Why Roast Your Own Coffee?

Millions of people enjoy a flavorful cup of coffee in the morning to start their day. Coffee can come in many varieties, such as fresh ground, whole bean, and instant. A trend that some people choose to follow is to prepare “green” or unroasted coffee beans in the comfort of their home with a coffee roaster. By roasting their coffee at home, these individuals ensure that their coffee is some of the freshest available for purchase.

There are quite a few reasons why an individual may choose to use a home coffee roaster rather than buy professionally roasted coffee. One of the main reasons is that it saves the home roaster money in the long run. The “green” coffee beans used in home roasting are generally 30% cheaper than their professionally roasted counterparts. Another reason is that because you are only roasting what you will use in a limited amount of time, it is easier to switch varieties of coffee, even on a daily basis, without any of them going stale. “Green” coffee beans can be stored for as long as a year before the beans will start to lose any of their flavor.

Most methods for using a coffee roaster are extremely simple and take a short amount of time. One of the most popular methods is the air roasting method. This method uses a stream of hot air to roast the coffee, much in the same manner as an electric hot air popcorn popper makes popcorn. This coffee roaster method takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish and roasts the coffee evenly without burning or scorching the coffee. Appliances that utilize this method can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 depending on the model.

Another coffee roaster method typically used is radiant drum roasting. This method roasts the coffee while rotating it in a hot drum to ensure that the coffee beans roast evenly. This method takes nearly twice as long as the hot air coffee roaster method and requires the individual to pay a lot more attention to the roasting process as the coffee beans can burn easily. A radiant drum roaster can handle much more coffee at a time, up to a ½ pound for some models.

Roasting your own coffee at home can be as easy as making a batch of popcorn. Depending on the method used and your personal preferences, using a home coffee roaster may take anywhere from 6 to 20 minutes per batch of coffee made. If they choose, an individual can make a big enough batch of roasted coffee to last them for several days. The results of using a home coffee roaster are as good as or better than professionally roasted coffees.