‘Toast the Roast’
“Now What Do You Do— with the Coffee You’ve Roasted”

“The Abbreviated Version” 🙂

(a series about roasting your own coffee) #4 of 4

By Dahni
©️ 2019, all rights reserved

From Kaldi and his dancing goats from Ethiopia, to Kenya and Yemen, coffee spread across the world where today—

• Coffee locations on the map all share similar characteristics: tropical and high elevation (among others). The climate must be perfect, for coffee to be grown and thrive!
• Coffee is exported from around 70 countries and imported by most countries in the world! The United States, is one of, if not the biggest importer of coffee in the world! WE the People of the USA, like our coffee!
• Mexico is likely the largest exporter of coffee to the United States! Think about that! Where did your coffee come from? Is it a blend of Mexican and some other(s)?!
• No coffee origins (varieties), are exactly like any other! Even the same origin will not always be the same, every time. Correctly roasted coffee reaches a peak then falls off in about 7-10 days! Coffee in those 7-10 days is always subtle, unique and their nuances different, each day! Some believe that the ONLY place to roast coffee is at the same location where the plants are grown, the cherries are harvested and the green beans (seeds), are processed! If this is true, then wouldn’t the best place to drink coffee be, at the same place where it is roasted? Personally, I am not financially independent, not that particular and not this patient!
• They are not really beans, they are seeds! They are called ‘cherries’, before they become ready for our coffee. They are very odd as, not every “cherry” will produce a seed! It takes around two thousand (2,000), cherries (the ones with seeds), to make our one cup of coffee!
• Because of all the above conditions and more, most cherries are still picked by hand, throughout the world! The terrain of most areas where coffee is grown, prevents most beasts of burden and modern equipment, from reaching the plants to extract the “cherries”!
• Arabica beans are the most desired, but they are also, the most fragile, compared to Robusta! Generally, Robusta beans have more caffeine and are larger beans! Robusta are often used in “blends” and to lower costs, while still charging us more for what they tell, are their, “signature blends”! Arabica beans account for sixty percent (60%), and Robusta, forty percent (40%), of all coffee beans!
• Coffee is the second (2nd), most traded commodity in the world!
• Coffee is the fourth (4th), most consumed beverage in the world, following in order: water, beer, wine and coffee!
• Kona Coffee from Hawaii (one of the most expensive and most popular in the world), is about the only place where commercial and mass quantities of coffee are grown in the United States!
• One of the reasons (among many), Jamaican Blue Mountain (another expensive, popular and my favorite coffee), is so expensive is because, Japan (yes Japan), has had a trade agreement with Jamaica to purchase ninety percent (90%), of their beans (roasted or green), for maybe well over a hundred (100), years!
• Political unrest and instability could potentially halt the export of coffee from that country, at anytime! Think about that and ask yourself what you would do, if tomorrow morning your favorite coffee was no longer available??? This is another wonderful reason to order green beans at a current price and not at a higher price in the future and green beans can keep for years, in a cool dark place! Need I mention the importance of trying new coffees and educating your palate? ROAST YOUR OWN COFFEE!

Brewed Coffee

The most obvious thing to do after roasting your beans is to grind them and brew, and have a cup or two or a few. If you have never had coffee this fresh and that it’s not over-roasted, you just might be tasting coffee as it was meant to be enjoyed, for the very first time??!! If you usually drink coffee with cream, sugar or both, you may be surprised how great your roasts taste, drinking it black??!! Enjoy the flashback ‘Percolator ‘ song, from the YouTube video to follow. 🙂

OK, what next?

What to do with those grounds? Do you have roses or hydrangeas? Share your grounds, they like coffee too. One of the reasons for this is due to the acidity in the coffee that plants like. OK, what next?

Decaf? There is no such thing! Most coffee marketed and sold as decaffeinated is around 97% caffeine free. Well, that still leaves around 3% caffeine doesn’t it? What I’m calling it is, Locaf (lower caffeinated) Coffee.

Locaf or Lower Caffeinated Coffee

Sometimes, you or your others, may or would like a cup of coffee before say, bedtime. Maybe you don’t need the energy or the buzz from caffeine and you don’t want to stay awake all night. 🙂

To remove caffeine, it begins with green beans ONLY! There are only 2 ways to remove up to about 97% of the caffeine from coffee:

1. Chemicals- Not for me!
2. Water- The most natural and organic! For anything and everything you may or may not want to know about so-called decaffeination (lowered caffeine, but never all), click here 

Want it? Need it? Well, you have three choices:

1. Buy whole beans or ground decaffeinated (Locaf), coffee. But if you are a home roaster or want to be, why would you?
2. Buy green beans that have most of the caffeine (never all), removed and roast yourself. NO PROCESS CAN REMOVE ALL OF THE CAFFEINE! But I would only choose green beans that use the water process, to remove caffeine (whatever amount is removed)! Where to get them? click here
3. Do it yourself! How? Well, it will take some time!!! Place your green beans in a bowl. Pour hot water onto the beans and cover them with the hot water. Let them soak, for a few minutes. Drain and rinse. Repeat. Each time you do this, more of the caffeine is removed. When finished, roast the beans to your satisfaction.

Did you know, there are over 1,200 complex compounds in coffee, which contribute to their flavor profiles?? There are!!! Uhh, why then, would anyone want to over-roast and mess up any of these flavor compounds??? Just Don’t!!! Sugar is just one of the compounds. Caffeine is another. But it is odorless and colorless, though it does contribute acidity, which does affect, the overall taste of some coffees.

Note: There is more information available on this to class participants or online subscribers. See classes- click here

OK, what’s next?

