@enlightenedgardenerDIY Coffee Roaster for $15 or Less!
DIY Coffee Roaster
Hey everyone! Today I am going to show you how to make a great coffee roaster that you can use at home. It's super quick, easy, inexpensive, and effective! Does it get any better than that?!
If you prefer to watch this in video form...
DIY Home Coffee Roaster For $15 or Less!
I was able to put this all together for less than $15 and the total assembly time was about 2 minutes.
Seriously, it's REALLY easy! Even if it takes you 5 minutes, that's still super fast!
Materials needed for the roaster:
2 identical stainless steel mesh strainers with pot rests
(1 quart / 8" size HIGHLY recommended)
2 small hose clamps
That's it!
For the roasting process:
Heat source - flames work best!
(I use my trusted Coleman Camp Stove)
A large strainer or tray for cooling the beans
Make sure that your strainers have hooks on the end (pot rests) that are designed to let the strainer sit comfortably over an open pot or container. These will be the attachment points that we will use to hook the two strainers together.
Some strainers have handles that are tilted at an angle which means that you will NOT be able to stack them evenly on top of each other. You will need to find some with flat handles instead.
I bought two 3/8" metal hose clamps from Home Depot and they worked perfectly. You will need a flathead screwdriver to tighten them down all the way. Once they are tightly in place on the pot rests, the two strainers should be nice and flush.
At this point you can double check that you will still be able to open and close the strainers on the end closest to the handles. Mine stay together perfectly well, but when I want to open them I have slightly more than an inch of wiggle room which makes it easy to load and unload the coffee beans.
With the 1 quart size mesh strainers I am able to roast a half-pound of coffee at a time while easily achieving a nice, even roast. For me this is the perfect amount since it lasts 4-5 days and stays at the peak of freshness the entire time. If you are tempted to go bigger I would like to point out that this is a handheld roaster and will likely feel quite heavy and cumbersome if you go any larger than the recommended 1 quart/ half pound size. It will be better to just roast two half-pound batches of coffee.
I know, I know, 200 grams is not a TRUE half-pound but this was my first roast and I didn't want to overload it! I have since stepped it up to 227 grams to get a 'real' half-pound and it is still no problem to get a beautiful, evenly roasted batch of coffee.
**I use small mason jars to weigh my beans and this makes it really easy to pour them into the opening on my roaster**
Using my pasta strainer to cool the beans. I like the ones with lots of holes since the heat will escape more quickly. I've heard of people using baking trays to cool their beans but you sacrifice a lot of airflow so I would definitely recommend pouring them out into a strainer of some sort and then moving them around for a minute or two to cool them thoroughly.
If your roast is not coming out evenly: then you are either moving too slowly, or you are too close to the flame. Maybe both! It's always best to go slow at first until you are sure that you are not scorching any beans. If you have a food scale, make sure you weigh your beans since overloading the roaster will also result in an uneven batch of coffee.
It usually takes between 3-5 minutes before they start visibly turning to a light yellow color. At this point they will continue changing colors slowly but steadily. When the beans start to 'crack' (it sounds like popcorn) you have entered light roast territory. The cracking will continue and intensify, and then it will slowly die out for a little bit and then the 'second crack' will begin. At this point you are in the realm of the dark roast.
I find that most beans are excellent when roasted until the first crack dies out. Then you can transfer them to your strainer/cooling tray to stop the roast. Don't worry if you can't accurately identify the first crack, lull between cracks, and second crack at first. Soon you will get a feel for it and you will know how to roast exactly how you like it! I promise it's really really easy. That's why I'm so excited to share this with you!!!
Before you begin: Take a few minutes to "clean" your new roaster by moving it through your flame to make sure that any dust, dirt, or factory residue is burned away before your first roast. Keep it clean people!
Try it out!!!
Here's the first roast with my new roaster!
Where to buy green coffee beans: I have so far found a few sources that I really enjoy.
Sweet Marias
Start here. Lots of great information and tons of choices. High quality and reasonable prices. Highly respected in the coffee roasting world.
https://www.sweetmarias.com/
Lavanta Coffee Roasters on Amazon
It's hard to beat that 2-day prime shipping. AND these beans are excellent.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=a9_asi_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Alavanta+coffee&keywords=lavanta+coffee&ie=UTF8&qid=1525743922
Unleashed Coffee - Farm to Table
These guys are keeping all of the profits where they should be; with the farms and farmers themselves. If you support farm to table products then this is for you. Plus the coffee is actually good!
https://unleashedcoffee.com/
In your search for strainers:
At the time of this writing, these strainers are on sale for $2.49 each! I don't know how much this site charges for shipping (I found mine at Ross) but it's worth a look!
https://www.kitchenrestock.com/Winco-MS3A-8S-Mesh-Strainer_p_5501.html?gclid=CjwKCAjw8r_XBRBkEiwAjWGLlCVlh_IpimQm8ZYUlExwX4-Snv1NMTyTynHxzX7jvt2tX7AywMQgsRoCrMAQAvD_BwE
Amazon sells them as well but they are between $8-$12 each.
$20 for a coffee roaster is still awesome but I challenge you to make it for less than I did! Good luck!
If you need more coffee excitement check out my other videos:
Roasting Coffee at Home: Zenroast Review
https://youtu.be/6b1rrTpCjzo
The Best Value in Home Espresso!
My Breville Barista Express Review
https://youtu.be/U2TGXAFtQTo
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteVery cool idea. Have you figured how to get a more even roast? The picture of your first roast looks like a very uneven roast.
ReplyDeleteHi! Would you interested to try out our Koffee Kit (https://www.thekoffeeist.com/shop/koffeekit) which includes a ceramic hand roaster and comes with three coffee sample from Rwanda (honey, fully washed and natural) and a roasting protocol for each beans as each coffee is different. Our goal is to honor the complex beautiful craftsmanship performed at origins which one is too often neglected in the coffee story.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to chat more about our mission and vision. Let us know if you're interested.
Cheers,
AA