Every coffee taste lies on the coffee beans. From roasting and grinding to brewing, every step to make a cup of coffee is very essential. You have to understand the purpose and timing of each stage well; otherwise, your coffee output will not be nicely complete. The first step you need to know is roasting coffee. At this stage, you have to be clear on how important this fundamental stage can affect the following process if you want to make a perfect coffee.
If you buy coffee beans at the market, you will have roasted coffee as many coffee bean products are often roasted before the sale. Furthermore, coffee beans in the coffee shop, as you always see, are also roasted in advance so that the barista can serve the coffee to customers as easily and quickly as possible. However, it is recommended that newly roasted coffee beans can last between one to two weeks. Therefore, you need to make sure you have freshly roasted coffee before grinding.
The Importance of Roasting Coffee
Roasting is like cooking coffee beans, yet with a high temperature. With the heating temperature, all coffee attributes, which are packed inside the beans, are well-extracted. The coffee beans that are freshly roasted give the most aromatic and earth-like flavor of the coffee plants. Therefore, it is essential to keep it tightened to avoid being stale.
We are not sure that every roasted coffee on the market is freshly roasted or not. Therefore, it would be better to roast coffee at home on your own because you can ensure the quality of freshness of your coffee beans.
Knowing My Roasted Coffee Beans
When it comes to the level of roasting, you must know it well; otherwise, you can roast the coffee beans to the burned level. As a result, the bean’s taste might get too bitter and tasteless. There are four different levels of roasted coffee beans. Each level offers a distinguished color and flavor.
1- Light Roast
Light roast level often occurs for several minutes when the beans are heated up to around 200 degrees Celius, especially once you hear the first crack. At this level, the coffee beans appear to be brown in color. Further, the light roast bean contains higher caffeine, yet low in sweet flavor.
2- Medium Roast
The medium roast beans are often used to brew pour-over coffee. The coffee body is a smooth brown color that has a very balanced flavor.
3- Medium Dark Roast
The medium-dark coffee beans look and taste identical to charcoal. However, with the cooking temperature of roughly 230 degrees Celsius, the bean’s body will turn a combination of dark and brown.
4- Dark Roast
The last level of coffee roasting is a dark roast. At this level, you will get the heaviest smell, yet least caffeine content among all levels. On top of that, the beans look dark in color with a smooth texture.
Here Are The Easy Ways To Roast Your Own Coffee at Home
Roasting coffee is not difficult at all. If you find some of the right ways to do it, you will save a lot of time and money. On top of that, you will get the most satisfying result from the coffee you are making.
Look for Unroasted Coffee Beans
Unroasted coffee beans, in other words, the raw form of beans, are rock-solid and green in color. You do not need to try a single bite of it; otherwise, your teeth will get destroyed. The unroasted coffee beans carry the wrapped coffee attributes: acidity, bitterness, antioxidants, caffeine, and natural sugars. For that reason, you need to unwrap the quality of coffee out to make the best cup of coffee for your choice.
One crucial thing to note when looking for unroasted coffee beans is the amount (kg/pounds) of beans. For example, if you want 10 kilograms of roasted beans, you need to have 20 unroasted ones. This is because while roasting, the roasted bean’s weight has been fractionally lost, accounting for nearly half of the total weight.
Using The Right Equipment
Since most coffee shops need to provide the products to many customers, they surely need to have an independent coffee roaster on their own. Thus, they can roast a large number of beans at a time to meet their customer needs. On the other hand, it is unnecessary to use an expensive coffee roaster because you only serve a few cups of coffee for your family at home. Additionally, there are certain equipment that you can use to roast coffee without a coffee roaster.
Hearing The Crack
If you never roast coffee and you hear the sound of crack out of nowhere, you might be shocked. But don’t be worried. This is a good thing. A cracking sound while roasting coffee means your coffee beans are cooking well. After the coffee beans are heated to 230 degrees Celsius, you need to wait for 3 to 5 minutes to hear the first crack. This is when your beans are lightly roasted.
In addition, you can keep roasting them until the second crack if you want medium roasted coffee beans. However, you cannot proceed further than 30 seconds after hearing the second crack; otherwise, the beans will be burned. This results in an unpleasant and hollow coffee taste.
Rest Your Coffee Beans
After being roasted at 230 degrees Celsius, you have to let the beans rest for a while to cool down. You cannot put them into grinding or brewing at this hot temperature because they will not be well-extracted. Other than that, it can be dangerous to touch and pack in an air-tight container as the gas might explode due to high pressure.
The Ultimate Stage
It is time you could start to grind and brew the best quality of coffee beans now as most freshly roasted beans can only last between 1 to 2 weeks. Furthermore, it would be a nice idea if you pack a certain amount of coffee beans in the air-tight container to maintain the freshness of the coffee. Then, once you need to make it, you bring a small bag out. By doing this, it will be convenient.
This Equipment Can Also Be Used To Roast Your Coffee At Home
Popcorn Popper
First, if you have a popcorn popper, you can use it as an alternative. That saves a lot of money as well. The coffee bean roasting in popcorn popper is an ideal tool for roasting coffee as it can give enough temperature (230 degrees Celsius) for the beans to be roasted. All you need to do is to heat up the popper. Then put in the coffee beans. Stir them with wooden sticks or spoons and wait until you hear the crack as the popcorn does.
Oven
The second tool to roast coffee is by using an oven. The oven is quite safe to use because it has firm glasses to maintain the heat. You can use the oven the same way as you do with the popcorn popper. First, you can set up the temperature of 230 degrees Celsius, then put the coffee beans inside. Now, you need to wait until you hear the coffee beans cracking.
Frying Pan or Grill
Roasting coffee beans in the pan or grill is also possible to do at home, but you need to have a thick pan or grill. This is to ensure that your roasting process will not catch fire from overheating. However, you roast coffee well with this stuff because it is easy to stir and hear the crack, unlike the oven.