How to make smoked coffee? (What does it taste like?)

Coffee connoisseurs around the world are jumping on a new trend at home: smoking their own coffee beans.

If you want to try new flavors at home, smoking your own coffee beans should be next on your to-do list!

Smoking coffee brings out more of the rich smoky flavor and aromas contained in the beans and can give you a new way to enjoy your coffee.

How do you make smoked coffee at home?

To make smoky coffee at home, you need coffee beans that have not yet been roasted, a grill or smoker, and enough time for the beans to absorb the smoky flavor. Once smoked, the beans can be used in much the same way as they would be if roasted normally.

Being able to smoke coffee beans means you can mix your two loves, the smoker and the coffee, to create new flavors.

Can you make smoked coffee?

You can smoke coffee beans at home, and you can do it with a smoker or with a grill and smoking pipe. Both ways will give the beans a smoky flavor, depending on the wood you use to smoke them.

When smoking coffee beans at home, you will want to use green beans, as they will roast while smoking. If you use already roasted coffee beans, you will only get them to burn and not have a pleasant flavor.

Smoky coffee may not become your favorite drink at home, but it definitely adds some coffee drink options to enjoy throughout the day.

How to make smoked coffee

Making smoked coffee beans is a fairly straightforward process if you have the right equipment at home. The best way to smoke coffee beans is in a smoker, as this will roast and smoke in one go.

Also, the coffee beans shouldn’t take too long to absorb the right amount of smoke, but the time will vary depending on how dark you want the coffee beans to be roasted.

Once the beans have been roasted and smoked, you can move on to using them normally!

Here’s how to make smoked coffee in a smoker:

heat the smoker

The first thing to do is heat up your smoker so it’s ready for the beans. The amount of time your smoker needs to heat up will depend on the brand and the instructions given in the instruction manual.

To smoke your coffee beans, you need to set your smoker to a high setting, between 350-450°F. The smoker should be well heated before placing the beans.

Prepare the coffee beans

Once the smoker has fully heated up, you will need to prepare the green coffee beans for smoking. You have to use green coffee beans to be able to roast them to the intensity you prefer without burning them.

Arrange the green coffee beans in a single layer on a tray, making sure they are not stacked on top of each other.

Before placing the coffee beans in the smoker, you have to decide how roasted you want.

To know how much the coffee beans have roasted, you will have to listen to the crunch.

Coffee beans can go through one, two, or three cracks, with the darkest roasts occurring after the third crack. You can control the sounds your coffee beans make to determine when they’re done.

Place the coffee beans in the smoker

Once the beans are done in a single layer on the tray, you can place the tray in the smoker.

Leave the beans in the smoker for 6 minutes, then stir them. Be sure to stir them quickly, so as not to let out too much heat or flavor.

Keep stirring the coffee beans every 6 minutes until they reach the roast level that’s right for you.

This should generally take about 25 minutes, or more or less depending on how strong you like your coffee.

Let the grains rest

One of the most important steps is to let the coffee beans rest for at least 10 hours after smoking them. The beans need this time to aerate and get rid of excess CO2.

Bagging or using beans too early, without giving them enough time to aerate excess CO2, can cause brands to taste undesirably sour and rancid. The resting of the beans really adds to the flavor.

Storing the beans

You don’t want to waste the entire smoking process of the beans if you store them incorrectly and they lose flavor.

Be sure to store the beans in a tightly closed, airtight container. This container can be placed in a cool, dark place, such as a pantry cupboard.

Be sure to avoid natural light and heat. Also, don’t leave them in an open container, as they could go rancid and lose flavor.

Use of smoked coffee beans

Smoking coffee beans is the first step, the next thing is knowing how to use them correctly. You have to make the most of the smoked coffee beans, to enjoy them yourself or to serve them to guests.

You have to know how you are going to use the coffee beans, to know how you have to grind them.

Different types of grinds bring different levels of smoothness and different flavors to the coffee, making the most of the smoky flavor. This also depends on the equipment you have at home to grind and prepare the coffee.

These are the different types of grind, and what they are best for.

Extra coarse/coarse grind

The extra coarse and coarse grind types are suitable for coffee machines that can extract as much flavor as possible from the beans. The best option for extra coarse and coarse grinds is the French press or even a percolator.

Both of these devices will help you get the most out of your coarse grind and will be able to bring out the most flavor from your beans.

Medium grind

Medium grind coffee is a common grind size. It is suitable for a coffee maker that you use every day for your morning cup of coffee. 

These automatic drip coffee makers can extract the maximum flavor and aroma from medium-ground coffee, and can produce the perfect cup of coffee, with just the right level of smokiness to the beans.

Fine ground

The fine grind is similar to that of sugar granules, and is ideal for espresso machines and drip machines that have a cone-shaped filter.

