Air fryers became quite popular because of the many benefits, especially in saving costs and improving health. Many families easily ditched traditional frying methods for them to provide a healthier, cost-effective option for getting foods fried.
What’s more? Several recipes can be made with the air fryer. And there’s even more! You could roast your coffee beans with them!
Many people know that coffee beans can be roasted with the air fryer but have been unsuccessful with some attempts at cooking different types of foods with them.
It’s one thing to get your meat done nicely, make perfect French fries in no time, and produce well-grilled meals. It’s another thing entirely to get your coffee beans roasted perfectly.
While it’s not complicated as we would see in this piece, it is effortless not to get it right.
That’s why we have compiled an easy-to-understand tutorial on roasting coffee beans in an air fryer and perfectly-getting it done each time.
We know that everything has its pros and cons, so we also look at the benefits and disadvantages, if there are any, of using an air fryer to get your coffee beans roasted.
One thing we know many people often get wrong is timing. How long does it take to roast coffee beans with an air fryer? Also, at what temperature? All these and more are answered in this short piece.
Can Coffee be Roasted in an Air Fryer?
Yes. Coffee beans can be roasted in air fryers. Aren’t you excited?
Of all the great things air-fryers do, roasting coffee beans is one that many users love. Without a doubt, makers of air-fryers didn’t design them with coffee in mind, so it’s one of the unconventional things it does. However, it gets the job done. And it does conveniently.
Typically, you’d use an oven or coffee roaster, but there’s nothing wrong with using an air-fryer if you don’t feel like using an oven at the moment. The effort is minimal, but the result is just as great.
Air fryers work best for light to medium roast coffee beans, although you can also achieve dark roast, but not that easy. By preheating your fryer to about 450° F and loading your layer of beans in the basket, you can get them roasted perfectly to the color and flavor you desire.
No, you can’t put your beans in there and go to bed. You must keep watching, so it doesn’t roast beyond your desired level.
It is easier to find an air fryer in homes than coffee roasters. So, if you’ve put off roasting coffee beans yourself till you buy a coffee roaster, you can start using that air fryer in your kitchen today!
While we’ve explained how easy and convenient it is, it is also pretty easy to get it wrong. We’ll look at the procedure in a moment. But first, let’s examine the pros and cons of an air-fried coffee.
Pros and Cons of Air-Fried Coffee Beans
First, just like you already know, air-fryers are a healthy companion. They are also money-saving. We don’t need to go through the many benefits.
But since air-fryers aren’t conventional coffee bean roasters, it is essential to state that it poses no extra risk. However, there are some disadvantages to using this method.
The first one is that air-fryers can’t quickly achieve a dark roast. This is understandable since the tool wasn’t designed for roasting coffee in the first place.
But if you want your beans roasted lightly, or at most, medium roast, then you’re good. Another disadvantage of using this method is that any food cooked in your air-fryer could affect the flavor of your coffee.
Also, although it is convenient, you must keep monitoring the process as it could quickly burn the beans. Also, you should load the beans lightly so they are evenly roasted, as air fryers can easily cause an uneven roast.
Another issue with air frying coffee beans is that much of the oil in the coffee beans gets removed in the process, leaving you with rancid beans, especially if you want darker roasts.
However, there are many reasons to use an air fryer. First, you can conveniently achieve a light to a medium roast of your beans as the fryer is very easy to use.
Once you load it, you can get your roast in no time. Air fryers are also quite affordable, providing an easy way to roast your beans. The air fryer is also very easy to clean after use, so the procedure is not complicated.
How Long Does it Take to Roast Coffee Beans in an Air Fryer?
Your coffee beans are done when it achieves the right color. How long does that take in an air fryer? That depends on the kind of roast you want. Naturally, the darker the roast, the longer it takes to achieve it.
Coffee roasters need to heat the beans to between 370 to 540 degrees, so if your air-fryer is set to this temperature, you can get your first sign of cracking, just like when corn pops, just around eight minutes in.
Remember you have to preheat the air fryer for about 3 minutes. Your coffee beans should be thoroughly done between the next 8 to 10 minutes.
You should remember to keep checking throughout the roasting period. If you preheat to a lower temperature, expect to spend a longer time.
How to Roast Coffee in an Air Fryer
Now, let’s go through the step-by-step procedure.
Preheat the fryer
While this may not be necessary for most of the food cooked in the air-fryer, you must preheat the fryer to perfectly roast your beans. It may not come up fine if you don’t allow the heat to build up with beans inside the fryer.
The brand may become stale and lose lots of its flavor during that time. However, when preheated, the beans can be roasted quickly without losing their flavor or going stale.
Preheat your fryer to about 450°F for about three minutes before going to the next step.
Place the beans in a single layer
This is a crucial step. Although the space in your fryer can take a lot of beans, don’t be tempted to overload it. Ensure the basket of the air-fryer is laid with a single layer of coffee beans.
This means you may need to do it in batches. If not, you won’t get an even roast. Every bean must be well aerated, or the coffee beans will not achieve the level of roast you need all at once.
Roast to the desired level
Once you’ve listed the beans, allow the air-fryer to roast them to the desired level. If you want a light roast, wait for the first cracking sound, indicating the light roast is done. That should be about 6 minutes in.
For a medium roast, you may need another 3 minutes, after which you should hear the second round of cracks. If you want a dark roast, you will wait for up to 15 minutes, but you still need to check intermittently. Dark toasts come with an oily texture on the beans.
Cool the roasted beans
Cooling your roasted coffee beans is necessary to allow the accumulated CO2 to escape.
It would be best to leave it to stand for up to 24 hours in a cool place, after which all the gases can run before you store them for grinding. Store them in an airtight container and keep them away from sunlight.
And that’s it! You have successfully roasted coffee beans in an air-fryer.
Conclusion
Roasting your coffee beans at home is not as cheap as you think. That’s because you need some quite pricey coffee roasting equipment.
Nevertheless, you can get the same result, especially if you want light to medium roast coffee beans. That’s where an air-fryer comes in.
If you have one at home, you can quickly start roasting your coffee beans by yourself without any stress.
Follow the steps outlined above and enjoy another benefit of this pocket-friendly equipment. So what are you waiting for? Get started, and let’s know what you think!
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Last Updated on October 5, 2022 by Ashok Parmar