Blends or Blending

Blends could be something you might like? Blends are for two real reasons, in the coffee industry:

1. By using inferior beans and over roasting, costs can be cut and it can be marketed and sold as a signature blend and charge more for it.
2. You really want to produce a signature blend with something unique. Or, maybe you had no choice? Look back to the South during the Civil War. The North was often blocking the southern waterways and prevented or disrupted the supply of coffee. They either had to make some dark beverage from roots and other stuff besides coffee or they stretched the coffee by adding other grains and etc. to it.

Chicory was once such grain and it is still popular in the south, particularly in Louisiana. Have you ever heard of Cafe du Monde? It is world famous and started in New Orleans in 1862. They are open seven days a week; year-round, except, for Christmas Day or if an occasional hurricane forces them to close. We still have a can of this in our freezer (not a good idea to store this way, but it’s done). My wife Susan, actually had this coffee in New Orleans. I first tasted it in Japan. Yes, it’s all over the world. But in a can? How fresh can [pun-ny], that be? What if you made your own? Yes, yes you can!

Another blend I liked and tasted, is roasted in New Mexico, USA. It is coffee made with pinions (pine nuts). It is very unique, but how long can it stay fresh in a can or even a nitrogen packed can or foil bag? When was it roasted? How many months ago was that? How many months hence, from the date of roasting does the package read, “Best if used by [some date way into the future]”. Why not roast this blend yourself? I will be, as soon as possible!

Blends and Dark Roast

Do you like or do your friends and family like espresso, latte, macchiato, cappuccino and other dark roasted beverages? Then roast some! It is easy to do. Any coffee, if dark roasted, can be used for any of the beverages above. But here is where blending or blends come in. I wanted to try this and I mixed three (3), different coffees from different countries. One was from Ethiopia.

In our classes, we use Ethiopian coffee to roast. Class participants get to sample some fresh brewed, from fresh ground, and from fresh roasted coffee beans. And they each receive a 1/4 pound of fresh roasted beans, they can take home and enjoy the next morning. Now by “fresh” I mean, coffee beans that were roasted 24-48 hours before shared.

Two of the class members will each receive 1/2 pound of the coffee I roast at the actual class. Chosen by having the winning ticket selected, one receives from the popcorn popper roast and the other from the skillet roast. Obviously, I cannot make these available online and I do not have the means or the desire to be roasting around 7 pounds of coffee beans (what is needed for a class of 14), more than once or twice a week! But also, in class and by way of a special password required protected location and for a limited time ONLY, class members will receive the actual recipe I used, for making my dark blend, for espresso and etc.  For more info. on classes and etc. click here Again, Ethiopian is the coffee used for classes, for obvious reasons. It was probably the “FIRST COFFEE”, many people have never tried it, it is one of the most popular and it is great in a blend, for espresso and etc.

Note on Blends/Blending: Technically, each coffee used in a blend, should be roasted separately and then blended. But I only made a 1/2 pound of dark roast and I roasted all three (3), different coffees together, at the same time. You are probably expecting this, but you will have to take my word for it (or take a class, learn the recipe and roast it yourself), but it made the freshest and best cup of espresso, latte, macchiato and cappuccino, my wife and I have ever had! Then I did another, not-supposed-to-do thing. I put it in a plastic sandwich bag, in a sealed black plastic container and stuck it in the freezer. Oh Noooo! 🙂

If needed or desired, I have my dark roast on hand, for anyone that comes to ‘The Gathering Place’ (what we call our home). I will be roasting this again, if/when needed, but especially for, the winter holidays! OK, what next?

Roasting for espresso? Have you ever had or do you like eating espresso beans? How about chocolate covered, espresso beans?! I have recipes for these too! Take a class and/or become a subscriber. click here OK, what’s next?

Latte Art

Have you ever seen or had one of those extraordinary and barista artist created designs with cream, on top of your dark beverage?

Do you think these might add to the cost of your cup? Why not make your own? They do not have to be complicated and so detailed and complex, that you regret destroying the art when you or someone drinks your cuppa! I’ve seen some that are so detailed, they look like famous people, animals and all kinds of stuff! Do you you think these might add to the time it takes to get a cup, and drink it and that your coffee may not be as hot as you may like it, depending on how long it takes to make and get it to you?? Please do not misunderstand me. I like, admire, respect and appreciate art and artists. But as a former chef, there is a line I just won’t cross. That line is in the middle of Impress and Bless. There is nothing wrong with presenting food and drink in a beautiful or visually pleasing manner. It actually aides in digestion, promotes good conversation and increases enjoyment or JOY! But If I want to, have to or feel the need to impress you, I have crossed the line over my desire to simply, Bless You! And, like anticipating and expecting and waiting on a good meal or beverage to come, I just don’t have the patience to wait for say, da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’ to be made with cream, on top of my coffee. And as a former chef, I don’t have the patience to wait to see your reaction to what I’ve prepared especially for you! Still, latte art is cool. You can learn to do some really simple, gorgeous, beautiful (find your own adjectives), latte art which will bless your guests and not take forever and a day to make. The word bless means, “Highly Favored!” For more information, to take one of our classes and/or become a subscriber. Click here  Or wait until I finish my book (see below). OK, what’s next?

Cold Coffee (iced) or Cold Brew

Have you ever had or do you like, Cold Coffee or Cold Brewed Coffee? What’s the difference? Cold coffee is just like it is written. It is coffee that has been brewed and allowed to cool. It is served at room temperature, cool, cold, ice cold or with ice. It is served, with or without cream and or sugar. Cold Brew is just like brewing sun tea in a glass jar, in a filter (or a tea ball), and allowed to sit in the sun (or even on your counter-top). I call this, ‘Sun Coffee’ 🙂

Each (Cold Coffee or Cold Brew), have their own unique tastes, and depend on the origin of the coffee they are made from.

