Everything You Need To Know About Roasting Coffee Beans

Home wine makers will be happy to hear that roasting coffee beans is even easier - and the results are often as good as the pros.

There is a wide choice of roasters available.  Everyday kitchen equipment such as popcorn maker or frying pans can be used.  The most important thing is to make sure the equipment is clean.  Left over butter or oils could really affect the taste of the coffee.

Choosing the best beans for can afford is a good start when roasting any bean.  Dark roasts have less caffeine than lighter roasts, but they also have a less acidic taste.

When roasting coffee beans for the first time it is probably a good idea to do so in a well ventilated room.  The beans need to be heated to between 460F (223C) and 530F (262C), therefore this may cause some smoke and quite a strong smell!

Get those beans in your roaster and turn the heat up until it is really hot.  (Disabling your home fire alarms for a little while may be a good idea).

Many roasters have an in-built thermometer, but having an extra thermometer may be a good idea when you use the frying pan method.  Candy making thermometers are ideal for this purpose.

Whilst roasting the beans will turn different colours.  The beans will start out green, then turn yellow then brown.  How dark you want your roast depends on how brown you let the beans become.

When the beans begin to heat up you make hear a loud back when the bean bursts.  This is because the heat puts pressure of the surface of the bean.  Don't worry, this is perfectly normal.  You should here this sound after about four to seem minutes.  Make sure you keep stirring the beans every 30 seconds or so.

As the sugars in the beans heat up they will begin to caramelize (this means the beans turn brown and 'burn' a little).   The caramelization needs to be to your own personal taste.  Remember to check the beans every 30 seconds or so.

If you roast the beans for a quite a while you will hear a loud second crack.  The beans will now be quite dark a too harsh for some people.  If you were to continue with the roasting at this stage you would just be burning the beans and the result would be to bitter to drink.

Pour the beans into a metal colander and 'rough them up'.  The roasting process produces a find skin 'chaff' that breaks away from the bean as they are roughed up.  You need to remove this skin before you use the beans.

Try a few batches with varying degrees of time or darkening. Experiment to get the flavor you like. Keep in mind that the heat trapped in the bean will continue to cook it for a short while, so try stopping a little short of your desired end goal.

When you use a popcorn maker to roast the beans make sure you can stir the beans so they don't stick and burn.  If you are roasting the beans on the stove top, cast iron skillets are fantastic.  Remember don't leave the beans for a second and keep stirring.  Roasting coffee beans is very quick.