Ready for Life

I have tons of topics to cover, but I figured one of the best ways to get started with preparedness, is to just document where I am today and grow from that point. As I settle down each morning with a good cup of coffee, I am often concerned with the care and feeding of my mild caffeine addiction. Yes, I could go without if needed, but coffee is one of those things I wouldn’t want to give up when under an inordinate amount of stress.

A friend of mine introduced me to the fine folks at http://www.javacoffee.com/. I recently purchased my first batch of green coffee beans and tried roasting them myself. It was an awesome experience and truly enhanced my love of all things coffee related. You see, I don’t use a drip coffee maker as is, but prefer a stovetop espresso maker or coffee press. I guess convenience is not required for me, but great taste is definitely a high priority. Adding in the step of roasting my own beans gives me that much more control and satisfaction over the process and journey to each delicious cup.

Green coffee beans are much more stable and can easily be stored for up to 2 years without losing the character and flavor. Green beans should be stored in burlap, paper bags, or other non-airtight containers in a cool dry place. I have been purchasing a few pounds at a time and steadily adding and rotating my selections. This is a great way to have coffee on hand and be just a little bit more ready or self-sufficient.

I roasted my first batch rather tentatively over a low flame and constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. Beans should be roasted in metal pans over a flame, slowly bringing out the flavor and robustness. It took me about 30 minutes to roast around 4 cups worth. I like a dark roast, and was pleasantly surprised with my results. I could have gone darker, but was afraid of thermal heat remaining and burning the results. Once they were roasted, I immediately spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool and patiently waited until the next day so the oils would settle. In the meantime, my house smelled better than any incense or freshener that I have ever tried! (Be sure and shut off any smoke alarms before trying this, no really!) My kitchen smelled wonderful and teased me for the rest of the afternoon. I waited with great anticipation for my first homemade roasted cup of java.

The next day, I was a bit more excited than usual as I tested my prepardness theory. Would roasting my own coffee provide much needed caffeine without nasty instant coffee sourness? YES! I loved my morning coffee roasted in my own home! I will be doing much more of this in the future.

I have a few concerns, storage and energy consumption being primary. The amount of flame and energy required is rather hefty if I was truly without gas or electricity. For now, I am generally pleased with adding another tool in my readiness planning and being able to learn something new about a topic I truly enjoy, coffee. I hope some of you will enjoy a cup yourself and tell me your experiences.