Roasting coffee beans in a wok on a kitchen stovetop
Home roasting is the process of roasting coffee from green coffee beans on a small scale for personal consumption. Home roasting of coffee has been practiced for centuries, using simple methods such as roasting in cast-iron skillets over a wood fire and hand-turning small steel drums on a kitchen stovetop.[1]
Until the early 20th century, it was more common to roast coffee at home than to buy pre-roasted coffee. Following World War I, commercial coffee roasting became prevalent, and, combined with the distribution of instant coffee, home roasting decreased substantially.[1]
In recent years, there has been a revival in home roasting. What was originally a necessity has now become a hobby.[2] The attractions are four-fold: enjoying fresh, flavorful coffee; experimenting with various beans and roasting methods; perfecting the roasting process, and saving money. Other factors that have contributed to the renewed interest in home roasting coffee include coffee suppliers selling green coffee in small quantities and manufacturers making counter-top roasters.
History
15th-century coffee roasting pan and stirring spoon from Baghdad
The first known implements specially made for roasting coffee beans for personal use were thin, circular, often perforated pans made from metal or porcelain, used in the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire and Greater Persia. This type of shallow, dished pan was equipped with a long handle so that it could be held over a brazier (a container of hot coals) until the coffee was roasted. The beans were stirred with a slender spoon. Only a small amount of beans could be heated at one time.[3] The first cylinder roaster with a crank to keep the beans in motion appeared in Cairo around 1650. It was made of metal, most commonly tinned copper or cast iron, and was held over a brazier or open fire. French, Dutch and Italian variations of this design quickly appeared. These proved popular over the next century in Europe, England and the American colonies.[4] English coffee merchant Humphrey Broadbent wrote in 1722 about his preference for this sort of cylindrical roaster. He emphasized that home roasting provided the capability of eliminating damaged berries from the batch before they are roasted, and also the security of knowing that duplicitous merchants were not adding poisonous lead powder to the roasted beans to increase their weight and thus their price. He wrote: "Most persons of distinction in Holland roast their own berries."[5]
A hand-cranked wood stove top coffee roaster circa 1890–1910
In the 19th century, various patents were awarded in the U.S. and Europe for commercial roasters, to allow for large batches of coffee. Nevertheless, home roasting continued to be popular. A man working at a commercial roasting plant beginning in the 1850s in St. Louis, Missouri, said that "selling roasted coffee was up-hill work, as everyone roasted coffee in the kitchen oven."[6] He said the arguments his company employed against home roasting included appeals to the economy of saving fuel and labor, the danger of burns and flaring tempers, and the possibility of ruined beans or bad-tasting beverage. Nevertheless, appliances catering to the home roaster were becoming popular; in 1849 a spherical coffee roaster was invented in Cincinnati, Ohio, for use on the top of a wood-fired kitchen stove, fitted into a burner opening. Inventor Jabez Burns, the nephew of Jabez Burns the religious scholar, noted that, with skill and experience, even the simplest implements such as a corn popper could be used in the home or camp to obtain evenly roasted coffee. He said in 1874 that "patent portable roasters are almost as numerous as rat traps or churns."[7] Green beans were available at the local general store, or even through mail order; an early issue of the Sears catalog offered green coffee.[8] For roasting, many people used such simple methods as a layer of beans on a metal sheet in the oven, or beans stirred in a cast-iron skillet over a fire. Despite the wide popularity of home roasting, Burns felt that it would soon disappear because of the great strides made in commercial roasting in the 1860s and 1870s, including the benefits of the economies of scale. The commercial roaster inventions patented by Burns revolutionized the U.S. roasting industry,[9] much like the innovations of inventors in Emmerich am Rhein greatly advanced commercial coffee roasting in Germany.[10] As well, the 1864 marketing breakthrough of the Arbuckle Brothers in Philadelphia, introducing the convenient one-pound (0.45kg) paper bag of roasted coffee, brought success and imitators.