Given the American love affair with coffee, it's surprising more people don't roast their own beans at home.
Not only does home roasting ensure the freshest, most splendid cup of coffee, it's also a money saver and takes just minutes to prepare enough beans for several pots.
"Almost everyone knows how exquisite fresh bread is," says Kenneth Davids, author of "Home Coffee Roasting." "But the flavor and fragrance of coffee one day out of the roaster is a virtually forgotten pleasure."
Here's what you need to know to roast at home:
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THE BASICS
All coffee starts as green (unroasted) beans, which are the seeds of the coffee fruit. Taking those seeds from the plant to the coffee pot involves roasting them for several minutes between 400 F and 500 F.
During the first few minutes of roasting, green beans begin to turn yellow and develop a vaguely grassy or grainy smell as their water content causes them to steam from within.
As the internal temperature of the beans rises, the coffee gives off a fragrant smoke and begins to make a crackling noise as the sugars caramelize and the essential oils are released.
The beans puff up to almost double their size and the roast becomes darker until a second more volatile phase of crackling begins. At this point, the beans are done, or can be roasted further for a "dark roast" variety.
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THE BEANS
Green (unroasted) coffee beans are widely available, though you may not find them at the grocer.
Most coffee shops and roasting companies, such as Green Mountain Coffee and numerous other online retailers, will sell green coffee beans, often for several dollars less per pound than roasted.
Businesses such as Sweet Maria's, for example, offer as many dozens of varieties of green coffee beans, including decaf, at prices 20 to 50 per cent lower than the same coffees would coast roasted.
Green coffee beans resemble gray peanuts and lack the distinctive color and aroma of roasted coffee.
According to Maria Troy, who started Sweet Maria's with her husband Thompson Owen about 10 years ago, green coffee beans will keep for up to two years if properly stored.
Keep green beans in paper or cloth bags (which allow them to breath) in an area with no more than moderate heat and humidity. In short, if you're comfortable, you're beans are comfortable, says Troy.
Once roasted, beans (whether roasted at home or by a company) reach their peak in about 24 hours, then begin to lose flavor. For the best taste, coffee beans should be ground and brewed within two weeks of roasting.
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LOW-TECH OPTIONS
As with any hobby, it's easy to spend plenty of money on coffee roasting equipment, but it's hardly necessary.
Home roasting machines start around $75 and go as high as $900. These machines usually involve some style of hot air chamber that circulates and roasts the beans while removing the chaff (the papery outer skin of the bean).
But there also are plenty of low-tech home roasting methods that are less expensive. These may produce less consistent results, but are an affordable way to test whether home roast is for you.
Internet sites such as CoffeeGeek.com and HomeRoaster.com offer detailed instructions for home roasting, which can be done with cast-iron skillets, in the oven, with a stovetop corn poppers, or a hot air corn popper.
