Waking up to coffee in your Polish Pottery Cup

They say it is the little things in life that make your life great. Well, if that is so then there are about a million little things in my life that makes it great! Coffee beans. They are little and there is about a million of them hiding in my pantry. Caffein is my second favorite drug of choice. Although, it will keep me up at night. Polish pottery being number one. 

A few years ago, I noticed that the cost of my basic ground coffee had jumped in price $3.00 per pound in one year. That is huge when you are on a budget. So, as my usual M.O., I hit the world wide web in search of cost cutting options. And wouldn’t you know it? I found an answer! One that seemed so simple, I could not believe that I had not thought of it myself. Home roasting.

I can do this! I discussed where I was, and what I was thinking with my husband. He is so supportive of all my projects. He quickly Green lighted this quest with gusto, as he too is a coffee drinker. I ordered my little roaster, ordered my beans, and waited. And waited. Like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning! The excitement building over the 7 to 10 days free shipping gets you. I passed my time watching YouTube videos. Learning all I could from them. 

I joined all the home roaster communities I could find. Only one thing really stuck out to me, most home roasters are men. Very few women were in the communities. It really is a frat house type of community out there on the WWW. You ask a question and instead of honest good answers, I was bombarded by patronizing remarks and snide comments. I was like, “seriously, this is how you answer a question?” Needless to say, I left quite a few groups. It was going to be all me, baby!

The day my roaster arrived, I was ready! I had a plan, I had my beans, I had a table all set up right outside my door. I meticulously weighed out my green beans. I calculated times and temperatures, and fan speeds. I poured my beans in and pressed “Go.” It was glorious!

7.5 minutes later, my very first roast was over. I had taken notes, everything I did marked in my coffee roasting guide for the novice woman roaster. My sunroom smelled heavenly. My roasted beans looked beautiful and smelled even better. AND, we wait again. Talk about a huge anticlimax. 3 days later, I ground up my beans to make my first pot of coffee. Is it plausible to use the word glorious too much?

It was the best tasting coffee I had ever taken a drink of. Not bitter at all, soft peachy notes with hints of vanilla and tea. It did not have that drying after taste either. I don't know if these are proper taste adjectives, but it is what I thought I was tasting. I will always remember that first pot of my home roasted coffee. It filled me with joy because it was better than the stuff I had been buying.

Now, nearly two years into this roasting odyssey, I can say that it is a hobby that is sticking with me. It is a hobby that provides for my family. I enjoy this hobby, which is huge. I wake up every morning and there is wonderful coffee in my Polish Pottery cup!