Why roast your own coffee? Your advantages with home roasting
In fact, coffee made from freshly home-roasted beans can taste significantly better and more aromatic than coffee made from store-bought beans, as over 1000 aromas and essential oils are created during the roasting process, which are only released shortly before the coffee is enjoyed when roasted at home. This perfects the variety of aromas and your taste experience.
Tastes are different, even when it comes to coffee. By roasting your own beans, you can determine the perfect degree of roast yourself and prepare the coffee to suit your individual taste. In addition, raw beans are often cheaper than industrially roasted beans and can be roasted relatively easily using conventional kitchen utensils that you are guaranteed to have at home.
Which degree of roasting for which aroma?
The degree of roasting is an important factor for the taste of your coffee and must therefore be given particular attention when roasting it yourself. A distinction is made between light (at approx. 195-205 degrees), medium (at approx. 205-220 degrees) or dark (at 220-245 degrees) roasted beans. Both the roasting time and the ideal degree of roasting depend on the particular type of coffee or espresso, but the general rule is: the lighter the roast, the clearer the natural taste of the beans. The darker the beans are roasted, the lower the acidity and caffeine content and the more bitter and full-bodied the coffee becomes. A medium roast, on the other hand, also gives the coffee more body, but also makes it more bitter.
When roasting yourself, you can determine the degree of roasting according to your wishes. Practice makes perfect! The first few times, it can be a little difficult to determine the perfect temperature and roasting time. Experiment a little to find the perfect roasting method for your taste. You can find out more about light and dark coffee roasts herein our blog post on the subject.
Find the best roasting method for you at home!
Roasting coffee at home: a variety of roasting methods and the secret of "cracking"
Whether in the popcorn machine, in the hot air fryer or in the classic way in a pan - there are many different methods for roasting your own coffee beans. However, the "first crack" and the "second crack" of the bean are important for all methods. During the first crack, the moisture in the beans evaporates and the coffee beans crack open. The coffee beans then begin to unfold their aroma and develop their characteristic taste. Coffee beans are only edible after the first crack. Shortly after the first crack, a light roast is achieved; if you wait a little longer, you will get a medium roast.
The second crack occurs at temperatures of around 224-230 °C and your beans are officially dark roasted. The cracking during the second crack is significantly quieter and shorter, which is why you need to pay particular attention to the coffee beans after the first crack so as not to miss the second crack. But how can the beans really be roasted? We present four simple methods!
One way to roast your coffee yourself is to roast it in a pan. To do this, spread the raw coffee beans on the bottom of a pan and heat them on the stove, stirring constantly. You can use an infrared thermometer to ensure that the roasting temperature remains constant. After approx. 5-10 minutes, the beans will start to crack, followed by the second crack after approx. 20 minutes. For very lightly roasted coffee, take the beans out of the pan immediately after the first crack and then cool them down as quickly as possible. For a medium or dark roast, leave the beans in the pan for a little longer. However, you should remove them from the pan immediately after the second crack at the latest.
This method is particularly popular because of its simplicity: you don't need much equipment other than a pan, a spoon for stirring, a thermometer and, of course, a stove. However, roasting coffee in a pan also has some disadvantages. For one thing, the beans can only be roasted very unevenly in the pan: Some coffee beans are dark roasted, while others are still almost unroasted. In addition, roasting coffee in a pan causes a lot of smoke and it is often recommended that you wear safety goggles, as the beans often jump out of the pan when they crack.
Another popular method for roasting coffee at home is roasting in the oven. To do this, place the coffee beans next to each other on a baking tray lined with baking paper and heat them in the oven with circulating air. The oven should be opened from time to time and the coffee beans turned over. As with roasting in a pan, you determine the temperature and roasting time depending on the desired degree of roasting.
The clear advantage of this method is that you already have all the materials you need at home. Compared to roasting in a pan, there is also significantly less smoke and dirt and you don't need any protective equipment. However, this method is not perfect, as the beans are not roasted evenly in the oven and the oven must be cleaned thoroughly after roasting, as the bean skins are swirled around by the circulating air and can stick. To avoid this, you can wash the beans beforehand.
It is particularly easy and safe in the hot air fryer. You can simply place the coffee beans in the preheated deep fryer and let them roast in the hot air for around five to ten minutes. To prevent the coffee beans from burning, you should stir them regularly in the hot air fryer. The constant air circulation allows the beans to be roasted relatively evenly in the deep fryer, which gives this method a clear advantage over the frying pan and oven.
If you want to roast your coffee beans regularly at home, it may be worth buying a home roaster. There are now many options available, from manual table roasters to semi-professional solutions. Gentle roasting in a home roaster delivers optimum, consistent results. In addition, important factors such as temperature and roasting time can be precisely controlled to bring out all the flavors perfectly.
To allow the coffee beans to develop their full aroma, you should leave them to rest and degas for one to two days after roasting. Ideally, the beans should be stored in a coffee tin with a valve so that they are protected from oxygen, moisture and light while the CO2 produced during roasting can escape. In the Espresso Perfetto online store you will find various glass storage containers that will optimally preserve the taste of your coffee beans.
Roasting coffee at home: individual, inexpensive, but with caution
With a little practice and the right technique, roasting coffee at home can be a relatively simple and inexpensive alternative to store-bought coffee beans. You can adjust the degree of roast perfectly to your wishes and create a coffee to suit your taste. However, caution is advised: Roasting coffee produces acrylamide, which can increase the risk of cancer and should therefore only be consumed in small quantities. There are set guidelines for ready-roasted coffee that must be observed. With home-roasted coffee beans, however, there is no overview of the acrylamide content. Especially if you are a frequent drinker, you should therefore consider the extent to which you want to prepare your coffee from home-roasted beans.
Would you rather play it safe or save yourself the trouble of roasting your own coffee? At Espresso Perfetto you will find a diverse selection of high-quality espresso beans from selected roasting houses. From strong to mild, fruity to chocolaty, from espresso to creamy milk specialties - you're guaranteed to find the right one for your taste!
