Easy Home Roasting

Home roasting green coffee beans is easier than you might think. Sure you can buy a fancy home roasting appliance that will make the perfect roast every time, but getting started is much simpler. All you need is some green coffee, a few items found in the kitchen, and about 15 minutes to have a custom home roast that will taste delicious. You can also amaze your friends when they tell you how great your coffee is and ask where you bought it.

Step 1 –  Choose your roast

A lighter roast has more caffeine content then a darker roast. There is a common misconception that the darker roasts have more caffeine. In reality, the darker the roast, the more of the caffeine chemical is roasted away. Lighter roasts also tend to be more acidic. Something to keep in mind if you have a sensitive stomach. The lighter roasts have a cinnamon coloring and very little oil on the exterior.

Dark roasts have a smoky-sweet flavor. They may even taste slightly burnt. The longer roasting time almost completely masks the original flavor of the beans and the subtleties of the origin. As mentioned, the darker roast does have a lower acidity. The color of the dark roast is chocolate brown to nearly black. The beans have an oily exterior.

Step 2 – Pre-heat your skillet

Choose a skillet large enough to allow most of the beans to touch the bottom of the pan. Turn the stove to a setting that will bring the pan to about 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Slowly add your beans to the hot skillet and begin to stir.

Step 3 – Stir slowly

Continue stirring the beans. Make sure that all of the beans keep moving in order to get a more even roast. The color will start to change from green to yellow and then proceed from the colors of brown, from golden to dark. After about five minutes of stirring, you will hear the first crack. The beans will be a light brown. This is considered a light roast. From here the beans will progressively roast to a darker brown. At or before the second crack, the beans have reached a Full City or French roast.

Step 4 – Dump the roast beans into a colindar

The beans need to cool rapidly to stop the roasting process. Gently shake the colindar to cool the beans and allow the chaff to separate from the beans. A second colindar can be handy during this stage as you can dump the beans between the two to speed cooling.

Step 5 – Allow the fresh roast beans to cool 4 – 5 hours

The freshly roast beans will go through a process called gassing. Over the next several hours they will release CO2. Wait to seal the container until this process completes.

That’s it! You have just created your very own home roast from the supplies in your kitchen. Wait 24 hours and then enjoy your brew!

Suggested varieties to try:

Colombian Supremo

Brazil – Bob-o-Link