The probably simplest method to roast coffee yourself: Spread raw coffee beans evenly on the bottom of a pan and heat them on the stove while stirring constantly. After about 5 to 10 minutes, the beans start to "crack"; after about 20 minutes even a second time. The "cracking" is called 1st crack or 2nd crack in roasting jargon. For very lightly roasted coffee, remove the beans immediately after the 1st crack from the pan and cool them down as quickly as possible. For a medium or darker roast, leave them in the oven a little longer - but no longer than the 2nd crack. For more information on what exactly happens during roasting, you can find in this post; Details on the different roasting levels can be found in this post. As for the equipment, this method is tempting: You need nothing more than a pan, a cooking spoon, and a hotplate. But unfortunately, that's all there is to the advantages. Because roasting coffee in the pan produces a lot of smoke, and it is even recommended to wear safety glasses, as the beans tend to jump into your face when cracking. All this would be acceptable if the roasting result were right. But unfortunately, it doesn't convince: When roasting in the pan, the beans are roasted very unevenly - some spots are dark, others are still almost unroasted. For a good roasting result (and ultimately fine coffee), the raw coffee beans must be evenly roasted from all sides. This is unfortunately impossible with pan roasting. Conclusion: For very first roasting attempts or experiments, the method is okay. But if you want to roast fine coffee yourself, this method won't get you far.

Another method to roast coffee with existing kitchen equipment: Roasting coffee in the oven. In this method, you place the raw coffee beans next to each other on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and slide them into the hot convection oven. Occasionally, open the oven and turn the beans. After about 5 to 10 minutes, the beans crack for the 1st time, and after about 20 minutes for the 2nd time. With this method as well, you decide when the roasting process is finished: For very lightly roasted coffee, remove the beans from the oven after the 1st crack and quickly cool them down; for a medium or darker roast, leave them longer, up to a maximum of the 2nd crack, in the oven.

The advantages of this method: Oven, baking sheet, and spatula are probably all items we have at home in the kitchen – so you don't need any new, expensive purchases for roasting. Unlike pan roasting, you also don't need protective gear, and there will be hardly any emission complaints from neighbors. At most, you will need to thoroughly clean your oven after roasting, as bean husks can swirl around and stick due to the convection heat. If you wash the beans before roasting, there will be less cleaning work.

Compared to roasting in a pan, you can roast more coffee at once in the oven and achieve a slightly more balanced roasting result. However, even in the oven, the beans are not evenly roasted from all sides. Conclusion: The coffee is slightly better in the oven than in the pan – but still not really good.

Who says popcorn machines are only for popcorn? With hot air and continuous circulation of coffee beans, better coffee roasting results can be achieved with the popcorn machine than in a pan or oven.

For this method, you need the (manageable) investment in a popcorn machine. Place the unroasted coffee beans in it and off you go: the raw beans are rotated in the hot air stream of the popcorn machine. After about 4 minutes, you will hear the beans crack for the 1st time, and it takes another 10 to 15 minutes until the 2nd crack. With this method as well, for very lightly roasted coffee, you can take the beans out of the oven after the 1st crack and let them cool – for a medium or dark roast, leave them longer, up to the 2nd crack in the popcorn machine.

The advantages of this method: Due to the hot air stream of the popcorn machine, the coffee beans are constantly moving during roasting and are roasted more evenly than in a pan or oven. This also improves the coffee quality. The popcorn method is therefore suitable for those who like to experiment and rarely roast small amounts of coffee. However, you should definitely roast outside: the airflow of the popcorn machine blows off the silver skins from the coffee – and you definitely don't want them spread all over the kitchen.

The most professional method for roasting coffee at home: Roasting with a small coffee roasting machine, a so-called home roaster. With this, depending on the model, you can roast up to 1kg of green coffee in 12 to 15 minutes. The coffee is roasted evenly and gently in these machines. The most important difference to other roasting methods: when roasting with a home roaster, the parameters important for roasting such as temperature and time can be precisely controlled and adjusted. Only in this way can all flavour notes be extracted from a high-quality coffee and the roasting can be adapted to the bean type and brewing preference. When cooking, we also do not prepare all ingredients at the same temperature and time. Conclusion: With a home roaster, the beans are roasted evenly and gently - you get delicious, fresh coffee in 12 to 15 minutes! If you want to regularly roast coffee at home that should taste like coffee from a (professional) roastery, then investing in a coffee home roaster is worthwhile.