# Smoked Coffee



## brew

Just curious, has anyone tried making smoked coffee?  If so, how did it go?  Any tips?

I am thinking of taking some house blend whole coffee beans and smoking it for an hour or so just to see what it all ends up tasting like.  I love coffee and I love smoked foods, so it just makes sense to try it.

Thoughts?


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## smokingd

O MAN let me know how that goes!!! Dang now I have to fire up the smoker and get some coffee on


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## matts

My guess would be smoke it sweet.  Use fruit woods for s subtle smoke.


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## hookup

I like smoked food and coffee too, but together, not for me.


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## rbranstner

Oh boy that doesn't sound good to me at all. But then again I can't stand coffee. Unless it has a lb of sugar and cream in it but either way it gives me a bad stomach.


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## squirrel

I was actually gonna try that with my Amaze-N-Smoker. I bought some 8 o'clock whole beans and plan to cold smoke them using the apple dust. Good to know I'm not the only one who thinks coffee would be good smoked!

I got the idea after a camping trip, the coffee was brewed over the open fire and had a light smokey flavor. It was sooo good, very mild. I think I'll start out smoking some for 1 hour and go up on the time from there if needed.


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## harryho

Green Coffee roasts at a very high temperature....somewhere between 350 degrees F to 550 deg. F depending on the beans used. The beans have to get to an internal temperature of 350F for the very light, cinnamon roast level to about 480F for very dark French Roasts.

Once you get to the ideal roast levels, you need to cool the beans very quickly or else the internal temps continue to jump and thus ruins the beans. For coffee roaster, once you get to your ideal roast levels, that's it.....no turning back since the internal dynamics of the coffee beans are different once it is cooled down.

There are, however, wood-fired coffee roasters that can also impart some of the wood-smoke into the beans as they roast, Nothing will stop you from throwing your roasted coffee in a smoker and smoking it further from its current roast level. You can try it. If you have a cold smoker and want to play around, then that might be a better idea.

I am a coffee roaster so I know a lot about the craft.


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## smokingd

harryho said:


> Green Coffee roasts at a very high temperature....somewhere between 350 degrees F to 550 deg. F depending on the beans used. The beans have to get to an internal temperature of 350F for the very light, cinnamon roast level to about 480F for very dark French Roasts.
> 
> Once you get to the ideal roast levels, you need to cool the beans very quickly or else the internal temps continue to jump and thus ruins the beans. For coffee roaster, once you get to your ideal roast levels, that's it.....no turning back since the internal dynamics of the coffee beans are different once it is cooled down.
> 
> There are, however, wood-fired coffee roasters that can also impart some of the wood-smoke into the beans as they roast, Nothing will stop you from throwing your roasted coffee in a smoker and smoking it further from its current roast level. You can try it. If you have a cold smoker and want to play around, then that might be a better idea.
> 
> I am a coffee roaster so I know a lot about the craft.


Man this is by far the best site out there 
I mean we have every type of person and profession.  LOVE THIS PLACE

Who knew this post would get a pro's answer


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## mballi3011

Now I too really like a good cup of Joe in the morning but I'm not feeling this whole smokey flavored coffee. Yes Dennis this is a great place and we have all kinds here. As much time as I spend here I'm still waiting on the smoked chips or smoked Nike too. I'm sure it won't be long now.


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## brew

Ok, I will give this a shot this weekend.  I am thinking an hour over nectarine wood should be a good starting point.  I'll document it just in case it turns out good and is worth sharing.  I wouldn't bet on it being good but I am going to try anyway.


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## scarbelly

Like Harryho said coffee roasting is an exacting art. Temp control is everything.I too am a roaster of green beans.  

If you are going to smoke already roasted beans, I don't think they will pick up much flavor, once they go thru their second crack in the roasting cycle (this is when most roasters look to stop the roasting cycle) they are pretty much done flavor wise-

I will be following this post to see how it goes

For anyone interested in a great site about coffee beans and roasting here is one I buy my beans from and their customer service has been great

www.sweetmarias.com


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## daddyzaring

Just curious, but could you add coffee beans to your smoking wood, and smoke something with them?


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## adiochiro3

I love coffee and can't wait to see where this thread goes!  Either smoking coffee or smoking with coffee.  Maybe smoking with coffee while baking a pastry or biscuits???


