Want Fresher Coffee? Try Roasting Your Own Beans With This Appliance

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Is your usual cup of coffee just not hitting the spot lately? Don't add that innovative (and expensive) new coffee pot to your cart just yet. It might be worth it to roast the coffee beans yourself. That lets you prepare smaller batches of freshly roasted beans regularly rather than rely on a bag that's been sitting in your pantry for weeks. While the appliance you need to do it is more associated with movie nights than mornings, a popcorn maker can help you get that fresh roast you're looking for. 

There's science behind the method. As the beans roast, hundreds of compounds and chemical transitions produce the flavors and smells you're looking for. It's easy enough to do, though it's best to set your popcorn maker near a window to help circulate the fumes and smoke. You also need to get your hands on green (raw, unroasted) coffee beans, known as green coffee beans. Fill the device with beans based on its kernel capacity. You may need to mix the roast yourself for the first couple of minutes, then you can let the popper take over. But make sure you're keeping an eye (and ear) on it at all times to prevent burning. As the beans warm up, their moisture turns to steam, and pressure builds, causing them to crack a few minutes in. Shortly thereafter, the beans make a second cracking sound after the buildup of gases like carbon dioxide. Watch the changes in color to ensure the beans are reaching your preferred level of roast — the lighter color the roast, the lighter the shades of brown the beans will turn — ideally, after 4 to 7 minutes.

When it comes to the types of popcorn makers to use, you want to use a hot-air-style popcorn popper with side vents to keep the beans circulating for an even roast and carry away the papery bean skins (known as chaff). The West Bend Air Crazy, which produces 3 ounces of coffee per batch, is a good option, though that's only about eight cups of coffee.

If you drink enough to want more, you can use a stovetop model like the GreenPan 5.39-quart stainless steel popcorn popper, one of the best items new to Costco in November 2026. If you go down the stovetop route, you may be able to produce as much as 8 ounces to 1 pound of coffee beans per batch. However, you may also experience heavy smoke and longer roast times, and specific small-bean coffees don't work as well in the stovetop appliance because they can jam the machine. 

Also, based on some users' suggestions, you may want to have a separate popcorn maker strictly for your coffee roasts, as the oil from the beans remains in the appliance after cleaning and can alter the taste of your popcorn moving forward.