One of our grandfathers (a proper man and a highly educated man), liked cold or cooled or chilled or room temperature coffee (whatever was his preferred temperature). He would make coffee in a glass-top metal percolator, on top of his stove. Then he would pour some out into a nice teacup, which sat on a matching saucer. He would let this cool, pour some into the saucer, set aside the cup and raise the saucer and drink form it. I never saw him do this in public. I do not know if it is civilized or acceptable in public or how Emily Post or Miss Manners (two culture, class and etiquette champions), would view this, but it was his home, his castle, his private time and it made him happy! To be honest, I was not a fan of coffee that has any other temperature than hot enough to burn my lips! Hosting others and serving others is a responsibility and should be a joy to all chefs. Seek to bless and not impress! But I concede these (Cold Coffee or Cold Brew), have a place and FYI (for your information), I am warming up (or cooling down), to the idea! 🙂

You can add some spices and (natural flavorings), to either of these, to really transform your summer-cool-off beverages or whenever you want your coffee for your own personal, Chill Out! 🙂

I’ve recipes for these too, also either available from online, for class participants, subscribers only or when completed and published, in my book—

‘The Gathering Place Feast Book’
(“How anyone can turn their home into a 5 star restaurant!”)
By Dahni

Note: If you like Nitro (nitrogen treated), Coffee, I cannot help you. I don’t care for it, my wife Susan does, but I certainly do not have the necessary equipment or nitrogen sitting around in my mad-scientist lab in the basement! And there will not be one in the future, either, EVER! 🙂

OK, what’s next?

Other Beverages with Coffee

Other beverages with coffee? Like what? How about Adult Beverages (alcohol or non-alcoholic), for your Libations and Happy Together Hours! Coffee Liqueur made by you? Absolutely! How about a home-made ‘Coffee-tini’ by your’s truly, Dahnini or Dahnitini, mixologist; drink meister extraordinaire! 🙂

Desserts With Coffee

Coffee ice cream, coffee cake, tiramisu, coffee pie, coffee cookies anyone? We’ve got em’ and a lot more. Make your own! Make up your own.

Coffee as a Spice

Ground coffee as a spice? Sure, why not? Use as a rub, or part of a meat sauce for hamburgers and etc. The possibilities are endless. Use it. Make up some great stuff!

Coffee in Art & Literature

Yes! I’ve used coffee as a watercolor background, for some of my photograph turned paintings. Remember, Thomas Jefferson loved coffee and said it was the most civilized drink in the world. He may have had coffee when he was working on the drafts, to the Declaration of Independence. Maybe our Founders of this wonderful Republic of Ours, consummated its signing, before, during or after, with coffee. Poets and authors wrote and write, while consuming coffee. I have a cup of coffee beside me, as I am writing this. Now maybe this is not literature, but I am writing and I am drinking coffee, while doing it!

Coffee Around Your Home

I’ve already mentioned using your used coffee grounds, on roses and hydrangeas. It’s great fertilizer. Coffee grounds contain several key minerals for plant growth — nitrogen, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and chromium. Compost with 40% coffee produce less green-house gas and contributes greatly, to some of the best quality compost.  Coffee around your plants helps create a barrier that slugs and snails do not like to crawl over. Coffee grounds contain compounds that are toxic to many insects. You can use your coffee grounds to repel mosquitoes, fruit flies, beetles and other pests. Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, which helps eliminate odors. Try placing some roasted beans in your refrigerator or really, anywhere you want to neutralize odors. Place some grounds by your sink for scrubbing your hands, after handling onions or garlic.  Take some roasted coffee beans in a plastic bag with you, when you go shopping, especially for fragrances, perfume, cologne, scented candles or anything with a fragrance or scent. After sniffing a few fragrances, your ‘nose’ can become overwhelmed and you can hardly sense another aroma’s attributes. Open your bag of roasted coffee beans and sniff them for a few seconds. Your ‘nose’ for new scents will come back to you! Do not worry about what others may think about you sniffing coffee beans at the store. I have found many places offer this technique (service with coffee beans), and I always recommend it to the stores I shop at, if they don’t already offer this. It really does work! Try it! There are seemingly endless and countless ways to use coffee!

Coffee for Your Health and Wellness

Do some research and you will find that coffee consumption has many health benefits. My sister makes a fabulous shower scrub with coffee! My wife, Susan, loves it! Not to get personal or anything, but coffee is a diuretic. It helps eliminate salt and well, it helps you go. Coffee is excellent for constipation, it keeps me regular! Some people use coffee as a laxative. Some use coffee for enemas, to clean-out their digestive tracts and rid it of a buildup of toxins and poisons. Many people who do this, report feeling healthier, happier and much more energetic. That being said, personally, I would rather drink and consume my fresh coffee! There are so many things coffee can do, for us and that we can do with coffee.

For more information on potential health and wellness attributes of coffee (for class participants and subscribers ONLY), see the password protected link for Chapter 9

Coffee for Conversation

In my book, I will have a section on making your own home made ‘Beverages’. I call this section, ‘Sips with Susan’ (my wife). Whether it is during our Happy Together Times (Happy Hour), or our morning coffee, we sit and sip, enjoy one another’s company and converse about little things, no-things of great importance or great things, which truly matter. This is what conversations are for and I truly believe, coffee promotes good conversation. Even if you are a tea drinker, have you ever invited someone or have you ever been invited to, ‘Have a Cup of Coffee’? I’m sure that you have! Even if you are having tea, saying you are having a cup of coffee with someone is a good-feeling, friendly, civil and cultural thing to do! When John F. Kennedy was campaigning for president, he was the first candidate to visit ladies groups and organizations for ‘Coffee Talks’, but he referred to them as “Tea Talks”! 🙂