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## harryho

1 hour in the smoker..........uggh.......

you'll be burning your beans.  You might as well grind up some mesquite and brew it if that's what you want.

To a coffee roaster.....that is absolute blasphemy.


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## scarbelly

daddyzaring said:


> Just curious, but could you add coffee beans to your smoking wood, and smoke something with them?


Having roasted beans for some time and having burnt a couple of batches
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I can tell you without a doubt that you will not like the smell of burning coffee. My roaster is a fairly small one (1/4 cup green beans) and I have set off the smoke alarm many times and the house does not smell fresh again for a couple of days.

Obviously, we roast a higher temps ( up to 450 degrees) but I can't imagine what it would do to whatever you were smoking.


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## brew

So I smoked some coffee this weekend.  It was Trader Joe's Smooth and Mellow blend (which we drink everyday) smoked for 1 hour over nectarine wood with heat provided by mesquite lump charcoal.

Conclusion:  Gross.  I will never do it again.  I would not recommend it.


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## fftwarren

LOL, sorry it didn't pan out. I really thought it would but reading your results made me laugh


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## harryho

Brew said:


> So I smoked some coffee this weekend.  It was Trader Joe's Smooth and Mellow blend (which we drink everyday) smoked for 1 hour over nectarine wood with heat provided by mesquite lump charcoal.
> 
> Conclusion:  Gross.  I will never do it again.  I would not recommend it.


Told you!!!


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## harryho

harryho said:


> 1 hour in the smoker..........uggh.......
> 
> you'll be burning your beans.  You might as well grind up some mesquite and brew it if that's what you want.
> 
> To a coffee roaster.....that is absolute blasphemy.





Brew said:


> So I smoked some coffee this weekend.  It was Trader Joe's Smooth and Mellow blend (which we drink everyday) smoked for 1 hour over nectarine wood with heat provided by mesquite lump charcoal.
> 
> Conclusion:  Gross.  I will never do it again.  I would not recommend it.


I told you so!


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## harryho




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## brew

Yeah, I get it, you told me so.  But experimentation is always fun so I will keep satisfying my curiosities.


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## squirrel

I must admit that I'm with Brew on this. You can tell me all day long it's a bad idea, but chances are I'm gonna have to find out for myself. It's the "mad scientist" in me that makes me do these crazy smokes. I have plans to cold smoke mango flesh and make a salsa with it, but that's another thread.

p.s. I'm still gonna try this and Harry you do understand I am talking about COLD smoking, not roasting? I will not burn the beans with a cold smoke. I'm also going to grind some cinnamon into my dust for the cold smoke. I'm hard headed what can I say.


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## brew

I think the cold smoked mango salsa is a great idea.  Smoked tomatoes make great salsa and pasta sauce, why not smoke the mangoes.  But yeah...another thread.  ;)


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## smokewire

Working so hard just for a coffee is seriously not worth your time..but i liked the idea of coffee roaster...I would love to try it...


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## harryho

Squirrel said:


> I must admit that I'm with Brew on this. You can tell me all day long it's a bad idea, but chances are I'm gonna have to find out for myself. It's the "mad scientist" in me that makes me do these crazy smokes. I have plans to cold smoke mango flesh and make a salsa with it, but that's another thread.
> 
> p.s. I'm still gonna try this and Harry you do understand I am talking about COLD smoking, not roasting? I will not burn the beans with a cold smoke. I'm also going to grind some cinnamon into my dust for the cold smoke. I'm hard headed what can I say.


I did mention that cold smoking would be better idea.

....I do understand the inquisitive minds.......I'm guilty of it myself. Some ideas work, some don't.........I just saw it coming based on how Brew  described what his plans were.  I have been roasting coffee for 12 years, 7 of them on a professional level. I should know my craft very well by now.


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## ak1

Yeah, but sometimes it's just fun to try.


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## coffee_junkie

daddyzaring said:


> Just curious, but could you add coffee beans to your smoking wood, and smoke something with them?


I think it would be bad, like they said burnt beans are horrible, BUT I have used very fine ground espresso beans in a rub, the rub was for a mule dear tenderloin and it was outstanding!


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## harryho

coffee_junkie said:


> I think it would be bad, like they said burnt beans are horrible, BUT I have used very fine ground espresso beans in a rub, the rub was for a mule dear tenderloin and it was outstanding!


I have noticed a growing interest in using fresh ground coffee in rubs.


