How to roast Coffee @ Home on a Camping Stove
Growing up in a family that cares a lot about coffee, makes one appreciate a good cup (or pot) of every morning. But the more I got into the coffee scene in Denver, Colorado, the more money I was dropping on premium roasted coffee. Some local shops sell their delicious beans for $16+ for a 12oz bag of beans. I am no math genius, that is over $20 a lbs of the sweet ground nectar. Don't get me wrong, I get why they can charge these prices. There is a lot of work involved in roasting the perfect cup on such large scale. But, I decided to try my hand at roasting my own coffee, at home.Where to begin. So many blogs and tutorials I found talk about which home roasting machine to purchase or how you can use an electric popcorn machine. But, neither option seemed to really let me dial in exactly how I like my coffee roasted....So, I decided to use an old camping stove and a nut-roaster. You might ask, how did you decide to use these seemingly primitive tools? Well, I started my roasting journey by trying to use a stove top popcorn popper. But, on my first attempt, the mechanics froze up and I ended up burning a batch of beans and getting angry at the stupid contraption and throwing it all away :). Next, I tried a castiron skillet. I'll just say, feel free to try it yourself, but I am not a fan.Finally, I settled on the nut-roaster. It is super easy to use and clean and is the perfect size for about a lbs of "roasted" beans.Ok, know that you know way to much about why and how I decided to use these tools, let's get started.
Step 1: Pick your beans
I am a huge fan of these beans but, honestly any green beans will taste amazing when they are roasted at home. I think i paid a little under $6 a lbs. I have found beans for as cheap as $3.50 a lbs but it just depends on how much you want to spend.
Step 2: Time to get Cookin
Once you have your propane connected to your stove, it is time to start up that flame.
Note: if you are using a propane powered stove, make sure to roast in a well ventilated area. I choose to roast in my garage with the garage door open, so there is plenty of natural light and fresh air.
Once the stove is up and running, you need to warm up the nut-roaster. The ideal temp for roasting is around 450 degrees. I typically just wait about 3-5 min while it heats up. But, if you would like you can use a thermometer to get thing the perfect temp.
Step 3: Stir those beans
You have to remember one key here, keep stirring and don't stop unless you want to burn your beans. Once you start stirring, you need to keep stirring so none of the beans get stuck in one spot to long, which will burn them. I like a medium/dark roast so the entire process takes about 18-20 minutes at 450 degrees.
"the entire process to get medium/dark roast takes about 18-20 of stirring"
Cooking beans on a camping stove is not the most scientific method, if you want to be scientific and OCD about the process. I would suggest purchasing a roasting machine. But, if you want to get your hand dirty and really feel the roast this is a great method to roast beans.So, the big question everyone asks me... "how do you know when they are done?" Well, we need to rely on 2 main senses for this method of roasting. Smell and SoundFirst is Smell - when you first start roasting the beans will emit a smell much like vegetables or some people think it smells like popcorn. Near the end of roasting it will smell more like a fresh brewed pot of coffee.Second (and more importantly) is Sound - There are 2 stages of popping that will happen. The first on is more subtle and sounds a lot like popcorn popping. Once the first round of popping is complete, it will be very tempting to take the beans off because there will be a bunch of smoke/steam. I would suggest keeping the beans on because at this point the coffee would taste more like a tea that has no flavor.Once you decide to keep roasting to get better flavor coffee, you want to wait until you start hearing the second round of popping. A good rule of thumb to know if you are going to get a light - dark roast is; once you start hearing the second round of popping each minute you continue to roast is another level of roasted. So, 1 minute in is light, 2 is medium and 3 is dark.I like to leave mine on almost to the 3 min mark, just enough to start bringing some of those delicious oils to the surface without getting that bitter taste you find in a lot of those coffee chains.
Fun Fact: Light roast actually has more caffeine then a dark roast. So, if you want to get the most caffeine go for a light roast.
Step 4: Cool and shake out the Chaff
Oh, man you are so close to being able to enjoy the fruit of all your hard work. Once you have decided to take the beans of the heat, you want to cool the beans down as fast as possible. The best way I have found is to use a colander, and kind of shake the beans. This not only helps the beans cool, but it also helps get all the chaff out of the batch. I usually do this outside so it doesn't get all over my garage.The last part is to wait for the coffee to cool, this is probably the toughest part. But, I noticed that when i didn't wait for the coffee to cool before brewing, it didn't taste very good.So, place the beans in an air tight container and be patient. It is worth it.To see an in-depth video tutorial of how I roast coffee check out this video below.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r38YU0p46rA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]Other Ways to follow along:https://www.instagram.com/beardedspruce/https://www.facebook.com/beardedspruceOr you can check out my Youtube channel!https://bit.ly/2ZmeeARDISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you!