Customize your coffee: Create personalized beverages at home

(ARA) – Home personalization has extended to new heights, going beyond the trend of creating customized kitchens to creating customized beverages. Consumers are brewing up personalized specialty coffee drinks on par with those in high-end restaurants and coffee shops. In fact, “do-it-yourself flavor” is among the top 10 beverage trends of the year, according to The Food Channel, a leading online source for food industry trends.

This trend is due, in part, to the uncertain economy. Recent research from the International Food Information Council found that 79 percent of consumers cite price as a key factor in deciding which drink items to purchase in a store. With equipment and recipes readily available today, consumers are embracing this DIY trend and cutting costs by making their own custom drinks at home.

Whatever your taste preference, it’s easy to create personalized beverages for yourself, your family and guests to enjoy all winter long.

Hot-coffee indulgence.
According to the National Coffee Association, gourmet coffee continues to be a significant portion (37 percent) of total coffee consumed. If hot coffee is your way to pamper yourself, endless varieties are available, from classic French roast to Hawaiian Kona and New Orleans chicory.

Choose to brew your way.
To make great coffee, start with the right coffeemaker. Look for one that fills easily and lets you create large or small batches and different brew strengths. For instance, Calphalon’s Quick Brew 12-cup Coffee Maker offers both regular or bold custom brew settings – plus the flexibility to brew up to 12 cups at a time when you have a crowd, or just one to four cups for smaller groups. Brewing up to 25 percent faster than comparable standard coffee makers, the Calphalon Quick Brew 12-cup Coffee Maker won’t keep your guests waiting either.

Add creme to your cup.
Once you’ve brewed your coffee, personalize it further with coffee creamers. They’re available in everything from traditional vanilla, almond or hazelnut to enticing new combinations like honey-vanilla creme and white chocolate caramel latte.

Make it special.
Many specialty coffee drinks are also easy to make at home, such as mocha coffee, gingerbread coffee, almond coffee and Irish coffee. They can often be made with just a few simple ingredients from recipes on websites such as allrecipes.com and others, providing a fun way to top off a dinner party or savor alone by the fireplace.

Create a new blend.
Research shows more coffee lovers are buying whole beans and grinding them at home for a fresher, richer flavor. Take your coffee grinds one step further and become a true “Roastmaster” by creating a whole new blend of your own. Mix and match flavored beans or beans from different coffee-growing countries to develop new tastes and sensations you won’t find in your average cup of coffee. For peak flavor and the ultimate freshness, package your blend in an airtight container and store it in a dark, room-temperature location.

So go ahead and turn yourself loose in the kitchen. It’s easier than ever to customize your cup.

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Coffee roast is determined by how long the coffee is in the roaster, the temperature it is roasted at and what color the bean is after it roasts. It is defined as light, medium or dark and the flavor will be reflected by the roast of the coffee.

Coffee beans are green prior to being roasted. Roasting the coffee bean turns it into the chocolate colored bean most people are accustomed to seeing. Coffee roasters are masters of their art and have learned to know how to tell when the bean as reached its desired color. They are also adept at knowing how to manipulate the temperatures to reach the desired flavors by capturing the coffee bean’s many different essential oils that create its unique flavor. Light roasted coffee should have a slightly acidic taste with a citrus or fruity finish.

Light coffee roasts are not as popular as other coffee roasts. On one hand the resulting coffee is not as strong as medium and darker roast coffees while on the other hand some coffee drinkers say that light roasts capture more of the coffee beans true flavors.  This could be true because the beans composite makeup is more intact than one that has been roasted longer. Lighter roasts usually contain more caffeine than dark roasts because the caffeine has not burned off during a long roasting process.

Dark coffee roasts are popular roasts among many people. Dark roasted coffee beans spend more time in the roaster than other roasts and they are roasted at a higher temperature. Dark roasted coffee beans lose the majority of their true coffee bean flavor resulting in a much more consistent taste. Dark roasting can make an inferior bean taste like a higher-grade coffee bean. Dark roasted coffee is identifiable by its rich, full body and smoothness. Because it is roasted to the breaking point the acidity is less noticeable. The finish of dark roasted coffee is less noticeable than light roasted coffee.

Medium roasted coffee is the most popular coffee roast. This roasting process falls somewhere between dark roasted and light roasted coffee and is entirely dependent on the roaster. Creating a medium roasted coffee is an art form that creates some of the best coffees in the world. Roasters study coffee regions and learn the different flavors each bean has and then roast them to just the right color for the perfect coffee blend. Medium roast coffees have varying tastes that depend on which side of the spectrum the roaster leaned toward.

Which roast the consumer chooses is entirely a matter of taste. Some people like them all and don’t have a preference while others know exactly what they want when they walk in the coffee shop. The good news is that there is no right or wrong choice; there is a roast for everyone.

-Sharon Chapman

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Roasting coffee beans at home is the best way to insure that coffee is as fresh as it possibly can be, without growing it at home. The beans are purchased green and roasted as they are needed, another factor that insures freshness. Green coffee beans stay fresher longer than roasted coffee beans, which make roasting at home the ultimate way to get fresh coffee.
First, coffee roasting can be done using a popcorn popper. It has the necessary mechanisms, a constant flow of air and movement for the beans to keep them from burning. However, if roasting coffee beans is going to be more than a one-time experiment, it is well worth investing in a proper coffee bean roaster that has timers, temperature controls and more.

There are two main types of coffee bean roasters to consider when searching for a home coffee bean roaster. There is the fluid bed or air roaster and the drum roaster. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered.

The fluid bed or air roaster is designed primarily for home use. These are small appliances that are compact enough for use in most any kitchen. These types of roasters are similar to popcorn makers in that they work using hot air. Some fluid bed roasters allow the individual to see the beans as they roast while others have preset roasting times that are selected before the roasting.

Beginning roasters should choose an air roaster due to the ease of use and the economical costs involved. These roasters are much less expensive than drum roasters and allow home roasters to get a feel for the roasting process before moving to a more complex roaster that requires more hands on supervision.

The downside to the fluid bed roasters is the controls don’t have much variance and some have no controls. They also don’t roast as much coffee as other models and if used often the unit’s motor will burn out quickly. However, it is an excellent beginner model to let users decide how in depth they want to go with their home roasting.

Drum roasters are the other type of roaster that can be purchased for home use. These were once found only in coffee shops but have crossed over to home use. Drum roasters work using either convection or a conduction method. The drum roaster is more complex to use and may take time to master  but in the end it is a better, longer lasting roaster than the fluid bed roaster.

Users of the drum roaster have to learn to listen for the cracking of the beans to know when the roasting process is in full gear and use their sense of smell and timing to get their roast perfect. Once the process is learned, the drum roaster will be the best choice.

Coffee roasters for home use are more popular today but still require a learning curve to get the process just right. Both fluid air and drum roasters will produce a nice roasted coffee bean but the final decision should be based on how often it will be used and how much of a learning process is going to be needed.

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Many people have begun to roast their own coffee beans. This is not a new process but it has undergone many changes due to the invention of different types of home roasters. In order to roast coffee at home, consumers must first find a supplier of green coffee beans. The Internet has many options and can point consumers to the perfect coffee plantation from which to order their green beans.

In order to roast coffee at home there are some crucial elements that must be present, regardless of the type of roaster or equipment used to get the job done.

Green and Roasted Coffee Beans

First, the beans have to reach temperatures ranging from 370 degrees Fahrenheit to 540 degrees Fahrenheit. The faster that the air current is moving through the coffee beans, the lower the temperature can be.

Next, the coffee beans must be in motion continuously to prevent them from burning or having an uneven roast.

Once the roasting process is complete the coffee beans must be quickly cooled down to stop the roasting and prevent them from accidentally burning.

Home coffee roasting must be done be properly ventilated to allow the smoke that is created during roasting to escape.

Lastly, at the end of the roasting process the beans will have shed their outer skin and left a messy substance called chaff that must be cleaned up.

Home roasting might sound as though it will be complicated but it really isn’t. There are many different methods and even commercially made coffee roasters that will do the job quickly and with less work than some of the more primitive methods.

Roasting coffee without an expensive roaster is as simple as pulling out the stovetop popcorn popper. These are older pots that have a handle on the top for stirring and can get as hot as needed. The temperature should be measured using a candy or deep fry thermometer to maintain a constant, steady temperature and prevent scorching. Make sure to turn the stove’s exhaust fan on to help eliminate the smoke that will appear in four to eight minutes after starting the process.

The coffee beans will begin to make cracking sounds about the same time the smoke appears. This is when it is important to check the bean about every minute, as they will change colors fast and frequently. The darkness of the roast is up to the individual.

When the desired roast has been reached the coffee should be removed from the heat immediately, placed in a metal strainer or colander, and allowed to cool. Tossing the beans will help to cool the beans and separate the chaff from the beans for easier removal.

Home roasting allows coffee drinkers to roast their coffee to their exact level of darkness and have more control over the flavor of the coffee. Finding a good supply of green coffee beans and getting either a commercial type coffee roaster or a stove top popcorn popper are all that is necessary to roast coffee beans at home.

-Sharon Chapman

Also, you can read more on green coffee beans at Coffee Beans 101.

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