Break4Coffee

Although at first it can be a little tough to make certain each batch of your home roasted coffee beans are consistent, with a little practice you will get the hang of it and will be able to create wonderful coffee. In fact, creating your own custom, roasted blends of coffee is not a complicated process in the least and not near as hard as you might think.

Roasting your own coffee beans has a number of benefits. When you roast your own coffee beans, you have the freedom of creating the exact type of coffee you like. You can easily create espresso roasts or work with your beans to achieve what is known as a city roast, the choice is yours but you will be delighted with the results too.

It is essential to note that although green coffee beans can be stored for more than a year without loosing their flavor possibilities, once roasted, coffee should be used up within a week.  If you purchase you’re beans un-roasted, you can buy as many as you like at once without worry of them going bad on you. You can even buy your beans in bulk lots if you so desire.

A very helpful tip is to keep a coffee notebook. List in your book how you roasted each batch of beans so that when you find a blend you like, you can easily repeat the same process.

Before you begin roasting your first batch of beans, there are some tools you will need to acquire.  Besides a notebook, you will also need to buy yourself a roaster. You need a roaster that can heat up the beans to a minimum of 400 degrees F evenly. Along with a roaster you will need a cooling pan and a wooden spoon. For a cooling pan, many use an aluminum colander or a cookie sheet.  Now don’t panic if you don’t have a roaster, I have a friend who uses an iron skillet stove and fresh roasts her coffee every morning so she has the perfect pot.

A small kitchen scale is also an essential item when roasting your beans at home. You want to make certain that you are always measuring out the proper amount of beans per batch and a scale allows you to make sure of this.

Once you have all of your equipment together, along with the beans of your choice, it is time to try your hand at roasting.

You start by adding your beans to the roaster and start stirring right away. Stir until you notice the beans begin to move on their own upwards, this can take approximately a minute or so to happen.

Keep you eye on the beans and watch for them to change to the color you want them to be. You will hear the beans begin to crack which is known as ‘first crack’, shortly after this stops they will once again starting cracking which is called ‘second crack.’

For a nice full roast, you can stop once the second crack starts. If you wish for a darker roast however, allow the beans to continue roasting a short time longer. You will notice that your beans take on a glossy appearance and a dense cloud of smoke will appear from the roaster.

Once your beans are roasted the way you want them, dump them into your cooling pan allowing them to lie in a single layer. If you wish, you can lightly mist the beans with water from a spray bottle.

Once fully cooled, store your roasted beans in an airtight container. Roasting your own coffee beans is not a complicated process once you have had a little practice. You will be enjoying your own freshly roasted blends of coffee in no time at all with the added satisfaction you created your own cup of heaven.

Now, I know a pan will work but that requires lots of personal attention to get the perfect roast , below are a few examples of coffee roasters that can make a very cool edition to any kitchen, and don[’t require a lot of work to make the perfect roast.