Home roasted coffee

[Henning 4148]

Saturday when buying coffee we took a handfull of unroasted beans along as well. Two or perhaps three generations ago, home roasting must have been quite common. After roasting yesterday in the frying pan (open, beans stirred with a wooden spoon), we had the coffee this morning. It was ok, but a bit strongly roasted. This was a bit what I had feared as some beans were beginning to get really dark long before all beans were brown everywhere. Guess I have to do some more trials. Any recommendations? How about roasting in the oven instead of the pan? Should the pan be covered and the beans shaken, of should the pan be open and the beans stirred?

[PatCox]

I have tried and never could get it right. The instructions I got said to cover and shake, like its popcorn (and they do pop and fluff up a bit, just like popcorn, too. But I could never get them to roast evenly.

[Bob Cleek]

Use a hot air popcorn popper. You know, the ones where you fill them with popcorn and the popped corn gets blown out the top. This is what everybody who roasts their own coffee around here uses. Works great, or so I'm told. (The coffee beans don't pop, so they don't blow out the top of the popper.)

[TomF]

IIRC, Norman's written about home-roasting coffee ... where's he at?

[Bruce Taylor]

My father-in-law uses an old Popcorn machine, like this one:

http://www.aphids.com/stan/blog/images/popcorn_pumper.JPG

He's made a few modifications to his. He removed the plastic hood, and installed a tin can in the base (can't remember if he took the bottom out of the can, first). I believe he rewired the machine so that the power switch turns the blower on and off.

Works beautifully.

Edit: Ah, I see Cleek got there first.