National Coffee Day (part 2)

Stock image.

This is part 2 of an article that was in the Aug. 31 issue of The Loop newspaper.

Last time I talked about the origin of coffee and how it came to America. In this installment, I'll explain how to roast your own coffee. But first, why should you bother? Because the resulting drink is SO MUCH BETTER than anything you've ever had before. And it's fun, easy and lots cheaper than buying from expenisve coffeehouse chains every day.

There are two ways to roast coffee beans: drum roasting and fluid bed. Think of a drum roaster as a big cast iron frying pan with a stirring bar/paddle. The drum is heated up to the proper roasting temperature, before the green beans are added. The drum rotates during roasting while the bar or paddle stirs the beans. It takes about 20 minutes to roast beans in a drum roaster. Big roasters use drum roasters because they can do 8 pounds of beans at a time.

The second method, fluid bed, is perfect for the home roaster. Fluid bed roasting uses blowing hot air to roast and stir the beans. Anything that can blow hot air at the correct temperature can be used. Enter the $20 hot air popcorn popper. The best poppers have a flat metal bottom with vents around the sides (not the bottom), and a clear chute so you can look down into it and see the beans roasting. But before you actually plug in the popper and add the beans, you need to know what to look and listen for so you know when the beans are properly roasted.

Unroasted beans are mossy-to-olive green in color and have a fair bit of moisture inside. When beans begin to roast, they turn brownish-yellow as water is evaporated. The resulting steam smells like hay and grass. As roasting continues and more water is driven off, the beans will start browning and come to what is called first crack for the sound they make. At this point the beans are expanding and will slough off a papery chaff. The popcorn popper will blow this chaff out the chute so it's best to do your roasting outside. After first crack, the roasting continues with sugar molecules oxidizing and caramelizing and the beans getting browner. After a couple more minutes we come to second crack – yes, more noise although this time it is caused when the interior of the beans crack allowing the oils inside to migrate to the surface giving the beans an oily sheen. Past the end of second crack, the structure of the beans begins to carbonize (aka burn), and they are at risk of catching fire.

For the best flavor notes most home roasters stop sometime after first crack finishes and no more than a few seconds into second crack. You'll have to experiment with what your taste buds prefer.

Beans, beans, wonderful beans. Where to get them? There are lots of places that sell green, unroasted beans online. My hubby and I are particularly fond of Sweet Maria's Coffee in Oakland (www.sweetmarias.com). They carry a wide-variety of beans at a reasonable price, and their website is chock full of information. Each variety includes suggested roasting levels, and has a circular chart listing the flavor/aroma attributes and an overall cupping score. One of our favorite beans is Ethiopia Dry Process Dogo Sodu with an overall rating of 92.2. This bean will give you a great cup of coffee and will handle a variety of roast levels and brewing methods.

If you want a very smooth coffee with practically no bitterness, try Guatemala Acatenango Gesha, which has an overall rating of 92. If you are well habituated to the carbonized flavor of commercial coffee, Gesha will probably taste "weak" to you, but for coffee newbies it's a great bean to try.

1) Set up outside because during roasting the popper will blow out chaff and smoke. Note that very hot or cold weather can affect roast time.

2) Turn on the popper. Open the lid and add beans until the mass of beans just stops swirling – about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of green beans. Manually stir (or shake the popper) for the first minute or so, until the beans begin to swirl (again) on their own. Put the lid back on.

3) Watch for steam coming out (smells like hay/grass). At about 3-5 minutes, you'll hear first crack, which sounds like popping popcorn.

4) From this point forward monitor beans closely for desired roast color. Total roast time will be 8 minutes or less.

5) When the beans are done, promptly dump them out of the popper into a metal colander or rimmed cookie sheet and stir and shake to cool them as quickly as possible. If you like, use a fan to blow cool air on them. Beans will continue to roast until they are at room temperature so the quicker the cool-down, the better.

6) Discard any beans that roasted much lighter or much darker than the rest of the beans as they will negatively affect the flavor of your finished cup.

7) Place roasted beans into a 1-pint canning jar, put lid on loosely. The roasted beans will outgas C02 during the first hours after roasting. After 12 hours tighten the jar lid. Allow beans to rest for an additional 36-48 hours before using. Roasted coffee beans will stay fresh for 2-4 weeks, but are best used sooner than later.

8) If your popper is too hot and the beans roast too fast, you can slow the popper down by adding a 10-foot extension cord.

Finally, you're ready to brew!

The best bean grinder is a burr grinder because it produces very uniform grounds. A small manual or battery powered burr grinder can be had for around $30. For brewing in a drip coffee maker, you'll want medium grinds. If the grind is too fine the coffee will be stronger (and potentially more bitter), if grinds are too coarse you won't get enough flavor. You will probably have to experiment to get the grind that is just right for your coffee maker and taste buds. It's important to grind the beans right before you brew because once the beans are ground, they quickly lose flavor notes. Measure the amount of grounds that you usually use into your coffee machine and push the start button. Only a few more moments and you'll be savoring your first cup of home roasted joe!

• Home Coffee Roasting: Romance & Revival by Kenneth Davids.

• The World Atlas of Coffee by James Hoffmann.

• Modulating the Flavor Profile of Coffee by Robb Hoos.

• The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers (Biography of one man's efforts to bring high-quality Yemen coffee to the US).

• Coffee Quality Institute, http://www.coffeeinstitute.org/.

• National Coffee Association, http://www.ncausa.org/.