About a year ago I began roasting my own coffee beans in an effort to slash the high price of coffee. Now that I have some experience under my belt, I wanted to tell how I’ve simplified the process and picked up a great little hobby, too.
I say “little hobby” because I spend less than 20 minutes a week roasting coffee and it is great fun.. I buy high quality green coffee beans for about $4 a pound, which is less than half the price of the cheapest whole beans in my supermarket.
I use a West Bend Poppery II hot air popcorn popper to roast my coffee beans. I do this outdoors on the patio. Roasting coffee produces a unique smell, nothing like you would imagine and while it is not at all offensive, you want to keep it outdoors.
I pour exactly 3/4 cup (4 ounces) of green coffee beans into the roasting chamber, set the lid and the butter melting cup in place and plug it in. The beans begin to move in a circular motion as they heat, but they don’t pop out as popcorn would. About 3 to 4 minutes into the process I hear the “first crack” (coffee-roasting lingo) and see the first signs of smoke. At about 5 minutes I hear the “second crack” and I know the beans are reaching a dark, French roast. At exactly 6 minutes I pour the now-smoking, very dark and amazingly shiny beans into one of two colanders. Quickly, I toss the hot beans between the colanders to cool them quickly.
The second batch takes slightly less time than the first (about 5 1/2 minutes), because the machine is already hot. The third finishes in about 5 minutes. Once cooled, the beans need to rest for at least two hours (24 is better) to reach their peak of flavor. I make three batches at a time for 3/4 pound of roasted beans, the amount we use in a week.
I could go on and on about the superior quality and taste of fresh roasted coffee, but suffice it to say once you’ve enjoyed a really good cup of coffee from beans you’ve roasted yourself, you will likely not go back to paying twice as much for coffee that tastes only half as good. And here’s a bonus: Once you give your personally roasted coffee beans as gifts, your friends and family will be happy with nothing else. Just don’t let on how inexpensive it is!
Resources:
POPPERY II: While this model is no longer available new, you can find West Bend’s Poppery II air poppers at garage sales and flea markets. I got mine on eBay for nine bucks.
COFFEE BEANS: I order my beans online at
U-Roast-em.com.. The prices here are the lowest I’ve found and the customer service is excellent.
INSTRUCTIONS: I’ve learned the most about roasting coffee at
Sweet Marias, which also sells green beans and supplies including high-tech, fancy roasters.
For more info about saving money, read
'Debt-Proof Living.'Read More About Mary Hunt.
