DIY Coffee Roasting - Guest Post by Janet Harris - Arizona

A couple of months ago, a friend from Boston, who has roasted their own coffee beans for years, sent us some to sample.  When I begged for more, a hot air popcorn popper and some green beans showed up in our mail, along with verbal encouragement for doing it ourselves. It wasn’t long before we became hooked on the quality and price.

There are many online home roasting sites with videos, detail photos, & descriptions of the process, as well as DIY products. Each individual has their preferred method, bean, and roast, which is what makes it fun, and interesting.

I began with a hot air popcorn popper (please view hyperlink; MUST be a certain type for safety), then acquired one of the small batch home coffee roasters. So far I have been using the popper most frequently, because I like its simplicity, and it does a great job.

I roast outside on our patio so the smoke and chaff released off the roasting beans escapes to the great outdoors. Roasting may be done indoors under a stove vent.

When you apply heat to the green beans, they move through an exo- then endo-thermic process over time. Your job as a roaster is to observe changes in fragrance & color, as well as to listen for distinct “crack” sounds.

Every bean has a roast that is known to bring out the “essence of the bean”, as well as alternate roasts which modify that essence in fairly predictable ways. You experiment to find out what you like, then use the fragrance, color, and crack sounds while roasting, to guide you to the desired outcome.

Here are some samples:

India Monsoon Malabar AA, green & roasted

Java Merapi Robusta, green & roasted

Mavis Banks Jamaica Blue Mountain Peaberry, green & roasted

100% Maui Red/Yellow Kaanpali Blend, green & roasted

Peru Royal Select Bird-Friendly water-process Decaf, green & roasted

 After roasting, the beans need to “set-up” or sit uncovered to vent CO2 before brewing, or storing in an airtight container at room temperature. This set-up time also develops the flavor of the beans in the desired direction.

The grind of the beans is important to a great cup of coffee. Check out this hyperlink for more info.  Here is coffee brewed using a simple Chemex drip system:

Oh so delicious . . . . Hope you try & enjoy!

Comments

[Anne Ritchings]

Janet,
What a splendid post!
Thanks for sharing this information with all of us.
Anne

[Brad]

I find that roasting my own beans allows me to always have the freshest possible roast just the way I like it, while making available some extraordinary and exotic beans at a reasonable price. Once I was aware of how good coffee could really be I was hooked. Good job of introducing people to the concept.