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## meateater

AK1 said:


> Yeah, but sometimes it's just fun to try.


Been there, done that. Wait that was high school.........


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## scubadoo97

As a home coffee roaster I can tell you the smoke given off when roasting doesn't smell at all like the finished product. and certainly not like smoking wood.  Can beans be used as a source of smoke?  Well why not but it will taste different.  I've used pistachio shells to smoke food with and they work great.  Coffee beans are a bit different but for those prone to experimentation can give it a whirl and get back to us. 

I like to taste the subtle flavors in coffee so I know I would not want to taste it smoked which would dominate the flavor.


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## smokewire

Yeah, It should be tried atleast one time


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## brew

Cheers to experimentation, even when the results are horrendous.  After all, someone had to be the first to say, "you know, I bet this meat would taste good if I cooked it for a long time over this wood fire..."


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## harryho

There's a reason why I knew exactly what your experiment resulted in.....it's been done before......it's nothing new.


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## buffalosmoke

I think the best approach to this would be a wood fired roaster, like harryho mentioned. I too roast at home, and can attest to a roast that's gone too long, or a long roast at lower temps(more baked than roasted).

I do however, use finely ground coffee in many of my rubs. Adds a nice flavor to them.

I will say that there's something special about getting up at 5am to get the smoker going and having a cup of really good fresh brewed coffee while I am attending the smoker....the smell of the smoke wafting through the early morning air, the aroma and flavor of the Ethiopian Yirg....

I can see why you needed to try this!   Maybe roasting some green beans in a cast iron skillet over a wood fire might yield better results?


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## buffalosmoke

I was in a local farm stand type place that sells local goods picking up some local blueberries, corn and summer squash today. And, as I walked by the coffee bean section, something caught my eye. Wood roasted coffee beans! They are roasted in a wood fired roaster up in Maine. I picked up a bag of Ethiopia Sidamo Washed. I haven't opened it yet, but I'll try some in a french press tomorrow morning and let you know how it was.

I didn't want to post a link,,,but if you google wood roasted coffee, you'll find several companies that do this.


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## smokeyjoe007

I have been experimenting with smoked coffee for about 5 months now. And I think I've come up with a winner( my opinion)I am going to give it a shot on the market.Check out my web page at *http://smokeyjoescoffee.com/Smokey_Joes_Coffee/Welcome.html.*I have really enjoyed the look on peoples faces when I tell them "I enjoy smoking coffee "....I am going to try roasting my own soon.

john


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## railrunner130

I think this could work and come out well under the following circumstances-

1. You need to get the right beans for the right wood.

2. You need the right time/ temperature combination.

3. It seems to me that when you have it is important. First thing in the morning- notsomuch. After dinner, out on the patio when there is a chill in the air would be perfect. Perhaps cherry smoked coffee with a couple pieces of good chocolate would be appropriate.

What I'm not sure of is if it needs to be turned or if smoking it on a sheet pan would do. My temptation is to try it on a sheet pan first. If it works and we like it, perhaps upgrade to something that will turn it.


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## tiki guy

*PA-LEEEEEZ   let me know how that goes I loves BBQ and little baby Jesus I loves COFFEE*


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## scarbelly

I am a home roaster for several years now and I can not imagine this could taste good. I would be willing to try it but I have a hard time beleiving the coffee could be any good.


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## railrunner130

I'm finally to a point where I can give it a try- I got some green beans from a guy at work that roasts his own. Since my last post on this subject, my thoughts have evolved some.

I've got a WSM. I have a few questions that perhaps the experts can help with.

1. Do I need to put water in the bowl, or is that counter-productive?

2. I'm concerned about getting the temperature up. What can I do to promote the heat? My thought is to either put the beans in a cast iron skillet or in an aluminum foil packet. The packet would go directly in the firebox area. Either way, do I need to add vegetable oil or something to keep the beans from sticking?


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## coffeeteaguy

I work for a craft coffee roaster and we sell smoked coffee!  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the name of our business, but we small batch roast coffee, blend, and flavor and sell exclusively online to both retail and wholesale customers.

We roast our coffee first, then send it to our neighbors who have a smoked foods business.  The end result is extremely unique and pretty freaking amazing.  Literally nothing goes better after a day of grilling and bbq-ing then a hot cup of smoked coffee.

We also have a Maple Bacon flavored smoked coffee that is one of our top sellers.  

