How to Home Roast Coffee Beans

Everyone enjoys a cup of coffee. Even more so when coffee beans are roasted at home by yourself. There is no greater joy than sitting down and taking a sip from freshly brewed coffee in which you've taken active part in roasting. For those who want to start their very own coffee bean roasting technique, here are the steps:

1. First, you need to find your equipment. Hot air popcorn poppers are great and easy to use. If you don't have one, you can use a skillet, a stove-top popper or a skillet in the oven. There are, however small coffee roasting appliances available in markets today which you can easily use for convenience.

2. Choose the green coffee of your preference. Since the basic approach is roasting, you would want to find good quality green coffee beans. There are a variety of beans to choose from and these depend from region to region, or country to country. It is important to select one that you like.

3. Place the beans in the pan (if you're using other equipment, you can do so) and turn your stove-top to medium-high heat.

4. In order to preserve the flavor and aroma, the beans need to be turned frequently. This is also done to avoid burning them.

5. Ideally, roasting takes only 15 minutes. However, if the beans don't appear to be as brown by then, you can extend the roasting time. Just make sure they don't burn and crack completely. If you're using a home roasting appliance, which can only accommodate small amounts of beans at a time, roasting can last up to 10 minutes only.

6. You know the roasting process is over when the beans start to get a bit greasy. This means the natural oils from the beans have been released.

7. When you're done roasting, place the beans onto a plate or wide container that is covered with paper towels or cloth. This is done to absorb any excess oils.

8. Once they are cool, you can now store them in an airtight container. These beans typically last up to two weeks ungrounded.

9. You can determine the type of roast you want by only adjusting temperatures. For darker and bolder flavors which resembles Turkish or Italian roast, roast them at 250 C. Allow them to turn completely dark, but not burnt. For lighter coffee, roast coffee beans at 195 C. The beans here remain light brown with distinct sharp acidic flavors.

This is a fun and easy way of controlling the flavor of the coffee you want. It only takes a few coffee beans, the right equipment and you're now ready to brew your own blend!