Two guys, an open fire, some green beans....and a few questions....

[BrownMouth]

G'day snobs,

Has anyone got any tips for roasting over an open wood fire?...out-doors?.....in the middle of the Canadian winter...?

We're gonna give it a try next week just for fun. We've got plenty of wood, beer, and snow.

We figure we'll roll the beans around on a pan or in a pot over a small, stable camp fire and see how we go. I have an infrared temp. gun...does anyone know if there's a good temp. range we should target for the surface of the pan/pot ??
Ambient temps are around -10 to -20 at the mo....so cooling them off shouldn't be a problem!

cheers!

[Dimal]

G'day BM...

Can't help with regard to the below-zero roasting activity, but an awful lot of Ethiopians have been roasting coffee this way for a very long time. These days, I think they use store bought steel frying pans, dump the beans in there and then move the pan around until the beans have achieved the required brownness.... There's stuff on the web depicting this activity, so might give you some ideas...

Mal.

[Barry O'Speedwagon]

Why don't you guys do some small 'test batches' at home (maybe in the backyard) without the distraction of bears, frostbite, etc.

[meangreen]

I was camping a few years ago with a climber who used to roast beans this way when he was out for extended climbing trips. Claimed the fresh coffee was the secret to his success. He used a pretty heavy cast iron pan to try and keep a stable temp and I think made as many poor batches as good batches. Tried one of his better efforts in the Aeropress and it produced a very drinkable cup. Good luck and post a picture of your efforts!

[Perfurious]

Hi Brownmouth

I had a customer from Bosnia a few years back. When he was in the army they used to roast beans over the campfire using a metal tube. It was sealed at one end and open at the other with a handle attached. Put the beans in the tube, place over the fire on a raised fork and rotate. Essentially a hand turned barrel roaster. Always wanted to try it myself.

[bb2wa]

My first roast batch was in a frypan on the BBQ. Very drinkable resulting roast despite the unevenness in colour of the roasted beans.

[LordL]

As Dimal said earlier, this is the Ethiopian way.
I have Ethiopian friends and on every visit, the green beans come out ( purchased from Footscray market), the small camping gas stove and the frying pan, and the beans are roasted in front of us in the living room while we sit around on the floor.
Then it's brewed in a clay pot that vaguely resembles a kettle. ( a jebena)
The coffee's always strong and aromatic
The method breaks all the "rules" that we coffeesnobs live by, but the end result is always fantastic.
Thinking I was being helpful, I once bought them a popper, telling how much time they could save.
I think it's been relegated to a cupboard and has never been seen again.
I'm glad, really. The ceremony just wouldn't be the same.