Roasting Your Own Coffee

I’ve heard about people roasting their own coffee beans, but only recently did I discover how easy it actually is to do. You wind up with the freshest cup of coffee possible, and the beans cost a heck of a lot less than they would otherwise.

Go to your local coffee roasterie and ask for your favorite kind of bean, green. Store the beans in the freezer until you’re ready to roast them. Then, fill the chamber of your hot air popcorn popper about three-quarters full and turn it on. It’s okay if they smoke a little and you can expect that some stray pieces of the bean’s outer covering will float through the air. But, really, you don’t have to do anything except keep an eye on them, especially as they start to get darker. When they reach your desired level of darkness, pour them out onto a pan to let them cool in a single layer.

The darker you roast the beans, the more carbon they develop (that’s the source of the dark color). A french-roasted bean is basically burnt. It gained its popularity during the reign of King Louis XIV, who was a rather odd man. Among his other obsessions was a fixation on his bowel movements. He reportedly had a specially-built dining chair with a hole in the center so that he wouldn’t miss an opportunity just because he was in the process of eating. He enjoyed the darkly roasted coffee because the excessive quantity of carbon exacerbates coffee’s laxative effect.1

1Allen, Stewart Lee. The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World According to Coffee.

I highly recommend the above volume. It’s a quick, fun read that gives you a new perspective on the ubiquitous beverage and its place in world history.

3 Responses to “Roasting Your Own Coffee”

  1. orange notary Says:

    Wow, I am studying french in school and have studied King Louis quite a bit but this is a new tidbit. He was such an odd duck, though we all have our oddities, don’t we?

  2. Brand Pile Blog Says:

    Great Info

    Thanks for sharing this valuable info, I really enjoyed checking on it. best..

  3. Popcorn Says:

    Seven Fun Things You Can Do with Popcorn

    What type of popcorn lover are you? How do you cook it, stove top, microwave, air popped or camp fire roasted? How about toppings, naked, salted, drenched in butter, cheese laddened, covered in carmel, or coated in chocolate.

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