Recap: "How to Roast" at the Brooklyn Brewery

Let’s meet for coffee.  You can hear that phrase 20 times a day everyday for the rest of your life.  It’s what people do.  They gather, meet, chat, disclose, reveal, ponder….over coffee.  The phrase is perfectly open ended.  The possibilities are limitless.

HOME ROASTING 101

Are you reading this over a cup of coffee?  Not surprising.  Coffee is just one of those universal beverages that bring people together.  On Wednesday September 28th it did just that.  Gorilla Coffee introduced 150 participants to the world of home roasting.  150 enthusiastic coffee lovers listened about the roasting process, while sipping beer, at the Brooklyn Brewery.  Sitting on the edge of their seats while we gave an overview of drop temperature, ambient temperature, and the caramelization of sugars.

Our approach to home roasting: have fun.

With so many people enjoying coffee and experiencing so much of their life over coffee (think: births, proposals, weddings, interviews, holidays, etc.), it is not surprising that people want to know a little more about the “guest” that is always at these events.  Here’s a little peek into the roasting.

Coffee roasting is available to anyone with time, source of heat, a vessel, green beans, and a little patience.  The last element is tough.  If you are going to embark on home roasting, do it for love.  Use it as a time to explore your interest and feed your creative mind.  Become a chef with the beans.  You can make slight tweaks, through temperature and time variables, for each roast to draw out different flavors and really get to know all the nuances of the coffee you have chosen.

As we explained: you are going to love your roast regardless of what happens.  It will be a coffee that you were involved with intimately.

We gave out 50, half-pound bags of green coffee.  We wanted to get people started on this great adventure.  The bags were nabbed up crazy quick.  The excitement was palpable, and we have already been getting feedback with some of the results.  Marty, a regular at Gorilla Coffee, came in Monday and showed us photos of his first roast.  It took a little longer than expected, and he admittedly had his heat source too low, but the results were exactly as we had hoped and planned.  With a grin from ear to ear, he said, “made the best cup of coffee I ever had”.  He was happy and proud.

Mission accomplished.

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