Green Coffee Beans
We are happy to supply green raw coffee beans for the home coffee roaster
What are the best green coffee beans to start roasting at home?
What are the best green coffee beans to start roasting at home? We suggest the best coffee beans to use when starting roasting is probably washed Colombian beans. Most coffees that come out of Colombia are washed.
Why use a washed green bean if you start roasting coffee beans at home?
Washed green beans are a little more forgiving and can take a little abuse and still create a coffee that is drinkable! The Colombian green coffee beans are especially good for this and will reward you with something quite special once you have nailed your technique. They also have a lot to offer in terms of what you will get out of them. You can get a bright fruity coffee and a dark chocolate taste profile all from the same bean.
So if you’re new to roasting green beans at home, start by ordering some quality Colombian green beans and have fun trying different roast profiles. We suggest you start by dropping them just before the second crack. Then try dropping your beans towards the end of the first crack. There is far more to profiling coffee roasting but this is a good starting point.
TIP, try your coffee just after roasting and again in 3 or 4 days. In general, roasted coffee tastes better after a few days and will keep changing up to 24 days after.
Let us know how you get on…
What are green coffee beans?
Green coffee beans are coffee in its raw state. There are usually two coffee beans to every coffee cherry with the exception of peaberry beans which only have 1 green coffee bean per coffee cherry. The green bean is essentially the nut or stone of the coffee cherry. The coffees once picked are processed by different methods the main ones in very broad terms are:
- Naturally processed beans are allowed to dry unaffectedly – usually in the sun – before removing the outer mucus of the coffee bean.
- A washed green coffee bean is fermented slowing the outer coffee skin to become soft and then removed using a washing process.
- Honeyed or semi-washed which is somewhere in between natural coffee and washed coffee.
FAQ’S
How can I roast my own coffee at home?
Roasting coffee is art form, however there are ways in which you can roast green beans at home. You are essentially looking to turn your green beans brown by using heat. A few popular methods include home popcorn machines, your oven, frying pans or more expensive home roasting machines. Whilst you will no doubt have more luck and information roasting on home roasting machines such as an Ikawa, you can have varying success using the other methods. Be aware of the messy by product of chaff. You will also need to remove your beans from the heat source once you hit the required colour and temperature as they will continue to roast.
What do I need to roast my own coffee?
What do I need to roast my own coffee? You will need green beans (as found on this page), some roasting equipment (roaster, popcorn make, frying pan etc), a metal collander to empty your roasted beans into.
Where do the best green beans come from?
There is no real best place, to source green coffee beans as every origin has good and bad variations of coffee however we find most home roasters tend to have a lot of success with Brazilian and Colombian coffees.
How do you store green coffee beans long term?
Keep them in a cool, dry place away from any stong smells or exposure to UV light. This will help them to maintain their freshness and flavour profile much longer.
Are green beans good for you?
Whilst you can’t actually brew green coffee beans in the same way that you could with say a green tea, coffee is known to have many health benefits such as lowering disk of type 2 diatbetes, support in brain and heart health, as well as lowering your chances of depression. Just remember to roast it first!
Are green coffee beans unroasted?
Yes, so green beans are essentially coffee in it’s raw state. They are not actually a bean, but a seed from a cherry. Green beans are extremely hard and don’t smell of ‘coffee’. They need to be roasted to be consumed.
What's the difference between green and brown coffee beans?
Green beans are just coffee in it’s raw state, you shouldn’t actually consume green beans and you can’t really grind them without doing possible damage to your grinder. Brown bbeans are after the coffee has been roasted, they will essentially pop during the roasting process kind of like popcorn. This makes the coffee much less durable and easier to grind and extract from.
How long do green beans last?
Green beans last much longer than roasted coffee, you can keep them for a couple of years. However, they are much better fresher than this, we would recommend around 12 months. If you keep them much longer they will start to develop an aged taste such as wood or cardboard once roasted.
