Roasting Coffee in a Skillet by Maine Home Roasters 

The way it's meant to be. I never forget the smell of my granma's kitchen in the mornings when she roasted her own beans, from coffee grown at her backyard in Santiago de Cuba.

Nice video, thanks. As a person from Ethiopia (the origin of coffiee Arabica) we make coffiee three times a day starting from the raw beans. Here, we do not stir it the entire time; we stir it occasionally. Actually, it depends on the amount of heat. The higher the heat the more the stirring frequency.

THIS IS SO EERIE.... I sitting here watching all these good "Roasting Coffee" videos and thought to myself, there has got to b more of a simpler way like they did it in the old days... and then I SAW your your video. Thank you so much for sharing this video

Good job 👍 I've got a 14" Lodge cast iron pan that works great. I'm in the California high desert and it's raining 🌧 today so I sat on the porch like you and shook out the chaff☺️. Smells so good. Marc😸

When I first started roasting coffee I found that a wok was the most efficient way to roast on the stove top because of the ability to shake & stir the beans very efficiently.

High off homegrown. Roasting coffee beans. Sky is blue. Woodpecker pecking. Life's good!

As I get ready to roast my first beans, in Maine, I’m searching RU-vid and deciding against popcorn maker, against oven roasting, and $600 toaster oven, looking for advice on just doing it in my cast iron pan, I find this. Amazing. I love the internet. Thanks so much for sharing your passion and experience.

Beautifully done- simple, tasteful- old world.

Watching beans turned from raw to cooked like that feels satisfying.

I use an old steel fry pan with rounded sides and no stirring utensil at all. I keep the pan moving slowly at first like making popcorn the old old way but of course no lid. As the beans warm up I move the pan faster and give the occasional pan flip,then,as the temp reaches it's max I am shaking and flipping them at the max too,not crazy fast though, just fast enough. As you say they keep roasting when removed from the burner so take them off just before reaching the desired color or hit the color and cool them fast. I don't care if all the beans are exactly the same color and I don't get rid of the lighter color ones,if the lighter ones have more caffeine then that's ok with me because I get a good dark roast that wakes me up! Haven't roasted in a long while but plan to this Spring when I can open windows. It is a smokey process so be prepared for that folks. It's too cold outdoors but if I had a garage I would be in it roasting as we speak! Lol,sure as shootin I would be. :) It's 5:15AM and I'm enjoying some Folgers made in my 9 cup percolator. I can hardly wait to try some perk with home roasted beans!! I'm not refined so can never be a connoiseur but I am perfectly qualified to be fanatical. ROAST ON!!

I think this video was more straightforward than most. I followed this method and it yielded at very even roast

Okay... I got my wok roasting on - my first ever home roasted coffee. And, the gas tank went out! A few things though: I forgot about the crackling, which I didn’t hear. I did 200g of Preanger Arabica and managed to get above a blonde and into a light/medium light roast. Couldn’t find a nice deep sifter like yours but found one adequate. Couldn’t find a good size whisk but do have a massive spatula. My wok is about a 38” to 40”, giving the beans lots of stirring room. Got the light roast in the moka pot as I write. Next time, I’ll go for a medium dark, higher flame, and faster roast. It took me 40 minutes to get this light roast!

I just want to report that I was encouraged to try this method because of your video. I also own a GE-style glass top so your visual showed me I ought to be able to do it, too. And here on the West coast we are blessed with a large Ethiopian and Somali population in my community which I have been blessed to join in traditional coffee rituals and among whom I have made friends. A local supermarket in the area sells green beans branded as Ethiopia Yrgacheffe, which I understand to be a pretty good quality coffee. What I don't have is a cast iron pan at the moment. So I used a stainless steel pan that has a very thick base. I've found those to be a very efficient heat on this type of stove. In fact I started the process with the heat set to 5, as you did, but as first crack just began I turned it down to 4 1/2 then a minute or so later to 2 and finally below 1. As I said, my experience with these pans is they are very efficient with the heat. In the end my first attempt seems very encouraging. While the roasting itself decidedly not smell much like the good smell of just-ground coffee. In hindsight I suspect this has more to do with the external roasting temperature and the chaff that must burn more thoroughly in the process. With the burner control reductions described this roughly City Roast level took almost exactly 12 minutes. I also had an escapee or two on the stove that landed near the heat. As I was cleaning up afterward I noticed quite a pool of oil had formed on the ones which had therefore roasted more thoroughly. Which certainly makes me curious to explore the darker side another day. Afterward I cooled the beans in a stainless steel collander, continuing to stir with the same wire whisk. After a couple of false starts (beans escaping through only slightly too-large holes) I found that doing this over a glass mixing bowl allowed me to better retrieve the escapees as well as for gravity to take care of removing most of the chaff. By the time the beans had cooled to barely warm and I had packed them away, I found they had a very pleasingly good coffee aroma. I can't wait to try it tomorrow!

