Unroasted green coffee beans

Why buy unroasted coffee beans?

Roasting decides much of what ends up in your cup. When you roast your own beans, you choose the roast level: stop early for a lighter, brighter coffee, or keep going for more body and a deeper, more bitter taste. You also drink your coffee within days of roasting rather than weeks, which is hard to match with a bag off a shop shelf.

Green beans also keep much longer than roasted ones. Roasting brings the oils to the surface and from then on the aroma slowly fades. Unroasted beans are still dry and stable, so you can buy a larger amount and roast a little at a time.

What we stock

Our unroasted range runs from Arabica to Robusta, including green beans from Ethiopia. You can order from 1000 grams, and a 1 kg bag makes a good present for someone who has just started roasting. Looking for an origin or a bean we don't carry? Let us know what you are after.

How to roast green coffee at home

You don't need a professional machine to start. A home coffee roaster gives the most even result, but plenty of people begin with a heavy frying pan, the oven or a hot-air popcorn maker. Whatever you use, keep the beans moving and roast somewhere well ventilated: roasting makes smoke, and the beans shed a papery skin called chaff.

• Drying – the beans turn from green to yellow and start to smell of hay or fresh bread.
• First crack – an audible pop, a bit like popcorn. Stop shortly after this for a light roast.
• Development – carry on for a medium roast while the colour deepens to an even brown.
• Second crack – a quieter, quicker crackle, and the first oil appears on the surface. This is dark-roast territory; go much further and the coffee tastes burnt.

When you stop, cool the beans quickly, for instance by tipping them into a metal colander and shaking it, and sieve or blow away the chaff.

After roasting: rest, then grind

Freshly roasted beans give off carbon dioxide for a while, so let them rest overnight before you brew. Then grind only what you need, just before brewing: ground coffee loses its aroma much faster than whole beans. Green beans themselves aren't ground or brewed; they always go through the roaster first.

How long can you store unroasted coffee beans?

Keep green beans in a closed container in a cool, dry and dark place, away from moisture, heat and strong smells. Stored like that they generally keep for around six months, and often up to a year, although the flavour slowly fades over time. Roast in small batches, enough for a week or two of coffee, so you always drink it fresh.

Larger amounts and business orders

We supply unroasted beans to private and business customers alike. Need more than 50 kilos? Contact our customer service for a quote. Only want to roast now and then? We also sell freshly roasted coffee beans, as well as coffee for espresso and cappuccino.