The fine grind is best suited for coffee makers that brew coffee quickly, such as espressos, which push hot water through the coffee at high pressure, extracting as much of the grind as possible.

Turkish ground

If you’re feeling especially experimental, you can turn your smoked coffee beans into Turkish ground.

This is a very, very fine grind, and once the smoky coffee beans are ground this lightly, they turn out almost buttery and creamy.

To make Turkish coffee with smoked coffee beans, you would have to follow a recipe, but it actually involves straining the smoked coffee beans into boiling water to extract the flavor.

What does smoked coffee taste like?

Smoked coffee tastes pretty much as you would imagine, like regular roasted coffee, but with added smoky flavors.

Dark roasted coffee beans may already have a smoky flavor, but when the coffee beans are smoked further, this smoky flavor comes out even more.

You can decide how smoky you want your coffee beans to be by smoking them for different lengths of time.

Smoked coffee beans impart a deeper flavor to your coffee, finishing it off with a campfire-like flavor.

How smoked coffee compares to regular coffee

Smoked coffee and regular coffee have the same base notes and can be light, medium, or dark roasted.

The difference is that smoked coffee tastes smokier than regular coffee.

Drinking smoked coffee will bring you back to sitting around the campfire, breathing in the smoke from the fire as you sip your coffee, except now you have both in one sip!

You may not choose smoky coffee as your cup of choice every morning, but it certainly adds a different option to your pantry that you’ll crave from time to time.

Can coffee grounds be smoked on a grill?

You can achieve smoky coffee at home without a smoker and without green beans! You can smoke your coffee grounds on a grill, which makes it much more accessible to everyone.

Here’s how to smoke coffee grounds on a grill:

What do you need

• ground coffee
• briquettes
• Wood chips (suitable for smoking)

To do

1. To get started, you will need to preheat about 2-3 charcoal briquettes and allow them to get very hot.
2. Once they are fully heated, place the briquettes on the side of the grill, then place a handful of the smoking chips on top of the briquettes.
3. Place the cooking grate on the grill. Pour the ground coffee into a heatproof plate and place it on the rack, on the opposite side from the briquettes.
4. Cover the grill, making sure the vent is above the coffee. 
5. Allow the ground coffee to cold smoke for up to 2 hours. Periodically stir the ground coffee so that it takes on the smoky flavor evenly.
6. After 2 hours, remove the coffee beans from the grill and allow them to cool.
7. Grind the smallest coffee beans and place them in an airtight container and close it well.

One tip for the smoky flavor to soften and settle is to leave the coffee grounds in the airtight container for up to a week before using them.

Be sure to store your coffee grounds in a cool, dark place, like a pantry cupboard, to preserve the smoky flavor and prevent your coffee grounds from losing flavor and going rancid over time.

How to make cold smoked coffee

Chances are, your smoker is a staple on your patio during the summer months, and during the summer, coffee can be a little too hot to enjoy.

To get the most out of summer smoking, you should try a cold smoked coffee! This recipe helps create a delicious smoked cold brew, without having to smoke the beans first.

What do you need

• 6 ounces coarse ground coffee
• cream/milk
• sugar or sweetener

To do

1. Place 3 ounces of ground coffee in a plastic container and pour in 3 cups of water to cover the grounds. Add the rest of the grounds and then another 3 ½ cups of water, stirring slightly.
2. Use the back of a large spoon to push the grounds into the water, making sure they sit in the water to infuse the flavor.
3. Cover the container with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 18-24 hours.
4. After this time, remove the container from the refrigerator and strain the coffee mixture through a fine mesh strainer, saving the coffee infusion that comes out.
5. Preheat smoker to 180°F, until heated through.
6. Pour the cold-brewed coffee into a baking dish, preferably shallow, and place directly on the smoker rack. 
7. Let the cold brew smoke for up to 2 hours, depending on how smoky you want. If you only want a light touch of smoke, 1 hour will be enough.
8. Once the desired degree of smoke is achieved, remove the cold brew from the grill and place the baking dish in an ice bath to cool.
9. Once cooled, pour the cold infusion into glasses with ice, and top with cream or milk and the sweetener of your choice. 

By doing a little prep the day before, you and your guests can enjoy a delicious cold smoked coffee while you wait for the rest of your meal to cook on the grill – the best way to enjoy a hot summer day!

Related questions

Now that we’ve gone over how to make smoked coffee, let’s take a look at some related questions!

Can coffee be cold smoked?

You can cold smoke the coffee in a smoker, and it should take about 2 hours to fully cold smoke . It is helpful to stir the coffee from time to time to ensure that it smokes evenly.

Can green coffee beans be smoked?

When smoking coffee, it is advisable to smoke only green coffee beans. The green beans will be able to take on the smoky flavor, and you can then smoke them however you like.

Beans that are already roasted won’t take on much of the smoky flavor, and they could be over-roasted and taste burnt and bitter.