How Coffee is Made
You can buy coffee roasters online today. You can find one that will fit your budget; they aren’t that expensive.
Over the years, newer compact models have hit the market. But can you brew a delicious batch of coffee beans using the roaster?
If you aren’t privy to the art of coffee roasting, you will fail miserably. Having a roaster machine is not all. Coffee Roasting is a process; it’s an art. So how do coffee roasters work?
Last update on 2023-12-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Why Does Coffee From Different Roasters Taste Different?
Different coffee roasters have their signature taste. If you have a favorite coffee place that you always go to, try a different one for a week. You will feel the difference in taste from the very first sip. The variance in taste and flavor can be directly attributed to what type of bean they are using and how they are roasting them.
Who Are The Coffee Roasters?
Coffee Roasting is a delicate process. Have you ever wondered how coffee cherries are turned into edible coffee grounds? To answer this question, we will need to take a look at Coffee Roasters.
Before coffee beans make their way to coffee roasters, they are first procured. Most coffee-crazy nations aren’t producers of coffee.
Brazil and Colombia are the top countries that grow coffee plants. Coffee Roasters from around the world can collect green, freshly harvested coffee beans using two methods.
1. they can directly procure the coffee from the farms themselves. Representatives of Coffee companies fly to the farms, test the quality, and reach an agreement if everything goes well. So the buyer is directly dealing with the growers.
2. On the flip side, Coffee companies can contact a middleman who has warehouses in major cities worldwide. They usually have samples of available coffee beans.
This method is the most popular one for small shops, as they don’t have to spend money on flying to a suitable coffee-growing region, run several tests, and fly back to their country. Plus, there is always the chance of not finding the right quality. If that happens, all the money and effort are a complete waste.
After the sourcing is complete, it is time for roasting the coffee beans. Green coffee beans are inserted into the roasters, and brown baked beans come out at the end.
The Science Behind Roasting Coffee
Just like any other act of food processing, coffee roasting needs a systematic approach. At the core of it, all is how much should a roaster roast. Given that freshly roasted coffee beans stay fresh for only about 2-3 weeks, the roasters need to make sure all their final product make their way into coffee shops.
If they fail to do so, they will incur huge losses, as they might have to through away entire batches of coffee if the expiry date is exceeded.
Along with the amount, the temperature, humidity, density of the beans, and airflow into the facility, all play a significant role in coffee roasting. Most roasters operate in a closed, controlled environment to ensure premium quality roasting.
The roast itself can last for 15-20 minutes. But it depends on what the roaster is aiming for. A dark roast takes a longer time. In comparison, light and medium roasts require less time.
Talking about dark and medium roast coffee, did you know that all roasted beans have the same amount of caffeine despite the roast type? Pretty weird, right?
Many people think dark roast makes caffeine burn off from the beans. Thus they form the argument that dark roast has less caffeine.
But the truth is if you roast two batches of coffee beans that were procured from the same farm, both batches will have equal amounts of caffeine at the end of the roasting process.
The Art of Roasting Coffee
How long did it take Leonardo da Vinci to complete his famous masterpiece, Mona Lisa? A year? Two years? Not even close. According to art historians, Leonardo spent 1503-1519 completing his masterpiece.
They also argue that there were two versions of the Mona Lisa. How Leonardo worked isn’t the point we are trying to make. We are trying to see the natural process of creating art.
Like any painting or musical piece, Coffee roasters go through a lengthy trial and error phase. Before using their large commercial-use roasters, they usually use a smaller version of the roaster to see the final output under a particular set of conditions.
It usually takes them 5-10 runs before they can finalize a roasting recipe.
When they run the small-scale roasting, they usually note down the temperature, atmospheric conditions, humidity, pressure inside the roaster, the beans’ quality, and so on.
These details help them recreate a recipe when they are happy with the final output.
The final product from each of these small test runs goes through a rigorous testing phase, called coffee cupping. During this phase, coffee roasters taste their new creations and note down their flavor, aroma, acidity level, bitterness, aftertaste, and every other small factor that an end consumer will take very seriously.
But why do they work this way? Isn’t there a golden recipe that guarantees a good batch of roasted coffee, no matter the surrounding conditions? Well, there are hundreds. But coffee roasters take pride in new creations.
They always want to experiment with new coffee beans, heat them for a little longer, and dry them differently. The sole purpose of this is to discover new recipes.
Just like a painter feels hesitant before making his artwork public, coffee roasters also experience the same misgivings. This is why they spend long hours testing new recipes in the roaster.
Conclusion
Does your co-worker love coffee so much that he plans to get a mini coffee roaster for his home? Help him by explaining how do coffee roasters work first and the art of coffee roasting. Whether he takes it as a hobby or finds true passion in it, coffee roasting will not fail to amaze him.
