Fresh Roasted Coffee

I finally got a day off, that wasn't raining or snowing. And this afternoon I was able to take 45 minutes and roast my week's worth of coffee.


It took 5 batches, in my little popcorn popper, to fill the pickle jar. I still haven't heard the elusive "second crack". I am afraid to let them go too long and end up with over-roasted burnt tasting beans. So my strategy is to wait until the roasted beans try to jump out of the popper. This point comes not too long after the "first crack" stage. The beans get fatter and lighter and eventually are jettisoned from the popper, much like popped corn. I find if I leave them in much past this point they get a little burnt. Here is a video of today's roasting. It's rather noisy but you can definitely hear some of the "first cracks" happening during filming.