Roasting Coffee at Home..... (Should I Go For It?)

Think of the smell of your coffee

which you can smell as you enter a nearby coffee shop.

Good, huh?

I'm sure you have thought of roasting your own coffee at your home at least once if you are a coffee lover like me.

I sometimes think of the idea, but I have never given it a shot for real yet.

I guess I'm too lazy to do it.....

But, today, I decided to look more for DIY roasting and here we go!

via http://www.sweetmarias.com/instructions.php

I will start from stating the proper steps.

1. Choose a roaster

2. Choose green coffee

3. Process of roasting

1. Choose a roaster

When you choose a roaster, you must consider

          a) how much roasted coffee you need

          b) how much money you are willing to spend

Then, there are a few different DIY methods to roast.

          i) hot air popcorn popper

          ii) stovetop popcorn or a cookie sheet in the oven

For beginners, the first method is more suitable because the number two method may roast less evenly and require more techniques to get good roasted coffee.

However, if you insist on using the number 2 method or that's what you only have,

please check out http://www.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.php

or http://www.sweetmarias.com/ovenmethod.php for your better results.

2. Choose green coffee

For the amount, 4 lb. Sampler is suggested, generally.

And here comes the fantastic part of home roasting! You can select different flavors depending on regions! Of course, for you to pick right coffee, you should look for the information about regions of coffee first. 

So, here! Click them and let's find out which beans from which regions are your favorites.

- http://www.sweetmarias.com/choosingcoffeeFAQ.php

- http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/06/coffee-flavor-profiles-major-growing-regions-guatemala-kenya-brazil-ethiopia.html

3. Process of roasting

There are many different roasting stages. And you will be able to get the right flavor you are looking for when you can control the process of roasting.

Here are some stages. :-)

-Yellowing: your green coffee will change its color to lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell in the first few minutes of roasting.

-Steam: your beans will begin to steam as the water inside them disappear.

-1st crack: you will actually hear the sound of cracking soon after the steam turns fragrant. At this stage, sugars start to caramelize, captured water escapes, and beans crack.

-1st roasting stage: the cracking is a cue along with the sight and smell. It is called a City roast and from this on, you can finish up your roasting according to your taste.

-Caramelization: Oils migrate and the beans become larger as the roast gets darker. It is called a City+ roast as the roasting proceeds. You may want to stop your roasting at this point since that is recommended most. 

-2nd crack: this time, the sound of cracking will be more volatile than the 1st crack. It is called a Full City roast and also known as a Vienna roast. At this point, roasting may result in small pieces of beans... :s

-Darkening roast: at the end of the 2nd crack, it is now called a French roast. Sugars burn almost completely and the bean will break down more and more. You MUST stop at least at this stage because.....

-Charcoal water: you will only get to see a thin-bodied cup of charcoal water when you look for your beans.

via http://www.breworganic.com/coffee/howtoroast.htm

*****Tips for you to know when to stop the roast.

-Start with some roasted coffee that is roasted to the style you like if it's your first time for roasting yourself. 

-Use a candy or deep fry thermometer to measure the temperature of the beans while roasting. (You can skip this tip if you roast with a roasting machine.)

-When you smell a coffee smell from a grassy vegetable smell, your beans are about to be done. (This sense of smell will improve as you practice more.)

-Pay attention for the sound of cracking. It will come twice!!

-If you roast the same amount and with the same temperature, you can just simply duplicate the last efforts by timing the process. (It is much more useful if you are using an oven or a coffee roasting appliance.)

There are some good effects and bad effects of roasting at home.

For the good effects, it can bring good great smell to your home, it can be a fun activity for you to do by yourself, and it's cheaper than just buying roasted coffee (about 50-75%).

But, for the not good effects, roasting requires many times of practices for you to get desired results. Also, that means it is going to take up much time. And the smoke! What about the smoke the process of roasting creates? These are what you have to bear.

Well, writing up this post, I have been thinking and thinking.

I'd like to do the roasting process once, but I think that one time is enough for me.

So, participating in some events that allow participants to roast alone might be a lot better idea for me rather than buying all those materials and appliances and roasting at my own home.

Teehee-