How to Roast Coffee Beans – Guide to Perfectly Roasted Coffee at Home

Making a perfect cup of coffee at home may not be a big of an issue. But taking your coffee-making to a further level might be one. So how can you step up your game?

Well, how about roasting your own coffee beans? This might be surprising but yes, you can roast your own coffee right at your home.

Coffee making surely is an art and so is roasting coffee beans. It takes a lot of skills and practice to perfectly roast the coffee beans even for the professionals.

But you do not need to worry because we are going to let you know everything you need in order to perfectly roast green coffee beans into aromatic ones.

How to Roast Coffee Beans

The green coffee bean tastes grassy and lacks the qualities for coffee making. By roasting coffee beans we change the chemical properties of a green coffee bean and turn it into a delicious aromatic roasted coffee bean.

Same as brewing coffee, roasting coffee bean is also an art. You need to understand what a coffee bean goes through while being roasted. So let us take a deeper look into how the coffee beans are roasted.

Why to Roast Coffee at Home?

A perfect cup of coffee does not only depend upon the brewing method but also on how and when the coffee beans have been roasted.

Green coffee beans can be roasted in various roast profiles. Some of them include light roast, medium roast, full city etc. All these different coffee roasts result in varied tastes as well.

For example, if you want to have a cup of coffee with a deeper darker taste then you should have roasted the coffee beans into a dark roast.

There is a common myth that you must let your coffee rest before brewing it to a cup of coffee. And of course, it is not true. In fact, as a coffee bean gets older, it becomes less healthy and also loses that amazing aroma. Although you must let them rest for a day in order to let them emit CO2.

With freshly roasted coffee you do not only get health benefits but also the fresh delicious taste like never before. And of course, nothing beats the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans. Cutting it short, if you are a coffee lover, you ought to give coffee roasting a try.

Coffee Roasting Process

There are mainly 4 stages of roasting a coffee bean.

1. Drying Stage

The freshly harvested coffee has around 12% of moisture content. Before the roasting begins we need to dry it down. Although it should not go below 9% as it would result in a low-quality coffee. Thus be careful not to burn your coffee beans.

2. Browning Stage

As the coffee roasting begins, the coffee beans start to change its color. The pale skin of coffee beans starts to get darkened. Because of the chemical reactions like Maillard Reaction, the sugar content reduces and reacts with the amino acids which result in browning of the coffee bean.

After a while, the coffee beans start to pop and result in a first crack which is an indication that roasting has begun.

3. Roasting Stage

During the roasting stage, the coffee bean continuously darkens and the properties like sweetness change. The sweetness tends to increase until the coffee bean reaches the medium or medium-dark roast stage. And afterward, the taste starts to get more smoky and dark.

Here you will start to hear the cracking sound from the coffee bean. By determining the cracking you can choose when you need to stop the roasting.

4. Cooldown Stage

Once you finish roasting the coffee bean, you must cool it down to stop it from overheating. One can easily ruin the perfectly roasted coffee beans by not cooling down immediately. If you do not cool down the coffee beans, they will keep on roasting because of the heat contained inside.

5 Keys to Get the Perfect Roast Everytime

Do you want to create perfect coffee roast every time? If yes, then keep an eye on the below properties and in no time you will be roasting the perfect coffee beans.

1. Temperature

To create different roasts, you must roast the coffee beans for specific temperature only.

To make light roasted coffee, the coffee bean temperature must be within 180 to 205°C. As after 205°C, the bean will get its first crack which means it has surpassed the light roast stage.

For medium roast coffee, the temperature should be between 210 to 220°C. It is just between the first and the second crack of the coffee bean.

To create medium-dark roast, the temperature should be between 225 to 230°C. At this temperature, the coffee bean will already have gone through the second crack.

For dark roasted coffee beans, keep the temperature of your green coffee beans in between 240 to 250°C or beyond to create the perfect roast.

2. Roasting Time

Mainly, the quality of coffee roast depends upon the temperature and time it’s been roasted. However, regardless of the temperature, the roasting time is also an important factor. If you roast your green coffee beans pretty quick then it may result in more aromatic coffee.

Though it is not recommended to quickly roast the coffee beans as it may burn them off. You can use such characteristics to develop desired flavors in the coffee.

3. Stirring Process

While roasting the coffee you should never let the coffee beans rest. The stirring process equally distributes the heat among the coffee beans. And as a result, you get the evenly roasted coffee beans.

4. First Crack & Second Crack

The cracks are the indication of coffee being roasted to a certain degree. Using these indications you can make sure to achieve the right roast in your beans.

For example, the first crack is a sign that coffee beans have exceeded almost 205°C and are in the process of medium roast.

5. Cooldown Time

As mentioned earlier, by not letting the coffee beans to cooldown, one can easily ruin a good roast. Make sure to immediately and quickly cool down the coffee beans else they will keep on cooking because of the heat inside and will result in an undesirable roast.

Conclusion

Whatever method you choose to roast your green coffee beans, make sure to keep an eye on the factors that we have mentioned above. And we are certain that if you do follow our guidelines, you will surely get the desired perfect roast every time.

Also, now that you know everything about roasting coffee beans, check out our Coffee Roaster Reviews and bring home your personal roasting companion.

If you need further information regarding roasting coffee beans, let us know. Because at coffeemakered, our only desire is to get you the perfect cup of coffee.

Till then happy roasting!