When it comes to brewing the perfect cup of coffee, freshness is key. One of the ways that you can ensure your coffee will remain fresh is to roast it yourself. Roasted coffee will begin to lose its flavor after ten days. Many suppliers do make sure that coffee is sold in sealed protective bags and these are effective. However, if you want to be certain that your coffee is the absolute freshest that it can be, you will want to purchase the beans and roast them on your own.

You can purchase a home roaster and roast your beans on your own, or you can roast them in a pan. In addition to purchasing a coffee roaster, you can also roast your own coffee beans in a popcorn popper.

When coffee beans are in their truest form and are not roasted, they are green, small, and hard. Roasting your own coffee beans gives you greater control over the amount of flavor your finished cup of coffee will have. It's also important to realize that coffee beans that are not roasted will last for a very long time, years even, so that you may cultivate the art of roasting your own coffee, slowly. Use trial and error and experiment with different flavorings and blends until you determine the roasting process that delivers the level of flavor that you enjoy best. After roasting coffee beans, they are more susceptible to losing their flavor. It is important to store roasted coffee beans in a sealed container to prevent them from exposure to air.

Also, let roasted coffee beans rest for at least five hours before grinding. This ensures that they will have the most flavors.

When you purchase a commercial roaster, the instructions for operation will be included. If you are going to roast the coffee beans in an oven you should use a large cast iron skillet. Make sure that oven is preheated to 525. Make sure that all the beans are spread evenly and are in a thin row don't pile the beans on top of one another.

You will know the beans are roasted by their color change. With the high temperature of the oven, it won't take longer than fifteen minutes for your coffee beans to be completely roasted. Once roasted the beans will have chaff that must be separated, this can be accomplished by placing them in a colander and shaking them, the chaff will fall through the holes. After roasted coffee beans have cooled, they should be used within ten days.