Roasting Our Coffee in a Wok on the Stove

This is how we finish some of our coffee right here at the house. No big roaster. Just a wok on the stove, a small batch of beans, and close attention.

The coffee starts out on the ranch, of course. We grow it here, harvest it here, remove the cherry, dry the beans in the sun, and rub off the parchment once it loosens. By the time it reaches the wok, a lot of the work is already in it.

Once the beans hit the hot wok, they need motion the whole time. I keep them moving so they roast evenly and do not scorch in one spot. Then it is mostly color, smell, and sound. The beans darken little by little, the aroma starts to rise, and then you listen for that first crack. That is the part I like most, because you can feel the roast turning the corner.

This kind of small-batch roasting teaches you a lot fast. You do not need much equipment, but you do need to pay attention. Roast too much at once and it gets hard to manage. Roast a small enough batch and you can stay with it all the way through, then cool it down promptly when it is where you want it.

It fits the way we handle food on this mountain. The same coffee that flowered out white on the hillside, then dried in the sun, ends up in the kitchen with a smell that fills the whole room.

And the cup is good. Very aromatic, clean, and fresh. That is one nice thing about roasting this way. The distance from plant to cup is not very far at all.