Coffee as Gifts

Almost everyone loves and craves for, “A Taste of Home,” “Home Made”, “Home Cooking” or just going or being HOME! You could help provide these wonderful and good feelings, by giving away as gifts, some of your roasted coffee beans. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and on and on, a gift of your coffee would be like any other special gift, but it’s made by you and it’s FRESH. What about coffee as a home warming gift? The new house owners may be living out of boxes, for awhile, but I bet they have found their coffee maker and it’s in their kitchen. Imagine them sitting around and sipping your coffee, while they decide where to put all their furniture, where to hang or put this and that. How about your coffee, for a baby announcement? Think about the new mom and dad, sitting around and enjoying your fresh roasted beans that they ground and brewed, while they think about names for the baby. A coffee gift of thanks, appreciation, friendship and love? Yes! The possibilities are too numerous to even try and list! The greatest gift that can ever be given is said to be, the gift you give of yourself! You are and your own fresh roasted beans are synonymous. You and your beans are one! Give the gift of yourself! 🙂

Where to Go from Here?

Coffee, it’s Not Just for Waking Up!

 

This concludes our series on roasting coffee, ‘Toast the Roast’. Remember this, it is really simple to roast your own coffee! I hope like me, you enjoy learning. I hope you have learned something!

Learning is, an Exciting adventure! 

I hope you are excited! I close with raising my cup to you, to…

‘Toast Your Roast!’ 

 

The next posts are password protected and are subject to removal and/or change at my discretion. It is not open to the public, just you and for a limited time ONLY!

Chapter 7 — ‘Toast the Roast’ “Expanded Supplies & Equipment” PASSWORD PROTECTED

 

‘Toast the Roast’
“Coffee Talk with Dahni”

(a series about roasting your own coffee) #2 of 4

By Dahni
©️ 2019, all rights reserved

Talking Coffee

I’m not boasting, I’m just ‘roasting’.
I have ‘bean’ around.
‘Grounds’ for ‘espresso’-ing yourself!
Something’s ‘roasting’!
Something’s ‘grinding’!
Something’s ‘brewing’!

A live presentation, how anyone can roast their own coffee at home (or even while camping), to your satisfaction, simply, easily, fresh, inexpensively and, for a whole lot of fun!

Here are several benefits to you:

• Your favorite coffee(s) whenever you want!
• Coffee roasted to your satisfaction!
• Pennies per cup instead of dollars you probably pay now.
• Organic Fair Trade (FT) or Rain Forest Initiative (RFI) coffee – better, for you, better, for the environment, and better, for the workers involved that have grown it for you!
• The freshest coffee you may have ever tasted!

And last, but not least, coffee you are pleased to drink, share with your loved ones/guests, take it ‘on the road’ and it COULD, all be roasted by, YOU!
Great gift ideas too!

What you will receive:

• A Little history about coffee.
• Information about your instructor (a retired chef)
• Information about coffee.
• About what your ancestors probably did, during the American Civil War.
• Demonstrations of two methods- popcorn popper and a skillet. Yes, you read that right. 😀
• Watch, listen and smell the beans change in color, to the desired roast.
• Live, written and visual instructions.
• Resources, for everything you would need to do this yourself (very, very inexpensively).
• See and smell fresh dark roasted and ground coffee, for espresso and etc.
• Receive a recipe of a blend of beans, to make your own dark roast, for espresso, cappuccino, latte, and etc.
Enjoy a nice cup of freshly brewed, fresh ground and fresh roasted cup of coffee, from ‘The Gathering Place Roasters’

Leave with a 1/4 pound of fresh roasted coffee you can grind and brew, for YOUR OWN next morning coffee talk! Two people with winning tickets, will each receive 1/2 pound from the two (2), roasts from class, one from the popcorn popper and one from the skillet.

Coffee roasted for class:

Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. It is a variety of coffee very much appreciated all over the world. It is produced in Ethiopia, in Central East Africa. These precious beans are grown in the homonymous region, sometimes transliterated as Yirgachefe or Irgachefe [pronounced eer-ga-chef-f]. These fine Yirgacheffe beans become a high-quality Arabica coffee with a dense fruity sweetness and are from Indigenous Heirloom Cultivars.

Not everyone knows that coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia and then exported all over the world. It looks like a young shepherd in Kaffa, the Ethiopian region where the first plants were discovered, could not believe how his goats, always slow and lazy, would get so excited after eating those unknown little fruits.

Class is Limited to 14
Cost: $30 per person

Disclaimer: There is nothing sold or to buy at this event and the instructor is neither an affiliate of any company or derives any income by promoting any product!

Approximate length of class: 1 1/2-2 hours

What is provided:

• Live instruction
• Grill, for roasting coffee
• All equipment, for roasting
• All class materials, handouts and etc.
• Ground coffee sufficient to brew enough, for each participant
•1/4 pound foil vacuumed sealed bags of fresh roasted coffee, sufficient enough, for all participants to take home plus (2) half-pound bags from class roasts to (2) participants with the winning numbers.
•Display table with other items/equipment you may find helpful/useful
• The Password to a protected page on this blog, for links to many of items I use and/or you might be interested in? This supply page is not open to the public, but is just, for participants of our classes, it’s password protected and, for a limited time only.
• Setup/take down of all equipment and etc. that The Gathering Place Roasters provide

50 Mile Radius of Macedon, NY 14568:

We will only provide classes within a 50 mile radius of—

• The Gathering Place • 2591 Wiedrick Road • Walworth, NY 14568

Click map for a larger size

About me:

