How to Make a Coffee Bean Roaster

Roasting coffee beans at home can let you customize your coffee to your exact tastes. Coffee beans can be roasted on pans in the oven, but you will more often than not end up with scorched or burned coffee beans. The good news is that a simple coffee bean roaster can be made at home for little expense. All that you will need is a hot air popcorn popper, a high-temperature thermometer, and a digital timer. Now you can get the exact roast you want.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hot air popcorn popper Thermometer that reaches 550 degrees Digital timer

1. Set up the hot air popcorn popper as per the unit's instructions. For most models, you simply attach the plastic vent portion to the base of the unit and lock it in place. The popcorn popper will function in the exact same manner tit would if you were making popcorn with it instead of roasting coffee.

2. Attach the thermometer to the popper's air vent, allowing you to monitor the temperature of the air that the popcorn popper is producing. If you are using a digital baking thermometer then you can attach the temperature sensor inside the main canister to get an even more accurate temperature reading.

3. Set up the digital timer near the popcorn popper so that you can keep track of exactly how long your coffee beans roast. You may want to keep notes on the roast times to determine the exact amount of time needed to give you the coffee roast you like best.

4. Place your green coffee beans in the popcorn popper just as you would popcorn kernels; use around 2/3 of a cup of beans at a time unless you want to make smaller batches. Larger batches of coffee beans can be made by repeating the process. Make sure that you put a bowl under the air vent's chute as though you were making popcorn.

5. Turn the popcorn popper to its highest setting. Should the popper have a temperature control on it, set it at 550 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Let the popcorn popper run for several minutes. After around 3 minutes you should hear what's known as the "first crack," which is a cracking sound that's produced when the coffee beans really begin to roast.

7. Monitor the coffee beans once you've heard the first crack, since they will roast much more quickly than they did during the first 3 minutes. A light roast should be achieved after around 4 minutes, while a dark roast can take up to 6 or 7 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Pay attention to both the color and the smell of the coffee beans when trying to determine how well they are roasted.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.

[roastingrev]

on 1/31/2009 Important: be sure to let your air popper cool down completely between batches. Otherwise you can very quickly fry the popper's heating element. Also, for best results, after roasting let the beans breathe for 6-12 hours before sealing them in an airtight container.