Roast Coffee With The Best Hot Air Popcorn Popper

Feeling a little adventurous and wanting to roast your own coffee? I did a few months ago and have been pleased with the results. Not only am I saving money by roasting my own coffee at home, but I'm also learning a lot about what goes in to making a great cup of coffee from start to finish. Another side effect to roasting your own coffee at home is that your place will smell AMAZING as you let your coffee sit before using it for coffee. The first attempt at roasting left a slight burnt aroma, but there are steps you can take to limit that, including roasting over your oven's range hood with the fan on high, or roasting in another location like in your garage, a shed, or even outdoors.

Roasting Coffee Step 1: Preperation

The process of roasting coffee at home happens very quickly, and you'll need to be ready to quickly transition from one phase to the next. It's necessary to get everything ready before you start so you're not frantically searching for equipment while your coffee beans are roasting to the point of little charcoal bits.

Things you'll need include:

1. Hot Air Popcorn Popper for roasting
2. Colander to catch the chaff
3. Baking sheet to cool the beans
4. Scoop to put unroasted coffee into the popper (normally comes with the popper as the top tray designed for melting butter)
5. Oven mitt to remove the hot plastic top of the popper when the beans are done roasting (not pictured, but very important)

Roasting Coffee Step 2: Have A Plan

Once you've gathered everything you'll need, there are still a few issues to address before roasting.

Smoke

Be aware that there is a lot of smoke at the end of the roasting process. DO NOT try to roast coffee without the proper ventilation such as a range hood if you're roasting in your kitchen. Even with a range hood, there is a chance your smoke alarm will sound for a few seconds. If that is a problem, other locations to consider roasting your coffee would be a garage, a shed, or even the outdoors.

Chaff Control

If you aren't familiar with the term "chaff", it is the skin or "hull" that falls off of the coffee beans as it roasts. There is A LOT of chaff in the roasting process and if you're roasting indoors, you'll need to have a plan to contain the chaff before you begin.

The best method for reducing chaff is to hold a collander tight against the opening of the hot air popper's chute. The colander acts as a filter which does a great job at allowing the chaff to be expelled from the roasting coffee beans, while still collecting all of the chaff before it has a chance to blow around your kitchen. The only downside to this is that you have to hold it during the entirety of the roasting process, which is not much of a chore since the roast only takes a few minutes.

Roasting Coffee Step 3: The Roast Process

Now that you have all of your equipment ready and decided on a plan, it's time to start roasting!

Start You Engines!

Depending on your hot air popper, it'll either start immediately once you plug it into the wall or you'll have to hit a button. Either way, you want to make sure the coffee beans are in the popper before you turn it on. A half cup (or slightly more) should be enough. Be careful not to add too much, since too many beans could be too heavy for the hot air popper to agitate.

Your popper will determine how involved you need to be in the beginning of the roasting process. The popper I use blows air up rather than around the chamber, which means I have to manually agitate the coffee beans by picking up the popper and gently shuffling it in a circle to keep the beans moving. This can be a little tricky since you have to also hold the collander at the opening of the chute at the same time to catch any chaff. I also like to turn the popper slightly so that the chute opening is the highest point. Doing this reduces any beans from being thrown out of the popper while you're shuffling them.

Listen!

After 30 seconds or so of manually shuffling the coffee beans, you can put the hot air popper down and focus on listening to the beans as they roast. Listening is an important part of coffee roasting. Since the hot air popper will be making a lot of noise (plus the fan on the range hood if you're roasting in your kitchen), you'll have to concentrate to hear when the beans crack.

The first crack occurs after just a minute or two of roasting. This is the loudest crack that your beans will make.

Roast time is determined by your preference, but most roasters stop sometime after second crack which occurs 30 seconds to a minute after first crack. Second crack has a very different sound than first crack. Where first crack is very loud (like popping bubble wrap), second crack is soft, almost like Rice Krispies in milk.

Cool Your Beans!

When your coffee beans are done roasting, you want to cool them down as quickly as possible to stop the roasting process. A thick baking sheet works well at absorbing heat from the roasted beans. Dump the beans from the hot air popper onto the baking sheet and spread them out immediately either with a utensil or your oven mitt. You could also fan the beans with your oven mitt or a towel. Just be careful not to blow away any nearby chaff lying around which could cause a mess.

Once the beans cool down, I like to dump the chaff out of the collander, put the beans in there, and move them around to let the air get to them from all sides. Once they are COMPLETELY cooled, I transfer them to either a slightly open plastic bag or a mason jar to store for a few days before using them for coffee.

Roasting Coffee Step 4: The Degassing Process!

Whatever container you decide to store them in, make sure the seal is loose so that pressure will not build inside during the degassing period. The trick is to allow the beans to degas while limiting the amount of oxygen that they come into contact with.

What Is "Degassing"?

Now that your beans are roasted and stored away in a partially closed container, you have to wait before you can use them for coffee. Why? Because the coffee needs time to "degass". Gasses naturally build up inside the bean during roasting. Degassing is a process where CO2 leaves the beans after they have been roasted. The bulk of the CO2 will leave the bean in 24 hours, but that does not mean the beans will be ready to use by that time.

How Long Does Degassing Take?

Depending on your roast, the process of degassing can take anywhere from 2 to 12 days after brewing. Dark roasts are said to degass faster than light roasts, while longer roasts degas faster than short roasts.

When I first started, I saw a video which said to just leave it overnight. So after 24 hours, I brewed my first cup and it was TERRIBLE! It tasted just like charcoal! I thought I ruined my first batch. But after another day I made another cup and it was great. After another day, EVEN BETTER! For me, 3 days to a week seem to be the best waiting period. So always plan your roasting at least 3 days in advance. Don't roast when you're completely out of coffee - roast when you're getting low.

But everyone's "degassing" experience will be different. The best way to learn is through trial and error.

Can I Speed Up The Process?

Unfortunately there is no way to speed up the degassing process. Pre-grinding the beans will release CO2, but it will also increase the exposure to oxygen, which will make the beans go stale very quickly. Leaving the beans uncovered with also increase the oxidation process making all your hard work obsolete. The only thing you can do is wait.

For best results

The following are products that I use that help me get the most out of my home roasting.