attempted to improve on simplicity:
Some wouldn't necessarily say storage methods other than sitting open exposed to oxidization during rest are to improve on "simplicity". Question, what does "after initial rest" mean? How long a rest before air tight sealing? Many people store their roasts immediately after cooling in air tight containers. Some with lid loose for the first 12 to 24 hours others immediately sealed tight. Freshly roasted beans give off CO2 and cause pressure within a sealed container, the darker the roast the more off gasing. Leaving the lid loose allows expanding gases to escape. If sealed tight simply burp the container daily or so. Some have expressed concerns the container might explode though no actual reports of mason jars exploding. Dome lids bulge yes, but not jar exploding. The reason for air tight container is to keep out oxygen. CO2 is outgassed from the roast and CO2 is heavier than Oxygen. As the CO2 fills the space surrounding the beans it pushes the oxygen up away from the beans. Some help reduce the initial oxygen level from the beginning by vacuum sealing the mason jar as soon as the fresh roasted and cooled beans go in the jar.
One-way Valve Bags: Some people use valve bags instead of a jar or other air tight container. The one-way valve is designed to allow gases to escape but not let (additional) oxygen in. These type bags are great for sharing your home roast but some believe not ideal for home use. Bags are harder to clean than jars for reusing. Also generally speaking the zip lock is not a true airtight seal and usually leaks a bit. When used to give/sell home roast to others many heat seal the bags. Some additionally vacuum the heat sealed valve bag.
Sivetz Freezing Method: Sivetz is a roasting expert believes coffee should ideally be vaccuum-sealed and deep-frozen IMMEDIATELY after roasting. Sivetz claims immediate freezing prevents the escape of volitile compounds (aldehydes) which can affect flavor. Vaccuum-sealing prevents residual oxygen content from affecting bean flavor (USPTO Patent #6514522 )
It should be noted that Mr. Sivetz never proposed this storage method as superior to or a replacement for buying fresh roast a couple times a week from an Artisan Roaster or home roasting. But rather as a superior storage method to common methods of coffee storage used in commercial mass production and distribution.
Home Freezing Method: Hermetically sealed and frozen. While a home freezer usually won't be as low a temperature as proposed by Mr. Sivetz it will still greatly arrest staling. Test it yourself and see the results. Great way to have home roast waiting returning from a trip or an emergency supply in the freezer when "life" gets in the way of roasting. Have tested vac bagged and frozen Monkey Espresso Blend rested 10 days before freezing. Over 6 months later pulls shots 90% crema, stale coffee can't do that. Tasted excellent too, not as good as 5 or 6 days rest but not stale either. Tom Owens once commented he'd accidentally left a valve bag of Mexican in the freezer for 6 months. He was surprised how good it was.
NOTE: Whoever previously deleted the word "hermetically" above don't. That is the precise term and verbiage used by Michael Sivetz if you'd bother to check and or check the dictionary for the meaning. If you wish to rebut the statement write you own and leave it alone.
http://www.sivetzcoffee.com/newsletter/PackagingJan01.htm
What's the difference between dry process and wet process?
See #6 half way down the page:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.reference.html
What do all these acronyms mean?
DP = Dry Process, as opposed to WP = Wet Process
C = City
C+ = City plus
FC = Full City
FC+ = Full City Plus
SM+ = Solis Maestro Plus
HX = Heat Exchaner
KMB = Krups Moka Brew
a.c = alt.coffee, a Usenet forum
Another list of coffee & roasting acronyms:
http://www.homeroaster.com/acronyms.html
What common home roasting appliances are there?
Sweet Marias sells a variety of prebuilt home roasting appliances, including: Hottop, GeneCafe, iRoast, Z&D, FreshRoast, The Behmor and the Stovetop Popper.
In addition to that, there are a variety of popular home-grown roasting methods including: AirPopper, HG/DB, SC/TO, RKDrum, CCR, among others.
Why do I need a variac?
