Papa Latte Turns Coffee Roaster!

We were delighted to receive an early holiday gift from our California son Bucky and his wife Max…a Behmor Coffee Roaster. But I’m getting ahead of myself…I hate it when I do that!

Let’s just say we love good coffee. Seriously…we love our coffee, so much so that our grand kids re-named Doug “Papa Latte.” For years, we’ve bought fresh, whole beans; ground each shot to order; and indulged ourselves in a really good espresso machine. We even have an Italian espresso machine technician, Pavli, who provides excellent service and keeps our Saeco Royal in top condition. The last time we checked, that Royal has logged in close to 32,000 shots of delicious espresso!

When the Behmor arrived, it was a wonderful surprise, but after reading the instructions, we were more than a tad intimidated. It came with all the bells and whistles, including 8 bags of a variety of green coffee beans just begging to be roasted to perfection. It also came with a host of warnings, videos, safety instructions, and cautions to avoid burning down the house. Papa Latte, our primary in-house barista, selected some green Bolivian coffee beans for our inaugural roast.

Following the pre-heating instructions exactly, he set the roaster for 8.5 minutes. Keeping his eye on the roaster the entire time to ensure that the beans didn’t burn, he watched them plump up, turn a lovely brown, and begin to crackle and pop. Once fully roasted, the beans made a more pronounced cracking sound, and the roaster went into its cool down cycle. The fully roasted beans were quite dark brown and smelled wonderful.

After discarding the chaff, he loaded the beans into the Royal and pulled the first shot for me…a perfectly balanced, smooth shot of espresso, my coffee of choice. He then made a latte for himself and savored the flavor, with thanks to Bucky and Max for a truly unique and thoughtful gift.

Papa Latte is now our official barista AND coffee roaster! Can’t wait to share some delicious coffee drinks with family and friends.