The Roast
I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but when I do I want it to be an experience! I started roasting my own coffee beans about one year ago. Coffee bean roasters can be pricey and I didn’t really know if it was something I wanted to do on a regular basis so I did a little research on various methods of roasting and decided to try the air popcorn popper method, yes I said popcorn popper. I did try the stovetop and oven methods, however the air popper seemed to be the best way to go as it moved the beans around to create an even roast.
I decided to order beans off of Amazon - it was during the height of the pandemic and Amazon became my best friend, LOL! I knew I liked Columbian coffee, so I decided to start with that type of bean. I also wanted organic and single source beans. After trying several different brands I landed on Grand Parade Coffee because of the consistency in size and the flavor of the roast. Once I tried it a couple of times I set up auto delivery on Amazon. Some of you may be asking - is this cheaper than buying roasted beans? I’d say it’s a couple of dollars cheaper per month, so really you’re doing for the experience and the flavor.
When I first started out I conducted a few experiments with roasting time. The research I did stated that it should take anywhere between 8-20 minutes depending on the roaster and the level of roast you desire. One important thing I learned was that you had to roast until after the first crack - which is the release of moisture from the bean. It actually sounds like popcorn popping! Any time after that you can remove your beans from the roaster. I started roasting to 16 minutes and quickly discovered this was too dark for me. At the time I liked medium roast coffee, so I reduced the time down to 14 minutes. I eventually landed at 10 minutes, which created a nice full bodied coffee without the bitter taste. As my pallet began to change and I discovered that the lighter the roast, the more the caffeine, I decided to reduce the roasting time down to 8 minutes. I didn’t notice a ton of difference so decided to go further. In my roaster, or popcorn popper, first crack happens around 4 - 5 minutes. I decided to live on the edge and remove the beans immediately after first crack - 5 minutes! Once I did this, I never went back!!! This created a nice full bodied and rich flavor. It was almost creamy on the tongue. A true coffee experience!
As you can see, it’s not that difficult to roast your own beans at home if you have an air popper and access to green coffee beans. When I first started out on this adventure I thought I’d keep using the air popper until it quit, then consider buying an actual coffee roaster. Well needless to say, a year later my air popper is still chugging along. I know I will continue to roast beans but I really think I’ll just get another air popper!