Solar Roast Coffee, a company based in Pueblo, Colorado, is making some of the most ecologically friendly coffee in the world. In fact, Solar Roast has been roasting their Fair Trade organic beans with nothing but the power of the sun since October of 2004.

In the past three years these enterprising innovators have continued to improve their solar roasting technology, and are now using the third iteration of their invention, the Helios 3 (video). The Helios 3 lives completely off-grid and, using an array of focusing mirrors, is able to roast coffee in a drum roaster at up to 600 degerees Farenheit. The entire 10′ by 7′ array swivels and tilts to follow the arc of the sun across the sky. No fossil fuels are required to run the Helios’ fans or motors, and when combined with the use of Fair Trade organic coffee beans, roasts up some beans that are sustainably produced from crop to cup. You can purchase Solar Roast coffee online retail or wholesale and the first Solar Roast coffee shop just opened in Pueblo earlier this year.

The Solar Roaster is simply an improvement on the various working designs of solar ovens. Solar ovens are being used more and more (video) around the world to solve problems ranging from limited fuels to carbon emissions. Most humble solar oven designs can reliably reach tempratures of 300 to 350 degrees Farenheit in about 30 minutes by concentrating the sun’s rays. The larger the solar array the hotter the tempratures. You can use the links above to find low-cost easy-to-build home designs that will reach 450 degrees Farenheit, the minimum temprature to roast coffee.