My name is Dahni (pronounced Donnie or Donny). I am a retired chef and with the ‘Toast the Roast’ series, I have come full-circle. In all my years in the food industry, I never roasted coffee. I never even thought it was possible – too expensive, for the training and equipment and where would I be able to get just a small amount of green beans to roast? All this has changed now! I can do it myself very inexpensively, with just the amount of green beans that I need and I can start my day and finish off a fine meal with my own— fresh roasted, fresh ground and fresh brewed coffee anytime, anyplace and, for anyone. Many enjoy the the beginning of their morning or the finish of a fine meal, with a great cup of coffee. This is my coming “full-circle”. I am not a master roaster nor do I have any intention of becoming one. I do not roast coffee, for sale and have no future imagined, on ever selling it. I am not an affiliate or a promoter of any business service or product and I do not receive any compensation or benefits whatsoever, from any company, product or service to advertise or recommend them. What I am is, passionate about roasting my own coffee to my satisfaction and showing anyone how they can roast to their satisfaction— simply, inexpensively and with a great deal of enjoyment! But as a former chef, I would serve my coffee to anyone! So could you!

Contact:

If you are interested in hosting a class or know someone that may be, please email me— dahni1@gmail.com  Please include your name, information, location (address), and phone number, and I will contact you ASAP, as a rule, within 24 hours. By the way, I drink coffee winter, spring, summer and fall and therefore, I roast year-round outdoors and often inside our garage with the overhead door open (up), covered from the falling elements and protected from the wind.  So if you have an area that is well ventilated and covered, we can roast anywhere and anytime. So can you!

LinkedIN: Dahni Hayden
Twitter: Just I-Magine

The 4 M’s of the Italian Art of Coffee:

Macinazione [pronounced: mot-sea-not-sea-owney]— “the grind” (medium grind for class)
Miscela [pronounced: me-say-la]— “the blend” (single origin organic coffee)
Macchina [pronounced: mah-chee-na]— “the machine” (roaster, grinder, brewer)
Mano– [pronounced: mah-no]— “the hand that serves”, from roast to toast) “Toast the Roast”—

Alla Vita

(Italian: “to life”)

 

Update: 7/1/2019

Good Morning! 🙂

‘Toast the Roast’ – “Coffee talk with Dahni”, July 6th, 2019 10:00 AM has been canceled and will be rescheduled ASAP. Because this was inadvertently scheduled during the upcoming 4-day weekend, celebrating Independence Day, this change was necessary. I apologize for any inconvenience. Stay tuned, We will let you know in advance of any new dates, ASAP.

This may well be a ‘Live’ FaceBook podcast and maybe recorded later, for a larger audience. I will keep you posted.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5 — ‘Toast the Roast’ “Roast Away” (How to roast coffee anywhere, anytime)

‘Toast the ROASTER’ “For Master Roaster: The original Java Joe, Joseph J. Palozzi”

By Dahni ©️ 2019, all rights reserved

This post, (Chapter), is dedicated to and is meant to be a tribute to, the original Java Joe, Joe Palozzi, or simply, “Joe”. I have written about Joe at other times and in other places. I’ve started a series on the Gathering Place blog, still incomplete. I’ve struggled with this since his passing in March of 2017. I took it hard. Still do, but I think all I wanted to say about Joe, is here to follow. It is time. Joe was the grandfather of micro-roasted (small batch), coffee, since 1974. Yes, Starbucks ®️, whom Joe referred to as Scarchucks, had their original beginning in Seattle, WA, in 1971. But it was a joint venture of three college students, who were taught how to roast (OVER-roast), coffee by Alfred Peet (Peet’s Coffee). They only sold roasted (OVER-roasted), whole beans that they purchased from “Peet”, they used equipment from “PEET” to roast (OVER-roast), those beans, and sold equipment by “PEET”. Except for samples, they never offered brewed coffee until, 1987. Joe was doing this since 1974. So yes, “Joe”, Java Joe, Joe Palozzi was the grandfather of micro-roasted (small batch) coffee beans— fresh roasted, fresh ground, and fresh brewed coffee! He was the pioneer of the coffee bar for the United States. And he has always built his own roasters himself, from a 19th Century design. To my knowledge, two of his original roasters are still in operation, in Rochester, NY, to this day. If you were born or raised, living in Rochester, NY in 1974, there was a great possibility you either met Joe or someway or another, had some of what he roasted, his COFFEE! Joe opened his first coffee shop, Pittsford’s (Pittford, NY), Cafe Primo, in 1974. By the 1980s, he was in Hawaii, making a living as an organic coffee farmer and playing golf in his bare feet. There is a lot of mystery about Joe. I couldn’t even find the month and day he was born, just the year. Along life’s way, Joe did many things, but he finally settled on coffee. The entire Rochester area was spoiled and perhaps took for granted, the treasures here, few others even come close to having. Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb (the big three), were all here. French’s Mustard was here. And you can thank (or not), some government scientist, working in the Rochester area, for the fluoride in the water of almost anywhere in the world today. The personal computer was invented here by Xerox, before IBM, Microsoft & Apple were even thought of yet. The digital camera was invented here by Kodak. Adobe was started by people that worked for Kodak. Incredible innovators and artists were here in plenty. Some great ideas were started here, but never went anywhere else or someone else, someplace else, made them happen. I’ll give you an example of what I thought was a great idea at the time, but never happened. I’ll bet you never knew that I tried to sell whole beans of coffee by the pound, years ago? And not just any coffee, but Joe’s, of course. And of course, he would get the credit for it, but Joe didn’t care, he just wanted to roast and sell coffee. My idea was to make custom designed labels and you could purchase them for gifts and etc. and it would have your name on it. Look—   Oh, and music—musicians and composers and singers, some of the best in the entire world were here and some are, still here. Part of the problem was, there were just so many, in one place, I guess? Other than Chuck and Gap Mangione, few make it beyond Rochester. There’s a glut of geniuses and talent here, but unless you were born here, raised here or live here, you probably wouldn’t know these are just the facts. The same can be said of Joe, You may have never heard of him? But I would venture an educated guess, you have heard two words thought, written or spoken together, “Java Joe”! Well, this is the man, behind those words. But even if you have never met Java Joe or tasted his coffee, we all owe him a debt of gratitude and appreciation! By “we” I mean, almost everyone in the USA, if not other countries too! The facts are that before Joe, Java Joe, there was no fresh roasted coffee, master roasters, and coffee bars that sold by the cup, fresh brewed, from fresh ground and from fresh, expertly roasted coffee. virtually, anywhere else, but in this area! Well, here is a question for you. If everything I have written above about Joe is true (and they are true), why isn’t there a Java Joe’s, wholesale bean roasting and coffee bar on almost every street corner in the the world, instead of that “other” outfit? That’s a good question. Joe had wondered about this for years. Why had the retail coffee world, passed him by? I suppose the same question could be asked about all the other talent in abundance (a plethora), from this area, why or why not?? Poor management? No agents? Who knows why? But you could go to almost any local bar & grill on any night and find incredible, incredible music, and most likely, Joe’s coffee. His coffee was found at many grocery stores, online, shipped all over and even many of the finest 4 star restaurants in this area, ALL HAD (many still have), their coffees from Joe (by those that keep his legacy alive).