Tried our first batch this morning. Came out better than expected! So cool. Thanks for sharing this info. 😉

Thank you for sharing. Looks great as a finished product.

My man chilling beans in the snow with T-shirt, epic!

Thanks for the demo! I didn't realize it was that simple.

My first roast took a very long time! Will try them out tomorrow!

We are going to go ahead, AND TRY IT!

Hey dear, some roasters believe you should vent your coffee for a long time because it loses its oxygen very quickly and become tasteless or saggy. After roasting the coffee, one must put it quickly in the zip lock bag to preserve the taste of the coffee. What do you think.? Thank you.

I’m down here in baa haabah trying to roast these beans 😂🎉 thanks for the video

Love the simplicity. Keep on going

I have been skillet roasting off & on (mostly off) for about 40 years (I live in Kona). In the old days (before I got a good air roaster) I put the skillet into the oven for an even heating and only stirred occasionally as the beans near the edge roasted faster (more hot iron at the edge). My air roaster died so I have been stove top roasting for a few months. I have been finding that people like the taste of an uneven roast (everything through first crack but minimal second crack- because otherwise it loses the chocolate taste and gets harsh- a taste many like, but not me).

Using the whisk, great idea I never thought of to do. Easier to make a more uniform roast (not that yours resulted in nonuniform) can be to use a saucepan, because higher walls, smaller base area.

What a cool video! And from my home state!

Something to consider, while an iron skillet may retain more even heat, a lighter quality skillet allows for easier modulation of the temperature. A good roast should include temperature variations throughout. Arm fatigue is another downside of a heavy pan. Thanks..

Thanks - I never knew I had such a pet peeve about pans not being centred over the ring of a hob... But the video was really informative and useful; I plan to try roasting some beans tomorrow, so thanks!

Guy: we have the timer device... Timer device: 👀

We have a timer device.. shows a huge ass iPad 😅

Fun process. I like how you separate the beans from the chaff....outdoors in sunny ME!

This was awesome, looking forward to trying it at 9 mile with you guys

Yes, this works great, except 1) you will smoke out your house, and 2) the super light chaff will blow all over the place. I guess if you live in Maine, your just screwed, about 8 months out of the year. But here in Cali, I simply roast outdoors on a 12 in cast iron skillet, on the gas BBQ'er. 1 lb at a time. Getting ready to go to a big, heavy duty burner and a 20" cast iron double handled pan though. 1 lb batches are just too small when you need to do 6 lbs at a time.

Thankyou for this info!!!! Learned so much!

So glad you know about blond roast..people dont understand it has more caffeine

No skillet at home. Don’t think I’ll be adding one any time soon for the kitchen. However, I do have a kilo of raw Preanger Arabica coffee beans that’s been waiting to get hot and roasty. At my kitchen’s disposal there’s a wok and a gas flame stove. No whisk nor sifter, yet - but, after watching this, I’m definitely ready to give roasting at home a good old high school try. (Probably got a semester’s worth of college credit. Don’t think that qualifies me to use the expression: the old college try.) Thanks!

All the way from Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦, Thank you 💗

Thanks so much...looks just like Winnipeg! X

i'm gonna try this but use a chinese method i learned for roasting dried chillis: roasting them in a pan full of coarse salt. it evens out the roast for chillis, so i bet it'll do that for coffee too. it also *doesn't* contribute any saltiness.

im excited to finally roast my own beans. I'm using a clay pot.

Similar to making a roux for gumbo: keep it moving!!

Actually you are only partly correct. Bean for bean dark may have less caffeine but if you brew with weight instead by volume (the recommend method) You end up with more overall beans for the brew. Thus they are approximately equal when brewed properly.

Great video. Thank you.

The caffeine lost from roasting it longer is not very significant. People talk about it but if you wanted the same amount of caffeine in a dark roast than in a light roast , all you would have to do is add a few more beans to your dark roast and it would equate to the amount of caffeine in your light roast

Karl yes

Looks wicked easy to do!! :)

I got some bomb beans from rooster bros in Ellsworth recently. They have a Yirga Chef that blows my mind.

Just watched this, great video! I tried it, and success. But the beans do not smell like coffee??? Plz help

Good video. I roast on a skillet outdoors on my camp stove. My roasts seem to be done by about 10-11 min max for what I consider a med-dark roast. Good idea on the whisk. I've been using a flat wooden spat but I think I detect notes of burnt wooden spoon in my coffees! One suggestion:. Don't say 'go head and ... ' so much. I counted 5 times in this video. Could almost be a drinking game. I'm messing with you!

