Steve is an urban homesteader friend of mine and has tried something I thought was a great idea. Steve is roasting coffee in small batches for his own use. Did you know you could do that? Roast coffee yourself? Honestly, the thought never occurred to me, but gosh, I'm excited to try it now!
Here is the article he graciously wrote to describe his experience. Thank you, Steve!
Not long ago at dinner the topic
of coffee came up. It seems that due to the drought in South America we can
expect coffee prices to rise as much as 25% some time in 2014. And we all know
that once the prices rise on anything, rarely will we see them come back down
to what we're used to. Add to that my favorite place to buy fresh roasted
coffee decided to stop roasting in house and instead started having it shipped
in. This got me to thinking about roasting my own coffee, I mean how hard can
it be...right?
The first commercial coffee
roasting machine came out in the 1940's, that means every bean roasted up until
then was done by hand. Out on a cattle drive over an open fire to the fanciest
hotels they roasted by hand. So like everything I'm interested in, I started
researching. And truth told I found that
there is no real mystery to roasting coffee, no double top secret recipes and
no high priced equipment required. With a few necessities and some patience
it's possible to roast fantastic coffee at home and for a fraction of the cost.
First let's talk beans. Un-roasted
coffee beans (actually they are seeds)
are pale-greenish in color.
They are small, hard and there is a huge variety out there from every continent.
Un-roasted or green coffee beans are cheap and can be stored for several months.
You can find hundreds of places to buy green coffee beans online for prices
that range anywhere from $5.00 per lb for Sumatra to as high as $15.00 per lb
for Jamaican Blue. I found a local place here in Albuquerque that sells green coffee
beans from all over the world for $6 per lb. You can find beans from all sorts
of exotic places and you can buy directly from small farmers as opposed to
buying from big business. The sky is the limit on what type of bean you roast,
try beans from different continents and see how different they are.
Next let's talk about roasting the beans.
Understand there are all sorts of different ways people roast coffee, all you
need is high even heat and a way to keep the beans moving. You can roast in a
frying pan on the stove, in a hot air popcorn popper, a Wok, in the oven and use a hot air gun. My first
attempt was on the stove in a skillet. Seemed simple, you turn on the burner,
pour in the beans and stirring like crazy. Let me stop here and give the guys a
friendly warning. Before deciding you're going to roast coffee in your wife's
skillet, on her stove and in her kitchen you may want to warn her ahead of
time. Walking in on a smoke filled kitchen, smelling to high heaven with bits
of chaff floating in the air....well let's just say I get myself in the
darndest messes.
So...how did
it come out? Actually not bad at all. What I did notice was how unevenly the
beans roasted.
Some were very dark where others were a light tan. This
was a result of two things, first my heat was too high and second I did not
stir the beans often enough to get an even roast. This method would clearly
take some time to get good at so I started looking at other options. After a
good bit of consideration here's the method I settled on.
The Whirley
Pop popcorn popper!
Remember those? It's the perfect set-up for roasting
coffee. The pan is large, has a lid which helps with even heat and the wire
rotating inside keeps the beans moving which results in a much more even roast
Some information on what's happening when you roast a coffee
bean. The bean goes through several stages and color changes. One of the best explanations I have found is
at the following link
Here's how I
do it:
Turn on
stove and get the Whirley Pop hot, you're looking for a temp of between 375 and 400 to
start. You will notice in the pic I added a thermometer to the Whirley Pop.
This is
something you'll want to consider to help better manage the heat at first. After
roasting several batches I roast now by sight and sound.
Once the Whirley Pop is good and hot, pour in the beans. I found 8 oz. to be a good amount to
roast at one time and still get an even roast. Now Crank, Look and Listen!
The beans
will begin to change color, turning yellow, then light tan and eventually
depending on the roast very dark. Keep that handle cranking, as the beans get
hotter the window of time between a good tasting roast and charcoal gets
smaller and smaller.
Listen for
what is known as the "First Crack", this is a distinct sound made by
the bean as the internal temperature rises and causes the water and oils to
escape. It will sound much like a kernel of corn popping, or maybe the sound of
a toothpick snapping in two. And just like when you pop popcorn you're listening
for when most of the popping stops.
At the
moment of First Crack the bean is considered roasted and you could stop here.
This would be a very light roast, almost like tea. Most of us however prefer a
darker roast so continue to roast the beans, again cranking continuously. You
are now listening for the "Second Crack". I have found this to be
more subtle than the first crack, almost like the sound Rice Krispies makes
when you first pour milk on it. At the point of second crack you are well on
your way to a dark roast. I like a dark roast so this is where I usually think
about stopping depending on the color of the beans.
Once you reach the roast
you're looking for remove the beans immediately from the Whirley Pop and cool them,
this will keep the hot beans from continuing to roast. I use two colanders and
pour the beans back and forth between them. You will also have the roasted
exterior of the bean known as the chaff floating around as you do this. Blow on
the beans as you cool them and the chaff will float away.
Now here's
the main point. Somewhere between the first and second crack is the place where
your favorite roast sits. Nobody else knows where it's at and the only way
you're going to find it is through experience. It will only take you a few
roasts to know by the color, smell and sound of the beans that you're at the
place that brings you what you think is the best cup of coffee.
A couple
final comments. Be aware that this can produce a lot of smoke depending on how
dark you roast and it will smell up the kitchen. Open a few windows and you
should be fine, better yet move outdoors and roast on a grill or camping stove
like I did (ok I was kicked out).
Finally I
have given you a cursory explanation of how I roast my coffee, what works for
me. I'm sure I left out information that I'll remember later. Roasting coffee
is like anything else, there is a wide range of opinions out there. There are also
lots of very good resources online that will give you good information and good ideas on how to roast your own coffee. I
encourage you to spend time reading, learning and finding the way that you feel
best helps you with what is the freshest cup of coffee you'll ever taste.
God Bless
