just thought I'd tell you I have just made a cup of coffee from beans I roasted myself. Bought the green beans from an ebay site, then 'roasted' them in a cast iron saucepan (not non-stick) and ground them (after cooling in a ceramic basin) with my trusted stick blender. First brew was pretty good. Some of the beans were pretty well charcoaled, some were only just brown, so more stirring needed, I think, but a promising start.

Bought a few different beans, but the Monsoon Malabar sounds interesting, and brings this topic back on track! Can't believe how cheap the green beans were compared to the ready roasted ones, the price of 'added value' I suppose!

So how did the next lot of roasting go Helen?

A bit better, Mamta. I used the Malabar type, this time, and roasted very carefully, a bit too carefully, as it turned out to be a mild roast, with only one or two beans burnt, the rest a soft brown, rather than dark.

The cuppa I made from them was fine, no bitterness at all, but virtually no flavour. I added some commercial roasted coffee beans, and that made a lot of difference, quite satisfying, and again, no bitterness.

So I need to figure out how I can roast the beans to get flavour, but not to burn any. It's not easy in a pan.

Perhaps in an oven?

no control, and beans do need to be kept moving, it seems that turning a bean from raw to charcoal happens very quickly indeed, much faster than ordinary cooking!

Common designs of roasters seem to have a perforated revolving drum and source of fierce heat.

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/CooAAOSwoydWjM~m/s-l400.jpg

I am not a coffee drinker. When I do, I prefer decaf. instant, find filter coffee too strong. Subtleties of coffee are beyond me, I am afraid!

I was the same, Mamta, until my son worked as a barista in New York while studying for his Engineering degree (in the UK!) He came to see me, and I gave him some coffee, he didn't say anything, but quickly added milk. I vowed to start looking at making decent coffee after that. I'm still learning.

After deciding to make my own coffee roaster, I have bought a perforated metal cylinder (from China, where else?) and intend to connect a metal rod up the middle of it to a stepper motor to turn the cylinder, which will hang over the gas cooker. Fortunately, I studied digital electronics at Cambridge, so I should be able to do the electronics to make the motor work!

None of us are born with any knowledge of cooking (or brewing) so we all go through some steep learning curves. Some mistakes that I have made have been very instructive! Merry Christmas to you, Mamta, and yours.

Merry Christmas to you Helen.

I can't drink caffeinated coffee anymore, it gives me headaches and keeps me awake at night. That is why I gave it up about 20 years ago :). I don't miss it and actually don't like the taste of any strong coffee any more, though the aroma is still enticing :)

Hot air popcorn popper can be used to roast green coffee beans at home.

It's a common small, low cost appliance readily available in USA.

Just place the beans in & let it rip. You can see the degree of roasting.

thanks JMA, I'm in the UK. I don't think all poppers are suitable, and only do small batches. I have the stainless steel basket now, and I've ordered a threaded rod and nuts so I'm well on my way. Thanks for the idea. Wonder if it will do spices?