Is It Possible To Roast Coffee Beans Over Charcoal?

For many, having a morning coffee is a ritual that cannot be skipped. After all, more than half of our surveyed readers report drinking at least one to two cups of coffee a day, and three out of four Americans imbibe their caffeine through coffee on a daily basis (per Drive Research). No matter which way you like to brew or enjoy your coffee (or which of the at least 35 types of coffee is your favorite), before coffee can be made, it must be ground. And before coffee can be ground, it must be roasted.

Most coffee comes pre-roasted, and there are many types of coffee roasts available for purchase. Roasting coffee beans in itself is a process. First, the coffee beans must be matured, processed, and dried. Usually, professionals roast the beans with machines like drum roasters or fluidized bed roasters (which use hot air to heat the beans), per Barista Institute. Some may wonder if it's possible to roast coffee beans at home, and if so, how to do so. While it's difficult, there are some ways to roast your own coffee — including using charcoal.

According to the Barista Institute, roasting your own coffee beans isn't the easiest of tasks, but it is possible — in Finland during the 1950s, many households roasted their own coffee beans. For camping enthusiasts, The Dyrt recommends simply throwing in raw beans into a pan over an open fire for a quick, do-it-yourself roast.

However, there is another way to roast coffee: charcoal-roasted coffee, also known as Sumiyaki coffee, which translates to charcoal burner coffee (per Barista Magazine). This way of roasting coffee beans has a long history in Japan and parts of Asia, per the Japanese Coffee Co. While charcoal-roasted coffee was relatively limited to Japan, in the 1980s the coffee company UCC began to sell their charcoal roast worldwide, putting charcoal roasted coffee on the map. Since charcoal roasting has infrared and far infrared rays, the coffee beans are cooked on the inside and have a "plump and fluffy finish", as well as more flavor and taste. If you're itching for a caffeine fix and want to try charcoal-roasted coffee, there's an instant variety from brand Super available on Amazon here.