Hungover? Try This

I found this recipe while I was flicking through some vintage Floyd - Keith Floyd that is. This particular recipe is not actually one of Floyd's but from a book titled White Trash Cooking that Floyd came across while filming Floyd's American Pie in the late 80's. 

I'm guessing that it might only be good for hangovers, and it would have to be a pretty good one to try this. I don't think we'll be seeing it on the breakfast table any time soon. Even Floyd wasn't game enough to try it and neither am I. 

Red Eye Gravy

'After cooking the breakfast meat (bacon, ham, or sausage), remove it from the iron skillet and put it aside. To the drippins add 65ml of strong coffee and stir while continuing to heat. Pour over hot grits or sop up with hot biscuits.'

Get your coffee while it's fresh

See Roadhouse Roast at the Red Hill Farmers Market Sunday 23 Oct.

 

Decaf Debunked

A couple of weeks ago, much to my disappointment, my boyfriend decided to give up caffeine. My efforts to coerce him back to the dark side weren't successful  and I've been a lonely caffeine hound ever since. My last resort Decaf...

Well actually I've been curious about roasting a decaf coffee for while now. The decaffeination process in itself has always intrigued me. I know decaf always comes with a lot of negative connotations, so seeing I've never tried it myself I thought I'd put it to the test.

For my first decaf roast I chose a Mexican Mountain Water RFA Organic coffee from Ministry Grounds. I started with gentle heat with a slow ramp up towards 1st crack, finishing the roast just into 2nd. I'm not sure what I was expecting from this bean but I was quite surprised at how evenly it roasted, 1st crack was clear and defined with a nice even crackle from 2nd crack.

Now, how did it taste? It tasted good, it was smooth and rounded like a good coffee should be. It was very enjoyable. However, without the caffeine, I felt the cup was left a little deflated. That extra pep you get from a good cup of coffee just wasn't there.

This experiment really showed me the effect that caffeine has on the body. And though I enjoyed this little experiment, after two days drinking decaf I was glad to get the roaster out again and get that caffeine back into my system.

Market Day

Well I did it! Market day has been and gone. What a great day. The sun was out and no rain,yes!

Everything went to plan, except next time I'll make sure I'm not roasting 'til 1am the night before (think I'm still recovering). Everything seemed to come together, the logo, the packaging, my new red trestle table hand built by my boyfriend JB (under strict direction of course).

The day wasn't all about the sales, but I'm really happy about how my product went. There was genuine interest in the coffees I put on the table.

The biggest error of the day was not having a big red 'Coffee' sign out the front. For some reason I assumed that everyone knows that little brown bags with Ethiopian or Guatemalan written on the front contained coffee beans. There was a bit of confusion.

So until next market it's back to the drawing board. AR 

Coffee On My Mind

Stage 1 - 3 days and counting

Welcome to the Roadhouse - The Experiment

Hi, welcome to Roadhouse Roast an experimental coffee roastery based just south of Melbourne, Vic.

My goal for a long time has been to set up small roasting company and Roadhouse Roast is my first step along that journey. It's still in experimentation mode but over the coming months I'll be developing my brand and selling my wares at local farmers markets. 

My first big order of green coffee is in transit and I'm expecting it soon. Still having some design issues with the logo/packaging but maybe inspiration will hit soon. I'll keep you posted.

Launch day for 'Stage 1' will be September 25 at the Red Hill Farmers Market, maybe I'll see you there. AR

Welcome to the Roadhouse

Welcome to the Roadhouse Roast coffee blog - We are currently under construction. Please check back soon.