[11] From that time commercially roasted coffee grew in popularity until it gradually overtook home roasting during the 1900s in America.[8] In 1903 and 1906 the first electric roasters were patented in the U.S. and Germany, respectively; these commercial devices eliminated the problem of smoke or fuel vapor imparting a bad taste to the coffee.[12] In France, the home roaster did not yield to the commercial roaster until after the 1920s, especially in rural areas. Coffee was roasted to a dark color in small batches at home and by shopkeepers, using a variety of appliances including ones with a rotating cylinder of glass, sheet iron or wire mesh, and ones driven by hand, clockwork or electric motor. Because of the smoke and blowing chaff, country dwellers generally roasted outdoors.[13]
In the 1950s just as instant coffee was becoming a popular coffee drink, specialty coffeehouses began opening to cater to the connoisseur, offering a more traditionally brewed beverage. In the 1970s, more specialty coffee houses were founded, ones that offered a variety of roasts and beans from around the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, the gourmet coffee industry experienced great growth.[14] Through the 1970s and 1980s, the Siemens Sirocco home roaster was made in West Germany and marketed globally. It was a small fluid-bed roaster made for the home enthusiast. The product was named after a commercial hot-air roasting process which itself was named after the hot Sahara winds called sirocco.[15] In 1976, chemical engineer Michael Sivetz patented a competing hot air design for manufacture in the U.S.; this became popular as an economical alternative. Sivetz called for the home roaster to focus on the quality of the bean.[16] From 1986 through 1999 there was a surge in the number of patents filed for home roasting appliances.[17] In the 1990s, more electric home roasting equipment became available, including drum roasters, and variations on the fluid-bed roaster. By 2001, gourmet coffee aficionados were using the internet to purchase green estate-grown beans for delivery by mail.[18]
Advantages
Enjoying coffee made from freshly roasted beans is one of the major driving factors in the popularity of home roasting. Home roasting has the advantage of being able to roast smaller volumes of coffee to match consumption so that the roasted coffee is used before it goes stale. Depending on the bean's origin and the method of storage after roasting, generally whole bean coffee flavor is at its peak between seven and fourteen days after roasting, but some beans are best left even longer, up to 21 days. The flavor of ground coffee deteriorates even faster. Methods of extending freshness include refrigeration, freezing, vacuum packaging, and displacing oxygen in the container with an inert gas. Green coffee beans can be kept fresh for 1–3 years, depending upon storage conditions,[19] and more particular home roasters reduce storage time to 8 or even 1.5 months.[20][21]
Other advantages include the enjoyment of top quality coffee in areas where there are no good local roasters, and the benefit of lower price overall.[8] Those who are roasting for economic reasons can purchase green beans in bulk at lower cost than roasted beans from retailers. Depending on the type of beans chosen, home roasters can save approximately 25–50%.[22]
Home roasters have access to a wide selection of green coffee beans, and this is one of the attractions to the hobby. Home roasters can purchase small quantities of high quality beans from numerous importers and distributors. Some of the beans are rare or award-winning, while others are from coffee orchards known for their quality and unique flavor. It is common for home roasters to purchase beans that come from a specific country, region, orchard, and harvest year.
Roasting
Home roasters can choose from various types of roasting equipment, each of which has certain attributes that can alter the flavor. A roasting profile describes the time the beans spend at each temperature during roasting including the final temperature prior to cooling. This greatly affects the flavor, aroma, and body of the coffee. Home roasters go to great lengths to control these roasting parameters including using computers or programmable controllers for process control and data logging. Manually controlled equipment makes precise and repeatable profile control more difficult, though an experienced roaster can produce very good results.[23] One of the lures of the hobby is experimenting with the roasting profile to produce optimal tasting coffee, albeit subjective.
