3 Steps

Home Roasting Basics: How to Get Started

Roasting is fun and as easy as you want to make it, or as exacting and technical as you care to be. You can be a barbarian and roast in a skillet (as I used to do), or go buy a fancy professional sample roaster. Don't be afraid of crackling coffee beans and pay attention to the process, especially toward the end of the roast. Either way you will make friends and influence people (maybe).

The basic process is simple: take green (unroasted) coffee and turn it brown. There are many ways to roast coffee, from home appliances made specifically for this purpose, to simple pan roasting, or repurposing a hot air popcorn popper.

Roasting time varies depending on the method: convection roasting (a hot air popcorn popper or a small dedicated home coffee roaster) ideally takes about 8 to 12 minutes. Conduction roasting (a skillet or cookie sheet in an oven, or a small drum roaster) ideally takes about 14 to 18 minutes. Read more about the roasting process here...

Step 1: Choose a roasting method

There are many ways to roast coffee. The method you choose should be influenced 1) how much coffee you drink (i.e. how much roasted coffee you need) and 2) how much money you want to spend. Whether you choose a D.I.Y. approach or a small appliance matters depends mostly on how you like to approach things, and if you want a more convenient way to home roast.

D.I.Y. Instructions I think the D.I.Y. approach is a great way to get started, especially if you can re-purpose an electric hot air Popcorn Popper that you have in a cupboard, or can find second-hand. You can even find them cheaply in a hardware store, Target or Wal-Mart usually. You can also use a skillet, a stovetop popper, or a cookie sheet in the oven. These latter methods are less even and require some technique to get good results, that is why we recommend the air popper method.
D.I.Y. methods
Hot Air Popcorn Popper Instructions (Recommended)	Ye olde Skillet / Wok Instructions
Stovetop Popcorn Instructions	Oven Roasting Instructions

Small Home Coffee Roasting Appliances An appliance gives you a built-in timer, a way to collect chaff, and (depending on the model) some control over the temperature and air flow. Air roasters takes under 10 minutes, roasts very evenly without scorching, and are better for small amounts of coffee. The advantage of radiant drum roasting is a larger batch size and an even roast, but it requires a bit more attention and can mean more smoke. See our Home Roasting FAQ for more help finding the right roaster for you.
Click here to view our selection of Air Roasters	Click here to view our selection of Drum Roasters

Step 2: Choose green coffee

We suggest the 4 lb. Sampler as a starting place. We select coffees that help you learn the major differences in flavor between regions and provide a relatively even roast. From there, browse our region information and coffee offerings to narrow down which coffees you'd like to try next. If you need more help, our Green Coffee FAQ will help take the mystery out of selecting.

Step 3: The Roast Process in a Nutshell
Understanding the different stages of the roast will help you control the flavor of your cup and appreciate how different roasts result in different cup flavors.

Yellowing: For the first few minutes the bean remains greenish, then turn lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell.
Steam: The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.
First Crack: The steam becomes fragrant. Soon you will hear the "first crack," an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin to caramelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.
First Roasted Stage: After the first crack, the roast can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage the roast is at. This is what is call a City roast.
Caramelization: Caramelization continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark. As the roast progresses, this is a City + roast. Most of our roast recommendations stop at this point. When you are the verge of second crack, that is a Full City roast.
Second Crack: At this point a "second crack" can be heard, often more volatile than the first. The roast character starts to eclipse the origin character of the beans at this point and is also known as a Vienna roast. A few pops into second crack is a Full City + roast. Roasting all the way through second crack may result in small pieces of bean being blown away like shrapnel!
Darkening Roast: As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungent as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more and more. As the end of second crack approaches you will achieve a French roast.
Ack!! Too Late! Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal water."

Also see our Use All Five Senses to Determine Roast Level page with lots more details

3 Steps

Choose a roasting
method

Choose green coffee

Understand the roast
process

Home Roasting Basics: How to Get Started

Step 1: Choose a roasting method

Step 2: Choose green coffee

Step 3: The Roast Process in a Nutshell
Understanding the different stages of the roast will help you control the flavor of your cup and appreciate how different roasts result in different cup flavors.

Yellowing: For the first few minutes the bean remains greenish, then turn lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell.

Steam: The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.

First Crack: The steam becomes fragrant. Soon you will hear the "first crack," an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin to caramelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.

First Roasted Stage: After the first crack, the roast can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage the roast is at. This is what is call a City roast.

Caramelization: Caramelization continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark. As the roast progresses, this is a City + roast. Most of our roast recommendations stop at this point. When you are the verge of second crack, that is a Full City roast.

Darkening Roast: As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungent as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more and more. As the end of second crack approaches you will achieve a French roast.

Ack!! Too Late! Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal water."

Also see our Use All Five Senses to Determine Roast Level page with lots more details

For more information on these topics and more, check out the
Sweet Maria's Coffee Library:

3 Steps

Choose a roasting method

Choose green coffee

Understand the roast process

Home Roasting Basics: How to Get Started

Step 1: Choose a roasting method

Step 2: Choose green coffee

Step 3: The Roast Process in a Nutshell Understanding the different stages of the roast will help you control the flavor of your cup and appreciate how different roasts result in different cup flavors.

Yellowing: For the first few minutes the bean remains greenish, then turn lighter yellowish and emit a grassy smell.

Steam: The beans start to steam as their internal water content dissipates.

First Crack: The steam becomes fragrant. Soon you will hear the "first crack," an audible cracking sound as the real roasting starts to occur: sugars begin to caramelize, bound-up water escapes, the structure of the bean breaks down and oils migrate from their little pockets outward.

First Roasted Stage: After the first crack, the roast can be considered complete any time according to your taste. The cracking is an audible cue, and, along with sight and smell, tells you what stage the roast is at. This is what is call a City roast.

Caramelization: Caramelization continues, oils migrate, and the bean expands in size as the roast becomes dark. As the roast progresses, this is a City + roast. Most of our roast recommendations stop at this point. When you are the verge of second crack, that is a Full City roast.

Darkening Roast: As the roast becomes very dark, the smoke is more pungent as sugars burn completely, and the bean structure breaks down more and more. As the end of second crack approaches you will achieve a French roast.

Ack!! Too Late! Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal water." Also see our Use All Five Senses to Determine Roast Level page with lots more details

For more information on these topics and more, check out the Sweet Maria's Coffee Library:

Choose a roasting
method

Understand the roast
process

Step 3: The Roast Process in a Nutshell
Understanding the different stages of the roast will help you control the flavor of your cup and appreciate how different roasts result in different cup flavors.

Ack!! Too Late! Eventually, the sugars burn completely, and the roast will only result in thin-bodied cup of "charcoal water."

Also see our Use All Five Senses to Determine Roast Level page with lots more details

For more information on these topics and more, check out the
Sweet Maria's Coffee Library: