Today I’ve got a really exciting project for you – you’re about to learn how to roast coffee beans. This guest post is from fellow writer and food aficionado James di Properzio, co-author of The Baby Bonding Book for Dads: Building a Closer Connection With Your Baby. When I learned that James roasts his own coffee beans at home, I just about fell on the floor; I always figured this was a long, complicated process, reserved for coffee shops and the highest echelon of coffee geeks. Turns out I was wrong.

On top of maintaining a flourishing writing career, James plays full-time daddy to four kids (including a newborn!), so if this busy guy says that roasting coffee beans is a fast and simple process, I’m inclined to believe him.

Roasting Coffee Beans at Home

I am always shocked when foodie friends of mine have not learned the fine art of coffee. In my case, I was a coffee gourmet before getting as deeply into food; but the two things are linked, in my idea of good cuisine, just as are food and wine. I have a collection of working antique espresso and vacuum-brewer machines on my counter top in regular use, and grind my coffee fresh by hand, which takes me 30 seconds (or no time when I make use of child labor). For the best coffee, it has to be fresh-ground, and the beans need to be fresh and high-quality.

The problem with fine coffee beans is age: 14 days after roasting, coffee beans have lost over 80% of the aromatic volatile compounds which give it its complex flavor have evaporated, and even $100/lb coffee is no longer ‘specialty coffee’ quality. It’s hard to get really good beans shipped to you quick enough, and can be hard to use them in that time frame.

The answer is buying them green and roasting your own coffee beans. For one thing, they’re cheaper: fine specialty beans you would pay $16/lb for at the roaster, such as an organic Ethiopian, can be had for $4 or $5/lb green, and they keep for years. You roast what you need and drink it fresh. And it’s cheap to get started, with no learning curve.

Getting Started Roasting Coffee Beans at Home

First, you need a roaster. You can use a hot-air popcorn popper, or even a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop; but I recommend getting an air roaster that does it all for you and doesn’t let you burn the beans (as I would otherwise). I use the entry-level Fresh Roast, which I bought from online retailer Sweet Maria’s for about $80, though I see that they now instead sell a new model starting at $109. It’s cheap enough to pay for itself within a year, with the greatly reduced cost of beans, at least if you drink much coffee and buy high-quality beans. It also makes a very nice gift for a foodie or coffee hound–I’ve bought two for friends, and we’re all still using them, without repair, several years later.

Of course, you can go for a higher-end Behmor for $300, which will give you more control, better roasts, and larger capacity, as I intend to eventually; but it’s easy to try things out on the Fresh Roast for starters. You can move up to $1000 home roasters later, to go with your $1500 copper-plated espresso machine.

Buying Green Coffee Beans for Roasting

You need beans, too. There are several vendors online of green coffee beans, of which I have used Dean’s Beans (only organic and fair trade, which are my pre-conditions) and the above-mentioned Sweet Maria’s.

Your local roaster may also sell you green coffee beans if asked: after all, they have dozens of giant bags of them lying around, and that is how I do it these days. If you need to get them shipped, divvy up the shipping charges by buying more than a pound at a time (like 5lbs, for which there is often a lower price per pound). Green coffee beans keep for so long, you could buy the original 50lb. burlap sacks full, and really save on price!

How to Roast Coffee Beans

Ready? Put the measured amount of beans into the hopper, sit the chaff catcher on top, and set the timer for 6 minutes for a medium roast. Forget about the roaster while wandering around your kitchen, making eggs and yelling at your kids to brush their hair. When you hear the sound of popcorn popping, that’s ‘first crack’, when the water in the beans has boiled and exploded, just like with corn but without such noticable change in size. You can turn it off anytime now to stop the roast when you think it’s almost where you want it–just anticipate a bit, like you’re steering a boat.

After another couple minutes, if you listen carefully you will hear a ticking or crackling noise, ‘second crack,’ when the hard structure of the bean starts to break down in the temperature, and from there on it’s all dark roast. You can either set the timer for ‘max’ and eyeball your degree of roast, or set the timer for a certain level, once you get to know how long it takes, and forget it.

The timer kicks into an automatic cool-down mode for a few minutes at the end to stop the roasting, then shuts off. Even on a hurried morning, I can wake up with no roasted coffee and still roast, grind and brew a fresh cup by the time I’m ready to sit down to eat.

Roasting Coffee Beans: the Freshest Coffee You Can Get

Big national roasters will try to tell you that the roasted beans are good for a couple weeks, or even that they have to off-gas carbon dioxide for several days before they ‘peak’ so that you don’t want them too fresh; but the first time you drink coffee roasted just minutes before, you can see what you think of that marketing spiel.

Today’s guest post is from Josh Kirkpatrick, AKA Formica – you’ve seen him here before, rocking the beef stroganoff. Today he’s back with the perfect end-of-week treat, a chocolate martini recipe that will knock your socks off. And who cares if it’s still early in the day? I mean, come on… it’s five o’clock somewhere.

Is it egotistical to call something perfect? Yes; I’m doing it anyway.

This chocolate martini recipe is the result of years of experimentation, and two moments of satori:

1. Take notes on each iteration of the drink
2. Chocolate syrup is the key

Properly made, this chocolate martini should have the taste and consistency of melted chocolate ice cream.

Other Posts by Joshie:

Love this chocolate martini recipe? Then check out Josh’s other posts, here and at The Good Taste Review:

• Formica’s Righteous Beef Stroganoff Recipe
• Can Dirty Sue Put the Dirty in Your Martini?

