Roasting coffee

Has anyone successfully roasted green coffee beans in an oven?

Man John, I have not. So far I've only roasted green coffee beans in a cast iron skillet, but having to stir pretty dang constantly in order to keep flipping them over to roast each half (and roasting this way STILL seems so easy to burn/overroast any given amount of beans).

I've also used an old air popcorn popper (the plug-in electric kind, called "Popperie" or something like that). That does alright, but very small quantities, and given that each popperful can take 10 mins or so, or longer in the winter, yeah, it's not really the way to go for any reasonable quantity.

Then I have also gotten to use a propane-burner rotisserie style setup. Honestly this latter so far might be my favorite as it roasts pretty evenly and continually, and it constantly spins and dumps the mass of beans around and around and around. It also does better at getting a hot mass of air in and around each and every bean, roasting all areas of each bean a lot better than say the cast iron skillet. I myself haven't bought any kind of rotisserie style roasting setup for myself yet though, mostly because of..............money.

Hi Cody,

I have used a caste iron skillet as well as a stove top popcorn popper. I recently ran into a reference to oven roasting. It makes sense in terms of maintaining a steady temperature. I have run into references to 275f for 20 minutes …and various variations on that .

I agree with everything Cody stated.
I also tried roasting in a cast-iron skillet, and I got the same results.
A popcorn roaster was suggested, but since we are off-grid, we do not use electric heating elements.
A rotating pan heated with propane would be closest to how my coffee roaster in Sandpoint cooks his beans.

Give the oven a try, John, and let us know how it works.
I wonder if you need to stir it while baking?
Are fresh green beans lower in cost?
I would guess that a green bean would store longer than a roasted bean.

The no stir part is what attracts me….as well as the opportunity for consistency with outcomes.

I used to be able to buy green coffee in 25 pound bags pretty cheap compared to the grocery store prices. A recent search was depressing. Of those sources I checked, bulk green prices may have been a little higher … hard to tell with today’s prices.   It was just about impossible to find a 25 pound bag.

I haven't had green coffee beans in a while.
I do remember always roasting in my dutch oven and just planning to stand there stirring for a long time ....up to a half hour?
There was a 'first crack' sound to listen for and the glossiness of the beans when they begin to release oils.  'second crack' was a darker roast... have forgotten all the nuances and observations along the way but seems like roasting in the oven would make things hard to judge?

I do remember it filled the room with a not very pleasant smokey smell...I thought roasting coffee beans would smell wonderful🙄

I would have kept it up because it made delicious coffee but the green beans were hard for me to find and did get more expensive.

I just checked on a 25 pound of  Brazilian coffee of unknown quality at around $7.50 a pound. I have a can of Folgers at $18.00 for a little over 2 pounds.  So $15 vs 18.  But there is shipping to tack onto that lower price.  Given the variables, I am not too excited.

Edit:  I just found Colombian for around $6.50 a pound..shipping included …in 65# boxes.   While I do like coffee, I have to wonder how long it will take for me to go through 65 pounds…and what flavor that final cup might have.

A while back I bought 100 used coffee sacks. I think they cost me $20 plus shipping and it's one of the best micro investments I ever made. Sometimes when I got out a fresh bag there would be a handful of green coffee beans left in the bottom, so I got to wondering about how to make the most of those.

I got out my cheapo heat gun and a stainless steel colander, and went to work. The results were impressive, and I learned a few important things:

1. Always do this outside. The smell is not all that nice thanks to the skins coming off the beans and burning.

2. The skins fly around and go everywhere.

3. Keep the beans moving around and watch for the oils to accumulate on the surface as well as the colour. This is how you control the darkness.

4. Don't try to do too much at once. My best batches were a couple of handfuls, maybe a cup at most.

When I worked at the local coffee shop, where the owner roasted coffee in-house, and sold as much wholesale as resale, I learned a few little things (not enough, but any means, to truly *know* the art of it), about roasting. One of the things that I learned has had me thinking about getting a second popcorn maker, like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Gourmet-Electric-Measuring-Reversible/dp/B09226X5TK/ref=mp_s_a_1_7

We have and love our first one, for popcorn - but I've been thinking about one dedicated for coffee roasting, because it's very much like a mini (micro?) coffee roaster, in the constant stirring feature. The bowl would contain the shells, and the clear top would still allow one to see the stage the coffee is at in the process. The 'butter vent' in the top can be uncovered, allowing for a full 'nose', to discern the doneness.

*IF* I'm remembering correctly, according to Kenny (I can't ask, as he passed away a few years ago)
Right after the 'first crack' is a 'light roast'.
A few minutes later, but before 'second crack' is 'medium roast'
And, right after 'second crack' is a dark roast, with a few minutes longer being the French roast - my personal favorite.
But, Kenny only used those points as a basic guideline - the rest was by the 'nose'.

If you're able to find one, a local coffee bean buying co-op would be able to get the best prices, because of the volume discounts, and would likely allow its members coordinated access to different coffees from around the world. Kenny loved to scout the planet for different coffees, and working for him was a fun & fantastic boon to my coffee knowledge and palette. He is the reason I have 4 grinders and a decent espresso maker, lol.