You don't need one neccessarily, but it can help you attain better temperature control over your roasts. Popcorn poppers for instance roast too fast for some folks, a variac allows lowering the voltage to the popper thereby lowering the temperature that the roaster generates and lengthening the roast.
In addition to profile control potential, all electric roasters are affected by voltage variations. A variac can assure you proper voltage.
Why should I have dumped before the rolling second crack?
The origin characteristic of coffee starts to go away quickly during a rolling second crack and is on its way to being burnt. Many homeroasters prefer lighter roasts to achieve more distinct flavors with their coffees.
What is a bloom?
Wasn't he an elf in Lord of the Rings or something? Could be, but in the coffee world it is the "head" that occurs when just off boiling water mixes with ground coffee. Generally speaking the fresher the coffee the greater the bloom.
What month(s) should I look for coffee from my favorite region?
http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.prod.timetable.shtml
What is the difference between the different varieties of coffee plant?
Robusta has a higher caffeine content and is grown at typically lower elevations and is suited well to mass coffee production. Arabica has less caffeine and is therefore less bitter, but harder to grow. Most gourmet coffee is arabica, although quality robustas are gaining popularity, especially in blends.
(with the more detailed & informative added links below I believe the above could be eliminated in it's entirety but will leave it to up the the original poster)
Here's a good detailed overview of the different species Arabica & Canephora (trade named Robusta):
http://home.howstuffworks.com/coffee3.htm
Scroll down to #9 to find Tom discussing different Arabica varieties (cultivars) a bit.
http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.reference.html
And Tom discussing Robusta:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.robusta.html
What does first crack look like, smell like, sound like? What is the temperature of the bean?
http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasting-VisualGuideV2.html
Why does my Ethiopian always roast unevenly, yet taste wonderful?
Your Ethiopian is likely a dry process coffee. Dry process coffees tend to roast less evenly than wet process coffees. However not all Ethiopian coffees are dry processed and not all dry processed coffees are Ethiopian.
What do goats have to do with coffee history?
http://www.cybercoffee.com.au/history.html
Why should I homeroast?
Because of the savings, the experience, and most importantly - because it tastes better than anything you can buy, pretty much.
Here's one home roasters very good in depth reasons:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/eds.article.html
How long should beans rest after roasting?
While the beans are technically drinkable immediately after they've cooled, idealy they should rest for a minimum of 12 hours. Many people wait 24-36 hours after roasting, and for some espresso-intended beans a 3-5 day wait is not unheard of.
Why would Starbucks burn their coffee?
Some people think its because it masks the stale flavor of old beans. Others say its because they can get more consistent, if degraded, flavor. Some people say homeroasters like "weak" coffee. Some would place Starbuck's propensity for darker roasts in a historical context based on their origins. Shrug.
And others would say they do it because people like it, since so many people actually drink Starbucks. Think about it this way: People like things char-broiled, and others like marshmallows that are completely charred. It's preference. I think you get the idea.
And still others would say it's because most people have never experienced good espresso or espresso based beverages and drink mediocre at best espresso shots heavily diluted with milk and sugar and flavorings in blissful convenient one on almost every corner ignorance. Think about it this way: *$ sells more milk than espresso. OTH would buying *$ whole bean for home use, even if roasted very dark and with their "best if used by dates" more than a year away, be superior to canned pre-ground? Likely yes. Doesn't mean it's good just that there's worse out there. Even Foulgers isn't foul to everyone's taste buds!
Which espresso machine is the right one for me?
http://home-barista.com/espresso-guide.html
Espresso Machines 101 http://home-barista.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=368
Espresso Machines 201 http://home-barista.com/hx-love.html#_heatExchangers
Which brewing method is right for me?
If you are a newbie, probably a french press or manual drip with thermometer assistance. Otherwise, whichever method makes coffee you enjoy is the way to go.
Are all roasters expensive?
No, you can roast in a hot-air popper, or a skillet, or in a dog bowl. Each method has its benefits - but this hobby has a very low entry fee.
If I want to roast a couple pounds, do I then need a real roaster?