Coffee roasting produces chaff and smoke, and should be done in a well-ventilated area, which is often difficult to accomplish in a home environment. Coffee roasting outdoors is affected by changes in air temperature and speed, requiring adjustments to the roasting process to produce intended results.[24]
Equipment
Home roasting outdoors with a modified popcorn maker
There are four common techniques for modern home roasting: in the oven, on the top of the stove, in a hot-air popper made for popcorn, and in a purpose-built electrical appliance.[25]
Green coffee beans can be roasted in a convection oven provided that the beans are spread out in only one layer on a perforated baking tray with raised sides. Because they are not stirred, the beans at the perimeter of the tray get dark first. The oven area should be well ventilated because a lot of smoke will be generated.[26] This method produces coffee beans with a variety of roast levels as it is almost impossible to achieve a consistent roast, however, some people like the resultant melange roast.[27]
The beans may also be roasted on the stove top. One classic method is to use open-top cookware such as a cast-iron skillet, a frying pan, or a wok, the beans constantly stirred to obtain an even degree of roasting. Another option is to use a stove-top popcorn maker such as a "Whirley Pop" or similar device with an integral crank and internal agitator system to keep the beans in motion as they roast. Constant cranking or stirring is required, as is plenty of ventilation.[28]
The hot-air popper is sometimes pressed into service as a coffee roaster, but such a light-duty appliance is not designed to withstand the longer heat cycle required by coffee beans. As a result, the hot-air popper used for coffee may fail from heat damage. This method of roasting produces somewhat less smoke than oven or stove-top but it still requires good ventilation. It also blows chaff off of the roasting beans, so cleaning up the scattered chaff is a consideration.[29] If used indoors, the room may retain a smoky smell long afterward. Roasting outdoors is an option.[30]
After using any of the above methods, the roasted beans must be manually cooled. A common method is to shake or toss them in a metal colander for a few minutes.[30]
Specially designed electric coffee roasters have been available since the 1970s. These counter-top appliances automate the roasting process, including a cooling cycle at the end. Unlike hot-air poppers they are designed to withstand extended high temperature operation. Two main types exist: the fluid-bed or fluid-air roaster, and the drum roaster. The fluid-bed roaster heats the beans faster, retaining more of their desirable acidic flavor compounds. However, the resulting roasted bean is tougher, harder to grind, and less of it ends up as "mouth feel" or body in the coffee beverage. The drum roaster takes more time so the acidic compounds are less in evidence, having evaporated somewhat to yield a mellow-tasting beverage. The roasted bean is softer and easier to grind, and more of it contributes to the body of the beverage.[30]
One drawback of the electric roasting appliances is their small capacity:[25]4 to 8 ounces (110 to 230g) for fluid-bed, and somewhat more for drum roaster. They are also expensive.[30] Another drawback is that most models emit smoke.[24]
No matter what roasting method is used, the weather can affect the results, especially if roasting outdoors. Cold temperatures can extend the roasting time, adversely affecting the bean. In extreme cold the roaster may fail to reach proper temperature. Humidity is a lesser concern; it changes the roasting time and resulting quality.[24]
Other unusual home roasting methods have been tried by inventive enthusiasts, such as various modifications of fluid-bed roasters and popcorn poppers, the use of a heat gun aimed into a metal bowl, a heat gun aimed into a bread machine, a modified rotisserie in a gas-fired barbecue grill, and many more.
Espresso is a coffee-brewing method in which a small amount of nearly boiling water is forced under pressure through finely ground coffee beans.
Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C (300 °F) from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat, and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roasted", e.g., roasted chicken or roasted squash.
Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and lapsang souchong tea are often smoked.
Instant coffee is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans that enables people to quickly prepare hot coffee by adding hot water or milk to coffee solids in powdered or crystallized form and stirring. The product was first invented in Invercargill, the largest city in Southland, New Zealand, in 1890. Instant coffee solids refers to the dehydrated and packaged solids available at retail used to make instant coffee. Instant coffee solids are commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated. Instant coffee in a concentrated liquid form, as a beverage, is also manufactured.
An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been used to accomplish a wide variety of tasks requiring controlled heating. Because they are used for a variety of purposes, there are many different types of ovens. These types differ depending on their intended purpose and based upon how they generate heat.
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It has the highest sales in the world market for hot drinks.