Nice video. A question: is there "silence" between 1rst and 2nd pop/crack, or is it continuos popping until it reaches some sort of "escalation"? I´ve done a couple of batches and aren´t sure if I´m not reaching 2nd pop or I´m getting there without noticing it...Thank you.

Use an air popcorn maker, best device ever for roasting coffee beans. Quick and effortless

The wider the surface area the better for stirring. Ill use two wisks or a wide mashing tool to stir.

Which (or which one) beans would you use to make a tasty french or Italian roast?

7:13, is that littering? JK. LOL

How do you flavor your roast?

Thanks for sharing.

what was the temp of the skillet when roasting & have you ever used a Whirlly popcorn maker?

Thanks for the awesome video!

That’s a very cool video!!

Very useful. Thanks!

Great lesson, thanks!! I have a rocket stove that I will try this on.

Thanks for sharing. I made a batch on my outside Gasgrill for the first time inspired by this. Made a video if you would care to watch.

7:50 You're getting the "Chaff" off? What is that, and why do you need to get it off the bean?

Very interesting!

Is that a dedicated cast iron skillet just for roasting coffee? I worry about using my Crisco “seasoned” skillet to roast coffee thinking off flavor will ruin the beans. What’s your take on it? Cheers!

Shouldn’t the beans be left for a couple of days for remaining gases to escape?

Very informative. Thank you. Where does one by green beans from? How are they stored?

Great video. I can't help notice that as the movie progresses you move the pan further and further off the heating element. Is that intentional?

Did you mention how hot the stove should be?

Kaleido Sniper home coffee roaster is worth attention

Have you ever counted the times you say "Go ahead" in one day. Hell one hour. lol

How would you flavour the beans? Before or after roasting?

merci

This is awesome! Also you sound a lot like Tom Green.

Great video

Great video !!

This fellow says "go ahead" a lot.

God I love Maine.

I recently roasted coffee in the oven on high heat without stirring and it was a very bad experience! The whole kitchen was covered in smoke and my eyes were burning. It's cool you are roasting them when it's snowy outside. Is it normal for beans to be very dark brown (almost half of them are black) and taste like burnt popcorn? Did I burn them and should discard? I grinded then boiled them in water, tasted special (cause I used single origin Ethiopian coffee beans) but slightly burnt...

Wht a idea ..thnx ,👍👍👍

the seeds got peel right? do we need to peel the seeds before roasting it or we can roast it directly?

I roast outside on my grill with an iron skillet. Beware...neighbors will want to try a cup when made.

Nice video. But..... a) centre your pan! Especially towards the end you were half off (unless, of course, not having the pan fully on the heat sources is part of the technique - in which case, tell us that and explain why) b) let us know how high you turn the heat up - do you go medium or high heat? Thanks

Do this in a carbon steel wok. You get even roast and super control.

I think you should purse a carrier as a sport commentator..

Why do you only have the pan halfway on the eye?

A quick note to what you said about caffeine: caffeine is stable during the roasting process, meaning there's basically the same amount of caffeine in a light and dark roast. However when you roast, water is expelled and caffeine gets relatively concentrated as density falls, thus resulting in relatively more caffeine per brewed cup of coffee in darker roasts than in lighter roasts.

Really metal on metal grinder?

In my apartment I do not have any exhaust vent over my stove. Is it still OK to roast the coffee or is it going to be too smoky? Thank you.

Thank you sir

good video!

In western times during round up's and cattle drives, cocino would roast the coffee first thing in a dutch oven. This is the same one used for biscuits and cobblers. The dutch oven would have generous amounts of bacon grease added for biscuits. Cleaning between the coffee roasting and biscuit cooking was nothing more than a wipe. I have eaten biscuits made in a 120 year old dutch oven that was used on round-up's and roasted coffee. No coffee flavor at all. Besides, having something specific for coffee roasting would take up valuable space in the chuckwagon.

Jeg er glad for de ting han har lært mig. Hvorfor hæver han tonen mens han taler? Det lyder som om han stiller spørgsmål

How high heat?

its nice see roasted coffee beans

I just roasted some beans for the first time and I got a medium roast because I didn't want to overdo it. Can I reroast them again to try to get a darker roast? Or is that a big no no?

Does it taste much better than say Starbucks etc???

Go ahead, try it, go ahead

I'm so ignorant. I never knew this could be done.

Can you grind the coffee beans first in a grinder and then brown them in the pan? Does that make a difference in taste?

Holy smokes that escalated quickly