I first purchased green coffee about 7 years ago. While looking for a source of high quality chicory, I found Sweet Maria’s. Sweet Maria’s offers dozens of green coffees from around the world (not to mention the top quality chicory I was looking for). I placed my order for green coffee and chicory that same day. I didn’t have a roaster or French Press pot. But, we had both before our order arrived a few days later. And, we’ve never looked back.
There are a number of ways to roast green coffee. But, I’ve had great success with popcorn poppers. So, why mess with success? We’ve actually experimented with two different poppers. We have an air popper and a vintage popper with a automated stirring rod. The air popper is the quickiest method. And, it produces a surprisingly even roast. The electric popper with automated stirring rod takes longer to roast and produces a slightly less uniform roast. (We experiment with this method at least once with every new type of coffee we try. Sometimes, an uneven roast adds complexity in flavor.)
An air popper can be purchased for less than $20 and it’s quicker than most dedicated roasters. If you’re brewing one or two pots a day, this economical option is the smart way to go. But, for safety reasons, it needs constant monitoring.
Roasting Green Coffee (Air-Popper Method)
*Note* Only side-vented poppers can be used!!
(For an illustration of the proper type of popper, click here.)
2/3-3/4 cup green coffee
Use the same amount of coffee that the manufacturer recommends. (If the manufacturer recommends 2/3 cup of popcorn, substitute 2/3 cup of coffee. This will aid even roasting.) Place a large bowl under the popper hood to catch the fibers (or chaff). Pour in your green coffee beans and turn on your popper. Roast green coffee from 4-6 minutes. For safety reasons, monitor your roasting beans at all times! And, be prepared to turn off your popper at all times. If beans begin to burn, turn off your popper immediately. For an in-depth description of the air-popper method, go here.
When beans are roasted to your preference, pour them onto a metal sheet pan (or large rectangular wire colander) and shake the pan. Beans should be cooled quickly in a single layer with plenty of space between the beans. This stops the roasting process.
For more information on this Coffee Roasting Scale, visit Sweet Maria’s Coffee Pictorial
Sweet Maria’s Coffee Pictorial Roasting Guide goes into great detail to describe each specific level of roasting including the internal temperature of the bean. This information is priceless. Using this scale, we prefer our coffee to be roasted somewhere between 10 and 13… depending on the type of coffee being roasted.
This week we’re roasting:
Mmmm… this is a good week.
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