Home/Food: Roasting Your Own Coffee From Green Beans

DIY Home Coffee Roasting: Who new it was so easy?

I went to make coffee this morning and, as in many nightmarish dreams, there was no coffee to make. After pinching myself, then searching every nook and cranny, I found the answer. There was a bag of organic green beans purchased a while back to try roasting our own coffee. (they were about half the price of locally roasted beans)

The lesson learned: this is a really fun and rewarding DIY project. The final result for me was a nice fresh dark cup of hot coffee. There's not a much better reward than this. We will now always keep an extra stash of green beans in cupboard in case of emergencies.

Green organic coffee beans from a local food co-op

What I used:
 - 1 bag of green coffee beans, half pound
 - 1 large skillet, 11.5 inch heavyweight
 - 1 oven, preheated to 500 degrees
 - 1 oven timer, set to 15 minutes

Pre heat the oven to 500 degrees. At this temperature, the oven may smoke, so make sure you can crack a window. Also, don't forget any pans or old pizza in the oven, cause it will be very hot/burnt!

Set the skillet in the oven after a few minutes to preheat it. once the oven is ready, scoop enough beans for your morning coffee (2/3 cup at our house) or at most, cover the skillet with no more than 1 layer of beans.

Close the oven tight and turn the timer on for 15 minutes. You should hear cracking start around 5 min.

Check for color at about 10 minutes. I prefer about 12 minutes with my setup.

When you are happy with the color, turn off the oven and set your skillet on the back porch to cool.

Once they are cooled, blow off the chaff with a firm breath and take them inside to grind and brew.

Sit down, relax, take a deep breath, and enjoy the best coffee you've ever made yourself at home.

Mmmmmmmmm....

Thanks for tuning in,
DIY Dads with Beards

Bikes: Swapping in Studded Winter Tires

Swapping in Studded Tires for a winter bicycle
   Its time, well a little past even. With that last Minnesota thaw, I was happy that I still had snow tires on, but with the latest cold blast, it seems the ice is here to stay. This week I swapped out my front tire on the snow bike for a studded tire, making it a snow and ice champion. This is a 'can swing a hammer' project, fer sure. Here's how to do it:

1) Remove the wheel.
   -let the air out of the tube. you can either use a tool to push in a schreoder valve (shown) or unscrew the valve on a presta and push it in with your finger.
   -you may still need to loosen the brakes to remove the wheel. For linear pull, remove the metal 'noodle' from its harness, or for cantilever, pull the metal quick release end of the straddle cable.

2 ) Remove the old tire.


   -insert a tire lever under the tire and pop it off the rim with the 'spoon.'
   -run the lever all the way around the rest of the tire bead/rim so that one side is completely off.
   -the other side should come off easily with only the force of your thumbs. Finally, pull the valve from the valve hole, and set the tire aside.

3) Install the new tire

   -set the new tire/tube up next the rim and start the new tire installation by doing the reverse of removal. install the valve into the valve hole, push one side on with your thumbs, then use the lever to 'pop' in the other side.
   -make sure to reattach the brake cable and check that the wheel is centered.




4) Pump it up!

   -double check to verify the valve is sitting in a 90 degree position perpendicular to the rim. that way the valve hole can't dig into the valve and cause air leakage later.
   -refer to the tire casing for the proper amount of air the tire should be pumped to. I generally leave it at the lowest end for snow/ice winter riding.

5) Get out and ride!
   You can find a handy multi-tool like the one shown for a bout $30 from your friendly local bike shop, and studded winter tires like these generally run for $60-$100 depending on size, quality, and availability.

Thanks for tuning in,
DIY Dads with Beards

Kid approved!

Introducing: DIY Dads with Beards Blog!

Dads. Beards. DIY. Its all here.

   DIY Dads with Beards is the newest, best place to find info on DIY projects for motivated individuals (dads, moms, or neither!) for taking our lives into our own hands and improving our daily and family environment. By taking the time to create our own projects, we add substance to ours, and our children's lives, and also have a more positive impact on our community, and our environment, as a whole. And, despite the name, this blog is meant to be open to, and friendly to, all genders and identities! Moms with beards? You bet!

   I will document projects with easy to follow, step by step guidelines, and rate projects from easy to do "can swing a hammer" projects to more skilled and complex "diy journeyman" projects.

   DIY Dads with Beards will also be accepting projects from contributors! If you wish to contribute, please email diydadswithbeards at gmail.com

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