Manual Coffee Roaster
 

I just found this hand turned stove top coffee roaster. I have an electric one but I might get one of these as a back up. It can even be used over a fire. Actually I think its meant for popcorn, but works for coffee beans too:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.stovetop-popper.shtml

http://www.sweetmarias.com/whirleypop.jpg


Sweet Maria's Stovetop Poppers for Coffee Roasting

<TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=900 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2>Stovetop coffee roasting in a popcorn popper has some great advantages and a few caveats that you need to know before trying this method.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD width=400>The benefits of Stovetop Popper roasting:

• You can roast more in one batch than air roasters, and more than some expensive drum roasters! 1/2 to 1 pound batches are possible. With the Stainless popper you might be able to roast a bit more too. This means you can probably roast enough for a week in one sitting, and with 1 or 2 batches.
• You can get good roast results through the entire range, from City roasts to Dark French/Spanish roasts. Lighter roasts are a bit more difficult with this method. But all levels can be done well with a proper technique.
• If you like doing things the "olde tyme way", you may enjoy this! There's no electronics to break. Completely Y1k compatible.
• It's fairly quiet and with experience you should be able to hear the first crack and second crack easily.
• You can have total control over the length of the roast, getting more of a "drum roast" profile, which some people prefer for espresso.
• You can go nuts and modify/customize the process endlessly. People have added spit motors or electric screwdrivers to power the agitator, bolted the roaster to camp stoves so it doesn't move around on them, installed thermometers of all sorts...

</TD><TD>The problems with Stovetop Popper roasting:

• Stovetop roasting produces a lot of smoke, mainly because you are roasting more coffee in each batch. You must have a hood over your stove that actually goes to the outside, or roast outdoors on a camp stove ... or maybe you really like smoke..
• This method requires some skill - you need to set the heat source so you don't roast too fast and scorch coffee, or too slow and bake it.
• You need to be patient ... to roast coffee well the process takes 8 to 15 minutes, and you need to stand there and slowly crank the roaster the whole time. Sometimes the popper doesn't crank easily and you need to overcome that ...
• ... Stovetop poppers might require some adjustments and occasional repairs to keep working right. You are on your own, since you are using it for an unintended purpose you can't expect a warranty to cover you. Poppers are for DIY people (do-it-yourself). You may need to ship gears, replace rivets with screws, modify the stirring paddle, etc.
• Some coffees don't get along with stovetop roasters and tend to jam them up ... namely the Yemeni coffees and other small-bean types. Peaberry coffees roast especially well because they "roll" in the popper.

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Re: Manual Coffee Roaster
 

I would also like to recommend this product for preparing your coffee, it is similar to the French press but different and cleaner. It uses small paper micro filters that are disposable, however I typically reuse the same filter for at least a week.

It is called an Aeropress : http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress.htm

I was given this for Christmas two year ago and I can I have NOT turned on my coffee maker since. This makes even BAD coffee taste pretty good.

I buy nothing but the cheap store brand (Publix) and I have people always ask where I buy my coffee :D

Any ways, regardless of the SHTF potential of this device, it sure beats traditional methods of coffee making.

One IMPORTANT key when using this, never heat your water more than 175/180 degrees, this prevents a lot of the acid from coming out and making a bitter result.

If you like good coffee, this should interests you.

Dave