Roasting coffee

For the last few years we have been roasting our own coffee. Yes you are right,  we are coffee snobs. There is logic in it though. Since I can't drink a lot of coffee for health reasons,  we only have 2 cups a day.  They had better be good cups!

We buy green beans which store indefinitely. This is a good thing on a farm where storage without bug infiltration can be an issue. Even bugs know coffee is better roasted.

I roast the beans in a big pot on the braai.  It's a very smoky business so is best done outside anyway. It requires a hot fire so I feed it constantly with small logs. It also requires constant stirring or the beans will burn on 1 side and not roast.
The beans go through 2 "cracks " where you can hear the beans popping.  We like our coffee full roasted and nice and dark. Lots of smoke as it comes to the end.

Then the beans must be cooled quickly - rather like pasta. I allow them to cool completely before grinding. And I only grind enough for a day. It makes a huge difference to the taste. So much is lost in flavour over days.

So you can do it too. It's worth it for those lovely cups of coffee.

Btw, roasting leaves black oil inside your pot. I clean mine with dish soap and lemon and sand or coarse salt. Works like a bomb.