Is roasting your coffee worth the time and effort? The answer to this question depends on what kind of coffee drinker you are. Do you want to learn more about your favorite beans and have control over every step of the brewing process? Roasting coffee beans at home may be for you. But if you’re short on time and willing to sacrifice a little freshness and flavor, you may prefer to leave it to the experts.
HELPFUL TIP: When shopping for coffee beans online, look for roasters that will roast your beans on demand. This will help you get the freshest, most full flavor without roasting beans at home.
Being able to roast your beans will give you the freshest coffee flavors and the most authentic coffee experience, and it’s all created by you! That’s something to be proud of. If you’re curious if the process would fit into your lifestyle, you can keep reading to find out if it’s worth it.
What are the benefits of roasting your own coffee beans?
Besides the fact that you can craft your coffee from start to finish, you also learn some new skills. Learning to roast doesn’t take long once you have all the equipment and establish an excellent roasting routine.
You also enjoy coffee the way it’s meant to taste. When you roast your coffee, you will know where the beans come from, the base flavors, and what the bean went through before reaching your cup.
Another huge benefit is that because you pick the roast level, it’s easy to control the flavor of your coffee. The roast level can determine how complex it is (lightly roasted), how balanced and earthy it is (medium roast), or how sweet and caramelized or smoky it is (dark roast).
The roast also controls caffeine levels. Light roast beans contain slightly more caffeine than their dark roast counterparts. If you want a lot of caffeine, leave it lightly roasted, but medium and dark roasts develop great flavors if the caffeine level isn’t as important.
How long does it take?
How much time does it take to roast your batch of beans? Besides sourcing green coffee beans, you have the steps of the roasting process.
This process takes 10-13 minutes for small batches and 16-18 minutes for large batches to roast. Altogether, it might take 20 or 30 minutes of your time to roast a final product of one or two pounds of fresh coffee. Remember that you’ll need to repeat this process whenever you run out of coffee.
How to roast your own coffee beans
During roasting, coffee beans absorb heat, which darkens their color. At higher temperatures, oils appear on the surface of the beans. At 401°F, the beans crack for the first time and expand. Around 437°F is the second crack.
1. Put your green coffee beans in your heating element.
You can use a cast iron pan or popcorn popper on a stovetop or an electric coffee roasting appliance. Remember that the roasting process can be very smoky, so ensure you have good ventilation.
2. Turn up the heat and stir the beans.
Stirring is important to ensure your coffee beans are roasting evenly continually. You don’t want a mixture of dark, medium, and light roasts, leading to inconsistent flavors and extraction.
3. Watch the beans and listen for the first crack.
Continue until your beans reach your desired roast level.
- Light Roast: Remove your beans from heat right before the first crack (356°F – 401°F).
- Medium Roast: At the first crack or slightly afterward (410°F-428°F).
- Dark Roast: Right after the second crack, but sometimes longer (437°F – 482°F).
Coffee beans are never roasted above 482°F because they will start to thin out the bean and create a burnt taste. You probably don’t want to drink charcoal.
4. Separate the chaff and let the coffee cool before storing.
Using a colander or your coffee roaster’s built-in chaff collector, separate your roasted beans from the chaff, which is the gold-colored outer skin. Let the coffee cool and store it in a non-airtight container overnight. This will allow the freshly-roasted beans to degas.
About 24 hours after roasting, your coffee will be most flavorful. Grind your beans before brewing and store the remainder in an opaque, airtight container. You’ll be amazed at the vibrant flavor, strong aroma, and impressive bloom.
How difficult is roasting coffee beans?
Coffee roasting experts spend years perfecting the craft, so producing consistently roasted beans may take a while. If you have very sensitive taste buds and are willing to drink nothing but the best, learning how to roast coffee beans may be a frustrating experience for you. However, if you’re ready to experiment and put up with a few batches of unevenly-roasted beans, you may find this process rewarding.
It does take more effort than buying coffee online or at a coffee shop but doesn’t forget that it will get easier as you establish your roasting routine.
If you do not have time to roast, you can check our coffee beans ( Arabica, Robusta, Kapeng Barako Liberica, and Excelsa ) in our shop; we roast coffee beans daily we guarantee you will get it at its freshness