I recommend trying to smoke some coffee, but i would definitely use beans that have already been roasted.  We use a special blend of light and medium roast Costa Rican but I would say choose any coffee you love.  

(we've also experimented with smoked teas, if anyone is a tea drinker)


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## bear55

I never smoke my coffee beans inside.  The roaster I have will do about 8 oz of beans at a time and even when done right sets off the smoke detector.


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## tamarockstar88

A chef I work with recently went to Texas and visited some BBQ joints. She tried mesquite smoked coffee and said it was so good she's considering going back to Texas just for the coffee. I mentioned this to someone else I work with who does a lot of smoking and he said that he's tried it before and it's really good. I just don't know how to achieve it. He said that it's really good to drink, or you can grind it up and add it to chocolate, or butter and make a paste with it. My thoughts were also making coffee rubs or a wet rub with the beans. I have several recipes for coffee rubs for beef.

I'm definitely going to look into this some more and try to figure it out. I'll try either cold smoking some beans, or getting a light roast and doing a brief smoke. apparently 1 hour was too long so maybe start with a half hour and see how it goes. I'll update if I'm successful


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## cayucosguy2

I have never smoked Coffee Beans, I have smoked almost everything else. Would you use a generic coffee bean and smoke for 30 minutes?:welcome1::welcome1: thanks Tom


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## leah elisheva

Wow! I'm drinking my 16 ounce mug of Starbucks' "Guatemala-Antigua beans, black, and would love to hear how your smoked coffee episodes go! Very interesting!!!! Cheers to today!!! It's a lucky day, I have a hunch... - Leah


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## mdboatbum

Amazing, this thread is 3 years old and no one's really given a step by step on how to, or not to, do this. I'd think if you took a pound or so of already roasted beans and put them on a mesh mat or in a strainer that would allow the smoke to circulate and cold smoked them for a few hours you might be able to coat them with enough smoke to provide a smoke flavor. There is a smoked tea that I've loved for years. I believe it's called something like Lapsang Suoshong, but that spelling is almost definitely wrong. The wonderful thing about it is that it tastes like a nice strong black tea, but with a background flavor of a wood fire. It's like drinking tea around a campfire. The flavor of the tea isn't altered, it's just that the smoke flavor is an addition to it. I may try here in the next few days and see what I can come up with.


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## stone brewed co

We smoke our coffee.  So far we seem to be the only one's to do a genuine smoked coffee bean and it is glorious.  Check it out at www.stonebrewedcoffee.com


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## leah elisheva

How wild! (On the smoked coffee)! That's very exciting!!!!!!! Cheers! - Leah


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## ratman56

Hey all, I've read theses forums a lot and never joined in.  A lot of posts have been very helpful with other projects.  I've been smoking for 4-5 years now.  My specialty is smoking homemade meatballs.

I tried coffee today.  So here is what I did.  Electric Smoker set to 120 with a tray of ice above heat source (kind of a hybrid cold smoke).  Smoked for 1 hour with a mix of apple and mesquite.  The beans were barely warm at the end.  I smoked roasted, and green beans at the same time.  I still have yet to roast the green, but the pre-roasted beans took the smoke really well.  Ground some up and brewed them in an Aeropress.  Yum! Very different cup of coffee and I loved it.













photo (10).JPG



__ ratman56
__ Dec 23, 2013


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## leah elisheva

That's so exciting!!! It sounds wonderful! Cheers! - Leah


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## dandl93

Ratman56 

How did your green coffee beans smoke up did you ever toast them? I have used coffee trees for grilling beef and pork usally mixed with orange or guayba wood.I have plenty of green coffee beans avaiable on a full year time basis.When I get my smoker up and running this will be some thing I need to play with

Thanks 

Dan


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## GaryHibbert

sound  great. but how do you get the beans to cool rapidly??

gary


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## thedjbooth

I have smoked loose leaf tea as well. It turns out pretty good and is completely different than Lapsang Souchong which is smoked in the drying process.  I will have to try coffee. I wonder if the flavor will be more pronounced if you smoke the beans ground rather than whole?


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## sigmo

I have to think that the way to do this is just buy already roasted beans or roast your own (if you're set up to do it), cool them as per normal practice, and only then do the smoking.

In my mind, this would be a cold smoking procedure on the already-roasted beans so that  you're not affecting the roast of the beans at all.  You're just trying to deposit a layer of smoke onto the outsides of the beans so that when you grind and brew them, you get some smoke flavor in the final brew.

