Today I received a delivery of 65 lbs green coffee from the USA.

I really looked forward to taste the coffee from the farm La Finca La Rubia in Nicaragua.

This coffee is really fair trade. La Finca is a small paradise in the mountains of Nicaragua, an otherwise poor country.

Their workers are decently paid and all profit from the production is spent on sponsoring youth camps at La Finca for poor Nicaraguan teenagers.

Coffee has been grown in Nicaragua since the 1800s and Nicaraguan coffee was widely known as high quality coffee. Tornados, political instability and civil war had a devastating effect on Nicaraguan coffee production. However, today we see a real comeback for high quality coffee from Nicaragua, known for its mild taste with little acidity and aromatic taste of citrus, vanilla and nuts.

The smell during roasting is heavenly, this has to taste good!

Finca la Rubia roasted slightly into second crack

Ready for a cup of drip coffee

Wow – this coffee is fantastic!

I have just received my new American steel drum for coffee roasting.

According to the metal craftsman I found on eBay, I may now roast batches up to five pounds of coffee at a time on my gas grill with a rotisserie.

First test roast of 3.5 lbs green beans

The drum is filled with beans and the rotisserie turns the drum!

Depending on ambient and grill temperature, after 20-40 minutes we can hear the beans go through their first crack, giving a popping sound as their core temperature has risen to 390 F (200 C).

As the core temperature reaches 440 F (225 C) the weaker second crack is heard.

Finished coffee!

Green coffee beans are available in some coffee shops and many web shops, eBay is also a great place to buy unroasted coffee.

Coffee may be roasted in many different ways, at home you may use the stove or a frying pan. Light roasting may be done indoor. However, roasting on the darker side causes a lot of smoke development. Roasting outdoor on the gas grill saves a lot of trouble associated with smoke and chaff in the kitchen.

You can use a regular roasting tin and spread the green beans evenly as one layer. In this way you may roast at least half a pound in one session. In an emergency situation you may even roast coffee beans on a sheet of aluminum foil on gas or charcoal grill.

I usually turn the heat to maximum and leave the grill open for a couple of minutes, this will dry the beans before the roasting process starts. During roasting you can keep the grill closed and open it every 4-5 minutes, shake the tin to spread the heat and close the grill again.

Continue to shake the tin or stir the beans every 4-5 minutes and keep up the heat.

As the temperature inside the beans reaches 390 F (200 C) they crack and make a popping sound, almost as popping popcorn. After this first crack the coffee is light roast.

When the core temperature of the beans is 440 F (225 C) they crack for the second time. After this second crack the beans are dark roast with a dark oily surface.

How dark you roast the coffee is a matter of taste and the different popping sounds indicate how dark the coffee has become when the grill is closed.