Skip to main content

Featured Posts

Steak Recipe - How To Make Steak Tender

Steak Recipe - How To Make Steak Tender   You invest a lot of time and money into the steaks for a special occasion and when dinner time comes, they are tough. What happened? How can you cook steaks as tender as your favorite restaurant? The first step to cooking a good steak is to choose the right grade of steak. The top quality beef is graded USDA Prime and commands top prices. USDA Prime grade meats are sold to the restaurant industry and specialty markets and are not as likely to be found at your local grocery chain. The next grade of beef is USDA Choice. USDA Choice is tender, flavorful and only slightly lower in quality than USDA Prime. The meat is well marbled with fat and will be tender and juicy when properly prepared. USDA Choice makes up about 70% of all graded beef and is readily available in your supermarket. USDA Good graded beef is an acceptable grade of beef that has only minimal marbling of fat. It is leaner, but may not be as tender as USDA Prime or Choice. Next, ...

How To Select A Coffee Roaster


How To Select A Coffee Roaster

If you have decided to roast your own coffee then your first port of call will be to consider how to select a coffee roaster that is right for you. This decision is probably one of the hardest coffee-related choices youll have to make theres nothing worse than buying the wrong kind of roaster for your needs.

Were going to be primarily looking at automated custom coffee bean roasters for the purposes of this article. But, its worth noting that you can roast your own coffee beans fresh at home without having to buy a roasting machine.

It is possible to roast beans in or on the stove, on a barbeque or fire or even, sometimes, in a popcorn popper. But, if you take your home roasting seriously and want some help with the process (the do it yourself approach can take a lot more time and effort) then a proper roasting machine may be your best option.

So, why do people roast their own beans at home? Well, its basically all about freshness and the quality of the roast you will ultimately get. If you buy green coffee beans i.e. beans that are unroasted you can simply roast them at home when you need to use them in batches so theyll be ultra fresh. Green coffee beans are cheaper and last longer than ready roasted beans into the bargain.

The ability to roast your own beans is a desirable must with many coffee aficionados you can do away with stale coffee, get the level of roast you want when and where you want it and save yourself some money into the bargain!

In very simple terms there are two main types of machine to consider when youre deciding how to select a coffee roaster which are Fluid Bed/Air Roasters and Drum Roasters.

Fluid Bed/Air Roasters

If you want to roast your own coffee beans at home then the first thing you should look at is getting hold of a standard fluid bed based roaster. These machines are small, can be compact and are primarily designed for small-medium home use. So, they will roast your beans for you fairly quickly and with minimal fuss you dont have to stand over them for example, as you would if you were home roasting on the stove top.

These kinds of roasters kind of work like popcorn makers in that they use hot air during the roast process. You can see how the roast is progressing in most cases so you can control it more effectively and you will sometimes also be given pre-set roasts to choose from in any case. If youre a home roasting newbie then this kind of machine may suit you best as you will get a feel for the whole process as you go along you can always upgrade to a bigger and more complex roaster at a later date when you have more experience. These machines are also cheaper than other options and are relatively easy to use in the kitchen.

There are a couple of downsides with this kind of roaster, however. You will find that some models wont roast that much coffee at once and will burn out if you use them too often. Some models also dont have such great controls or pre-sets (some dont have any) so it may take a while for you to get used to using the machine if this is the case.

Drum Roaster

If the option of a fluid bed roaster doesnt seem quite right to you when youre thinking about how to select a coffee roaster then you could also look at drum roasting as an alternative. Drum roasters were once only seen in coffee shops and stores that roasted their own coffee beans but, nowadays, its real easy to buy machines for domestic use.

Drum roasting machines can basically roast more beans at once in most cases than fluid bed machines as they are bigger. Most will work on a convection or conduction method. With this kind of machine you place your beans in a drum, close it up, set it running and wait until the roast is done.

This is more of a pro machine although they are designed for use at home simply because they can be more complex to operate than fluid bed roasters. But, the majority of true coffee fans will prefer this method over time as it is held to produce better results in coffee taste terms.

