[TheForge] Coffee roaster (Was: Moloch...)

[Bob Brashear]

Mike Spencer wrote:

> 
> There's a book I read years ago -- The Penny Universities: A History
> of the Coffee Houses -- which alleged that the very best coffee, what
> they referred to as "hotel coffee", was achieved by aging the green
> beans for up to ten years.  

Green beans last little more than a year. Some are "aged" maybe up to 
two years. They are typically the robusta variety used to enhance crema 
development in espresso.

> Sorry Aubrey, but it's dark roast for me all the way, with occasional
> digressions into espresso.  

Dark roast destroys the origin flavors of the bean. A good Ethipoia 
Harar will have a blueberry finish to the cup.

> 
> ObSmithing: 
> 
> I can't imagine why y'all clever blacksmiths are debating the merits
> of various moderny consumer-grade gas and electric kitchen appliances
> for roasting coffee.  I once saw a blacksmith-made roaster.  It
> consisted of:
> 
>    +  a sheet iron bucket with a forged re-inforcing rim and
>       supports for the roaster itself, similar to a hand-cranked iced
>       cream maker, and
> 
>    +  a raised sheet iron sphere with trunnions at the poles and a
>       hatch on the equator.  You put the beans into the globe, dogged
>       the hatch, put a shovelful of coals from the stove or fireplace
>       into the bucket, plunked the globe into the supports on the
>       bucket and turned the crank for a while, presumably until it
>       smelled right.
> 
> I forget if the bucket had air inlet holes near the bottom or not.  I
> wish I'd had a camera but I didn't and I've forgotten where I saw it.

That's interesting! There are some people making roasting containers for 
the BBQ grills. The biggest difficulty is cooling the beans after the 
roast. Gotta take the temp down fast or you fly past your roast level. 
Then again, I've done some wonderful Yemens on a cast iron skillet over 
a camp fire.

Sorry. Back to smithing.

Bob