Coffee production is the industrial process of converting the raw fruit of the coffee plant into the finished coffee. The coffee cherry has the fruit or pulp removed leaving the seed or bean which is then dried. While all green coffee is processed, the method that is used varies and can have a significant effect on the flavor of roasted and brewed coffee. Coffee production is a major source of income for 12.5 million households, most in developing countries.
Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Unroasted beans contain similar if not higher levels of acids, protein, sugars, and caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack the taste of roasted coffee beans due to the Maillard and other chemical reactions that occur during roasting.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the preparation of food:
Coffee preparation is the process of turning coffee beans into liquid coffee. While the particular steps vary with the type of coffee and with the raw materials, the process includes four basic steps: raw coffee beans must be roasted, the roasted coffee beans must then be ground, and the ground coffee must then be mixed with hot or cold water for a specific time (brewed), the liquid coffee extraction must be separated from the used grounds, and finally, if desired, the extracted coffee is combined with other elements of the desired beverage, such as sweeteners, dairy products, dairy alternatives, or toppings.
Coffee is a popular beverage and an important commodity. Tens of millions of small producers in developing countries make their living growing coffee. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world daily. Over 90 percent of coffee production takes place in developing countries — mainly South America — while consumption happens primarily in industrialized economies. There are 25 million small producers who rely on coffee for a living worldwide. In Brazil, where almost a third of the world's coffee is produced, over five million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over three billion coffee plants; it is a more labor-intensive culture than alternative cultures of the same regions, such as sugar cane or cattle, as its cultivation is not automated, requiring frequent human attention.
A popcorn maker is a machine used to pop popcorn. Since ancient times, popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of heated corn (maize). Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Many types of small-scale home methods for popping corn also exist.
Coffee cupping, or coffee tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. It is a professional practice but can be done informally by anyone or by professionals known as "Q Graders". A standard coffee cupping procedure involves deeply sniffing the coffee, then slurping the coffee from a spoon so it is aerated and spread across the tongue. The coffee taster attempts to measure aspects of the coffee's taste, specifically the body, sweetness, acidity, flavour, and aftertaste. Since coffee beans embody telltale flavours from the region where they were grown, cuppers may attempt to identify the coffee's origin.
Intelligentsia Coffee is an American coffee roasting company and retailer based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1995 by Doug Zell and Emily Mange, Intelligentsia is considered a major representative of third wave coffee. In 2015, Peet's Coffee & Tea acquired a majority stake in the company.
Hills Bros. Coffee is a maker of packaged coffee, founded in San Francisco.
Dry roasting is a process by which heat is applied to dry foodstuffs without the use of oil or water as a carrier. Unlike other dry heat methods, dry roasting is used with foods such as nuts and seeds, in addition to some eaten insects such as house crickets. Dry-roasted foods are stirred as they are roasted to ensure even heating.
Third-wave coffee is a movement in coffee marketing emphasizing high quality. Beans are typically sourced from individual farms and are roasted more lightly to bring out their distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999, the approach originates in the 1970s, with roasters such as the Coffee Connection.
Metal Ware Corporation is a company located in Two Rivers, Wisconsin and manufactures small kitchen appliances primarily marketing them under the NESCO and American Harvest brand names.
↑ Clarke, Ronald; Vitzthum, O. G. (2008). Coffee: Recent Developments. John Wiley & Sons. p.104. ISBN978-0-470-68021-6.
↑ Sinnott, Kevin (2010). The Art and Craft of Coffee: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Roasting, and Brewing Exquisite Coffee. Quarry Books. pp.42, 60. ISBN978-1-59253-563-7.
↑ H.-D. Belitz; Werner Grosch; Peter Schieberle (2009). Food Chemistry (4ed.). Springer. p.939. ISBN978-3-540-69933-0.
↑ Neuschwander, Hanna (2012). Left Coast Roast: A Guide to the Best Coffee and Roasters from San Francisco to Seattle. Timber Press. p.74. ISBN978-1-60469-284-6.
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