Roasting coffee beans at home. Is it worth it?
Have you ever wondered if you can roast your own coffee beans at home? The answer is yes.
There are some easy methods to roast your own coffee beans, but you will have to handle two main problems: getting a good result and finding green coffee beans (raw).
In this article you will see how to roast your coffee beans at home with 4 different methods: pan roasting, oven roasting, popcorn popper and home coffee roasting machine.
I recommend you to have a look at our previous post in which we talk about 5 types of coffee roast you should know. In there you will find useful information to comprehend this article.
Article index:
Roasting coffee beans stages
4 ways to roast your coffee beans at home
Pan roasting
Oven roasting
Popcorn popper roasting
Home coffee roasting machine
Store the roasted coffee beans
It is worth it?
Roasting coffee beans stages
For mastering the roasting coffee bean process it is very important to know all the stages that will happen. In this list you will have all of them and a proper description to know everything about them.
Green bean: this is the starting point of the roasting process. Beans are just beginning to get exposed to heat.
Yellow beans: after a short time of beans being exposed to heat they will start to get a yellow color. If you smell them, you can find some grass aromas.
Steam: water, which is naturally inside the bean, will heat up and eventually start to evaporate. You will literally see this process if you look at the bean closely.
First crack: you will hear an audible crack while roasting the coffee beans. This is called the first crack and it is when the actual roasting process starts. From this moment you can finish the roast, but this one would be way to light and with an extra sour flavor. Personally, I don't recommend this at all.
Light roast: after the first crack, roast your beans for some minutes longer. When it gets to a light brown color, your light roast is ready. Other popular names for this roasting level are: New England, Light City, Half City.
Medium roast: beans will start to swell and look more like the typical coffee bean we are used to seeing. Medium roast is probably the most popular roasting level. Here, internal sugars from the coffee beans start to caramelize, creating a nice and balanced flavor.
Second crack: if you continue roasting your coffee beans, you will hear a second crack, louder than the first one.
Medium dark roast: at the same time you are reaching the second crack, your coffee beans will be in a medium dark roast. Also a popular roast level that any coffee lover chooses because of its intense but not burnt flavor.
Dark roast: the last level of roasting beans. In a dark roast, suars will be very near to being burnt. An intense and strong flavor that some people love but other ones find too burnt. If you continue the roasting process after this, you will definitely burn your beans.
The chaff: after the roasting process you will have your roasted beans and the chaff. This is like a skin that green beans have and separates during the roasting process. While brewing, you don't need the chaff so you have to remove it beforehand. For this it is important to let the beans cool for a while if you don't want to get burnt.
4 ways to roast your coffee beans at home
Advertence: Always roast your coffee in a ventilated area. Open your windows and if you are able to go outside, go for it. This is a very smoky process.
Pan roasting
This one is a simple and popular method of roasting your beans because you don't need any special tool. Get a pan (cast iron/steel/uncoated) and heat it up at medium heat until it reaches 450°F. You can use a thermometer to know this.
Add your green beans and start to mix them so you can distribute heat the evener way possible. After 5 minutes approx you will hear the first crack. After 3 more minutes the second crack will occur. Choose anytime between the first and the second crack to finish your roasting process.
Take beans from the heat and cool them down. You can introduce them in a metal coriander and shake them, so air can flow through them.
Let the beans de gas for 12 hours before using them.
The main disadvantage of this method is that it is hard to get a constant and equal temperature, so your results will be very uneven. You can find almost burnt beans and lightly roast ones in the same batch.
Oven roasting
Also a popular way to home roast coffee beans because you only need every day kitchen tools.
Important note! If you have an oven with a very powerful fan, it might blow the chaff away and create a mess. In that case, probably this method is not for you.
Preheat your oven for 30 minutes at 500°F. Add your green coffee beans in a tray without stacking them.
After 5 minutes you will hear the first crack. After some more minutes, the second one. Anyway between those 2 cracks will be a correct coffee roast.
Take your beans out, cool them down and let them sit for 12 hours to de gas.
For a better result, shake your coffee beans in the middle of the roasting process. This will give you an even roast.
Popcorn popper roasting
Popcorn poppers move the beans while providing them with constant heat, so it is an excellent way to home roast your coffee beans.
Preheat your machine and add a small amount of green coffee beans, you want to be sure that they have enough space to move and roast evenly. For this, you can use the same amount of coffee beans as corn kernels that the machine recommends.
If you see that beans are not moving inside the machine, help them with a spatula or wooden spoon. Also, take off the chaff that will start to appear inside the machine.
First crack will be around 3 to 5 minutes, and the second one between 6 and 8. Anytime between those two will give you a decent and nice coffee roast.
Cool the beans rapidly to cut the roasting process and let them degas for 12 hours. Then, they will be ready to use.
Home coffee roasting machine
If you are a real coffee lover and an enthusiast of roasting your own beans, maybe you end up buying a home coffee roaster. Without a doubt with this system you will get the best results, but also is by far the most expensive one.
All you need to do is to turn the machine on, add the beans and wait for the cracks. The machine will do the work of creating a hot enough environment so beans are roasted up to perfection.
Always remember to cool your beans rapidly and let them degas for 12 hours.
Store the roasted coffee beans
After roasting and degassing your coffee beans, you have to store them properly to preserve their freshness. The most important aspect is to do it airtight. For this you can use many solutions, like vacuum seal bags or special coffee containers.
In Coffee Devotion we have an article where we explain how to store coffee beans properly.
It is worth it?
I will be completely honest. In my opinion it is not worth it to roast your own coffee beans unless you have a home roasting coffee machine that is expensive.
Although the first three methods work, they will never give you such a good result as a professional roasting machine. I believe that there is no point in doing this process at home to have more freshness but having an uneven roast.
If you are not able to do a proper roast, the best option is to buy your coffee beans already roasted, trying to consume them as close to the roasting date.