Oven Roasting

The next roasting method we’ll discuss is oven roasting. Though oven roasting can produce good drinkable coffee, it is probably the least consistent and most difficult home-roasting method. This is primarily because it is impossible to keep the beans in constant motion and therefore the beans do not receive consistent heat on all sides. Also, when the beans are stirred a great amount of heat is lost through the open oven door.

Despite these difficulties, experimenting with different roasting methods is the best way to learn roasting techniques and become a better, more consistent roaster. So don’t be afraid to give it a shot!

To begin you’ll need:

  • An oven or toaster oven.
  • A cast iron skillet or baking sheet.
  • A metal colander.
  • Oven mitts or gloves.
  • A wooden spoon for stirring the beans.
  • ½ cup to 1 cup green coffee beans.

Preheat your oven to 450F. Put about a half inch of green coffee in the bottom of your skillet or baking sheet. Place the beans in the oven and shut the door.

Once the beans are in the oven you’ll want to stir them with your wooden spoon every minute or two. When you do this it is important to DO IT QUICKLY because a lot of heat is lost through the open oven door. If the beans are not stirred often then they will develop burn spots.

After a few minutes you will begin to see smoke coming from the beans and you’ll hear the beginnings of the cracking. Watch the beans closely from this point on because they will develop fast.

As the color and smell of the beans change keep stirring and get ready to cool (don’t forget that the beans keep roasting after you’ve removed them from heat).

When the beans have reached the desired roast remove them from the oven and dump them into the metal colander. You MUST stir the beans continually during cooling; this will also help remove the chaff that loosened during the roast.

Keep stirring the beans until they are cool to the touch.