Green Coffee Roasters

This hub is about green coffee roasters. In my previous hub on green coffee beans, I had talked about green coffee and generally showed you the vast variety of green coffee beans available on the market. Once you have bought your green coffee beans online, the next step would be to do some home roasting using your own green coffee maker or green coffee roasters!

This hub is only for coffee lovers. If you are not a coffee lover, let me warn you that coffee can be addictive and after you read my hub, your life may never be the same again. So heed my advice, only continue reading if you are already a coffee addict! You can also check out my other hub on the green mountain organic coffee.

Green coffee roasting is the process of roasting green coffee beans on a small scale for personal consumption. Of course if you can do it on a bigger scale and your coffee tastes good perhaps that is an indication to start your own starbucks! Personal roasting of coffee has actually been practiced for centuries, just that most people might not know about this fact. Now that we have entered (and likely passed the industrial age), it is back to making your own personal green coffee cup using your very own green coffee roasters.

During coffee roasting, the green coffee beans change greatly. Water is forced out of the coffee beans, causing them to dry and expand in the process known as oxidation. Some of the natural sugars in the coffee beans are transformed into carbon dioxide, while others react with each other to form complex chemicals that result in the good aroma and flavor of a good cup of coffee. The colors of the green coffee beans also darken and at the end of roasting the coffee beans are about 18 per cent lighter in weight but 50 to 100 per cent larger in size than when they were green.

After roasting and for some time, the coffee beans will still continue to emit carbon dioxide gas. As carbon dioxide helps to protect the delicate flavor and aroma of the coffee, this means that the coffee is already starting to lose some of its best flavor and aroma after roasting.

To roast your own green coffee beans at home using green coffee roasters, first of all, some basic requirements must be met.

• The green coffee beans must be heated to temperatures of 370 ^oF to 540 ^oF.
• The green coffee beans must be in constant motion to prevent uneven roasting. 
• The green coffee beans must be cooled quickly to prevent over roasting
• Roasting the green coffee beans produces smoke which must be vented properly and removed quickly from the roaster.
• The roasted green coffee beans shed the outer skin during the roasting process which must be removed properly.

As mentioned, coffee roasting is a simple process; however it does take some practice and experience to develop consistent results that will produce a good cup of coffee. There are several factors which will determine the method you will want to use for roasting your own coffee. Some methods require more attention to detail and more of time but are less expensive; others require a larger investment in equipment but will save you time. Hence it is really up to individual preference on how you want to best roast your green coffee beans and what type of green coffee roaster you would want to use. What I will highlight below are simple methods which can use to home roast that green coffee bean at home. For more information, do buy a book as I am just doing a simple introduction. I have recommended a few books in my green coffee hub.

This method is useful If you have a good quality gas oven or a high temperature convection oven at home. Again the problem is an uneven roast due to the very little air flow.

Doing stovetop green coffee roasting can create some uneven roasting. Roasting on the stovetop also takes longer and will produce a roast that can lose aroma at a faster rate compared to other methods. It is suggested to use a candy or deep fry thermometer with the stovetop green coffee roaster to increase the accuracy of the roast.

The fluid air bed green coffee roaster, which uses the method of air roasting, roasts green coffee beans using hot air. Many people actually can roast their green coffee beans in a hot air popcorn popper. The fluid air bed green coffee roaster has fast moving hot air which allows the creation of a very even roast. Coffee roasted using such roasters have a good strong aroma. Currently there are a few models of home roasting appliances available.

To conclude, purchasing a green coffee roaster is a more expensive option than the other methods highlighted, such as just brewing your cup of coffee from coffee powder. However as I said, using a green coffee roaster is much simpler and automated if you wish to roast your own green coffee beans at home.

Maybe you have started roasting your green coffee beans without using automatic green coffee roasters. Wait ! When do you stop roasting the green coffee beans? It is easy to know when to start, but an important point to note would be when to stop the roast. As you become more experienced you will know when is the best time to stop the roast. Some other indicators that informs you to stop the roast include:

• Color: You may want to take note of the colour of the roasted coffee which has a taste you like. Save some of these coffee beans to be used as a guide so that you can use the colour as a form of indication on when to stop the roast.
• Smell: When you smell that sweet aroma of coffee you know that you have done something right! Of course this is a poor indicator but it can be used with the others.
• Sound: Hear the crackling of the beans? This is the sound of water leaving the beans and forming carbon dioxide. There are actually two stages of cracking, known as the first and second crack, which occur at different temperatures.
• Time: Once you know the length of a successful roast, you can use time as a good indicator if you are using the same type and amount of green coffee beans during the next roast.
• Temperature: Using a candy or deep fry thermometer allows you to measure the temperature of the coffee beans while roasting, and hence allows you to stop the roasting when the required temperature is reached.

Cooling The Beans And Removing Chaff:

Once roasting is stopped, the coffee beans are then cooled. The roasting process still continues for a while due to residual heat. A way to cool the coffee beans would be to pour the coffee beans into a colander after removing from the heat source, which can remove the chaff as well.

Venting The Roasting Smoke:

Smoke produced from the roasting should be vented if you are roasting the green coffee beans indoors. A stovetop exhaust fan or any portable fan would be useful in assisting you to get rid of any smoke.

Resting & Degassing: The 24 Hour Wait To Prime Time:

Now that the above has been done, you would still need to subject the roasted coffee beans to a waiting period of 24 hours, as freshly roasted coffee only reaches its peak flavor and aroma 24 hours after resting. This 24 hours allow excess carbon dioxide to dissipate and also the roasting chemisty within the coffee beans to stabilize. Some claim that this is not necessary but if you want good coffee, I would suggest that you be more patient and wait! A 24 hour rest period is not necessary but is preferred by many coffee lovers to allow the beans to fully develop their flavor and aroma. 

So in conclusion, it would seem much easier to use an automatic green coffee roaster!