Home Roasted Coffee

I need another hobby like I need another hole in my head, but here I am attempting another obscure interest. I bought two pounds of green coffee beans from the Sweet Maria's website and they arrived on Monday. Last night I had my first very smokey roasting experience.

I ordered one pound of Kenyan and one pound of Costa Rican. The small batch I roasted last night was of the Kenyan. It came out a little on the dark roast side, I need to stop the roast just prior to where I think it needs to be. The beans continue to roast after you pull them from the flame.

What I used to roast them was a metal pasta strainer, a wooden spoon and my gas stove top. I don't recommend doing this inside like I did. It produced a lot of smoke. Next time I'll be using my camp stove in the garage and maybe a small pan and whisk, stirring constantly. Hoping to get this down well enough to attempt on camping, canoeing, kayaking and sailing trips.

The verdict on the dark roasted stuff was good. My wife and I enjoyed a cup straight off the stove last night and this morning after the beans had some time to vent a bit. Once I get the process down better, I hope to get a more even roast and an idea of where exactly to stop the process for optimum taste.