When Joe opened Java’s (still there), it was downtown Rochester, NY on Gibbs St. and right next to the George Eastman Theater (the guy who started Kodak). WOW, even back then, George recognized the talent in this area. Eastman School of Music is still today, one of the best schools, for music anywhere. All three of Susan’s sons, are all incredibly musically talented and one of them has a master’s degree, from Eastman. My pride is not the point. Right next to a theater, comparable to most major, major cities of greater size, there was (is), Java’s. Joe opened Javas on Gibbs in 1992. Mike Calabrese took over the business in 1997.

It was the most central, cultural, popular, eclectic and bohemian drawing place, in all of Rochester, NY, and the surrounding area. All races, colors, creeds and people of interest, would be found here. Musicians, homeless, starving-artists, wealthy people,  business people in three-piece suits, people in full tuxedos with their musical instruments in cases and in tow came in mass. The Interior was rustic with wooden floors, worn tables, and artist’s works hung on the the walls for sale, to notice or were gifts to the real draw here, the man that roasted the coffee, Joe! In the middle of the often standing-line only crowds, there would be Joe, roasting coffee. People like Chuck Mangione playing his flugelhorn and his brother Gap, tuning and then expertly playing (and all this for FREE), on an old donated piano could be found at Java’s. Many pianists here, know how and often do, tune their own pianos. Joe had enough of the noise, the hustle and bustle and he left, for the public market. His partner, Mike Calabrese would continue to run Java’s and Joe would roast the coffee. So he loaded up his truck and moved his roaster to….sorry I was thinking of a song.  🤣 Joe moved his roaster to The Rochester Public Market. Over there, he only had to be open twice a week to the general public and he could just do what he loved, roast coffee in relative peace and quiet. Over there years, he probably has been in every building at the market. Two of his hand built roasters are still there. One was seized through a messy divorce and the other one, Joe built another one, just about 3 doors down, where it still roasts his coffee, by people he taught, to this day.

In the above picture, this was Joe’s place at one place among many at the Public Market. His was a corner lot with some parking and including the building in blue. He lost this in a nasty divorce, his once excellent credit rating, the roaster that he built and his even his employee, he personally taught how to roast. His roaster is still there today, roasting coffee under a different name.           Several doors down on the right (not seen in picture), is where I first met Joe. From here he moved to that corner lot. There he lost his roaster and then, he moved again, and built another roaster, where it is still, to this day. Today, this still roasts today, by those he taught and is now owned by Mike Calabrese, Joe’s former partner, who still owns and runs Java’s downtown Rochester, NY, next to Eastman Theater. Joe was always open to his wholesale clients. Most times you would find just Joe, just doing what he loved, just roasting coffee. If you happened to be there when he brewed up a pot for himself, he would share some. It’s not that I don’t think Joe didn’t like people, I just believe he was focused and just didn’t like crowds. I didn’t and don’t much either. And even though Joe started in 1974, when I was living in another state, just starting to ‘like’ coffee, I was first introduced to Joe, around 2003. I didn’t live in Rochester until around 2001. My wife Susan, Introduced me to Java’s downtown and Joe’s coffee. A friend of mine was running a small coffee bar restaurant. He bought all his coffee from Joe. One Monday morning, I was at Nick & Connie Reda’s, ‘Berean Cafe’. It was pick-up day for Nick (a fine Christian man, musician and music teacher), to re-supply his coffee stores at the cafe.. Nick invited me to come along. On our way, Nick tried to prepare me, for meeting Joe. Nick said, “Joe, well Joe, can be a little intimidating, opinionated; like a seaman’s salty dog in his brash and colorful language. Well, Joe, is just Joe, but he makes great coffee!” I already knew about Joe’s coffee, so there was no surprise there. The place was an old building in and out. It had lots of space; nothing fancy. There were a few tables and chairs, a counter with a grinder, a cappuccino/espresso machine, a brewer and some insulated pots for keeping the fresh brewed coffee hot. But mostly, it all centered around this big coffee roaster, shelves, barrels and bins of many kinds of green beans roasted coffees, paper bags for coffee, an old scale for weighing the beans and Joe, just Joe. That day and most days, Joe never even turned on the lights, to not draw attention, I’m guessing? I’m not even sure he always locked his doors, either. I know I had to track him down one time, to tell him they weren’t! 😊 Well, that day and most days, Joe was open, for his wholesale clients like Nick. Joe used words like “clients” instead of customers, for those whom bought his coffee. He was in his own way, always trying to elevate and educate the public about coffee. He knew all those Italian names and nomenclature, how to roast, grind and brew coffee, prepare espresso and other beverages with dark roasted coffees. He knew, did and taught others how to do those incredible artsy latte art things, with foamed milk and chocolate sauce hand painted with tooth picks or paint brushed creations. Joe was all self taught. Where did he learn all this stuff? I do not know, but one time he was in Italy, trying to make a living selling Life Insurance, to soldiers stationed there. I figure he learned the whole Barista culture from Italy. But Joe brought it to the United States. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “All roads Lead to Rome!” Well, one way or another, all the coffee roads led to Rochester, NY and to Java Joe! Unfortunately for Joe, all those roads and the people that left here, led to someplace else. As he thought, the Coffee Industry just passed him by!” I for one, whenever I see, hear about or otherwise know about the US Barista Culture, I’ll credit Joe, for all of it! But honestly, Joe could care less. He just wanted to roast coffee, sell it and drink it, black, always black, to taste as many of those 1200 flavor profiles in all coffee, as much as possible. This is exactly why, Joe could not stand over-roasted coffee.

