Roasting Coffee Basics
There are those who approach coffee roasting as a science, and those who approach it more as an art. I tend to fall into the latter category. There are stages and a distinct process, but as with all cooking, there is tremendous freedom to put your own personality and personal tastes into it.
Green This is your starting point, and the least subjective stage. When you put your beans in your roaster and the beans start to move then the subjectivity begins. At this point, all you can see is the beans moving around; however inside the beans, the water is beginning to evaporate and the chemical decomposition of the sugars (pyrolysis) is occurring. The beans get brighter, then turn yellowish and emit a wonderful smell. But it isn't coffee yet.
First Crack
As the internal water evaporates the beans expand, causing a cracking sound. This crack is relatively loud and irregular in its cadence--much like popcorn. As roasting progresses, this popping diminishes. During this same period, the beans will expand to roughly twice their green size and lose approximately 15% of their weight - if you're using a hot air roaster (hot air popper, or i-Roast 2) the beans will be floating higher in the chamber. Cinnamon is the first named roast. The beans are light brown and dry. Coffee ground from this roast looks a little reddish, almost like cinnamon. Beans stopped here tend to taste flat and grassy. City / American These beans are a darker brown but still dry with a dull (as opposed to shiny) finish. City is as dark as you can get without entering the next major landmark in roasting, which is the second crack.
Second Crack
The second pop/crack is more of a soft staccato sound as the beans' cell walls break down. If you are using a hot air roaster, you may not hear the crack. This stage will be determined visually. What appear to be oils start to show up on the outside of the beans, and little flecks of bean (called "chaff") pop off. To many, this is the most significant event in the roasting process.
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE: Beans NOT allowed to go to "second crack", where the sugars begin to caramelize, will tend to taste flat, have somewhat of a grassy taste and a strong aftertaste. This is neither good nor bad as some like this flavor, others don't. Remember, it is all about what tastes good to you.
Full City / Vienna Full City is where the second pop/crack begins; the beans start to develop some oil on them (while some remain dry) and they are a nice chestnut brown color. Many consider this to be the ultimate roast as beans roasted to full city have a good balance of acidity, aroma, body and varietal characteristics. This the roast style most home roasters end up adopting as their favorite, especially those who initially liked the shiny, dark roasted beans they used to buy in the store; and is perhaps the best roast if you are roasting for a crowd--especially for those who just have coffee as a social drink. Espresso Dark brown beans, not quite oily enough to be shiny, but clearly not dry. Italian to French These are the very dark brown-to-black oily beans that look almost like jelly beans. At this stage, sugars in the beans are carbonizing (a step past caramelizing) so you get a bit of a charcoal taste.
Curing or DeGassing your Beans
When you have achieved the roast you want, your beans need resting time for the flavors to fully develop. Now don't get me wrong, I have ground and brewed coffee straight from the roaster, and it was good. But when I let that same coffee rest and ground and roasted it the next day, I could tell a major difference in the coffee. How long do you need to let the beans rest? Here is where the art form comes in again. Some would say that four hours is sufficient, some say 12 hours (or overnight) some would say that 24 to 36 hours is necessary. I personally like to leave coffee beans at least overnight if not a full 24 hours--but that is just my opinion. What I would recommend, is that you roast enough for 3 pots of coffee. Grind some up at 4 hours and brew it: repeat at 12 hours, and at 24 hours. See what differences you taste and which you like best. Some will taste major differences, some won't taste any differences. Remember this: THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO DO THIS! What tastes good to you is all that matters. One final thing to remember: Coffee flavor begins to degrade after it reaches it peak (whenever you determine that is).. It stores better in an airtight container, but it should be used shortly after roasting (no longer than a week or so in my opinion). Also as coffee oils can be absorbed in plastic, I prefer to keep my roasted coffee in a glass jar either on the counter next to the grinder, or in my pantry. I don't keep coffee in the fridge as condensation can form on the beans degrading them, and not in the freezer as coffee absorbs odors--and I want my coffee to taste like coffee--not like stale ice cubes. Since we have talked about freshness and time I will weigh-in on freshness as it concerns ground coffee: once it is ground, coffee should be brewed in 15 minutes to an hour, If you wait longer than that to use it, it will be not be anywhere near as good. So, as a matter of practicality, I suggest as a minimum, roasting in the evening, letting your beans cure overnight, then grinding and brewing your first batch the next morning. You do not have to do this every day, but if you run out completely it's a good idea - remember they will easily stay fresh (enough) for a week or more if they are stored in an airtight container.
Roasting Recommendations
>So, where do you start? Which is the best roast? I have said repeatedly that it is up to you--that you determine what your best roast is. But if you've never done this before, where do you begin? My recommendation is to try the full city roast to start with. As the sugars in the beans begin to caramelize, the full flavors of the beans develop. The individual flavors begin to be muted as the sugars carbonize. You may end up preferring the more muted flavors(Italian or French), you may like the full flavors(Full City/Vienna), you may prefer a lighter roast that yield a stronger aftertaste(City/American). The choice (and the enjoyment of the search) is completely yours. Don't have a roaster? Click here to get instructions on roasting coffee in your hot air popper. Click here to get instructions on roasting coffee on your stove top. Ready to buy your beans? Click here.
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