 I'd just do a cold smoke, the same way I do cheese or butter, with the beans arranged the same way I do for nuts.  Either on screens or pans with zillions of little holes so the smoke can get at them all.

All of the hand wringing about wrecking the beans by smoking them assumes that people are going to heat them up to some high temperature when smoking them.  There's no need for that.  Things smoke just great cold, or else we wouldn't have smoked cheeses and the like.  

You just need a smoke generator that doesn't create a lot of heat.  But again, that's what we all have to use when doing cheese, hard boiled eggs, butter, etc.

As for smoking the green beans before roasting:  I don't think that would work as well.  My feeling is that at the high temperatures used to actually roast beans, you might drive off the flavor components that you're looking to get from the smoking, or worse, cause them to break down into nasty-tasting compounds.

My sense is that when we smoke meat, even if the smoker is running at a high temperature so that it's cooking the food while it smokes it, the food itself is never at such high surface temperatures as you'd encounter when roasting coffee beans.  So the smoke deposits or condenses on the surface of our food, and remains there and doesn't break down.  But at the high coffee roasting temperatures, it might be driven off or converted into bad tasting compounds.

So again, I'd imagine that it would be best to cold smoke or at most warm smoke the already-roasted coffee beans.  I've got to try this, by the way!  :biggrin:


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## james hackworth

Did you cold smoke it?


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## Worker62

Today I tried smoking some coffee in the smoker. I was very pleased with the results! I took a dark roast and measured out the amount I was going to use to make a batch of coffee, the smoker was in the cooling down stage, I put the grounds in a small tin and the coolest side of the smoker. I added just enough apple wood to get some smoke infusion and let it infuse for about 10-15 minutes, then brewed the coffee right away using a pour over strainer. It turned out favorably. I’m no barista, but as long as you aren’t roasting the coffee beans, but using cool infusion, keeping it subtle and using decent coffee, the results are good. Cheap coffee may not work as well because you have an inferior base to work with. Like using margarine instead of butter. Ew! But I am a bit of a coffee “snob”.


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## Worker62

sigmo said:


> I have to think that the way to do this is just buy already roasted beans or roast your own (if you're set up to do it), cool them as per normal practice, and only then do the smoking.
> 
> In my mind, this would be a cold smoking procedure on the already-roasted beans so that  you're not affecting the roast of the beans at all.  You're just trying to deposit a layer of smoke onto the outsides of the beans so that when you grind and brew them, you get some smoke flavor in the final brew.
> 
> I'd just do a cold smoke, the same way I do cheese or butter, with the beans arranged the same way I do for nuts.  Either on screens or pans with zillions of little holes so the smoke can get at them all.
> 
> All of the hand wringing about wrecking the beans by smoking them assumes that people are going to heat them up to some high temperature when smoking them.  There's no need for that.  Things smoke just great cold, or else we wouldn't have smoked cheeses and the like.
> 
> You just need a smoke generator that doesn't create a lot of heat.  But again, that's what we all have to use when doing cheese, hard boiled eggs, butter, etc.
> 
> As for smoking the green beans before roasting:  I don't think that would work as well.  My feeling is that at the high temperatures used to actually roast beans, you might drive off the flavor components that you're looking to get from the smoking, or worse, cause them to break down into nasty-tasting compounds.
> 
> My sense is that when we smoke meat, even if the smoker is running at a high temperature so that it's cooking the food while it smokes it, the food itself is never at such high surface temperatures as you'd encounter when roasting coffee beans.  So the smoke deposits or condenses on the surface of our food, and remains there and doesn't break down.  But at the high coffee roasting temperatures, it might be driven off or converted into bad tasting compounds.
> 
> So again, I'd imagine that it would be best to cold smoke or at most warm smoke the already-roasted coffee beans.  I've got to try this, by the way!  :biggrin:


Absolutely Amazing with cool infusion of already roasted coffee.


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## sigmo

I had forgotten about this thread, and never got around to trying it myself!

Once the rain and snow subside, and I get the smoker going, I've got to actually try it.


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## Worker62

sigmo said:


> I had forgotten about this thread, and never got around to trying it myself!
> 
> Once the rain and snow subside, and I get the smoker going, I've got to actually try it.