Wow, how are we talking about cocktail recipes already? Where the hell did 2009 go? This hasn’t exactly been an epic year, though I can say I’ve had worse. I’ve got high hopes for 2010, and this time around, I have a whole new arsenal of weapons to achieve my goals: a renewed sense of purpose and an improved outlook on life. Good Things ™ are planned this year, and I fully intend to make this the best I’ve had in a very long time! Anyone who disagrees can schedule a one-on-one meeting with my boot.

Anyways, it’s time to think about New Years Eve. I’m not really into the hard core party thing anymore, but I do love a creatively mixed cocktail recipe. I also have this little love affair with the bubbly, so I’m going to share with you a few fabulous drink combos to help you ring in 2010 with style.

New Years Eve Cocktail Recipes

• If you’ve got oranges in your area, I highly recommend this Blood Orange Margarita. Uber yum.
• New Years Eve champagne cocktail recipes, including the French 75, La Vie en Rose and Death at Dusk.
• Try the The Big O cocktail recipe (essentially, this is a screwdriver with personality).
• For a more seasonal beverage, I recommend the Cranberry Amaretto Kiss
• Ever heard of the lovely Poinsettia Cocktail Recipe?
• If you’re into bitter drinks, try the Bittercup, a spiffy cocktail recipe for those who prefer a drink that bites back.
• And guess what? There’s an entire blog dedicated to jello shot recipes.

Dealing with the Aftermath

And for the morning after, check out these tried and true tips for avoiding (or coping with) a hellacious New Years Day hangover.

Today I’ve got something very special for you. The weather’s turning cold, and it’s getting to the point where folks want to spend their evenings inside, curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace or a good movie. And what’s the perfect drink for nights like this? I’ll tell you what: hot chocolate.

A big, steamy cup of chocolatey goodness is the ultimate comfort. There are billions of kinds of hot cocoa out there, from cheaper grocery store brands to expensive chichi varieties that will cost you almost as much as a bottle of wine. But what about the lost art of making cocoa yourself, over the stove, like our grandparents did before you could pick up a box at the grocery store?

Well, today I’m reviving the art of making hot chocolate recipes from scratch.

Today’s recipe is one I’m totally in love with. My favorite flavor combination in the whole world is chocolate and peanut butter. When my grandma would take me to the ice cream shop when I was a kid, I always asked for the same thing: chocolate peanut butter. Whenever my mom would make cookies, I would have the same request: chocolate peanut butter. When my dad would take us to store and let me and my brother pick a single candy bar from row after row of colorful wrappers, what did I grab? Chocolate peanut butter. This sweet, salty and creamy melding of tastes and textures still transports me back to the happy moments of my childhood.

So, today I’m going to give you a little glimpse into my chocolatey, peanut buttery dream-world.

This recipe makes a very thick, very rich drink. So rich, in fact, a full 8 ounce cup may be way too much for one person. I like to serve this cocoa in small, espresso-type cups, because they’re the perfect size to sip from and you can have more than one if you want.

As far as the peanut butter goes, you can use whatever kind you have in your cupboard, as long as it’s creamy. I personally prefer to use a non-salted variety so that I can adjust the saltiness myself, but if you’ve got a bottle of Jif or Skippy hiding somewhere, go ahead and use that. I don’t recommend using chunky peanut butter, which makes for a bizarre texture that doesn’t lend itself to slow sipping.

This recipe was adapted from a drink I used to enjoy at the Bittersweet Cafe, but they’ve discontinued their peanut butter cocoa. Sheer madness, I tell you. If I could marry this hot cocoa recipe, I probably would (sorry, honey).

Other hot cocoa recipes you might enjoy:

• Spiced Pumpkin Hot Cocoa with Maple Whipped Cream
• Vegan Hot Cocoa
• Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

I’m really, really sad that this summer is almost over. Thankfully, here in the Bay Area we get what’s called Indian Summer – an extra month of summer heat – due to the fact that our summers usually start a month later than everyone else’s.

You don’t believe me? I swear, I’m telling the truth. While Seattle was having its record-breaking heat wave a few months ago, San Francisco spent all of June and half of July in a cold, cloudy glum-fest. We’re talking weather overcast to the point that my tomato plants turned brown and died. The misty grayness nearly had me hanging from the rafters.

Feh, I say! Give me my hot summer nights!

So to celebrate this gorgeous warm weather that’s finally settled into the City by the Bay, I’ve been making summer cocktail recipes. Monday I gave you the recipe for Blood Orange Margaritas, a nectarous (yes, I just used that word) beverage that’s perfect for long weekends such as the one coming up.

Today you get another in a series of lovely drink recipes: the R&R. Made with your best bourbon, this is meant to be one classy cocktail. Even those not indoctrinated into the School of Brown Liquors will appreciate this iced tea with a dark, caramely twist. If you like it less sweet, feel free to turn down the simple syrup a notch – but you’ll probably dig the sugar shot as a followup to the black tea bitterness. Just take it step by step and taste as you go.

This recipe (as well as the blood orange margarita) can be found in Mix Shake Stir, a book that I reviewed a few weeks ago. Do you have this book yet? Why not???

Why am I plying you with tequila cocktail recipes out of nowhere? Well, a few weeks ago I reviewed Mix Shake Stir, a beautiful cocktail book by from the bartenders of Danny Meyer’s famous East Coast bars. You can find part one of the review here and part two is here.

In that review I promised you the recipe for my favorite drink in the book, the blood orange margarita. I make it a point to always keep my promises – and I decided to deliver this recipe just in time for Labor Day weekend. This drink was MADE for weekends like this, when the weather’s still deliciously hot but you can almost see autumn peeking its head over the horizon. I’m not usually a fan of tequila drink recipes, but this one’s a winner.

So, grab your bar kit and hit the patio with a pitcher of blood orange margaritas in hand. Be sure to check out the recipe for the R&R, a souped up iced tea cocktail.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this recipe, or if you made any changes to it!