Roast Types

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June 28, 2022
Roast Types

In order to get a liqueur full of aroma and taste in the cup, the best way is to choose a fresh roasted coffee in one of the ways presented below.

The most important character is the coffee roaster. They are the person who knows best how to get the aroma and taste of home coffee depending on several factors. They study and test several types of roasting from the light to dark version depending on the origin of the coffee and can recommend the optimal version.

City frying is usually practiced, but it is not mandatory, for an aromatic and creamy espresso you can also reach dark frying, also called Italian. Basically, the idea of espresso and espresso, respectively, started in Italy.

Coffee roasting - the industrial method

It is the most used method of frying. It reduces costs, often to the detriment of taste and quality. This is the metod the big players on the coffee market use. They roast huge quantities, pack them and deliver them to the chains of big stores and hypermarkets.

• "Flash" roasting is mainly used for the production of instant coffee. The beans are fried for only 90 seconds, at more than 1000 ° C! By minimizing frying time, this Flash frying mode does not allow time for flavors to develop. But instead, it allows roasting about 4 tons of coffee per hour, “efficient” practice for the big coffee producers.

• Fast roasting is a way of roasting, often used for coffees in the lower ranges, as well as for the vast majority of coffees found in supermarkets. This method of roasting consists of roasting coffee beans at a temperature between 300 and 700 ° C, for 4 to 10 minutes. The coffee is cooled with water, thus recovering the weight lost during roasting (between 15-20%). This way of roasting is disastrous for coffee flavors. At temperatures higher than 230 ° C the coffee aromas volatilize  and 60% of them are lost!

Coffee Roasting - Artisanal Method

Basically the operation takes place in a cylindrical oven called a roaster: this type of oven is equipped with a rotating drum so that the coffee beans, always in motion, are roasted evenly and without being burned. 

The coffee beans are not in direct contact with the electric resistance (in the case of electric roasters) or flame (in the case of methane gas roasters), they are roasted in the heat diffused in the oven. Thus, coffee beans are mixed and roasted at a temperature that can reach a maximum of 220 ° C. The roasting time is about 20 minutes, but may vary depending on the origin of the coffee or the type of roasting: for espresso, filter, etc .. 

Unlike industrial techniques, this method allows a slow and homogeneous roasting, leaving the coffee to grow slowly.

When the coffee is roasted, it is poured into a container that is equipped with a mixing arm. There it is cooled with cold air, to stop the roasting process. As the case may be for the electric and newer versions, the resistors stop and the coffee is cooled in the same drum in which air is introduced circularly like a “tornado”, until it reaches a temperature of 98 degrees Celsius. Once cooled, the coffee is stored for 72 hours to allow degassing, or directly packed but only in special bags with valves.

This method of roasting requires a great passion for coffee and experience to highlight the best features of a coffee. Even if this type of roasting requires more time, this stage is essential to get a quality coffee full of flavors!

Main types of roasting

The main types of roasting a coffee bean, and how they influence the appearance, taste and aroma of the coffee bean are:

  • Light Cinnamon - is a light roasted coffee, very light in color, stopped during the first crack, at this point the jam is not developed in the bean and the acidity is very high.
  • New England - is a roasted coffee that has a light color, is preferred by some specialty coffee roasters because it highlights the characteristics of coffee origin, floral price, fruit, etc. The color is light brown and has a high and complex acidity.
  • American - is a light to medium roasted coffee that has a light brown color, has a mild acidity, and the characteristics of the origin are easily noticeable in coffee beans.
  • City - is a medium roasted coffee, the color of the coffee bean is brown, it is a common roasting profile for most specialty coffees and the characteristics of the origin can be easily found.
  • Full City - is a dark roasted coffee; the color of the coffee bean is dark brown, with occasional oil stains visible on the body, the character of the roasting is pronounced, the roasting is stopped when the second crack begins.
  • Vienna - is a dark roasted coffee, the color of the coffee bean is brown with a darker shade, with the body surface covered with oil, and a distinct sweet-bitter taste, with caramel aroma, and very low acidity level; it stops during the second crack, any characteristic of the origin is now blurred by the level of frying.
  • French - is a dark roasted coffee, the color of the coffee bean is very dark brown, with a glossy body, completely covered with oils, roasting coffee stops at the end of the second crack, when the character of roasting is dominant, very low acidity, close to zero.
  • Italian - is the darkest frying; the color of the coffee bean is very dark brown, almost black, the coffee bean is completely glossy, oily, with visible burn spots, the acidity is almost eliminated, and the body is small.

The time between these types of frying is short (on the order of minutes), and the line between them is very fine. Here the roaster intervenes based on their experience. They can observe both visually and aurally, the changes that the coffee goes through from one moment to another. Taking into account the type of roasted coffee and / or theirs or customers' preferences, the roaster decides when and how the frying process is completed.

Roasting coffee is simple, but requires total attention. It is a fascinating and captivating process, through which the coffee bean turns from hard green to brown and becomes brittle.

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