Every coffee lover knows that freshly roasted coffee beans pack the most flavour. With modern vacuum packing and storage techniques, most commercial suppliers do a great job of delivering ready-roasted coffee that’s still fresh tasting and vibrant, and buying pre-roasted beans is far more convenient. If you’ve never tried roasting your own raw, green coffee beans, though, why not give it a try and see if you can tell the difference?
Roasting the green coffee beans forces water out, causes them to dry and expand as well as taking on a rich, dark, shiny colour and complex flavour. The best way to roast at home is to buy a home roasting pan or electric roaster, which will give you a consistent result. For your first try, though, use a heavy based skillet or frying pan, and make sure you’re in a well ventilated area.
Take a handful of your usual roasted coffee beans to use as a comparison, then switch on your hob to a medium setting. The ideal roasting temperature is around 250 degree celsius, but it’s important not to scorch the beans with too high a temperature. Add around 225g of green coffee beans. If possible, use a sugar thermometer to measure the temperature of the pan before adding the beans.
For a consistent roast, the beans must be kept moving, so keep stirring them continously. After a few minutes, they should start to jump and crack in the pan. Now is a good time to open a window! Keep moving the beans moving around until they’ve reached the same colour as your comparison beans, then take the pan off the heat immediately.
Tip the coffee beans into a colandar, and shake it vigorously to remove any chaff and debris, and help cool the beans down. When completely cold, store and grind the beans as usual.