Trick question! Real roasters are any roasters that roast real coffee. Poppers qualify. You can roast up to 3 lb in a skillet on a side burner of your BBQ.
A relatively high volume roaster is an SC/TO , which can do up to one pound at a time pretty reliably.
Roasting Basics by Tom:
http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.html
What are some other coffee FAQs and resources I can read about?
Sweet Maria's Coffee Library: http://www.sweetmarias.com/articles.shtml
The Coffee Faq
Coffee Faq (sans \"The\")
How many cups of coffee is it safe to drink?
http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/
Wiki Questions
| This section is entirely made up and is in the process of being developed more thoroughly. Go to WikiRulesDebate to contribute to the discussion. |
What is the purpose of this Wiki?
The purpose of this Wiki is to document frequently asked questions and answers to common questions asked on the Sweet Maria's homeroast email list. Furthermore, it is an attempt for the community of the same to form this document as a community effort. This FAQ is intended to be an extension of a list and representitive of the Sweet Maria's homeroast list community at large./editorial.guidelines.txt
What are the editorial guidelines?
Here are some general rules that should be followed when creating entries:
- Write entries in the third person.
- Minimize the use of abbreviations. If one is needed, it should be defined once on a per entry basis and subseqeuenty used like so: The Stir Crazy Turbo Oven (SC/TO) is a great machine. The SC/TO is cheap.
- A passive voice should be avoided. Use an active voice.
- Try to keep entries brief and to the point. The active voice helps here.
- If possible, avoid inflammatory entries. If an important topic is inflammatory, do your best to provide both sides of the issue.
- Do your best to keep entries organized as they grow in length. Bullets or headings can be useful in this regard.
- Observe as best you can the rules for technical writing of that which you are aware.
Do I have to follow the editorial guidelines?
No, but at least try. If you mess up, hopefully someone will notice and fix it.
Are there any rules I should never break?
Since this Wiki references the Sweet Marias name, entries should be in accorance with the Sweet Marias homeroast list terms of service/user agreement.
Someone revised my entry and I'm offended.
They probably didn't mean to offend you. Assume that everyone is trying to impove the site. Take the time to try and understand why they did what they did and attempt a compromise. If you believe the edit was in error or abusive, you can put it back the way it was originally as a last resort.
I want to add a question.
Go for it.
I think the Wiki questions are disorganized.
This happens. If you have time, attempt to break the questions into general areas to aid organization. If a topic is big enough, a separate page can be created. Make sure the parent page clearly references it so the information is not lost. The easiest way to create a page is to make a link (use "camel caps" or enclose a word in brackets) and then click on it. See the Wiki style guide for more.
I think an entry is redudant. What do I do?
Go ahead and fix it. But be careful. Make sure you understand the issue fully. If you are sure, then delete/combine/merge the entries into one.
Why should people be allowed to edit my entries?
Good question. This is a difficult topic to address. The short answer is its a design choice. The long answer is that by encouraging people to edit each other's entries, the entries themselves can be improved over time, rather than simply growing in length with a multitude of divergent opinions. The entries should fairly summarize everyone's opinion who has decided to contribute, and should do so in a responsible way. Therefore, if you have an opinion, try not to just state it, but explain your reasoning behind it. This helps people understand your point of view and makes your entry more resilient to editorial obviation.
I want to add something, but I don't understand the gobbletygook on the edit page.
Here is an overview of the Wiki language: Wiki Style Links
What is the site password?
Nine Characters. Awesome homeroast business team.
Am I allowed to change stuff?
Yes. The site tracks changes. Don't worry. Facts should be edited for correctness. Answers may be edited for clarity, brevity, grammar, and style. However, do not delete someone else's opinion in the FAQ. If you disagree with opinions, edit the entry to include your perspective, keeping the discussion neutral.
Also, if you see an opportunity to restructure table of contents as the Wiki grows to improve organization, go for it!
Can I try stuff first?
Yeah, sure. Use the SandBox.
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