Smoking Coffee Beans for flavor

[rubbbq]

A friend of mine is opening a coffee shop,Hero Coffee Bar, a flagship store for his already running Roasting Business: Headstash Roasting Company.

He/I wanted to develop a signature coffee for my BBQ Restaurant, Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse..

My thought immediately went to "Smoked Coffee" naturally, and so the internet search began. I found a couple brands doing this already:

http://www.coffeebeandirect.com/roasted-coffee/smoked-coffee-1.html

https://www.facebook.com/StoneBrewedCoffeeCo

Stone Brewed has taken this idea the furthest - developing a custom smoker that smokes/roasts at the same time. They even opened a Brick & Mortar selling BBQ and smoked coffees (which seemed to do very well for the 6 months they were open) - only to be shut down after their custom equipment was deemed unusable by the county, due to it not being NSF approved (note: They are trying to raise money to build to NSF specs and have it approved, but haven't done this yet). They smoke with 11 different woods, and recommend food pairings, etc.

They still sell wholesale, and are working on getting the B&M back open:
Stone Brewed Coffee

Mr. Espresso has been "Oak Roasting" since the late 70's, claiming they don't Wood Roast for smokey flavor - but for a better roast. Some Interesting reading on that theory

I also read a few old threads here that didn't turn out so well - but I think this is like anything: So many variables (smoker design, clean/dirty fire, smoker temps, wood age/dryness), it seems that results would vary from experiment to experiment due to factors that would be hard to identify without lengthy testing.

Craig (Headstash) works with Dark Matter, and his first suggestion was to approach this like they approach their Barrel Aged Coffee. The let green (un-roasted) beans sit in bourbon/whiskey barrels for months, and they take on a boozy flavor.

First Try:
Yesterday, we smoked some green coffee beans for about 2 hours at 225 in my Bewley Smoker...
https://flic.kr/p/pzYpqy
https://flic.kr/p/pzYqe7
https://flic.kr/p/pQgT2U

They are going to the roaster today, we're also going to smoke some already roasted beans today and see how that turns out...I'll report back with results.

 

[peeps]

Nice! I'd be interested in buying a small bag once you have done a few rounds and are happy with the results!

Wonder if Ron_L has tried this? Have you chatted with him about it? If not, you guys are local and should discuss it over a cup of his brew!

 

[oldbill]

Hmmm! I might have to grab some coffee beans and see what a little pecan smoke does for them!:wink:

 

[Ron_L]

I saw your posts on FB last night, Jared.

I know that Craig knows what he is doing, but I would be concerned that the beans that were smoked first would end up baked and be flat in the cup. But, it's worth a shot!

I think giving roasted beans some smoke would work is you can cold smoke them. I;m not sure what effect putting roasted beans into a 225 degree smoker will have on the cup. They won;t roast any more since they probably were at a bean temp of 440 or higher when the roast was finished, but they may still end up baked.

I have't played with smoke on coffee but I have had beans there were roasted using wood and they have a different flavor. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I am a bit of a coffee purist

 

[rubbbq]

The results are in, and they are pretty darn good!

Smoking the green un-roasted beans, they didn't absorb much flavor - but the 2nd round of testing, smoking some already roasted beans - they turned out great!

I smoked them for about an hour (whole already roasted beans), and they smell terrific. The smokiness is light, subtle, really exactly what I was looking for. I also smoked another batch last night for 2 hours, just to compare - but I haven't tried that batch yet.

I have read a few ppl have tried this and the result was not good - I think using my giant Bewley smoker gets a really clean smoke - our food never gets that bitter flavor you get in smaller smokers. I think this is one advantage to working with larger smokers, the smoke doesn't get as "stale" (bitter) because there is so much cubic footage inside the pit and the air keeps moving along...

We're still running tests, but I think we'll be serving this by Thanksgiving - also selling the smoked beans....now back to Brisket

 

[robbq]

Wow that sounds like a great idea

 

[jmy1986]

I am a coffee nut. Do not think I would have the ability to pull off what you guys are doing but would to try something like this. Would love to try some smoked coffee. My brother lives out in Chicago maybe I could work my way to you guys when I get out to see him.

 

[deepsouth]

good to see you having success with your flavor profile. while smoked coffee wouldn't be anything for me, the market is obviously there, just judging from comments made in this and other smoked coffee threads here and elsewhere.

good luck!

 

[swamprb]

Good to hear you are getting the results you are shooting for!

On two occasions I roasted one pound batches of beans with a smoke box filled with French Oak wine barrel chunks and another time with Maple Mojobricks in my hotrod Weber 1000/RK Drum setup. Both times I thought the end result was pretty good, but I had roasted them on much lower temp than I would normally roast at twice the time it usually took. I may have to give some roasted beans a cold smoke?

 

[oldbill]

The results are in, and they are pretty darn good!

Smoking the green un-roasted beans, they didn't absorb much flavor - but the 2nd round of testing, smoking some already roasted beans - they turned out great!

I smoked them for about an hour (whole already roasted beans), and they smell terrific. The smokiness is light, subtle, really exactly what I was looking for. I also smoked another batch last night for 2 hours, just to compare - but I haven't tried that batch yet.

I have read a few ppl have tried this and the result was not good - I think using my giant Bewley smoker gets a really clean smoke - our food never gets that bitter flavor you get in smaller smokers. I think this is one advantage to working with larger smokers, the smoke doesn't get as "stale" (bitter) because there is so much cubic footage inside the pit and the air keeps moving along...

We're still running tests, but I think we'll be serving this by Thanksgiving - also selling the smoked beans....now back to Brisket

What roast was your beans a light roast or darker roast? I'm thinking of trying some Colombian beans, they're nice and oily and I think that they'd pick the smoke up pretty good!:grin:

 

[Grain Belt]

Great thread. I roast my own beans and am staying in tune with this thread for ideas. I think it is (was) common practice in Ethiopia to roast beans over the fire.

 

[rubbbq]

It was a dark roast - beans from San Jose, El Salvador. My roaster buys with Dark matter, so it's all fair trade and direct-import...very fresh coffee, they put paper cash in the hands of coffee farmers, and ship the beans back to the US - Dark Matter & Headstash are great local brands that do a lot for coffee in Chicago. An important factor of it being so delicious is that it's already great coffee. I want to stress - the coffee smells smokier than it tastes, and for me that is by design. If the coffee is too smokey - it will taste bitter...when you open the jar (I'm packaging in mason jars), you get this great whiff of freshly roasted beans and a clean oak smoke..after brewing, the smoke is subtle, so not to detract from the great coffee. It's not something for everyday, but it's different and fun to have...

 

[rev0jace]

This is cool, please let me know when you start serving so I can swing by.