“Buying green coffee” sounds strange to most coffee lovers, because they buy their coffee in powder form, hermetically sealed in special bags that preserve the fine coffee aroma for as long as possible. Simply put the coffee powder in the filter bag and into the coffee machine – or traditionally by hand with our Phin – the coffee enjoyment is ready. But some people also prefer to grind the whole coffee beans directly before making the coffee, which gives the coffee an even more intense aroma. The grinding process already integrated in modern fully automatic machines naturally also works with an electric coffee grinder.
However, there is still an opportunity for the adventurous coffee drinker to increase their enjoyment. The slightly greater effort involved in this preparation method is offset by the cheaper purchase price of whole, unroasted coffee beans. The magic word: green coffee.
Raw coffee beans?
Green coffee simply means that the coffee beans have only been processed after harvesting, but not roasted. This processing takes place by drying the coffee cherries, as the whole fruit of the coffee plant is called, for several weeks. Sometimes this process takes up to a year and involves turning the fruit several times a day. All the soft parts of the cherries that have become brittle due to the drying process are removed and sorted out. At the end, all that remains are the dried coffee beans, the so-called green coffee.
The skin and pulp of the beans can also be removed in a water bath, but the mucus that clings to the bean and the transparent skin that surrounds the bean must not be damaged. Bacteria and yeast that are naturally present on the coffee cherry or that have been added to it initiate a fermentation process that lasts several hours and, at a certain temperature, is considered to be a great flavor enhancer. This also causes the mucus layer and any pulp residue to come off by itself before the beans are then washed and dried. Finally, the fine parchment skin is removed and what remains is the dried beans, the green coffee.
Buy green coffee for a “DIY roast”
As is well known, the dedicated coffee connoisseur will spare no effort to enjoy the perfect aroma of delicious coffee. However, since the preparation process for the coffee beans is probably a little too complex even for this person, the personal part in the production of the personally created coffee is concentrated on roasting the beans. This offers excellent opportunities to try to intensify different flavor variations. While one person prefers to roast his beans in a pan at a high temperature (200-220 degrees) for 12-13 minutes without fat, another prefers roasting in the oven at 200 degrees for 10-15 minutes. In both cases, the beans should never lie on top of each other, otherwise they will not brown evenly.
The pan roasting method is not without its problems, as the beans, like popcorn, will eventually start to pop and the experiment can then, quite literally, backfire. Therefore, appropriate protective measures should not be neglected. In order to develop their full aroma, the beans should be stored for 5-7 days before grinding and packed airtight to protect the aroma. The smell that develops during roasting is not to everyone's taste, but we do not find it unpleasant, even if it is different from the smell that develops when coffee is brewed. A certain amount of smoke is also to be expected. In countries that export coffee, roasting is also done in open kettles over a wood fire - which can take a good hour. Experienced roasters can tell when the beans are ready just by the smell. If they are roasted for too long or too short, this has a negative effect on the taste.
If we have already whetted your appetite after describing the roasting process, you can send us a non-binding request for green coffee directly here:
Best Vietnamese green coffee
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Order green coffee nowAdvantages of roasting your own green coffee
The effort is particularly worthwhile for those who firstly want to create individual flavours by mixing different types of coffee beans and secondly want to save money. Green coffee is cheaper than roasted coffee. In addition, with a shelf life of up to 36 months, it can be stored for significantly longer than roasted coffee (only up to 18 months). Giving someone a personal coffee gift with a bag of coffee from your own roast instead of a common brand roast from the supermarket is a creative idea that is hard to beat. Roasting coffee yourself can also have health benefits. For cost reasons, industrially produced coffee is usually roasted very hot and only for a short time. However, if you decide to roast at home, you have the choice of a slow roasting method at a slightly lower temperature to prevent the formation of questionable substances such as acrylamide. In addition, you can always freshly roast exactly the flavour you fancy. The more experienced a coffee lover is in roasting green coffee, the more finely he or she will be able to taste the difference in individual flavors between different coffee beans and will want to experiment with them.
Bean roasting as an event highlight
DIY roasting also brings a certain fun factor. When the beans in the pan slowly start to change color, turning from green to yellow to reddish brown and finally to black-brown, and getting bigger and bigger, then that has its own charm. When they burst at a certain temperature and start to jump in the pan, many a coffee roaster's heart leaps for joy at this little spectacle in their own kitchen. Of course, only if they and the surroundings in the kitchen are appropriately protected, otherwise their own pulse rate could start to rise for less pleasant reasons. If you are interested and have a bit more experience with roasting, you might like to invite others to watch the whole thing. A roasting party followed by a coffee tasting could in future be serious competition to private wine tastings. With the small, but perhaps not entirely unimportant difference: the guests would all still be able to drive themselves home afterwards. There's something special about discussing the different flavors of your own creations with friends and admiring the texture of the crema together. Highly committed roasters may even purchase special roasting machines, which can also be purchased privately.
Green coffee
Green coffee is nothing other than raw coffee. But why is it called "green"? Unroasted beans have a green color that turns black-brown when roasted due to the extreme heat. If you pour boiling water over the raw beans - either whole or ground - you get a liquid that resembles green tea. "Green coffee" therefore has two meanings: firstly, this is what the beans are generally called when they are raw. Secondly, it is also the liquid that is produced when the roasting is omitted completely and the coffee is made from raw beans. Before grinding raw coffee beans, however, you should definitely check the packaging for impurities such as small stones or twigs, as these could damage the grinder. Since green coffee contains slightly less caffeine and has a high content of chlorogenic acid, which is said to prevent the absorption of sugar in the intestines and a drop in blood sugar levels, it is considered very healthy due to its weight-reducing properties, although the slightly sour taste may take some getting used to. However, science has not yet been able to clearly prove the positive effects of green coffee on health. But green coffee is certainly a change from the usual coffee consumption.
“The best thing about coffee is its smell!”
Who doesn't faint when the smell of bread rolls and freshly brewed coffee makes their mouth water in the morning? And who doesn't swear by its invigorating effect? Coffee is much more than just a drink. Coffee is a philosophy. Not for everyone, but for many people in our culture. And that's why buying green coffee is becoming more and more popular, as coffee consumption is very popular here and is even becoming more popular if you look at the development. Even though coffee originally comes from Ethiopia, Brazil is now the country with the largest coffee cultivation because of the excellent climatic conditions there. Brazil has also now pushed the USA out of first place in terms of the popularity and consumption of coffee. But Colombia, Vietnam and India also export coffee of first-class quality. Often hand-picked, hand-selected and organically fertilized, it is prepared for further processing with precision and expertise. Before ordering green coffee, you should find out more about cultivation and processing in order to ensure good quality.
Is it really true that the best thing about coffee is its smell? Die-hard coffee lovers will agree with us that this theory is wrong. The wonderful smell that freshly prepared coffee exudes is certainly associated with memories and emotions that do not necessarily have anything to do with its taste. But tasting it on your tongue is no substitute for the pure smell experience. If you then roast raw coffee beans yourself, you will be rewarded with two different coffee smells, which anyone who has tried it or driven past a coffee roastery can confirm.
The best thing about coffee is that it tastes good, wakes you up, brings back positive memories, is healthy and smells extremely good. If it is roasted before preparation, it also deserves to be called unique. If the popularity of buying raw coffee continues to grow, the "black gold", as coffee is colloquially known, could soon be traded as "green gold". Fancy roasting your own coffee? Then nothing stands in the way of an experiment, right?
