[podunkPDX]

A few years back I discovered that the Ethiopian run minimart up the street sells unroasted coffee beans, $6/lb.

I bought a pound and followed the proprietor’s advice, roasting small quantities in a cast iron pan on medium high and agitating/stirring until it looked right.

This was too labor intensive to be sustainable (40m for about 100g), but the end result was breathtaking. Immediately bought a roaster from Sweet Maria’s and haven’t looked back.

I’m in the Pacific Northwest and we are spoiled for choice with artisanal roasters and coffee shops alike, but mine still tastes better since I roasted it yesterday.

[tkgally]

I started roasting my own coffee a few months ago. I use a light pan with a screen cover I found online and roast the beans by shaking the pan over a high flame for seven or eight minutes. I judge the degree of the roast from the sound, the smoke, and the smell. It took a few batches before I got the hang of it, but now it works great.

Home coffee roasting is, as one might expect, a deep rabbit hole that one can spend a lot of money on. But if you're only roasting for yourself, a simple setup like mine should be fine.

I live in Japan, and there are coffee wholesalers that carry raw beans from all over the world. I'm currently trying beans from Nicaragua, Cuba, Ethiopia, and Indonesia. When I use those up I'll try four other origins.

[chii]

> But if you're only roasting for yourself, a simple setup like mine should be fine.

i wonder how consistent it is to do it over a pan with hands...

I personally have a roasting attachment in my air-fryer, which is a rotating drum. And the air fryer has temperature setting, which can be used to correctly tune to roast your beans!

But i just buy mine from a good local roaster...their skill is worth paying for since i find my own roasting to be uneven and inconsistent.

[tkgally]

I understand. I don’t get exactly the same degree of roasting each time. The roasted beans themselves are not as consistently roasted as ideal, either; after I grind them, I notice some lighter and darker grounds mixed in. But that doesn’t seem to affect the taste, as least as far as I can tell.

Anyway, it’s for my consumption only. I’m enjoying the manual roasting process, and I think I am gradually getting better at it.