Coffee. The journey begins with the green beans and ends in the perfect beverage that you have created. No matter how you prefer your coffee, whether it’s cold-brewed, dripped, filtered, or espresso, there is one thing that all of them have in common: the green bean. This article will explain the basic steps involved in roasting coffee beans. How does the green bean become the delicious roasted coffee bean that we love?
To “cook” the green coffee beans and reveal the natural flavors, a roasting process must be performed.
Slow temperature increase: The first step is to place the green coffee beans in a roaster. To evenly toast the coffee, the beans are dried in a dryer while the roaster heats up. To allow heat to penetrate the coffee beans’ centers, heat is gradually increased to between 460degF to 530degF.
First color change: Coffee beans have a lot of moisture. You’ll see steam emitted from the beans. The green coffee beans will turn yellow as moisture is emitted from the roasting process. After that, they will turn brown.
First Crack: Coffee beans will begin to swell when the temperature reaches a critical level. As the remaining moisture begins to burst out of the coffee beans, you will hear a loud crackling sound. The sugars in the coffee will have caramelized and the coffee can be officially called “roasted”. The beans are still at their lowest roast level at first crack.
Rapid Second Colour Change: The coffee beans quickly caramelize and release oil after the first crack. The coffee roasts quickly during this phase. It takes a lot of time and finesses to get the right roast level. The coffee’s color quickly darkens. This phase is usually when the roasting process stops.
Second Crack A loud crack can be heard. This is known as the Second Crack. It is often harder to spot the second crack than the first, and the coffee has been dark roasted by the time the second crack occurs. The coffee will taste bitter and harsh if it is roasted longer than the second crack.
The Roast: To know when to stop roasting, it takes considerable experience. Many higher-end roasters use computer-controlled systems to precisely time and match profiles. No matter if you roast manually or use a digital profile, the most important part of roasting involves stopping roasting at exactly the right time. The beans should be quickly cooled to ensure they stop roasting. The beans can be cooled by either spraying water on them or flooding them with cold air. Specialty coffee roasters will transfer the roasted coffee immediately from the roasting chamber to a silo, which circulates air through the beans and rotates them. The beans cool faster if the air moves across the largest surface area. It’s similar to blowing on food to speed up the cooling process.
Degassing After Roasting After roasting: The beans undergo a process known as degassing. The bean releases carbon dioxide (CO2) gas for approximately 24 hours after roasting. It is important to not grind or boil the beans until all CO2 has been released.