Roasting your own coffee is a great way to not only have fun and make amazing cups of coffee but to save money as well. To top it all of, its easy and cheap to get started.
Beginners Coffee Roasting
You don't need any special equipment, just an regular old popcorn popper. The only thing you need after that is a place to do it and some green coffee beans. Coffee roasting creates a lot of smoke if the beans are fresh, which you of course want, so be prepared. Outside is the best place but it does work inside if you have a small room with a window. Place towels under the doors and let her rip. Be warned though, it may look like your place is on fire from outside.
When using a popcorn popper, simply fill the bowl up half way, any more in the bowl and the beans will hop out, and plug in the popper. There will be some clean up afterwards because as the beans roast the outer linings will peal off and jump out of the popper. After 15-20 minutes, depending on how light or dark you want the roast, unplug the popper and you have fresh coffee beans ready for the grind. During the roasting you will hear two stages of cracking. This lets you know how far along the roast is. The beans are fully roasted after the second collection of cracking sounds.
The place to go online for fresh green beans and roasters for when you want to step it up from a popcorn popper is Sweet Maria's.
