Do you know that coffee is good for you? Nobody knows why?
It reduces your risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s, various cancers, and esp if you’ve had breast cancer to prevent a recurrence. It’s not the caffeine because decaff gives you the same benefit.
I drink mine black. When you buy your beans greens from all over the world, each bean is like a fine wine grape. They’re different.
If you’re using the West Bend, then you’re getting your nose down to listening for the first and second crack, right?
I figure that I’ve avoided the 3 to 4 dollar starbuck’s per day for ten years now. Okay, maybe I’m still spending 2 to 3$ per day for coffee, but it’s fresh.
If I must buy already roasted coffee, I’ll find a coupon and buy the smallest can of beans possible, then grind them.
I have one of those kitchen aid grinders. You can get the attachment, but for another 100$ you get the real thing.
I know, it’s expensive, but you can find them cheaper. Put it on your Xmas list when someone asks what you want.
Yes, that's how I do it though I really only listen for the first crack and then time off that. I've found that for me, a rule of thumb between 1:45 and 2:30 from first crack works best. It's probably because I don't have a long enough roasting time to take advantage of second crack subtleties. Or I'm still just a piker after about a year and a half.
So what got you started? I started by looking for cheap coffee beans on eBay three years ago and finding green beans which were cheap but I knew not quite right though I didn't know why. When I googled that green beans required a roaster and looked up roasters and the cost, I put the notion aside. About a year later I decided to look into it again and came across Sweet Maria's video on using a popcorn popper to roast beans. I figured it was worth a try considering the low cost. Definitely glad I did!