Home Roasting with a Skillet: Roast Coffee at home with a skillet

Home Roasting with a Skillet

Home Roasting with a Skillet???
Why: Because its fun and easy. Cheap and definitely "old school."

"Old School" - YES. how do you think coffee used to be roasted before it went commercial. Home roasting with a skillet was one way we used to roast coffee beans.

Its an interesting process that you really should try. You never know you might just like the extra effort. And how cool would it be to tell your friends that the great brew they are drinking was roasted by you, at home, using nothing but your homegrown roasting skills. And you didn't need some hi-tech fancy roaster to do it (well, the machine does it really, you just turn it on).

Be careful: It's easy to scorch the beans and/or produce uneven roasts. The skillet needs to be covered and the beans need to be stirred without removing the pan from the flame (anyone for shaking over a gas flame?!?) ...this is fun! A glass lid works best - is preferrable that you see the beans changing color as the roasting occurs. Home roasting with a skillet can be dangerous if you don't take the right precautions. Always use safe practices and be aware of any potential fire hazards if you are work with an open gas flame.

What You Need:
- Green Coffee Beans for you to roast
- Any lightweight skillet with a good tight lid (You might also try a Wok and agitate with a wooden spoon. With good technique, this method can produce fine results).
- Gas preferred but an Electric stove is okay too.
- An oven thermometer.
- A big spoon, a metal collander for cooling, (and oven mitts if you don't have one of those cool handle skillets).

Home Roasting @ The Java Cafe

Instructions:
1. Have all your materials within easy reach.

2. Turn on your stovetop exhaust fan, or open a kitchen window. The roasting releases some smoke.

3. Measure out about 9 ounces of coffee by weight, or 12 ounces by volume for a large skillet.

4. Preheat skillet over low flame / medium electric burner setting with the lid on.

5. An Oven thermometer placed inside can tell you when you have reached 500F. Keep the skillet at this temperature.

6. Remove the thermometer, and add your beans, then put the lid on tight, and start shakin'.

Important: Keep the beans in motion. Listen for the "first crack" and smell for smoke at around the 5 minutes mark.

7. Wait for a minute, then lift the lid to check the color.

8. Reduce the heat slightly after the crack. Start checking the color every minute or so.

9. Roasting continues to occur until the beans are cool, so pour your beans into the metal collander just before you think the color is right.

10. Agitate the beans in metal collander a spoon until they are warm to your touch. An open window to aid cooling helps.

11. Keep agitating the beans until all the lightly colored chaff has been removed. The chaff is very light, make sure it is removed over a sink or even outside.

12. Coffee should be stored out of direct light in an airtight glass container (more about coffee storage here).

13. Wait 12 hours to seal the jar tightly; it needs to vent off C02, also known as de-gassing.

14. The coffee reaches its peak 4 to 24 hours after roasting. It is considered to be 'fresh' for 6 days.

See, home roasting with a skillet isn't that hard at all. When you taste this coffee, you will know what super fresh coffee really is. And you get the bragging rights too!!!

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