Freshly Roasted & Ground Coffee Recipe

Coffee beans come from two species of a tropical tree, Coffea canephora and Coffea arabica. They are not legumes as they are not members of Fabaceae, the legume family. The beans are actually the seeds of the coffee berry, which is red and resembles a cherry when ripe.

Roasting Fresh Coffee Beans

There are many ways to roast Coffee.

We make our coffee by first pre-heating the beans in the oven in a stainless pan with strong handles @ 180 degC (350 degF) for about 20 minutes; this allows the beans to become an even temperature for the final roasting.

The final roasting is done on our wood fired BBQ outside.

We use a stainless pot with strong handles because the pot has to be shaken while the beans are roasting to allow the beans get a uniform amount of heat. The roasting process can produce a lot of smoke and smell as well, and it can also make a bit of a mess from the chaff that has to be blown or shaken off, making it better to do this outside.

Equipment needed

A large colander or bowl for cooling down

An oven that you can set at 180 degC (350 degF)

A light weight 10 inch pan or skillet with handles and a tight fitting lid

A pair of oven mittens for handling hot things

A large gas ring or BBQ type fire (the pot has to reach 230 to 250 deg C or 450 to 500 degF) A large long handled spoon for stirring (Handy but not inessential)

The method

Evenly cover the bottom of the pan with green coffee beans.

Put the pan containing the beans uncovered in oven at 180 degC (350 degF) for 20 minutes.

While the beans are heating start fire burning to high heat or have gas ring ready to light. For the final roast they have to reach 475 to 500 degF (240 to 255 deg C).

When the beans are evenly heated put the lid on and move pan with the beans on to a fire or gas ring. While roasting the beans, shake the pan vigorously, this allows the beans to be roasted evenly, roast the beans for 3 to 5 minutes or until you hear the beans start to crack

Remove them from the heat and continue shaking for several minutes.

Check the color of the beans (see the list below).

The beans will keep roasting after they have being taken from the heat until they cool down, so to get a darker roast cool them slowly, to stop the roasting process, tip beans into colander or bowl and shake the beans tossing them into air, this also removes the chaff.

Fresh coffee is best stored in air tight jar, but should be allowed to breath for first 12 hours as it gives of CO2, so put the air tight lid on after 24 hours.

Roasted beans are at their peak 4 to 24 hours after roasting and can be stored for up to 6 days after which they start to lose their freshness. Ground coffee should be used within 1 hour

The Color of Beans when Roasted

1. Light brown: This color is generally not recommended as it can result in a sour taste. The body is weak, the aroma medium and the sweetness low.
2. Light-medium brown: Has a full body, a full aroma, and a mild sweetness.
3. Medium-dark brown: This roast is also known as a Light French or Viennese roast. It has a very full body, a strong aroma, and a strong sweetness this is how we like it.
4. Full medium brown: Has a full body, strong aroma, and mild sweetness.

1. Dark brown: This is known as espresso or French. It has a full body, a medium aroma, and a full sweetness.
2. Very dark (nearly black): This is also known as Spanish and Dark French. It has a weak body, a mild aroma, and a low sweetness.
3. We Make our coffee by adding 4 heaped tbsp of freshly ground coffee to our 4 mug Crockery Coffee Pot (the same as a Tea Pot) which we then fill with freshly boiled water and a pinch of sea salt (the salt takes away a little of the bitterness from the coffee) and allowing it to infuse for 3 to 5 minutes.