Up before 5 AM, I got back from the dog walk and started the Normal Routine. Sure, it was a solid hour and a half before sunrise but that's how I roll.
Making the dog's breakfast, I then turned my attention to my own needs.
Coffee.
I have a mug that is a French Press brewer and you drink directly from that. I can make coffee any strength I want in that mug, from what Grandma likes to the hipster quivering espresso, and it's all from home roasted beans.
21 grams of "real" coffee beans. Guatemalan Huehuetenango Finca Antigua I believe. Roasted just before second crack to bring a bold and balanced flavor to the mug.
Sure, it's a bit OCD, measuring out 21 grams, not 22, into the grinder and grinding it to espresso powdered fineness, but it tastes great with scarcely any extra effort.
There's a problem. After this first mug I will need more since I only had 7 grams left. I could mix it with some rather excellent decaf beans that I had on hand, but I knew no matter what I would have to roast more.
Roasting coffee is a trivial process. Getting the green beans is tricky, but the idea of pouring them into the right popcorn popper, plugging it in, and waiting for the right moment to let them come out and be poured into a cooling bowl is the trick.
Just before Second Crack. Roughly 5 minutes and 30 seconds for the first batch, shorter for the second and further.
I went through my own morning routine while drinking that mug. Complex flavor you will not get from a pre-roasted commercial bean. It really does degrade after about a month no matter how you store it once roasted. Green beans last about a year and a half and I buy those Huehuetanangos when I see them on sale - recently $3.65 a pound, a true 16 ounce pound. Roasting will make them weigh less.
It was time for that second mug so I went into production. It was after 7AM so I was free to make the noise I was going to make with the popper outside. I roasted five 1/2 cup batches of these beans. It took me about a half hour.
Yep, I've got it down to a science.
Since I had my own breakfast while I roasted, I was done, and Rack, my faithful McNab SuperDog sidekick was vying for my attention.
"Ok, lets go have coffee!". It's our normal habit to go out and have coffee by the pool. We walk around the yard inspecting the irrigation system practically every morning.
I made a round of the pots and realized that I was being talked about indirectly.
Over the hedge I hear "Hey, is that coffee ready?".
He wasn't talking to me, he was facing the other direction from what I could see.
I didn't hear the response.
"That stuff smells great!".
I had to suppress the urge to shout out a thank you over the hedge.
Going back inside to give the neighbors privacy, I took the trash out about a half hour later. What I didn't realize was that the entire neighborhood still smells of Coffee. Well, really coffee and mango.
I walked out to the corner tree and gathered up three wind-fallen mangoes for tomorrow's breakfast and realized that the scent of my coffee was on the breezes.
So if you were in town this particular morning, I apologize. I only roasted up 5 batches. It does carry on the wind and give things a smell that will linger. Give it a bit, that scent will waft over into Fort Lauderdale soon.
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