How To Roast Your Own Coffee

Home coffee roasting is as simple (or as technical), as you want to make it.

You can roast in your oven, re-purpose a popcorn popper, use a skillet or buy an actual coffee roastingThe application of heat to green coffee seeds (beans) to create palatable material for brewing a great cup!: Coffee roasting is a chemical process induced by heat, by which aromatics, acids, and other flavor components More appliance. Whatever method you use, you will be on your way to drinking much better coffee.

The basic process is simple: use heat to turn green unroasted coffee into brown roasted coffee. Roasting times vary, depending on the method and batch size, but you can expect the process to last about 10 minutes for smaller batches and about 16 minutes for larger batches.

There are many ways to roast coffee. The method you choose should be influenced by how much roasted coffee you need and how much money you want to spend. Whether you choose a D.I.Y. approach or a small appliance depends mostly on if you want more or less automation.

D.I.Y methods are affordable and accessible.

We think using an electric popcorn popper is the best of the DIY methods. You can also use a skillet, a stovetop popcorn popper or a cookie sheet in your oven – while these methods are popular among home roasters, we think it requires a bit of experience to achieve good results.

Hot Air Popcorn Popper Instructions (Recommended)
Stovetop Instructions
Oven Roasting Instructions

Home Coffee Roasting appliances offer coffee specific features.

Depending on the model, machines made for home coffee roasting may offer chaffChaff is paper-like skin that comes off the coffee in the roasting process. Chaff from roasting is part of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the coffee fruit that still cling to the beans after More collection, smoke reduction, timers, temperature control, airflow regulation and digital automation. There is no “best” roaster per se, but there is a best one for you depending on how much coffee you want to roast per batch and how large of a machine you want to have sitting on your counter.  Air roasters are generally smaller, roast evenly without scorchingPatches of discolored burn marks on the coffee bean, due to a high-heat roast environment or other roast error.: Scorching refers to a roast error that can be discerned by inspecting the roasted coffee, where More, and are better for smaller batches. While drum roasters often roast more, these machines are typically larger, require more attention and generate more smoke.

See our Home Roasting FAQ for more help finding the right roaster for you.

We always have a few dozen coffees to choose from so you shouldn’t have a problem finding beans that make your taste buds happy.

We suggest purchasing a Sweet Maria’s Sample Set to get started. Sample sets include 1lb bags of pre-selected coffees from the different growing regions we offer. Starting off with a sample set is an economical way to start roasting and become familiar with origin flavorOrigin Flavor is a term we use to describe coffee flavors that are intrinsic to a particular coffee from a particular origin, and in contrast to flavor we term "Roast Taste": Origin Flavor is a More characteristics. From there, your palate will have an idea of which ones are more delicious. This will help you narrow down which coffees you want to buy next.

Our Green Coffee FAQ will help take the mystery out of selecting.

Understanding the different stages of the roast will help you control the flavor of your cup and appreciate how different roasts result in different cup flavors.

Here’s an image that provides an overview of the process:

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Yellowing: For the first few minutes the bean remains greenishA smell or flavor of fresh-cut green plants, vegetable leaves or grass, usually indicating fresh new-crop coffees that have not fully rested in parchment.: A smell or flavor of fresh-cut green plants, vegetable leaves or More, then turns lighter yellowish and emits a grassyGreenish flavor in the cup, usually indicating early crop, unrested coffee.: Greenish flavor in the cup, usually indicating early crop, unrested coffee. This is a fresh cut grass flavor, chlorophyll-like, not a dried grass or More smell.
Steam: The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates. This is also known as the drying stage.

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First CrackFirst crack in one of two distinct heat-induced pyrolytic reactions in coffee. It is distinguished by a cracking or popping sound in the coffee, and occurs between 390 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit in most coffee More: The steam becomes fragrant. Soon you will hear the first crackAn audible popping sound heard during roasting. In coffee, one refers to "first crack" and "second crack," which come from two different classes of chemical reactions.: An audible popping sound heard during roasting. In coffee, More, an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin to caramelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.

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First Roasted Stage: After the first crack, the roast can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage the roast is at. This is what is called a City roastCity roast is what we define as the earliest palatable stage that the roast process can be stopped and result in good quality coffee. City roast occurs roughly between 415 and 425 degrees Fahrenheit in More.

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CaramelizationA reaction involving sugars that occurs during coffee roasting. A caramelized sugar is less sweet, but has greater complexity of flavor and aroma. Caramelization is slower than Maillard reactions, and requires higher temperatures. These reactions More: Caramelization continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark. As the roast progresses, this is a City + roast. Most of our roast recommendations stop at this point. When you are on the verge of second crackAfter First Crack, a roast reaction around 440 to 450 degrees that is distinguished by a snapping sound. Second Crack is the second audible clue the roaster-operator receives about the degree-of-roast, following First Crack. Whereas More, that is a Full City roastA coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack.: A coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack. The internal bean temperature that second crack normally occurs at is More.

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Second Crack: At this point a second crack can be heard, often more volatile than the first. The roast character starts to eclipse the originIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, "I was just at origin." Of course "Origin" for most product we use is not a beautiful farm in a temperate climate, More character of the beans at this point and is also known as a Vienna roastVienna roast occurs at the beginning of second crack. The Vienna stage is where you begin to find origin character eclipsed by roast character.: Vienna roast occurs at the beginning of second crack. The Vienna More. A few pops into second crack is a Full City + roast. Roasting all the way through second crack may result in small pieces of bean being blown away like shrapnel!

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Darkening Roast: As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character, but not unpleasant. Bittersweet tangy roast flavors More as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more and more. As the end of second crack approaches, you will achieve a French roastSugars are heavily caramelized (read as burned) and are degraded; the woody bean structure is carbonizing, the seed continues to expand and loose mass, the body of the resulting cup will be thinner/lighter as the More.

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Ack!! Too Late!: Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in a thin-bodied cup of “charcoal water.”

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Check out our Use All Five Senses to Determine Roast Level and Using Sight to Determine Degree of Roast pages for more detailed information.

And for basics on the coffee aspect, see out Green Coffee FAQ