THE EXPERIENCE OF COFFEE ROASTING

Roasting is a beautiful blend of science and art. In simple terms the beans must be heated in a continuous motion to roast evenly, then rapidly cooled to room temperature at the right moment. This sounds easy enough, but an endless number of hours have been spent by roastmasters crafting many different types of roasts and coffee blends. Coffee roasting is a lifelong roasting process, but here is a small glimpse of the process:

Roasting is pretty quick , generally 12 to 15 minutes per batch.

Green coffee is loaded into the roaster by an opening on the top called the hopper. The roasting chamber is preheated and the roasting begins its process. The chamber temperature drops because of the beans temperature. The temperature becomes fairly stable and the beans warm up during this phase. The flames are then turned up to begin the roasting! Knowledge of each bean crop comes in at this point since each country, region by region, have distinctive characteristics.

Now as the temperature rises the roastmaster must watch tiny changes as they take place with the beans. The roaster can see the beans through a small window and with a tiny device that can bring samples out at any point. The beans now change from their grayish green color to a light brown. At this point the beans also begin to expand, letting off a little smoke. The time and temperature are of essence and this is the point where the beans reach their "first crack" or pop. Now we enter the final stage of the roasting process. The temperature in the roasting drum is held steady. During the next few minutes the characteristics of the taste and aroma are created. Tracking the time, holding the temperature and watching the beans are crucial at this point. The beans are brown to dark brown with oils developing on the surface of the bean. As the beans begin a second pop, the process is coming to an end. Once the roastmaster finishes determining the color and oil level of the beans are where they should be, the front door of the roasting drum is opened and the beans are brought into a cooling pan to reach room temperature as quickly as possible. The roast is done and ready to enjoy cupping!