The burning process

Blog January 3, 2019 Nick Murauer

After the beans are processed and delivered to the roastery, we can begin to delve into the roasting process. Roasting is a process in which the coffee changes in several ways. Among other things, the remaining moisture contained in the bean evaporates and the bean swells to double its size due to the water vapor and roasting gases. However, the bean also becomes lighter in weight. The so-called "burn-in" causes the coffee bean to lose 11 to 20 percent of its constituents. The color of the beans also changes significantly during roasting. How drastically the color changes again depends on the roasting temperature and duration. As a result, some roasted coffee beans are lighter than others and you have different types of "roasts." So depending on how the coffee beans are heated and especially how long they are heated, the coffee beans give off very different aromas and flavors. Hence, coffee bean roasting is a real skill. The timing and method of roasting is of enormous importance for the aromas and the result.

Before we move on to the different types of roasting or roasts, it is important to go over the types of roasting procedures, as this can be done through two methods. 

Contact

The "contact" method is also called "frying pan principle," in this process the coffee beans are roasted by direct contact with a heated surface. Thus, through direct contact with the heated surface, the beans are roasted by touch.

Convection

In the "convection" method, the unroasted coffee beans are roasted by a hot air device. In this method, the beans are exposed to hot air. The convection method is faster for roasters than the "contact" method. When the beans are roasted by both forms, you speak of predominant convection. By the way, it is up to the roasters to choose which method they use.

Small quantities

Small-scale roasting involves roasting fairly small portions of coffee via the contact method or predominantly convection. With small-scale roasting, the beans are heated evenly, therefore the quality of the beans is a lot higher than with large-scale roasting. For these reasons we choose a small-scale family roastery, the quality of our blends must of course be of the highest quality.

Large quantities

The companies that produce huge masses of coffee use machines that are constantly roasting. With constant roasting there are constantly beans in the inlet and outlet, through this way they can roast huge amounts of coffee. Unfortunately for consumers, this does not improve the quality. The roast is not even and there is a chance of burning the beans.

Roasting has changed the initially raw coffee bean from a green color to a nicely roasted brown color. Depending on the type of bean and the purpose of roasting, different degrees of roasting are distinguished. We can tell those types of roasting apart with three main groups:

Light roast

Light roasts are light brown in color and have no oil on the outside of the bean. These light roasts have high acidity and the clearest flavor, which in itself makes sense. The characteristic features and aromas of a particular type of bean come out best with a light roast coffee, which is why with a light roast you can easily discover all the natural flavors. Are you looking for a coffee with a complex and fruity taste? Chances are you will come home with a delicious blend of light roast coffee beans.

Medium roast

A beautifully brown colored coffee bean with full flavor and delicious aromas. For most coffee drinkers, this is the ideal roast. The medium roast has a sweet taste due to the higher degree of roast, this is due to the caramelized sugars and oils in the bean. The natural flavor of the bean is still present, but is thus complemented by a fuller body due to roasting.

Dark roast

Extremely suitable for lovers of a strong espresso. Due to the long roasting at a higher temperature, the coffee bean loses almost all of its original characteristics, but fortunately this is filled by the aromas of the roast. After the roasting process, a deliciously roasted coffee bean is created with powerful aromas and a bittersweet taste.

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