I am not up when the first coffee of the day is made, so I always roast the night before, at least. Beans always get at least a 12 hour rest, and most get a lot more than that since I roast about a week's supply at a time.
I've never bought any of Sweet Maria's 20 lb bags. We like to try a lot of different varieties, so I generally buy one of her 8 lb. sampler packs every month or so. It's a great way to get to try a lot of different beans while staying within budget. It works out to about $5/lb, and the samplers always include at least a couple of the high-end beans.
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Espresso is a roast by the way.
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I have to disagree with you there. It's common in North America to call extremely dark roasts "espresso roast" but espresso actually refers to the brewing method. From Wikipedia, referencing Ricardo and Francisco Illy's
The Book of Coffee: "Espresso is a coffee beverage and brewing method, it is not a specific bean, bean blend, or roast level. Any bean or roasting level can be used to produce authentic espresso. For example, in southern Italy, a darker roast is generally preferred; but farther north, the trend moves toward slightly lighter roasts. Outside of Italy a wide range of roasts are popular." I generally roast to Full City or Full City+ for espresso. Extremely dark roasts will make it easier to get a full head of crema, but you also get that charcoal taste that's so common in coffee shops (I'm looking at you, Starbuck's). One of the reasons the drinks made by those shops are so packed with sugar is to mask the taste of their burned coffee.
The coffee roasting Wiki has a great reference chart for roast levels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_roasting
I used to buy bottles and bottles of Torani syrups, until I realized I could make them myself. They're basically just flavored simple syrups. Just combine 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, boil for a minute, and add whatever flavors you want. Right now we're using blackberry syrup that I made by boiling the seeds and pulp that were leftover after I made blackberry puree for margaritas in the sugar syrup. Half the syrup went into a bottle with a pour spout for coffee, and the other half got mixed with vodka for homemade blackberry cordial.
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Originally Posted by Okiebug61
I'll probably be asked to leave the thread after this but I am a K-Cup Freak! I have a travel machine, an elite at home and a single serve at my office. I love the fact that I can have tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cider no matter where I am it fits the need.
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There was a Keurig machine in the break room at my last job, and I honestly don't get why so many people love them. I understand that they're popular, but I found the coffee that came out to be weak and bitter. I don't think I ever managed to finish a cup, even with tons of cream and sugar. The hot chocolate also had a strange chemical flavor. Maybe it's just me. I can't stand artificial sweeteners, and I think all the K-cups other than the straight coffee have artificial sweeteners in them.