One best way you could ever hope to enjoy coffee is by roasting it yourself. This is the only way to be guaranteed a cup of fresh coffee that tastes just the way you want it to. People love coffee in different ways; some like it weak and others like a coffee with a bold taste. While you can always go to your favourite coffee shop close to you and find this kind of coffee, why not instead roast it yourself so you can begin to create magical cups of coffee from start to finish in the comfort of your home.
In order to roast coffee from home you will need a few supplies of green coffee beans and it’s important to understand the process from start to end so you can better understand how your roasting can impact the flavours of your coffee. It’s also important to know that coffee can produce a lot of smoke, especially if you like dark roasts and the aroma is quite different from the one you get when brewing coffee. So when roasting indoors you may need to use a fan on the hood of the stove or open a window.
Using a pan, popcorn machine or a roaster, you will see that as you roast, your coffee beans will expand to about two times their original size. You need to be on the lookout because coffee beans make two distinct sounds as they roasts.
- First Crack – this will be heard when your beans reach around 193 degrees C, this may take 3-15minutes to begin and should last from 1-3minutes. Obviously this varies depending on roasting method used, amount of coffee beans as well as amount of heat applied. From this point onwards your roast will be ready to get off the heat, if you like a light brown roast.
- Second Crack – if you like a darker roast you will continue to roast and in about 15 seconds to 2 minutes after the first crack ends when your beans have reached 223 degrees C. Dark roast lovers should watch very closely as second crack may allow a very short period to achieve your roast. You will need to learn to remove the beans just before they reach the colour you want. Keeping a sample of roast may help you achieve that perfect roast you want.
Please note that times and temperatures mentioned above are hugely dictated by the temperature that you are roasting your beans at.