Getting your coffee right includes knowing how roasting is done. Coffee develops a specific kind of color once it reaches just that right stage of roasting.
You can use any container for roasting coffee, although the best would be your traditional frying pan or a popcorn pooper since you can use hot air to roast beans.
Roasting your own beans has many benefits. For one, you can learn how to spot when the beans are roasted just right, and you are saving money by roasting the beans yourself.
How Does Coffee Roasting Work?
Roasting coffee requires you to use fresh green beans. Aside from the roasting pan, you will also need a spoon and a potholder.
Start by measuring the beans and removing any debris such as dirt or twigs, as well as defective, wrinkled, or discolored beans. In a typical popcorn popper, you can put in as much as much as 2 ounces of beans. Drop the beans into the pan, and start stirring.
You will know that you have placed just the right amount of beans if they start moving on their own as they start turning light brown. You will notice the coffee beans will start shedding their skins and the skins often ride up and out of the pan, which means you may have to do a little bit of cleaning afterwards.
A number of factors can tell you that the beans have reached the right degree of roasting. Once the beans start moving on their own, you will hear a distinct popping sound, which resembles popcorn popping. This usually happens within 10 minutes of roasting.
During this time, the beans are still expanding and will show visible cracks. Wait until the beans still start popping more rapidly and slow down, and this signals the end of the first crack. Coffee allowed to go through a second crack has a different appearance, with softer edges.
You usually only have to wait 15 to 30 second between the first and second cracks. Another indication is the aroma of the roast process, which will tell you if you have reached the desired level of roasting.
Once you finish lay down the beans in a flat container to cool. You can ground and brew the beans and store the remainder in an airtight container. The roasted beans usually last for two weeks in proper storage with no decline in aroma and flavor.
Next Article: How to Be a Home Roasting Guru
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