Equipment used.
1. Small frying pan. I used an All-Clad stainless steel pan. More on this later.
2. Infrared therm.
3. Large mesh strainer (can use a metal colander)
4. Electric fan.
5. Heat resistant gloves for each hand.
6. Wood or heat resistant spoon or spatula to stir the beans during the roast.
7. Phone app with timer.
8. Green coffee beans.
Process I used. Everything was done outdoors. It is smoky and a lot of chaff is created. You don't want that inside the house. You stir the beans for the entire roast, never stopping.
1. Set the frying pan on the gasser's side burner to preheat. Side burner was on low. Took about 5 minutes for the infrared therm to read 350F.
2. While it was heating, I plugged in the fan, staged my equipment, and put on my gloves.
3. Had to take one glove off to start the timer (Doh!).
4. Used 1/2 cup (3.3 oz) of green beans. Dumped them in the frying pan and started stirring.
5. Saw scorch marks immediately on the beans. Pan was too hot. Raised the pan and kept stirring. The beans are supposed to turn yellow, then tan, then brownish when they start "cracking," which sounds like popcorn popping. This is called the "first crack." It should happen around 6-8 minutes when the temp is correct.
6. Started hearing the first "crack" at around 4 minutes, way too soon. Kept the pan raised until the cracking settled down.
7. When back on schedule, I blew on the beans. Chaff flew everywhere.
8. Kept stirring, watching the color of the beans change. I had to hold the pan well above the fire for most of the roast, only setting it down when my arm got tired.
9. The "second crack," which is kind of a quiet snap (like Rice Crispies and milk), happened at about 10 minutes. I forgot to look at the timer for the exact time.
10. Paid close attention to color, and when I liked what I saw at 12 minutes, I turned off the fire, dumped the hot beans in the mesh strainer, turned my fan on high, and stirred the bean over the fan to cool them off. If you don't do this, they keep roasting. It also blows away any remaining chaff.
11. By 14.5 minutes on the timer, they were cold.
12. Brought them inside, took a couple pics, and put the beans in a Ziplock bag while they outgas CO2. I left one edge of the bag open. After 4 hours you can grind and brew. Some folks say to wait 24-48 hours for peak flavor. I'll try them Saturday morning, about 18 hours after roasting.
13. When the roast was over, they had swelled to a little more than 3/4 cup and weighed in at 2.65 oz.
Lessons learned:
1. Next time I'll only heat the pan to 250F before adding the beans.
2. I'm going to buy an 8-10" wok to use instead of a frying pan. I probably lost 15 or so beans while stirring in the lower profile frying pan. A wok would be easier to stir and eliminate waste.
3. It was WAAAY easier than I expected, even with the heat issues. Can't wait to grind and brew them. I'll post again tomorrow morning. Depending how much of a grind I get out of these beans, I'll do a "pour over" brew in my cone coffee maker and a Moka Pot brew on the stove top.
