canndo
Well-Known Member
The title here enumerates Hallucinogenic substances but we often address Kratom, poppies, and even meth.
The folks who inhabit this little backwater commonly demonstrate their creativity and resourcefulness in a variety of ways and pursuits so I figure I'll post another interesting past time for those members.
Some 25 years ago I happened to come across some green coffee beans, threw them in my pop corn popper and got crappy but drinkable brew. I acquired some cacao beans and ruined my popper.
Got a new popper and found that I was quickly roasting coffee that was far superior to any coffee that I was drinking. A few years later I found that caffine was interfering with my sleep so I quit.
Onward to six months ago when I discovered that home roasting had become a big deal. "Damn, I was at the forefront of a new fad...again...but failed to show off my foresight and ego".
But I did discover that I could again drink a cup or two each morning again without staring ruefully at the ceiling all night.
So, if you have not heard of it, if you enjoy coffee and caffine and like to do things at home, try this out. You might like a new, inexpensive hobby.
All you need is a particular sort of popcorn popper (and most of you tend to haunt garage sales and salvation army stores). Any popper you want must have VENTS, not a grill. Next you will need a Collender preferably metal, and a source of green beans, $7 to $10 a lb.
The process is simple, enjoyable and in short order it will yield fantastic specialty coffee from around the world. Far better than any coffee you may find even at your coffee shop.
Most interesting to me is the fact that the roast is piloted primarily by your sense of hearing.
Shall we start? Take your popper, your Callender and a jar for the finished beans out side. The smoke, though fragrant in the extreme, is not good for marriages or roommates. The chaff that is blown out in the process is messy as well.
Pour some beans into the popper. Make note of how many you use. The beans should almost immediately begin to swirl around in the popper. If this fails to happen in the first 30 seconds or so, it's too many and will result in an uneven roast. Now wait. Never ever leave your operation as the process is quick. Wait until you begin to hear the beans begin to pop.
How do you like your coffee?
City? (About the lightest palatable roast)
City plus? (Offering a fruity, bright cup)
Full City? (Yielding a more rounded, slightly chocolaty more full bodied brew)
Full City plus? (More dark, roasting, less sour perhaps a bit bitter..good bitter taste
Italian (more bitter, slightly smokey)
Vienna (burned, smokey, rich)
All these depend upon how long you go into the first crack or how long after that crack ends.
After your first crack there will be a pause until you begin to hear a more quiet, rice crispy hitting milk sort of sound. This is the second crack. You are now into the dark roasts and the longer you linger here the darker your roast. Most folks barely touch this stage but it can offer sublime flavors.
Where ever you opt to quit, realize that there will be some seconds of coasting, where the beans continue to cook even after they have been dumped out of your popper.
Dump your beans into the Collender and shift them around, cooling them as quickly as possible.
When they are at room temperature, pour them into a jar, preferably air tight. Now you wait for the beans to outgas. A day or two at least.
Those beans will get better for the next week but you will likely have fresher beans even two weeks later than you have ever had before.
Now grind and brew.
If you like coffee I think you will go well out of your way for this.
If you don't like coffee you may like this. And there is something special about the caffine buz as well.
The folks who inhabit this little backwater commonly demonstrate their creativity and resourcefulness in a variety of ways and pursuits so I figure I'll post another interesting past time for those members.
Some 25 years ago I happened to come across some green coffee beans, threw them in my pop corn popper and got crappy but drinkable brew. I acquired some cacao beans and ruined my popper.
Got a new popper and found that I was quickly roasting coffee that was far superior to any coffee that I was drinking. A few years later I found that caffine was interfering with my sleep so I quit.
Onward to six months ago when I discovered that home roasting had become a big deal. "Damn, I was at the forefront of a new fad...again...but failed to show off my foresight and ego".
But I did discover that I could again drink a cup or two each morning again without staring ruefully at the ceiling all night.
So, if you have not heard of it, if you enjoy coffee and caffine and like to do things at home, try this out. You might like a new, inexpensive hobby.
All you need is a particular sort of popcorn popper (and most of you tend to haunt garage sales and salvation army stores). Any popper you want must have VENTS, not a grill. Next you will need a Collender preferably metal, and a source of green beans, $7 to $10 a lb.
The process is simple, enjoyable and in short order it will yield fantastic specialty coffee from around the world. Far better than any coffee you may find even at your coffee shop.
Most interesting to me is the fact that the roast is piloted primarily by your sense of hearing.
Shall we start? Take your popper, your Callender and a jar for the finished beans out side. The smoke, though fragrant in the extreme, is not good for marriages or roommates. The chaff that is blown out in the process is messy as well.
Pour some beans into the popper. Make note of how many you use. The beans should almost immediately begin to swirl around in the popper. If this fails to happen in the first 30 seconds or so, it's too many and will result in an uneven roast. Now wait. Never ever leave your operation as the process is quick. Wait until you begin to hear the beans begin to pop.
How do you like your coffee?
City? (About the lightest palatable roast)
City plus? (Offering a fruity, bright cup)
Full City? (Yielding a more rounded, slightly chocolaty more full bodied brew)
Full City plus? (More dark, roasting, less sour perhaps a bit bitter..good bitter taste
Italian (more bitter, slightly smokey)
Vienna (burned, smokey, rich)
All these depend upon how long you go into the first crack or how long after that crack ends.
After your first crack there will be a pause until you begin to hear a more quiet, rice crispy hitting milk sort of sound. This is the second crack. You are now into the dark roasts and the longer you linger here the darker your roast. Most folks barely touch this stage but it can offer sublime flavors.
Where ever you opt to quit, realize that there will be some seconds of coasting, where the beans continue to cook even after they have been dumped out of your popper.
Dump your beans into the Collender and shift them around, cooling them as quickly as possible.
When they are at room temperature, pour them into a jar, preferably air tight. Now you wait for the beans to outgas. A day or two at least.
Those beans will get better for the next week but you will likely have fresher beans even two weeks later than you have ever had before.
Now grind and brew.
If you like coffee I think you will go well out of your way for this.
If you don't like coffee you may like this. And there is something special about the caffine buz as well.
