General Roasting Notes

General Home Roasting Observations

Please read this page before proceeding to the roasting instructions for the specific method you plan to use. Some of the following may not apply to the roast method you are using ...for example, don't water-quench your Hearthware! Specific roast instructions are available on the Sweet Maria's Coffee Library page

Home roasting is fun and you will be amazed how easy it is. Don't be afraid of crackling coffee beans and pay attention to the process, especially toward the end of the roast.
Coffee roasting produces a wonderful fragrance, unobtrusive with light roasts but smokier if you roast dark. With some methods you can roast on a porch or near a partially open window. With stove/oven methods, it's nice if you have a stove hood or oven fan for the darker roasts.
Roasting produces chaff. Chaff is a fine skin that detaches from the bean as your roast is agitated. There are various ways to collect and contain chaff, but if you are careless, you may have to do some sweeping.
Be organized. Lay out the items you will need to cool the beans before you roast, like a collander, a wooden spoon, and a spray bottle with distilled water if you chose to water-quench the roast. (boo! ..avoid water if possible)
Installing a 550 degree thermometer in your air popper can help you control the roast and be more consistent. It is mandatory for the stovetop popper method. Sweet Maria's sells several excellent, low-cost thermometers.
Roasting is fun. It's as easy as you want to make it, or as exacting and technical as you care to be. You can be a barbarian and roast in a skillet as I used to do, or go buy a fancy professional test-roaster. Either way you will make friends and influence people, maybe.
Air poppers and stove poppers may need periodic cleaning to remove built-up coffee oils. Otherwise, they can be used for popcorn too. Remember that you are voiding the warranty and reducing the lifespan of these appliances by using them for coffee roasting. It is but a small sacrifice for a nice reward!
To better understand the roasting process, read our articles on roasting issues, get our free newsletter, check out our links to other sites, and buy Ken Davids' excellent book Home Coffee Roasting: Romance and Revival.

Overview of the The Roasting Process

In a nutshell, here is the roasting process you will be observing:

For the first few minutes the bean remains greenish, then turn lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell.
The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.
The steam becomes fragrant. Soon you will hear the "first crack," an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin to carmelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.
After the first crack, the roast can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage the roast is at.
Carmelization continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark.
At this point a "second crack" can be heard, often more volitile than the first. Small pieces of the bean are sometimes blown away like shrapnel!
As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungent as sugars burn completly, and the bean structure breaks down more and more.
Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal water."

You might be interested in reading our list detailing the varying degrees of roast, from lightest to darkest, at this time. Our dictionary of coffee-realated "taste terms" is on the same page too. Check out our Coffee Library

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This page is authored by Tom Owen and Sweet Maria's Coffee, Inc. and is not to be copied or reproduced without permission.

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