If you have a stove, and a frying pan, or, even better, a stovetop popcorn popper with a handle, you can dispense with buying roasted coffee, and start roasting your own. Home roasting is still the most common way of roasting coffee in many countries. With a little practice, and no special equipment, you can try fresh roasted coffee for yourself.
Before you get started, prepare yourself for the smoke that will shortly be created, either by running your exhaust fan, opening your windows, or both. And have a metal colander ready to pour the coffee beans into when you remove them from the stove.
If you choose the stovetop roasting method with a skillet, you will more than likely end up with coffee beans of inconsistent color. That’s where the popcorn popper, with the handle which allowed you to shake the kernels as they heated, comes in. It will allow you to more evenly circulate the heat among the beans.
You’ll need to heat your roasting pan to the same temperature at which you would cook meat–or, aim for 500F on a cooking thermometer. When it is sufficiently hot, add your beans, but don’t overload the pan. You’ll need to stir the coffee beans continually, to make sure they all get roasted at the same rate.
You should hear, after five minutes or so, the beans begin to “crack”. They will also start smoking, and you should just keep stirring while watching them darken. They will darken rapidly from this point, and it’s a good idea to take them off the heat even before they are as dark as you think you want them. That’s because their oils will continue to cook them for a while even when they are off the stove.
Pour your coffee beans into the metal colander immediately, continuing to stir them, to both quicken the cooling process, and remove any chaff or debris left on them.
You’ve done it! Now decide if the results merit an investment in special coffee roasting equipment, or if stovetop roasting is the technique for you.
