HOME COFFEE ROASTING Roasting Coffee Beans At Home
Home coffee roasting can be done in many ways, starting from stovetop roasting, oven roasting, roasting in a hot-air popcorn popper, to a dedicated coffee beans roasting machine - hot-air or drum roasting machines.
Here, in the following video (though not most professional), you can watch roasting coffee beans on the stove-top in a frying pan. But I won't recommend roasting in a pan as the best home roasting option, and if you definitely want to roast on the stove-top, I would suggest by all means the Whirley Pop hand-cranked popcorn popper. Check out a video and review of the Whirley Pop coffee bean roaster here.
Roasting coffee in a frying pan on the stove top in your own home is easy and fun. Heat the pan, add the beans and stir. You'll hear the "popping," as the beans start to transform in color, smell and character. When you're satisfied with the roast-results, empty the beans and cool them immediately as they keep roasting after removing them from the heat source.
As a beginner, you may want to start first at the very basic level, like roasting with a simple frying pan on your stovetop that you already have at home, but as said, the Whirley Popper is a far better option even for roasting on the stove top.
Home coffee roasting with a frying pan has serious shortcomings. For instance, if you roast with the pan open, you may be able to stir and agitate the beans; however, you'll allow the heat and smoke to escape, while roasting with a closed pan will keep the heat but make it hard to stir the beans.
It's actually hard to get good results with a frying pan and roast without scorching the beans. As said, the "Wabash Valley Farms 25008 Whirley-Pop" stovetop popcorn popper solves much of this.
Ethiopian Horse Harrar Roasted Coffee Beans
By roasting your own coffee beans, you are assured to have fresh roasted coffee still having its rich and complex flavors, that are largely lost with packed coffee that you buy in the stores. Generally, coffee is considered fresh by experts up to one week after roasting.
It is true that home coffee roasting requires much more of your time effort, but you'll enjoy far more of what the coffee beans have to offer..
Home roasting methods usually allow for small quantities of coffee to be roasted at a time. Some coffee roasting machines have the capacity of 1/2 lb, and it would take about 15-20 minutes to roast one batch. There are select machines that can do perhaps 1 lb at a time. The machines vary in their features, capacities and qualities. Also, a dark roast, naturally, takes longer.
Alternatively, you can take your green coffee beans to a local roaster to roast them if they agree, or you may buy green coffee beans from some local roasters. You can also buy readily roasted beans from them, so that at least you know it's a fresh roast. Local roaster will also grind the beans for you with professional coffee grinders when you buy from them fresh hole beans. They may grind according to your needs and the type of coffee maker you'll be brewing your coffee with - i.e. drip, french press, etc..
This is a shot I took at a local roastery from a commercial grade Probat coffee roasting machine
Commercial roasters often carry a variety of coffee beans, including top-quality Arabica beans from various countries of origins, including organic, decaf and fair-trad coffee.
Why Home Roasting
Home coffee roasting is more common in recent years as many prefer to roast coffee at home, either for a hobby or to ensure fresher beans, or to save some money. Buying green coffee beans and roasting at home can save you on your coffee budget, but I won't suggest buying in bulk unless they'll be stored properly and be used up in several months at most.
Home roasting also allows you to have full control over the process, depending on your roasting method and equipment, and you can test and experiment with various controls and blends.
Unroasted green coffee beans can be obtained today from many sources, including coffee beans importers, traders, suppliers, wholesalers, stores or websites. Some would offer samplers of beans of different origins for reduced prices, so that you can taste and decide on your preferred choice.
Some would charge less for unroasted beans, but others would sell it for the same prices as the whole beans roasted by them. It is common to add 20% to the quantities of green beans, however, since about the same amount may be lost in the course of the roasting process.
