Home Coffee Roasting

Home coffee roasting can be a little intimidating if you are not sure how to do it. But there are several ways to roast coffee at home.

There are appliances that are made for the purpose of home coffee roasting, but you can also do simple pan roasting and even oven roasting.

Most of these methods are very, very simple and the results are wonderful. They don't even require much of an investment of time and effort from you.

Fluid Bed Roasting

Fluid bed roasting, also known as air roasting, uses a hot air stream to "cook" the coffee. You can use home coffee roasters like the Hearthware Home Roaster, the Coffe Rosto and the Freshroast Home Roaster, all of which use the air roasting method.

The Nesco Home Coffee Roaster uses the air roasting method to some degree, but some people use their hot air popcorn poppers for their hot air coffee roasting because they use a technique that is very similar.

You can air roast your coffee beans in less than 10 minutes. This method also roasts very evenly without scorching or burning the beans, leaving nothing but delicious coffee that is very high quality.

Radiant Drum Roasting

The Gene Café Roaster, the HotTop Drum Roaster and the Alpenrost Home Roaster use a radiant drum for roasting and they roast about half a pound of coffee at a time.

The disadvantage to using this type of roaster is that you need to pay more attention to the machine during the roast process than you do with an air roaster. It is still a very good home coffee roasting method, though.

Home coffee roasting can be a lot of fun and you can usually roast enough coffee in just one batch that you will have several days' worth.

The results are at least equal to coffees that have been professionally roasted, but often they are even fresher.

You can easily use one of the appliances for home coffee roasting, but you can also use a skillet or wok, popcorn popper or use the oven roasting method.

Oven Roasting Process

During the roasting process, the beans are heated to anywhere between 460 degrees Fahrenheit to 530 degrees Fahrenheit.

While you are roasting, keep it manageable and roast small batches. Throughout the roasting process, the coffee beans will change colors from green to yellow and eventually brown.

The moisture in the beans will steam off and the steam will carry the aroma of fresh coffee. The first crack is the point in the roasting when the last of the moisture leaves the bean. At first crack, the sugars that are in the bean have started caramelizing.

At this point your coffee is roasted, albeit it is the lightest roast. At this point you can choose to continue roasting for a darker roast, but watch your beans carefully because from this point the advancement in darkness is rapid.

If you allow the beans to continue to roast, the sugar in the beans will caramelize even more and the coffee beans release oils that make the roast even more flavorful. You can keep going until you get the roast that you want.

The second crack happens later in the roasting. Your coffee beans will be very dark. Roasting your coffee too far beyond this point will result in coffee that is very bitter and harsh because all of the sugars have burned off.

You should also remember that even after your remove your beans from the heat, they will continue to roast in their own heat.

Different Types of Coffee Roasts

When you are doing your own home coffee roasting, it helps to know the different types of coffee roasts.

Cinnamon
In cinnamon roasted coffee, the appearance of the bean is light brown and no oils are visible. It has a baked, bready flavor that is much like toasted grain and usually has some sour tones. It does not have much body.

New England
This roast is fairly common in the eastern region of the United States, but the term is not used very frequently. This roast is slightly darker than the cinnamon roast but its flavor is not grainy, though it is sour.

American, Light
The beans for this roast are medium light brown and are prevalent in the Eastern United States. It is the roast that is used most often for professional tasting or cupping.

City, Medium
This roast is a darker color than the light. It is more like a chocolate or medium brown and is common in the western region of the United States.

Full City
With beans that are medium dark brown, they will begin to show some oily drops on their surface. It has chocolate or caramel undertones.

French, Espresso
Beans that have gotten to this point of roasting are beginning to get dark brown and are shiny with oil. They are less acidic but do have undertones that hint at burned. This roast is used quite often when making Espresso. Many people mistakenly believe that French is the darkest roast.

Italian, Dark French
This roast is very similar to French, but it is darker and has an oilier appearance. Additionally it has a stronger burned flavor.

Spanish
This is the darkest roast available with a color that is almost black. The flavor, though, is flat and it as a charcoal undertone.

Home roasting coffee can be easy and fun. It is important to know what roasting does to coffee beans so that you can fully understand the process and create your own roast.

Don't be afraid to experiment and try different coffees with different roasts. As the roasting process progresses, the sugars, fats and starches that are within the bean begin to emulsify, caramelize and are released.

This is what creates the coffee oil and it is the coffee oil that gives coffee its taste and aroma.

When you try your hand at home roasting coffee, you don't have to spend a fortune in order to get a roast that you like.

Try some different roasts to see what you like. You may even try roasts that you are skeptical about because who knows, you just might be surprised.