But... if its a lighter roast... wouldn't you be drinking it brown??? Just wondering...! If it doesn't taste smoky, it isn't roasted enough! Still green... but, I am from coffee country, and may be slightly prejudiced!
Ah, coffee...the source of all that is, was, and ever shall be. But, I digress... How do I like my coffee? Depends on how I brew it. I currently have 36 different brewing devices for pour over, percolator, dripolator, auto-drip, infusion, and moka/stove top "espresso". From a 36-cup Faber urn (sadly, no basket/pump, so it's a display) to a single cup Vietnamese. From a 100 year old WearEver "Ideal" to a year-old AeroPress. Also, two Zassenhaus mills and a Hario Skerton (modded, of course). My daily driver, though, is a 10-year-old Braun KF-12 4-cup auto-drip & gold mesh permanent filter. My favorite brew is a medium-fine grind from the whole bean Italian roast I get from Sprout's. My favorite brewer is a vintage '40s Silex "Two Cupper" (although I have to use #2 paper basket filters, since the original cloth filters are next to impossible to find). I used to roast my own (in a Poppery II), but the local roaster/coffeehouse I got my green from started getting all snotty about selling green beans, so I just go to the bulk section of the grocery store. Oh, as far as the original question...I take mine in a 10-ounce cobalt glass mug with a spoonful of sugar and some French vanilla.
I roast my own, as well. If you're interested in getting back into it, I purchase from Sweet Maria's and Coffee Bean Corral.
Sweet Maria's is my go-to site for anything coffee-related. Loads of good info there. Since I've got my pic-posting figured out, here's my "2-Cupper"... These came out around 1942 as an answer to coffee rationing and alternative to brewing a full pot (and reducing the risk of waste). Basically a simple pour-over, using a cloth filter held in place by a glass spreader. Perfect size for my 10-ounce cobalt glass mug.
Coffee is my other hobby. I buy local roasts. Use a plumbed water filter and grind fresh. I change up brewing methods from chemex, press and SCAA auto pour over. Bonavita Coffee Maker with thermal carafe. Switched to glass since I never leave coffee waiting anyway. I make a mean Americano with a Moka pot aka stove top espresso. http://www.scaa.org/chronicle/2014/...accessibility-in-the-age-of-specialty-coffee/
Yes, Sweet Maria's is my home for coffee. Roastmaster.com also not bad. I roast my green beans in a Boehmer. You can do that indoors and roast up to a pound at a time. It is easily the best coffee I ever drink-I used to drink Intelligentsia but it was getting $$$$. Most of the green beans are $6-8/lb. I've taken to naturally dried beans usually from Ethiopia. I also like Sumatra. I like to try a lot of different kinds-kind of like my soaps, creams, blades, razors..... Roast level is completely driven by whatever Sweet Maria's suggests for the particular beans. I use a Bialleti Mocha Maker (stove top "espresso" maker, but it's not quite espresso as the pressure doesn't get high enough, a bit pedantic but...). I sometimes use a small amount of sugar and whole whipping cream, but lately have gone black.
Amen to that. I did pick up several bags of whole bean coffee from Cost Plus World Market — they had a special half-off; "buy two, get one free" promotion several weeks ago. I wound up with about 7 pounds of a variety of coffees for less than $3 a pound. Decent quality, too!
Thanks for the tip on the Behmor...been looking for an in-door roasting solution. Now I just need to find a sub-$200 option
I have in the past home-roasted 'many-a-pound' of coffee, but I more recently haven't had the time and so opt for the store-bought alternative….
I use a $35 stovetop popcorn popper. Still in use after 7-8 years. Most of the reviews I've read about the fancy $200+ home roasters say they are only good for about 2 years, then they burn out.