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Home Roasting Coffee with the Fresh RoastThere are many ways to home roast coffee. INeedCoffee has home roasting tutorials using a popcorn popper, Hearthware Precision, wok, and both an electric and gas oven. Now, I'm about to show the easiest method of them all: The Fresh Roast Coffee Bean Roaster. The Fresh Roast is a small batch coffee roaster that runs off electricity. Just plug it in and roast. Is it the right roaster for you? We'll look into that after I walk you through a roasting session. About the Fresh RoastThe Fresh Roast can roast 2-2.5 oz of green coffee beans per batch, which yields enough for about 10-12 cups of coffee. If you and your household consume a lot of coffee then a larger capacity roaster may be more appropriate. The roast completes in a very fast 3-5 minutes. It is also the most quiet roaster I've used. The pictures below were all taken from an outside patio, but this roaster can easily work indoors. As with any indoor roasting, make sure you have proper ventilation and you can disable the smoke detector.
Starting The RoastTelling someone how to roast with a Fresh Roast is like teaching someone how to make toast. To say it is simple is an understatement. Pour in the green coffee beans, set the toggle to either "LIGHT" or "DARK", close the lid, and turn the timer. Now just let the roaster do its job. That's all there is to roasting with the Fresh Roast.
Ending The RoastThe one drawback I found to the Fresh Roast is that it doesn't do a great job of cooling down. Because of this I suggest using an oven mitt or towel to remove the lid once the roast is complete. Usually the first roast isn't exceptionally hot, but each subsequent roast gets hotter. Once the machine has cooled off, empty the chaff basket.
Advanced TopicsSome roasters may desire to monkey with their Fresh Roast machine to get the roast to slow down or accelerate the cooling of the beans. That's beyond the scope of this article, but there is a resource to help those who wish to improve upon the original design. Sweet Maria's which sells both home roasting equipment and green coffee beans has a Home Coffee Roasting Mailing List. This is an excellent resource for all home roasters, not just users of the Fresh Roast machine. ConclusionIf you are looking for an easy way to get started in home roasting coffee, the Fresh Roast is a great product. Roasters who prefer a more slowly roasted coffee or something that can handle a larger volume would not be ideal users of this roaster. Below is a chart that will help you determine if the Fresh Roast is best for you.
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