How To Roast Coffee at Home: An Easy Budget Hack

I am so excited to share one of our family's easiest budget hacks with you.  This has saved us a ton of money! I'm going to share with you how to roast coffee at home!

My husband is a total coffee snob…and while I thrive on my morning hot chocolate, he would be completely lost without coffee…and not just any coffee. He is totally picky about his coffee.

Not only does he want fair trade beans, but he's also all about how they were roasted, when they were roasted, and the type of flavor produced.  Apparently,  you can pay a lot of money for coffee and still get crud in a cup.

And since we're all about being as frugal as possible in our journey to buy our next home, I despise the thought of spending $5 for a cup of coffee at coffee shops when it's something we can make at home.

Last year, my husband decided to learn how to roast coffee beans at home.

What we found while learning to roast our own coffee beans is that besides being SO EASY to do, it saved us a bunch of money.  He is drinking the high-quality coffee he wants and saving money at the same time.

Not sure what to do with all the money you're going to save? Check out our 52 Week Money Challenge!!!

What You Need to Roast Coffee At Home

Hot Air Popcorn MakerSingle Origin Unroasted Green Coffee BeansBaratza Encore Conical Burr Coffee GrinderHario Ceramic Coffee Mill – “Skerton Plus”

 

How to Roast Coffee At Home

Don't let the DIY aspect of this make you nervous. There are really few things in life that you can make at home that take so little time or financial investment as roasting coffee beans. Let me walk you through it below!

Easy Steps to Your Best Cup of Coffee!

Before you get started, I want to give one suggestion…do this on the porch if possible.  While you are roasting coffee beans, the husks will blow out and make a mess.  It's easier to sweep them off the porch then to try to get them off every surface of your kitchen!

1. Turn your air popper on and let it heat up for a minute or so before you begin.
2. Take the measuring cup included with your air popper to measure your unroasted green coffee beans and pour them into the hot air popper.
3. Turn a stopwatch on at this time for 6 minutes.
4. For the first two minutes lightly shake the air popper to get an even roast.
5. For the final four minutes just let the air popper do what it does.
6. At six minutes turn the air popper off and pour your roast beans in to a colander to begin the cooling process. You can pick out any extra “husks” here.
7. Add your beans to a large sheet pan and spread them thin to continue to cool and “breathe”.
8. Once cooled store your roasted coffee beans in an airtight mason jar or storage bag.

A Good Cup of Joe

Once you roast your own coffee you will need to grind your own beans. In all honesty, you'll want to make sure you have a really good electric coffee grinder. My husband absolutely LOVES this one. We use this manual grinder when we travel and we use our electric coffee grinder at home. We tried a few electric grinders before we found one that gave us an even grind which produced better flavor. You can grind a larger amount and store it or grind just enough grounds for each cup. It is up to you.

Also, if you're still using a coffee pot, it's time to step into the light. My husband switched to pour-over coffee and will never look back. Pour over and French Press are two methods of brewing coffee that will rock your morning cup of Joe! If you haven't yet, you need to try it just to compare it against your standard coffee pot cup.

Also, if you're measuring your beans instead of weighing them, you're missing out.  Using a precision scale like this one will help you get the perfect cup of coffee every time.

Last but not least, one of my all-time favorite kitchen gadgets is this variable temperature kettle.  I have discovered that I like my hot chocolate at a precise temperature and my husband knows the exact temperature he needs for the perfect cup of coffee.   This is the most-used item in our kitchen as it gets used multiple times every. single. day!

Coffee Makes A Great Gift

Consider sharing your coffee with friends! We love sharing our coffee with people we know. Fresh home-roasted coffee makes a great gift year-round for those you love. 

Coffee roasting is a budget-friendly hobby for many families. You can try so many different flavors from around the world and the kids can help with the roasting.  Total win-win!

Pin This For Later

If you roast your own coffee at home, let us know what you think below in the comments!