Coffee Roasting Question

[jimsnarocks]

OK, I followed some of your advise and bought myself some green coffee beans. I roasted my first batch yesterday. My question concerns the chaf. How the heck do I remove it without a strong wind while tossing it in the air?
I have to do this outside because my bride doesn't like the smell of burnt coffee beans. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Jim

[ol' blue]

How did you roast it? If you are using a popper, it should blow away during the roasting process. Also, how dark did you roast? Sometimes if you roast to a lighter range, the chaff is still attached somewhat. Roasting a bit darker might loosen it up. In any case try roasting to different levels to fit your taste. You might be surprised. Another option is that you can ignore the chaff, throw it in the grinder with your beans, and it won't hurt a thing.
On to more important things--how was it? What variety of bean did you buy and how did it turn out?

[jimsnarocks]

Thanks Ol' Blue for your help.
Right now I am using the burner on my propane BBQ and a skillet. I also have a wooden spoon for stirring and a collander for cooling, chaf removal and some old Mason jars for storage. Kinda like ol' cookie on trail drives did his.
I purchased my beans from Burmancoffee.com as they had a good selection and pretty good prices. One thing I didn't like was the shipping. About the same amount for 2 lbs as 10 lbs. I got Brasil Beija Flor, Kuaii, Indonisia, Papau
and Indian Peaberry. I roasted a handful of the Brasilian beans to a full city roast, second crack some smoke coming out of the pan. It's pretty dark but not burned. Actually it tastes rather pleasant.

Thanks for letting me know I can grind the chaf I miss. I was afraid the Starbucks Cops would come get me if I did something wrong. Jim

[flybinder]

Jim;
My fellow "Raunchy" member in the NBOF, is right. "Grinding up the chaff won't hurt your brew".
However,with some of the South and Central American beans I use, I've found they can contain a lot more residue chaff than others. Too much chaff, when grinding in my burr grinder, would sometimes get sort of "paste like" and clog up the burrs.
Before I bought my first roaster, and still did it "chuck wagon style", I would toss the beans in a colander to not only cool them down but the tossing also brought the lighter weight chaff to the top of the beans, where I'd then use either my hand held or shop vac to vacuum the chaff off the top.
Don't worry! It's easy to "get the right distance", between sucking up the chaff and not your beans.
When I did 2-4 pound batches, I'd set a small table fan up, "OUTSIDE!!!", then standing off to one side, I'd toss the beans in the colander and let my "artificial wind" blow away the chaff.

Also, if you haven't tried them yet, you might give "Sweet Maria's" at "Sweet Marias-dot-com" a shot for pricing and shipping costs. Great folks and very easy to deal with.

[ol' blue]

You can also get creative with a hair dryer and blow that chaff away.
Also look at coffee bean direct dot com for coffee. If you order 25 pounds, the shipping is free. They have a nice selection. Sweet marias is the place that got me started. Great folks!
BTW, CBD also has started marketing a smoked coffee. Perhaps we have a new way to combine a couple of obsessions here!

[jimsnarocks]

Thank you for your help. Jim

[troutgeek]

...I purchased my beans from Burmancoffee.com as they had a good selection and pretty good prices...

Hey! This guy is basically in my back yard (right down the road from famed Black Earth Creek)... and, I think I once worked with him, in the computer programming field, a few years ago.

I have been interested in roasting for awhile now. Think I'll give Garry (Mr. Burman) a call this week. Thanks for the link.

[jimsnarocks]

Trout geek, Actually this guy's name is Jon. Might be related to Garry. You can find him at jburman@burmancoffee.com
If you can buy locally there you will save a lot of dough on shipping. Good luck. Jim

[troutgeek]

I think Garry is the dad. Not sure, but I think Jon is either the son or Garry's wife. Whatever -- they're right down the road. I'll give them a call this week.

[jimsnarocks]

Bought a pop corn popper cheap on ebay. WOW! What a difference in the roasting experience. Roasted three times the amount (1 1/2 cups) in the time it takes to roast 1/2 cup on the bar-b-que burner. Blows away the chaf and comes out looking good. Can't wait to grind it up and make a pot. Thanks to those who have helped me through this. Jim