I think the biggest key is infusion rather than roasting outright. One person said they smoked some for an hour with really bad results. Probably over cooked. Made more today and my son really liked it as well. Today I made it two chambers away from the fire chamber, everything closed up and I got a satisfactory amount of smoke without compromising the coffee beans. I actually used ground coffee in a loaf pan, this time about 15-20 minutes, longer only because it was much farther from the heat. And agitated the grounds a couple of times, mainly to make sure it wasn’t heating up too much. Second success. An hour though? I can imagine it may have tasted like brewed ashes. Hope you have the same success. Smoke coffee for me ranks up there with my favorite Smoked Porter.


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## sigmo

When I smoke cheese, butter, etc., it has to be done at a cold temperature.  But I use a pellet burning gadget (An Amazin AMNPS) to generate the smoke.  So the smoker doesn't even need to be turned on.  

The same cold smoking method is what I was suggesting for smoking coffee.  That way, you won't subject the coffee to any heat when smoking it.

I think it would take only a short time to smoke ground coffee, but might take a lot longer to get a similar effect if you tried it with whole bean coffee.


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## smokensweet

A couple of comments. 

To those roasters who so vehemently said dont at the beginning and referring to their years of coffee roasting experience, where are you now? 

Second. Smoke after roasting, cold-smoke or regular smoking temperature doesnt matter as you are not coming anywhere near the temperatures needed to carmelize the bean any further. Unless you are trying to roast and smoke simultaneously which seems needlessly stressful. 
   End result will be a direct result of type of bean, type of roast, type of wood smoke used.  
     Obviously this is being done with success now and should be pursued by anyone who wants to pursue it.


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## noboundaries

Wow, I have no idea how I missed this original thread. I roast my own coffee beans over a propane camp stove with my own ad hoc setup. I can roast a pound at a time. Takes 12-15 minutes. I have 14 lbs of Ethiopian beans in my cabinet, three different types. Ethiopian is a smaller, more dense bean. It is sweeter and less complex than others I've tried at a Full City roast level. I'm going to roast another pound tomorrow or the next day. Might have to whip out the AMNPS and cold smoke this batch in my Kettle to add some flavor and complexity. If I do, I'll try to remember to take some pics. 

It was fun seeing some of the old faces who no longer post. I miss Leah. She was unique.


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## noboundaries

I cheated, because I wanted to experiment before roasting, then smoking, a pound of coffee.

When pour-over brewing my coffee this morning, I put 4 drops of Wright's Liquid Smoke (Hickory) in my 20 oz mug of Ethiopian Sidama - Bensa Segra Farm roast. I basically abhor Wright's for cooking. No telling how long that bottle's been in my fridge. The result, though, was favorable. Like I mentioned above, the Ethiopian was sweet and simple, lacking complexity. The smoke toned down the sweetness a tad and make the taste more interesting. It reminded me of how smoke tones down the sweetness of scotch. 

Definitely going to try smoking coffee immediately after my next roast.


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## illini40

noboundaries said:


> I cheated, because I wanted to experiment before roasting, then smoking, a pound of coffee.
> 
> When pour-over brewing my coffee this morning, I put 4 drops of Wright's Liquid Smoke (Hickory) in my 20 oz mug of Ethiopian Sidama - Bensa Segra Farm roast. I basically abhor Wright's for cooking. No telling how long that bottle's been in my fridge. The result, though, was favorable. Like I mentioned above, the Ethiopian was sweet and simple, lacking complexity. The smoke toned down the sweetness a tad and make the taste more interesting. It reminded me of how smoke tones down the sweetness of scotch.
> 
> Definitely going to try smoking coffee immediately after my next roast.





 noboundaries
 - I just came across this thread, after corresponding with you on the other coffee roasting thread.

Did you ever try smoking any beans? I’m assuming cold smoking beans that are already roasted?

Thanks again!


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## noboundaries

I have not tried smoking beans yet, either hot or cold. I've only been  buying beans I enjoy so I haven't experimented lately. 

Recently I bought some inexpensive green beans from El Salvador, Tanzania, and Peru.  I figured if I didn't like the roast results I could experiment with them. The El Salvador bean roasted up nicely so I won't be using it. Tanzania is next to try.


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## noboundaries

You know what, I'm at the tail end of some Ethiopian beans that were roasted three weeks ago, so they are borderline no different than storebought beans. I think I'll cold smoke some as soon as this rain passes.