“Are you wanting the taste of burnt caramel, from a dark roast, for your espresso? Coffee is one thing, but espresso is another. One is for medium roast and the other for dark. Don’t confuse the two! Don’t burn the beans! You can’t taste anything from that black dark crap, other than burnt little pieces (over-roasted coffee beans), of charcoal in hot water! I don’t know what in the hell that is, but it’s not coffee! Don’t over-roast and burn the f—ing beans!”

-Java Joe-

Joe was a master roaster! Roasting it is both a highly developed skill and an art. So is or should be, the consumption of coffee! I now believe part of the reason Joe was never recognized world-wide, was mostly in part to our taught and continuing ignorance about coffee. Before 1957, most restaurants, diners, gas stations and homes were ‘perking’ their coffee on a stove in aluminum per-co-lators. This took time. And for the most part, everyone was drinking and selling dark, black, so-called coffee from a can, from probably either Folgers®️ or Maxwell House®️. They didn’t even roast, they baked the hell out of the beans.This is part of our history in the United States. Then in 1957, the paper filter and pour over brewer was invented and the Bunn coffeemakers were introduced commercially. Everyone at home still had to perk theirs until the home Bunn model became available, in 1963. The end results of Bunn ®️ were better and quicker, but everyone was still, for the most part drinking burnt, over roasted (or over-baked) coffee, roasted who knows when, from a can that had been packed in nitrogen to preserve it’s familiar aroma, for who knows how long. I wanted to write its burnt smell, but I wanted to be nice, but this is exactly what it is. Joe discovered more, so much, much more! There are around 1200 flavor profiles in coffee, all coffee, all the time, always! One never gets to tastes them if they are burnt out of them. They are all different, all the time and always. No two coffee origins will ever taste the same, every single time or even day to day. Well, that’s not good for consistency. That does not keep or grow your business, unless, your business is about educating and masterfully delivering on those complex and elusive. 1200 flavor profiles in coffee. I think this is in part, why Joe seemed prickly to many people. There is a lot of ignorance in the world of coffee. It’s one thing to be ignorant, but something entirely different to be stupid, when right teaching is available, and Joe was a willing and master teacher. Joe taught me that noone is ever going to be ‘coffee free’ until, they understand how coffee is supposed to taste, all 1200 flavor profiles and black. Now I still put cream and sugar in mine, but I can at least tell the difference between fresh and stale, and what real good roasted coffee tastes like instead of burnt, over-roasted, baked, fried or the nuclear crap called coffee. I’m not there yet, but I ‘m working on pure-black-coffee and getting myself free. Joe taught me and I’m repeating it here,  you’ve never had coffee if all you know is burnt charcoal. Starbucks reformed the lie, made it consistent, rebranded and repackaged the most highly acidic and caffeinated burnt beverage in the marketplace today. They hyped it, made it a cultural thing and demand high prices for the privilege of drinking what has not been changed for well over a hundred years, burnt (over-roasted), coffee. OK, let’s suppose that caffeine is your thing. How does Starbucks®️ do it? Do they add even more? Do they bio-engineer the beans they buy? Probably not! Caffeine is in the bean itself. Some by their very nature have more of it or less than others. But here is the fact, a secret to most people. The longer your roast the beans, the more caffeine is removed! So why EVER over-roast or burn the beans??? Something more? Yes, I guess, that burnt taste? I know people that will never drink anything other than Starbucks®️, McDonalds®️, and other chains that each have their own version and consistent brands of burnt. Dunkin Donuts ®️ do not over-roast theirs,(except their dark roast), but use either blends or less quality beans, but not organic. They all live under the lie that it aint 🤣 isn’t or ares’nt 😂 coffee unless its burnt (whether they ever use or think of the word “burnt” or not), because that is what it is! A dark roast is not for coffee it’s for espresso etc. This is how I found and met Joe. Nick’s warning or heads-up to prepare me, was lost on me. I got Joe and his intensity and his intense, steel blue eyes, from the very first moment! He was real! No pretending, he was Joe, always just Joe, Java Joe! For my part, Joe was my friend. I don’t know how he felt about me, he never said, but deeds and actions matter. Joe always remembered me. He always sold me coffee when I came in. He liked cash, but he always took my check. I have found at least one of those checks, exactly where I left it when I came back around a month later. Joe sold coffee to me at wholesale prices. Often if I came in and he was talking to other people, he would stop what he was doing and help me. Many, many times when I came to see him, it was just Joe and I. He would be at some stage of the roasting process and we would just talk about coffee. I was never interested in roasting coffee because, I thought it was way beyond my skill level to even learn, beyond my bank account to invest in the needed equipment and especially, out of my means to purchase, the hundreds of pounds of coffee that seemed to all be required. Joe had burlap bags and bins and wood barrels of green coffee beans, 100’s and hundreds of pounds of green coffee beans. We would just talk coffee. Joe and I would argue (friendly), for our personal favorite coffee. His was Kona from Hawaii. He lived there for a while. He could have quoted Mark Twain

” I think Kona coffee has a richer flavor than any other.”

