Tom Loves Coffee ...
I started roasting coffee about six months ago. I had no idea it would be so rewarding and so tasty. I'll start with a little background regarding coffee as we know it today. Coffee beans are the seeds (or cherries) produced by coffee trees. These seeds are harvested, dried and sorted before going to market. Coffee reflects about 70 percent of the caffeine consumed in the US. As far as we know, coffee can be traced back in history to about 9 AD. That's about two thousand years of roasting and drinking coffee! It wasn't until the Revolutionary War that the demand for coffee escalated in the US. Chances are, your great grandparents bought green coffee beans and roasted them at home.

When properly roasted, the origin of the coffee will not be lost. Why is the origin so important? This is where the distinct flavor of the region where the coffee was grown. Central America, South America, Africa, Arabia, Indonesia, Asia and the Island Coffees each have their own distinctive taste. This specialty taste from each region is preserved if the beans are properly roasted.

Most commercial coffees are just over-roasted beans. We have been taught that the "french roast" coffees are the best of the best. The bottom line is, most of this coffee is purchased from all over the world and typically over-roasted to the point that it all tastes the same. Through television commercials, magazines, radio and fancy labeling, we have been hoodwinked into believing this is the greatest stuff on earth. - I will step off my soapbox now :)

After roasting for a few months, I started to compare the flavor and quality of what was coming out of my home roaster to the expensive "super market" gourmet coffees. I was amazed. I bought some $9/lb. coffee from a local retailer a couple of months earlier. I pulled a small handful of beans out of the bag and noticed how dark they were. I easily crushed a bean between two fingers and I screamed out "this is nothing but charcoal"! Of course my family thought I was nuts, but I had a point. This coffee was actually charred, and then reflavored beans!

It's an art where sight, smell and taste are all part of the finished product.

There are many roast levels. The roasted beans vary from a pale brown to an oily black texture. The term "1st crack" is a common identifier that the coffee roasting could be stopped at any time. The coffee remains at its peak freshness from seven to fourteen days.

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