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## illini40

noboundaries said:


> You know what, I'm at the tail end of some Ethiopian beans that were roasted three weeks ago, so they are borderline no different than storebought beans. I think I'll cold smoke some as soon as this rain passes.



Please keep me posted on how the smoke experiment turns out.

Am I also following that after 3 weeks or so, you can tell no difference or advantage of your own roasted beans versus store bought?


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## noboundaries

illini40 said:


> Am I also following that after 3 weeks or so, you can tell no difference or advantage of your own roasted beans versus store bought?



Freshly roasted beans practically boil as hot water is added to start the brew as they release their CO2 gasses. That's called the "bloom." Those gases carry the flavors into the hot water, and the flavors taste sharp and "alive" when you sip the coffee.

Freshly roasted beans last about three weeks before they go "flat." By then they've off-gassed their CO2, kind of like a soda does after it has been opened. The flavors are still there, but taste more muted or muddy. The bloom changes from big bubbles to smaller bubbles to practically no bubbles the older the bean is since it was roasted. 

Freshly roasted beans, once ground, go flat in about 12 hours. That's why you only grind what you need for your morning brew. When I give roasted coffee as gifts, I always ask if the recipient has a coffee grinder. If they do, they get freshly roasted, whole beans. If not, I grind it for them and know they won't recognize the difference, except the base flavors will be better than what they are buying at Costco, Starbucks, the grocery store, etc. 

Store bought beans will have a "sell by" or "best by" date, and it can be up to a year or more down the road. Those beans will be flat as heck. Rarely will you find a "roasted on" date on a commercial package. The exception is local commercial roasters. They usually have a "roasted on" date printed on the package. 

Older beans are good for making cold brew and adding extras to your coffee, like Irish cream. 

Roasting coffee is like smoking meat. When I first started smoking, I couldn't taste the difference between the different woods. As my experience developed, I could taste if something was smoked with hickory, apple, mesquite, oak, etc. The same kind of thing happens with roasting coffee. Your taste buds slowly develop the distinction between freshly roasted and older coffee. I notice it when I visit friends who throw on a pot of coffee made from store bought beans. Not only were the beans probably sourced from commercial, high volume, mechanized farms in Columbia or Vietnam, they are beans modified to grow fast, typically at lower altitudes. The coffee lacks character, but still tastes fine with Irish cream or whiskey!


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## Worker62

squirrel said:


> I must admit that I'm with Brew on this. You can tell me all day long it's a bad idea, but chances are I'm gonna have to find out for myself. It's the "mad scientist" in me that makes me do these crazy smokes. I have plans to cold smoke mango flesh and make a salsa with it, but that's another thread.
> 
> p.s. I'm still gonna try this and Harry you do understand I am talking about COLD smoking, not roasting? I will not burn the beans with a cold smoke. I'm also going to grind some cinnamon into my dust for the cold smoke. I'm hard headed what can I say.


I smoked some good quality fair trade coffee, already ground on a cookie sheet, and smoked with applewood for about 10-15 minutes, far far away from the heat. Since I wasn’t trying to re-roast the beans, and it came out fabulous! I too am hard headed and have to learn for myself. I am certain that the naysayers are correct if you smoke over direct heat, but cold/cool smoking over applewood worked perfectly.


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## Jersey Jimbo

So I know its mainly adding the smoke flavor to beans,  but can you use say a coffee filter and put some fresh coffee grinds in it and cold smoke it   like you do seasonings and cheeses and start with say 10 minutes and go longer to adjust to your taste or this does not work, thanks
Jim


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## noboundaries

Jersey Jimbo said:


> So I know its mainly adding the smoke flavor to beans,  but can you use say a coffee filter and put some fresh coffee grinds in it and cold smoke it   like you do seasonings and cheeses and start with say 10 minutes and go longer to adjust to your taste or this does not work, thanks
> Jim


Give it a shot and let us know how it works. No reason not to try.


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## Jersey Jimbo

noboundaries said:


> Give it a shot and let us know how it works. No reason not to try.


ok doing some smoked coffee grinds now  will try 10 mins 15 mins and 20 mins   and check for taste I prefer  and then see if  more or last time is needed  I did single serving sizes in grinds,  10, 15, 20 smoke taste was overpowering  so I mixed each group with 3 single serving sizes.  so it made 4 cups   this turned out better a nice smoke taste, not overwhelming  the 15 min tastes the best to me  but to each his own.


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