Buying green coffee beans is a great way to ensure that you both save money and get the freshest cup of coffee possible. Green coffee beans will keep for a few years, while roasted beans can only be considered truly fresh for around a month after roasting.

The roasting process is required in order to release those rich flavors that are traditionally associated with coffee. Although the raw, green beans contain pretty much the same acids, caffeine and proteins as roasted ones, they lack that distinctive coffee taste: this comes from the chemical reactions that go on when coffee is roasted. Coffee production is a fine art! The origin of the coffee, the method used to roast the beans, the length of time that they spend roasting, how the roasted beans are stored… all of these are important factors that contribute to the taste of the resulting café noir or cappucino.

That’s why roasting your own coffee at home is such a good idea. As you repeat the process and become quite the roasting expert, you’ll come to learn how to end up with coffee beans that are roasted to exactly the right degree to suit your own specific tastes. Home coffee roasting gives you complete control over both the freshness and the flavor profile of the coffee beans.

And it’s a really easy skill to pick up, too. Don’t forget that until the twentieth century it was normal for coffee drinkers to roast their own beans at home, before the rise of the commercial roasting companies – home roasting has been done for centuries, using many different methods. These have ranged from heating the beans over the coals of a fire, to roasting in ovens or popcorn poppers, to the use of special computerized drum roasters. There are many different ways to roast coffee at home, varying in simplicity, but once you get the hang of one of them it becomes a really quick, easy and convenient way to make sure that your coffee is always fresh and tasty.

No matter which method you use, there are a number of basic requirements for coffee roasting. What you’re doing is heating the beans in order to force water out of them, causing them to dry and expand. As this happens, reactions take place within the bean: some natural sugars are transformed into CO2 gas, and others caramelize. It’s this combination of effects that transforms the bitter, acidic green beans into the complex flavor essences associated with a good cup of joe!

The first important instruction involves the heating of the beans. They need to reach temperatures between 370°F and 540°F (this depends on things like the quantity of beans being roasted, and the speed of air currents etc.), and then be cooled as quickly as possible when they reach the required roast. The other key factor is movement – the beans must be kept in motion to prevent scorching. Toss them, stir them, shake them… just keep them moving! If they stay motionless, they will scorch or burn very quickly, which will have negative effects on the taste of the finished brew.

The length of time for roasting is up to your personal tastes. Try using some beans of your preferred roast for comparison. When they’re ready, cool them quickly – for example, by transferring them back and forth between two large containers like colanders. You also need to get rid of the chaff (the outer skins shed during roasting), and this process will help with that. For small quantities, it should be enough just to blow lightly on the beans to remove most of the chaff – or do the cooling process outside if there’s a breeze!

Finally, leave the beans to rest for 24 hours before grinding and using. It’s not essential, but it definitely helps the flavors to fully blend and develop, so many home roasting experts recommend waiting just that little bit longer before sampling your handiwork!

Add to Del.cio.us RSS Feed Add to Technorati Favorites Stumble It! Digg It!
    www.sajithmr.com

You Should Also Check Out This Post:

More Active Posts: