Do you have any roasting tips?

Do you know of any other simple ways, apart from the popcorn maker method, to roast your own beans at home? If you have any tips on coffee roasting, please leave your comment below if you want to. Leave the whole method or you can use some links.

Here you will find an explanation of the coffee roasting process, together with some tips on home roasting your green beans.

There are many types of coffee beans, but these are the main (and most common) three – Liberica, Arabica and Robusta. Of which, Arabica (Coffea Arabica) is clearly the most important because it produces superior quality beans compared to the other two commercially grown species. Also known as “the coffee shrub of Arabia”, Arabic beans are native to Ethiopia. Liberica coffee beans are indigenous to Liberia, while Robusta originate from the Congo.

You can buy most of the types listed below as green un-roasted coffee beans as well as fresh roasted coffee beans depending on your preference, and if you are able to roast them yourself.

The Best Known Types of Coffee Beans

• Coffea Arabica - The most commonly used commercial bean is Coffea Arabica because it is by far the best quality bean. It also has less caffeine than Robusta Beans.

These are types of Arabica Beans:

• Kenya AA Coffee Beans – Kenya is one of the worlds biggest exporters, with ‘Kenya AA Coffee’ overwhelmingly topping the list of it’s finest brands. It is known be a quite acidic flavor.

• Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee – Indigenous to the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, it is the worlds most expensive and desired roast and is loved for its silky smooth flavor.

• Ethiopian Harrar – Originating from the Harar region of Ethiopia.

• Columbian Mild – Recognized globally for its intense aromatic and distinctive taste, Columbian Mild has a high quality.

• Hawaiian Kona Coffee – From the west side of the Big Island of Hawaii, Hawaiian Kona blend is reputedly expensive and craved around the world for its excellence.

• Java – Java is the most common roast known around the world, which lent its name to a ‘cup of coffee’ in America.

• Sumatra Mandleling – Rich in flavor and rich in history, Sumatra Mandheling has a mild earthy full bodied taste, displaying a rich chocolate syrupy flavor. Originating from the Mandheling Province of West Sumatra, which is known worldwide for its gourmet coffees.

• Tanzanian Peaberry Coffee – As the name suggests, a eminently full-bodied and lively brew originating from Tanzania, grown on Mount Kilimanjaro Slopes, close to Kenya.

• Mocha – Harvested in Yemen, around the Arabian Peninsula, Mocha has the reputation amongst coffee connoisseurs to be the best in the world.

The Other Types of Popular Coffee Beans

• Coffea Robusta - Its scientific name is Coffea Canephora, these beans are of inferior quality but its caffeine content is higher than Liberica or Arabica. But as the name suggests Robusta can withstand harsher climates than the other types and are less susceptible to disease.

• Coffea Liberica - Liberian beans only account for a very small percentage of commercially grown beans and usually only enter locally grown markets. Coffea Liberica produce a finer quality bean when grown at low altitudes, below 2,000 feet but don’t usually enter the world market.

The most important factors to consider for making sure your coffee stays fresher for longer are humidity (moisture) and air.

Storing Roasted Coffee Beans

Coffee beans must be stored in an air tight container to keep them fresh. If you intend to keep for a long period, then you can freeze them in the air tight container.

Please read the paragraph in my article for storing coffee beans in a freezer on my article titled How long should coffee beans be stored?

Storing Green Coffee Beans

Unlike their roasted cousins, green beans need to breathe when stored. So store them in a paper bag or a jute bag – NOT plastic. And when stored properly, your green beans will stay fresh for 18 months, but no longer than 2 years.

Ground Coffee Beans

Once they are ground, roasted beans need to be used almost immediately as they lose freshness very quickly.

Coffee certainly tastes better when the beans are freshly roasted. Which is why a true coffee lover should always possess home coffee roasting equipment, just like your favorite coffee shop should always have a roaster on display. If they haven’t, then find a new cafe because your espresso will definitely taste better elsewhere!

The first roasted coffee beans appeared in around the thirteenth century, where it was discovered that the green beans would give off their infamous aroma and flavor which we know and love today, by preparing them this way. A chemical transformation of the beans takes place whilst they cook. Oils and caramel are developed giving coffee it’s brown color, while gases are formed inside the bean. These excretions are known as caffeol.

Home Coffee Roasting

Although there are very good home coffee roasters available, if you are prepared to put in a little practice and some hard, possibly frustrating work, then you can roast your own beans in a heavy frying pan. It may take you several attempts to achieve a great tasting coffee, but perseverance and dedication to the cause will almost certainly reward you in the end, because you will get a most wonderful aroma and a truly amazing tasting brew in the end.

The Pan Method

Make sure you have a window open and good ventilation for this method, because it’s going to get smoky from the chaff! Use a heavy pan and only use a single layer of beans. If you try and use more, you will not achieve an even roast.

Set your stove to a medium heat for best results at first, finishing off with a high heat for a short time only. If you want the best brew, the quicker you need to roast the beans over that high heat at the end. Constantly stir and turn the beans in the pan, while shaking it so they get an even heat throughout.

As the beans begin to color a yellowy brown and shrivel up, they will occasionally pop open. By this time they have darkened and swelled nicely. Your freshly home roasted beans (I can smell them already!) should be cooked throughout to obtain the perfect taste. You can test a bean by cracking it between your fingers.

Now here’s the tricky part. Keep an eye on the color. The art of the whole process is to stop right before they appear done! For the first attempt, try for a medium brown color. If you over shoot though, you’ll get a deep roast so don’t worry.

Be careful that the residual oils don’t catch fire.

Finally, quickly cool the beans to close their pores. This preserve’s the aroma. Now your beans are ready for grinding and brewing.

If the pan method sounds a little daunting and maybe a little smoky (it will get smoky!), if you have a hot air popcorn popper you can roast them in a much cleaner way.

Home Coffee Roasting Equipment
If you are looking for a home roasting appliance, please review the coffee accessories page.

Cappuccino, Espresso, Frappuccino or Cafe Latte – There are a myriad of coffees available, on the grocery store shelves and in coffee shops, from all around the world! But how many types of coffee are there?

Before we explore and assimilate the many types, and if you are a coffee aficionado like myself, then you may also want to read my article on Coffee Bean Types.

The Coffee Drink Types Explained From A -Z:

· Cafe con Miel – Made with a single shot of latte, honey and vanilla or cinnamon flavoring.

· Cafe de Olla – Made with cinnamon, cloves, piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar) and strong dark roasted coffee.

· Cafe Mocha – One third espresso, two thirds steamed milk and topped with a milky froth and chocolate powder – is a mocha coffee. It was named after the lost principal port of ‘Mocha’ in Yemen. Have you tried an iced Mocha yet?

· Caffe Americano – The Americano is a strong drip coffee made from espresso and water. It is created from water added to the extracted espresso.

· Caffe con Zucchero – Simply an espresso with sugar!

· Caffè Lungo – A ‘long’ or  a ‘stretched’ espresso. The caffe lungo is made by using twice as much water as espresso. Made from Arabica beans for a really smooth taste and finished off with a fine crema. The name means long, in Italian.

· Caffe Latte – The latte is made from an espresso being poured into a steamed cup of milk, with a foamy top.

· Cappuccino – Made from layers of hot strong espresso, finished with frothy milk  and a fine chocolate powder. The name originated from the Capuchin monks because it was the same color as their robes!

· Decaffeinated Coffee – Coffee with around 97% of the caffeine removed, processed by the green beans getting steamed prior to roasting.

· Espresso con Panna – The Panna is basically an espresso, either single or double, topped with whipped cream.

· Espresso Doppio (Double Espresso) – The Double Espresso is exactly that – a double shot of coffee espresso! (Strangely enough, Doppio means ‘double’ in Italian!) If you want a caffeine boost, the Double is for you.

· Espresso Macchiato – Also called the caffe macchiato. It is made from a shot of espresso, topped with a little hot frothy milk.

· Espresso or Caffe Espresso – A quickly made shot of strong coffee, forced out of the coffee machine at high pressure to extract the maximum flavor. The perfect espresso will have a thick foamy, golden crema on top.

· Espresso Romano – Take 1 shot of espresso and a strip of lemon and you have the basics of an espresso romano!

· Frappuccino Coffee – A registered trademark of Starbucks. The Frappuccino is made from ice.

· Greek Coffee – An extra-ordinarily strong coffee which can be made in several ways:

1. Glykys (vari glykos) – honey sweet.
2. Glykys vrastos – sweet and boiled a couple of times to lose its froth.
3. Sketos – strong and bitter
4. Metrios – medium sweet

Greek coffee is drank slowly, enjoyed with a glass of water. This is high on top of my list of favorite food & drink from Greece!

· Latte Macchiato – The Latte Macchiato is almost the opposite of the espresso  macchiato – espresso poured over hot frothy milk.

· Nespresso – The Nespresso is a branded name of Nestle (Nescafe) – it is the companies best selling coffee!

· Ristretto Coffee – What is a ristretto? Whilst the coffee conisoeurs around the world disagree on the ‘exact’ definition of a ristretto, the name from the Italian ‘restricted’ implies it to be the best of the best espresso coffee.

· Spicy Viennese Espresso – If you want to spice up your espresso, the ‘spicy Viennese’ is my choice. Its made with cinnamon, cloves and allspices and topped with whipped cream! How do you fancy an iced spiced espresso?

· Turkish Coffee – The name refers to the Turkish method of making coffee, not the product itself. Traditionally served after the boiling process of the finely ground beans and sugar, including the ‘sludge’ at the bottom of the cezve (traditional Turkish coffee pot).

Isn’t it incredible that some of the poorest countries in the world rely heavily on the income of a product which is consumed by almost everybody in the ‘first world’, but they still remain mostly third world? Is there something wrong somewhere?

Here are the Top Coffee Producers of the world:

1. Brazil – 36%
2. Vietnam – 15%
3. Central America & Mexico – 13%
4. Asia – 13%
5. Africa – 12%
6. Colombia – 7%
7. The rest of South America – 4%

And do you know how many people drink coffee? Well, in the United States alone 54% of American adults regularly consume coffee and world coffee consumption has risen from 104.7 million bags in 2000 to 130.0 million bags in 2008.

Coffee Consumption Facts

Even in these tough economic times, coffee consumption remains high, if not increasing. This is because of it’s huge popularity with almost every culture in the world. This should give hope to the coffee producers, providing that logistical prices remain relative.

The Wet Method of Coffee Bean Processing

During picking, sticks, leaves, over ripe, unripe and bad cherries are found amongst the harvest. They are sorted and separated when passed through water where the unwanted products will float and the ripe fruit (seeds of the coffee plant) sink to the bottom. The unripe green berries are hard and cannot be pulped. Instead they pass through the coffee bean processing equipment, leaving the pulp (the outer layers of the berry) separated from the beans.

The ‘unproductive’ wet method is done by steeping the beans in coffee fermentation tanks for around a day, but this ferment and wash method but nowadays is usually done by machine.

The beans are then dried in the sun, where they are frequently turned allowing the air to better circulate around them allowing them so that they are evenly dried. Where space is limited, special machines are used for this procedure.

Once dry, a silver skin or husk is left around the bean which is easily removed in the hulling operation, before the market ready crop is shipped overseas.

The Dry Method of Coffee Bean Processing

This is the oldest method of bean processing and produces ‘naturals‘ or unwashed coffee. The whole cherry is laid out to dry in the sun for around 3 – 4 weeks and are turned frequently to ensure thorough drying and to prevent mildew build-up.

Before being dried, the beans are cleaned of soil, leaves, sticks, over-ripe and under-ripe berries.

If left to over-dry, the beans brake up when hulling, as they become brittle and are then classified as defective. And if not dried enough, they can fall victim to bacteria, mildew and even fungus again, rendering them defective. Although this process is not as effective as the wet method, because it is time and labour demanding, the natural coffees age better. The perfect beans are then ready for shipping and to be roasted.

So the best way to store coffee beans is in an airtight container. Other questions that many people ask are "Can I keep coffee beans in the freezer?" or "Should I place at room temperature"?

If you are keeping the them for a couple of months, you can keep the coffee beans in the freezer. They will remain fresh. If only for a few weeks, then place at room temperature but keep the beans in an airtight container.

So if you can store coffee beans in the freezer, can you store ground coffee in the same way? No, this is a common misconception. Keeping the ground beans in the fridge or the freezer is a really bad idea! Unlike beans, ground coffee, although it should be kept in an air tight container like most food and drink, if the cold gets to them, the flavor is drawn out.

Before you go ahead and roast your coffee beans, check that your popcorn popper does not have a grate at the bottom but has side vents where the hot air enters. If coffee chaff accumulates in the bottom of your home roaster, it would be a major fire hazard.

Before you start roasting, make sure you are in a well ventilated and well lit room as although you will want to stick around to keep an eye on them and smell that wonderful fresh coffee flavor and aroma, there could be a little smoke.

You will want to stay close by to decide when your coffee beans are done. Start roasting your green beans by pouring them into the roaster. Use about the same amount of green coffee beans as you would use popcorn kernels.

After about 2 & half to 3 minutes you will hear the beans begin to crack. Depending on how dark you want your roasted beans, you can leave them for a few minutes more but don’t leave them for longer than 6 minutes as they will begin to burn and that amazing fresh coffee flavor and aroma will have been a total waste!

But you can always start over – You’ll get that wonderful fresh coffee aroma back in no time at all!

After roasting has finished, it’s best to cool them quickly as they may continue to cook as they are extremely hot coming out of the hot air popper. My tip – just put them in sieve and stir with a wooden spoon.