Skip to main content

Captain Caffeine roasting coffee

Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.06.2007

Many of you know that my husband, Captain Caffeine, roasts his own coffee. I thought I’d show you a few pictures.

Here is his coffee roaster. Yes, it was an air popcorn popper in a previous life. It’s actually a special design of popcorn popper in that it has vents on the side of the column instead of at the bottom, where most air poppers have their hot air vents.



He stuck a can (top and bottom removed) to extend the column so beans don’t come flying out of the popper.



Here are the green coffee beans.

They’re a rather sickly yellow-brown color. However, the advantage of keeping green coffee beans and roasting them as you need them is two-fold:

1) You get fresh-roasted coffee that’s no more than a week or two old (and Captain Caffeine says he really can tell when coffee has been roasted more than a week ago)

2) Green coffee beans can be bought in bulk because they’ll last up to a year in storage without getting stale. Roasted coffee is only good for a few months, at best.



Here’s the coffee in the roaster.



Captain Caffeine stirs the coffee every so often.




Captain Caffeine has to rapidly cool the coffee as soon as it reaches a certain point, so he pours them back and forth between two sieves, which are really supposed to be for straining soup but he got them at Goodwill for cheap and they work great.



The roasted coffee.


Comments

Anonymous said…
wow, that's really something! most people would find it too time-consuming but here he is, enjoying himself...hmm...now, i'm hungry.
PatriciaW said…
Everyone needs a hobby, although that seems like a lot of work for a cup of coffee.

Just think, years from now, when you're both retired, at least he'll have something to occupy his time!
Ah, now his name makes sense. I'd love to taste some, but alas, I'm way too slothful to roast my own. Not to mention the fact that I'm not handy, and would have beans flying all over the place. I'll stick with Starbucks.
Carolynn said…
That's an interesting process to watch:)
He really likes his coffee doesn't he? Reminds me of my Mom:D
TBD said…
I must say, that's one of the more interesting posts I've run into during my run tonight. Glad I popped by!

I can only hope to meet a guy who has mastered the art of roasting coffee. I'm an addict.

Popular Posts

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Excerpt - A HUNDRED YEARS OF HAPPINESS by Nicole Seitz

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.05.2009 Update: Sorry, this giveaway is closed. A Hundred Years of Happiness by Nicole Seitz A beautiful young woman. An American soldier. A war-torn country. Nearly forty years of silence. Now, two daughters search for the truth they hope will set them free and the elusive peace their parents have never found. In the South Carolina Lowcountry, a young mother named Katherine Ann is struggling to help her tempestuous father, by plunging into a world of secrets he never talks about. A fry cook named Lisa is trying desperately to reach her grieving Vietnamese mother, who has never fully adjusted to life in the States. And somewhere far away, a lost soul named Ernest is drifting, treading water, searching for what he lost on a long-ago mountain. They're all longing for connection. For the war that touched them to finally end. For their hundred years of happiness at long last to begin. From the beloved author of The Spirit of Sweetgrass...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...