Cafe Liz

Do-it-yourself coffee roasting

Forever on a quest to make extra work for myself, I’ve taken to roasting my own coffee. Why? Well, there are a few reasons. First off, it’s fascinating to take the raw material — green coffee beans — and in less than 10 minutes, turn it into what we’re used to seeing in stores. Second, freshly roasted coffee has a taste that just can’t be beat. If you were to compare top-quality beans that were roasted with the most professional equipment a month or two ago with average-quality beans that were roasted yesterday in a pan, well, the latter would win.

Simply put, freshness is key. Unless you’re buying your coffee straight from the roaster, and using it all immediately, those beans you bought probably aren’t the freshest. Plus, when you’re roasting your own coffee, you decide how much to prepare. It’s unlikely that your coffee guy will agree to sell you 30 grams of beans at a time, for instance.

In the photo is the before, middle and after — the small, unroasted beans on the right, the somewhat unevenly browned beans I stopped mid-roast in the center, and the dark, glossy final product on the left, because I like my coffee super-dark. So how do we get there? Continue reading Do-it-yourself coffee roasting …

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