If you’re a real coffee fan, chances are you’ve taken matters into your own hands – that is to say, you purchase those lovely fresh green beans from a supplier, and do the rest yourself, not relying on large commercial companies to do the roasting, grinding or brewing for you. If not… why not?! Not only is it much cheaper to bulk buy coffee beans in their raw form, but it means that you have complete control over how your favourite hot beverage is produced. Not only are you using green coffee beans, so you know that it’s going to taste fresh and wonderful, but you’re also doing your own roasting, so you can select the roast level and control the flavours.
Maybe you want to try “going green” in terms of coffee, but you’re not sure what to do with that sack of green beans now that they’ve arrived? Don’t panic – it’s really simple, and roasting your own coffee can actually be really good fun once you know what you’re doing!
There are basically four stages to coffee preparation.
First, you you need to roast a batch of your green beans. While green coffee contains pretty much all the same properties as roasted coffee, a drink made from the unroasted beans would not have all the characteristic flavours of coffee that make it so tasty. These are actually developed by chemical reactions triggered by the roasting process – it’s the heat that releases those great coffee flavours!
As roasted coffee beans don’t keep fresh for nearly as long as raw ones, you should only roast a small batch at a time – enough to last you for a week or two, no more. There are numerous ways of roasting coffee, from all sorts of sophisticated and specialised gadgets and devices, to simply roasting the beans in a single layer in the oven, or even putting them in a popcorn maker! Your chosen method of roasting, together with the temperature used and the length of time you choose to roast the beans will all have a noticeable effect on the flavour of the coffee, so it’s worth experimenting with this. The important points to note about roasting coffee beans is that they must be kept in constant motion (or stirred very often, if this is not possible – ie if you are using the oven roasting method), they must be heated to temperatures between 370°F and 540°F, and they must be cooled down very, very quickly when you’re finished, otherwise they’ll just continue to roast even when you’ve removed them from the heat source.
It might sound a bit complicated, but it’s not really – it’s just a matter of practice, and learning what to do in order to get the best results for you. Because remember, coffee is all about personal taste! One person might love dark roasted coffee which has been allowed to roast until it’s filled the kitchen with smoke; another might prefer to just briefly heat the beans until they turn light brown and no more. Only you can decide what works for you!
The second stage is grinding. Again, there are different ways of doing this, and the fineness or coarseness of the coffee grounds will have an effect on the brewed coffee. But this part is relatively simple, and you can get an electric coffee grinder which will do it all for you at very little expense. Then it’s time for stage three: brewing. Stage four is separating the coffee from the now used coffee grounds, but most popular methods of coffee brewing tend to incorporate steps three and four at the same time. For example, the French Press method involves pouring water over the grounds and then pressing down the plunger to trap them, leaving the coffee liquid free to be poured. The filter method holds the grounds safely and drips the water through them into a pot. There are many, many different brewing methods – it’s all about finding the one that you like best.
And that’s it! From fresh, raw beans to rich, dark coffee, in four steps.
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