Roasting with Frankenstein
When you decide to roast your own coffee, you really have two options for the equipment. On the one hand, you can buy a $500 roaster. You'll have to purchase a new one every 2-3 years if you do this, for the dubious convenience of having a prefabricated commercialized roaster. On the other hand, you can build your own roaster. Going this route offers complete control over the costs involved, from an unmodified popcorn popper (about $15 at Target) - which can roast about 1/8 pound at a time - to a fully custom roaster. Custom roasters can involve almost anything, including high-dollar thermocouples, variacs, and even more arcane electrical-engineer-...
Posted on June 18, 2006 12:41:31 AM EDT
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