Of course a french man could teach me about roasting...

Roasters and roasting

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Of course a french man could teach me about roasting...

Postby Terje » Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:49 pm

Here I have been roasting for some years now and I consider myself pretty good at it. Then the other week I met this french man who lives nearby. We started talking about coffee since he had the most beautiful, but also somewhat broken, turkish grinder in his kitchen (I was in his home jamming with his son who plays guitar, it's another and pretty long story). So I tell him I roast and he asks me how and i tell him that normally I just do it in a frying pan.

- But you need something rounded, like a small wok, that's better. Gives you a more even roast I'd say, huh?

I mumbled something and thought "what the hell do you know?" but of course went home and tried. You see, we have these little pans that you make a local type of sri lankan pancackes in that my wife has, mostly for sentimental reasons. She recently bought a new one so I got to use the old one. Threw some beans in and... dammit! He was soooo right!!!

Of course he knew. He's french. He told me how he'd been to coffee stores where you can buy your beans raw and get the mix you want and then have them roast it for you right then and there and give it to you as you go home. So while he hadnm't done it himself he had seen it and like all french people I've ever met he takes cooking seriously so he had payed attention to what he saw.

My roasts have reached a new level of perfection!
Different beans and a frying pan, Zassenhaus grinder and a couple of moka pots...
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RE: Of course a french man could teach me about roasting...

Postby zix » Sat Sep 20, 2008 10:15 pm

sounds like a great idea for stove top roasting.
What do you use for stirring the beans in the wok-ish pan? I'd imagine a spatula cut to fit the rounded shape of the pan would work very well. Or perhaps a wooden spoon?
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RE: Of course a french man could teach me about roasting...

Postby lukas » Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:40 am

Welcome back Terje, thanks for sharing this story!
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RE: Of course a french man could teach me about roasting...

Postby CakeBoy » Sun Sep 21, 2008 2:19 pm

Good to see you Terje :D. Very interesting stuff too, thanks for sharing :)
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Re: RE: Of course a french man could teach me about roasting

Postby Terje » Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:15 pm

zix wrote:sounds like a great idea for stove top roasting.
What do you use for stirring the beans in the wok-ish pan? I'd imagine a spatula cut to fit the rounded shape of the pan would work very well. Or perhaps a wooden spoon?


I have this small wooden spoon that's badly burnt now from all the roasting it's been doing. I started using that instead of the metal one basically to cut the noise I was making, not to wake up the wife.
Different beans and a frying pan, Zassenhaus grinder and a couple of moka pots...
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Postby zix » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:15 pm

Thanks. I use wooden spoons too, when roasting with the heat gun. They are cheap, and sure get burnt, but wood is better than plastic anyway, even though I would sometimes want a better fit with the inside shape of the bowl, to get a more thorough bean mixing, if you see what I mean.
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Postby Terje » Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:21 pm

But hey, zix you live in Sweden and thus should be able to find one of those old pans used for roasting at home. Small pan with a lid and a handle that you use to work a little fork on the inside (sounds silly when I say but if you've seen one it makes sense) that can turn the beans, gives a really nice roast but you can't do it with real small amounts. Look for them in flea markets.
Different beans and a frying pan, Zassenhaus grinder and a couple of moka pots...
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Postby zix » Thu Sep 25, 2008 9:03 pm

hmmm... must visit more flea markets. Not sure I have seen a roasting pan like that. Another roaster would be great, until I collect money enough for the Behmor...
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