The downsides with many drum roasters is that they dont have a window so you cant always look inside them as you can with most fluid bed roasters. So, you may have to rely on your sense of smell or hearing (as you listen to the coffee bean cracks!) to work out when your roast is perfectly done. This is one of the reasons why these machines may not suit newbie roasters to start off with.

Some of these drum machines can also give off a lot of smoke so you may need to sort out adequate ventilation or even do your roasting outside if this is the case. And, as you might expect youll pay more for drum roasters than for fluid bed machines. At the end of the day youll need to think long and hard about how confident you are with the home roasting process if you havent roasted at home before then you may be better off starting off with a fluid bed machine but if you feel more confident and need the extra functionality then a drum roaster may suit you better.

Whichever type of machine you choose to buy do remember that its absolutely vital to read some user reviews on the Internet before you buy a roaster as these will tell you stuff the manufacturer wont. These reviews are written by people who have used these machines and they will give you a real good idea of the pros and cons of any machine from people that have used them regularly.

Some example tips to look out with for fluid bed roasters include:

– How well do the programs (if there are any) work?
– How easy is it to use and what kind of functions does it have?
– How well made is the roaster?
– How evenly does it roast?
– How well can you see into the roasting chamber?
– How noisy is the machine?
– How easy is it to clean the machine/parts?
– What happens to the chaff?

Some example tips to look out with for drum roasters include:

– How well do the programs (if there are any) work?
– How easy is it to use and what kind of functions does it have?
– Does it produce a lot of smoke?
– Can you see inside the drum from the outside?
– Does the machine get too hot?
– What happens to the chaff?
– How easy is it to clean the machine/parts?

Comments

Popular Articles

Solar Cooker : Cooking With Power of Sun

Solar Cooker : Cooking With Power of Sun   Many people understand the concept of passive solar for heating a home. Fewer realize it can be used in to cook food and sterilize water. Solar Cooker : Cooking With Power of Sun A solar oven is pretty much what it sounds like. It is used to cook food and sterilize water. Most people do not even know they exist, but they are an effective way to cook from both an economic and efficiency point of view. The basic idea with a solar cooking is to create a box like structure that the sun heats up dramatically. If you have sat in a car in rush hour during the summer, you know the sun can generate a lot of heat. Instead of cooking you in a car, a solar oven focuses on food. So, how do we cook with it? The box structure is created with dark panelling and then covered with a clear glass or plastic top after pots and food or water has been inserted. The structure is sealed. Much like a car, the sunlight beats through the clear top and heats the inter...

Cookbook : How to create a family heirloom cookbook recipe

Cookbook : How to create a family heirloom cookbook Recipe   Almost every family has a treasured recipe, handed down through generations, that is not only beloved because it is delicious, but because it evokes memories of favorite family get-togethers. A family heirloom recipe book is a wonderful way to combine favorite dishes and family folklore. According to Cheryl Wolf, a performance artist and graphic design instructor at The New England Institute of Art, “Family recipes are a valuable resource for a family history. I have built an entire performance around my family’s recipes and the stories they evoke! “Breaking bread” together is life-affirming. What better way to reach back and bring personal history to the present?” Wolf adds, A family recipe is also a family history, and can be a wonderful work of folk art. For example, she says, take the opportunity to not only write down family recipes for generations to come, but include famous family stories (every family has them), p...

Grill - Gas Grills For BBQ Grilling Give Warm Parties To Your Friends And Families

Grill - Gas Grills For BBQ Grilling Give Warm Parties To Your Friends And Families Gas Grills Give Warm Parties To Your Friends And Families Gas grill is a device or surface, always fueled by gas and is used for cooking food. If you want to warm up your weekends by cooking delicious dishes for your family and friends, then you should immediately get a gas frill for yourself. When you want to purchase gas grills, you can either arrange the grills as per your choice right in the shop or allow the mechanics to choose the grills for you. Advantages of gas grills Gas grills are advantageous, as they do not lead to air pollution. Since they are quite small in size, so you can fix them almost at any corner of your home. Unlike the electric grills, the gas grills do not require electrical points near to the place you want to install the grills. The gas grills are flexible and can be carried from your home to the garden to prepare food for al fresco parties. There is even no risk of receiving e...