Mark Twain, Letters From Hawaii

I would argue, for my favorite, Blue Mountain, from Jamaica. I lived there for awhile. I could have said, Joe, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), was a Missourian. So am I, born and raised. Missouri is, the Show Me state. I don’t think Mark (or Samuel), ever made it to Jamaica? But I lived there for awhile and Ian Fleming lived there for years, at his place he called, ‘Golden Eye’. There, he wrote many of his most famous books and introduced the world to, his fictional character, 007, “Bond, James Bond.” In Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming describes Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee as—

“the most delicious coffee in the world!”

James Bond, ‘Live & Let Die’, By Ian Fleming

I will say this about my ‘Blue’ and Joe. At one time, in order for Joe to purchase Blue Mountain, it had to be a minimum of around 440 pounds in a wood barrel, shipped by boat, train and truck from Jamaica. You do the math. At the time, It sold retail, for $55 a roasted pound! And Joe, even though he liked Kona better, he could roast it exactly like I remembered it, when I had it in Jamaica! But at $55 a pound, I couldn’t afford that and I would only buy a half a pound around the holidays. But Joe had to move that coffee and at 440 pounds, it was quite a feat to do! Joe knew coffee in and out, everything about it, everything about each origin and how to bring out the best in each one. And this is what Joe and I would talk about, just coffee. In 1974, I was just starting to like coffee. In 2003, when I met Joe, I fell in love with coffee! ☕️ Mike Calabrese, partner (L) and Joe (R), talking coffee over coffee, with a picture of Joe, by a chalk artist, on the wall behind. No, Joe didn’t teach me how to roast coffee. Joe taught me how to love coffee and I think he would love that I can now, roast to my satisfaction with even greater love than he first imparted to me! I was never interested in roasting until about 2012. I still not interested in roasting commercially as a business. It is just a passion and a craft I have developed and because of Joe. I think he would be pleased to know that I am roasting on a open flame on my grill, in the garage, all year long— once a week and about two pounds at a time. Joe was close as he ever could have been, to going viral and becoming a household name. There was a husband and wife team that started a bread company years ago called, Montana Mills. Oh, while their breads were rising, their locations and popularity were too! There was some big money behind them as they expanded rapidly. They approached Joe about a dual joint venture, a new concept store. One side would have Montana Mills and the other side with a pass-thru, would be Joe’s, selling whole roasted beans and fresh brewed coffee by the cup. The pass-thru could be closed, allowing either to open or close at their discretion. The first of several planned locations was constructed, I saw it, it was cool, but it never opened. When Joe found out that the owners wanted him to roast his coffee like ‘Scarchucks’, he told them to get the bean burners to roast for them, he was not going to over-roast and burn his coffee!! So, that was it. Later, Krispy Kreme Donuts bought Montana Mills. That did not last long! Today, you can only find Krispy Kreme Donuts in some grocery stores around here and the only evidence of Montana Mills was, Great Harvest Bread Company where they somehow were able to acquire, some of the original bread recipes, from Montana Mills.

Joe used to only sell coffee beans in paper bags.

“What do you need cans of nitrogen packed coffee for to preserve it’s freshness? Coffee is meant to be brewed and consumed, in 7-10 days, from when it was first roasted, not years ago!”

-Joe-

 

Then Joe started using vacuum sealed foil bags, not to preserve the freshness so much, but to off-gas the CO2, within the first hours after roasting and some believe, for up to 24-36-48 hours depending on the variety, before you grind and brew. To me, Joe summed himself up personally, in the following.

“When you taste our coffee I personally guarantee it will be the best coffee you ever tasted.”

 Java Joe

No, Joe did not teach me how to roast coffee. But he pretty much taught me most of all I know about coffee. Most importantly, he taught me HOW to Love Coffee! I think he would be happy, that I am still ‘LovN it’ and now, I can roast my own. I’ll never be a master roaster like Joe, but I do roast to my satisfaction and can show others, just like you taught me Joe, HOW TO LOVE COFFEE! And now, I can also show anyone, how they can roast their own coffee beans to their satisfaction, with a popcorn popper or a skillet and some green beans that I can buy, even just a half of pound at a time, if that is all I need. So can anyone!

What led me to this journey—
Living in Jamaica for a time opened my eyes to the movement of coffee across the islands — from Haiti to Jamaica, and from Jamaica back to Haiti. That passage between lands stirred my own exploration into the origins of coffee. Years afterward, those same pathways inspired what I eventually called my RESET blend — not as invention, but as a rediscovery of the historic trek of coffee across islands and generations.

To pay tribute to the man who taught me to love coffee, I returned to Java’s with the hope that my blend might, in some small way, stand as a gesture of gratitude to the original, the one and only, Java Joe — or simply, my friend Joe.

In closing, all I can write is: Thank you, Joe!

I miss our good conversations, but I smile and imagine you on some beach in Hawaii, playing golf in your bare feet, roasting, grinding, brewing, and enjoying Kona — your favorite — and maybe even getting a chuckle about me roasting coffee with my popcorn popper and skillet, while still loving my Blue Mountain (when I can afford it).

☕️ Yes, Joe, I still love coffee!

Still and forever your friend,

  Chapter 2 — ‘Toast the Roast’ ‘My Art of Manliness”