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There are many sizes and types of coffee
roasters available, ranging from factory machines, helped by sophisticated
quenching-devices and automatic timers, with the capacity to roast
hundreds of pounds of beans, down to tiny "professional" batch roasters
which roast no more than a couple of hundred grams. Some companies use
"high-yield" roasters, developed in the 1970s, which "roast" beans in
relatively small amounts, but in a matter of precisely-timed seconds,
perhaps up to two minutes, on fluidized "beds" of hot air rather than with
the directly-transferred heat of metal drums. Called high-yield because
the beans' surface areas expand so much as to produce more coffee when
ground, these roasters are not favored by many experts, who feel that the
high-yield flavor is not as fully developed and round as that produced in
conventional roasters.
There are small table-top roasters for the domestic market, but they can
be hard to find, and expensive when located. Many people find it a joy to
roast small amounts of coffee in frying pans over a cooker-burner (on the
stove). (Oven-roasting is not recommended namely because it is not
possible to keep the beans moving, and the roast is therefore usually very
uneven and uncontrollable.) To roast coffee beans correctly, use a heavy,
possibly cast-iron, frying pan, which has been warmed up. Add a single
layer of beans over a low heat, increasing the heat to high as they roast,
stirring constantly with a wooden spatula. In some Middle-Eastern
countries whole spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or
fennel may be added, to be ground with them later. Other countries
actually roast the beans in small amounts of butter or sugar. depending on
the desired flavor.
When the beans are roasted to the desired color, they must be cooled
immediately, perhaps by putting them into a pre-chilled container, or onto
a very cold surface. It is not advisable to grind beans for brewing
immediately after roasting as the flavor will be sharp, green and sour. To
achieve the desired mellowness of a good brew, do not grind until the
coffee beans have had time to de-gas, preferably for a minimum of 12
hours.
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