How to roast your own coffee in 6 simple steps
First things first – we highly recommend buying a small coffee roaster like the Gene Café CBR-101, to prepare your own green coffee beans at home, but if this is not immediately possible and as long as you have a decent oven with a reliable thermostat, that’s the bare minimum you need to start with. That and a batch of the highest quality raw coffee beans you can lay your hands on, and a timer to ensure you reach the right roasting level.
Roasting green coffee beans at home can be uniquely satisfying, and that’s before the enjoyment that accompanies the ultimate fresh-brewed java. Best of all, the whole process of preparing unroasted coffee beans is easier than you might think.
Simply follow the six steps outlined below to make every brew barista-quality:
Step 1. Buy Quality Unroasted Coffee Beans
Quality counts for a lot when buying raw coffee beans, so buy the best you can find. In addition remember that, every 1kg (i.e. 2.2lb) of green coffee beans will typically result in 0.85kg (i.e. 1.87lb) of roasted coffee beans, due to the normal weight loss of about 15% during the roasting process. Green coffee beans have an extensive shelf life when stored properly, so feel free to buy in bulk to save money!
Step 2. Prep the Equipment
Speaking of saving money, an oven tray (or even a decent cast iron pan) is the minimum you need as a home coffee roaster. Just as long as you can keep the temperature below 220° C (i.e. 428° F), you’re golden. You’ll also need something to stir the beans around, a timer and a good coffee grinder.
Step 3. Get Roasting
Ensure the beans are spread out on the tray in a single even layer, with at least a little space between them for air to circulate. Stir very regularly to ensure the beans are heated evenly, listening carefully for the ‘first crack’ - a sound similar to popcorn kernels doing their thing. For safety reasons, never leave the location where you are roasting unattended, even if “just for one minute”.
Step 4. Reach the Right Roast
The cracking sound mentioned above indicates that you have reached a medium roast, which is just about right for most people. Pull your beans out before this crack for a light roast. Experiment with different lengths of time until you find your perfect roast level, before taking the beans out and allowing them to cool.
Step 5. Stir and Wait
Keep giving the roasted beans a good stir on the oven tray or pan, in order to assist the cooling process and keep things as even as possible. They’ll be extremely hot fresh out of the oven, so take your time and give it as long as necessary for the beans to cool down. Then move your beans to an hermetic recipient and leave them there for at least one day, so that they can release the gases accumulated during roasting.
Step 6. Grind and Brew
The final step in the process is to grind the beans to your preferred coarseness and brew them in the normal way. Though to ensure you’re not technically wasting your time by roasting green coffee beans at home, use them within one week to enjoy them at their freshest.
You then officially have the bragging rights of having become a home coffee roaster…and congratulations on that!
At Hayman’s online coffee store, you will find the world’s finest green coffee beans for home roasting with your own coffee roaster, including legendary coffees such as Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, best Kona coffee Hawaii, and Panama Geisha coffee beans (a.k.a. Gesha coffee). For those not into home roasting, we also offer roasted coffee, Nespresso®* compatible capsules, and coffee pods compatible with Keurig K Cup coffee makers (incl. Keurig 2.0 models)**. Click here to order today, we offer free worldwide shipping!
* Nespresso® is a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., unrelated to Hayman ®. Our espresso pods are not created or sold by Nespresso®.
** Keurig and K-Cup are registered trademarks of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. unrelated to Hayman®. Our pods are not created or sold by Keurig®.
