Do you wish to learn everything about coffee roasting? Do you want coffee beans that have been roasted to your preferences?
If so, you’re in the correct place!
In this guide, we will cover every aspect of bean roasting, and you can also learn how to handle the whole process at home.
Roasting is one of the processes that most influences the aroma of coffee. In fact, it is at this stage that the flavour of the beans is established, and their entire aromatic composition is created.
When we refer to roasting, we mean the process of heating coffee beans to the ideal temperature for grinding and making coffee.
Up to 1000 different fragrances can manifest during the various phases, and these flavours make up the cup’s taste qualities.
In fact, newly harvested coffee beans are unpleasant to consume because they are green and acidic. The Coffea plant’s fruits can only fully exhibit their character when they are roasted.
Because the properties of the espresso change depending on the level of roasting, we at Pontevecchio are quite passionate about roasting. We believe that a dark, rich, and powerful roast will be the best choice for espresso machines.
Let’s now examine the procedures for roasting at home.
What does coffee roasting mean?
The process of roasting involves gradually raising the temperature of the coffee beans to a point where they may be employed in the extraction of coffee.
Freshly harvested grains have a green aspect, and before they can be used in our homes, they must undergo roasting, which gives them their distinctive flavour.
The beans’ colour changes from green to brown as they roast. The high temperatures they are subjected to, temperatures that can even approach 200 ° C, are the cause of this transformation.
Different roasting techniques allow for the production of beans with various aromas. We can tell the difference between rotary drum roasting and fluid bed roasting in particular.
Fluid bed roasting is the fastest process, which involves subjecting the coffee to a very high roasting temperature, between 300 °C and 400 °C, for a short period of time.
Rotating drum roasting just takes a few minutes longer but ensures a more homogenous end product and better organoleptic qualities.
The grains are placed into a metal drum that is heated with a hot air jet and stirred continuously as they cook.
Both times, special vacuums are used to remove debris and dust from the beans.
The bean changes appearance and acquires the characteristically bitter taste as a result of the roasting process. This is due to the carbonization of the cellulose and the caramelization of the sugars. Additionally, volatile chemicals are created and some of the caffeine is lost, which would make it too acidic and powerful.
Why does coffee need to be roasted?
The volume of the coffee beans grows by nearly three times during roasting process, and they become crispier, which improves the aroma and makes the bean easier to grind.
The fruits of the Coffea plant, when freshly picked, resemble cherry seeds but are green instead. They taste like beans and have a fresh-cut grass aroma.
They are then dried and roasted before becoming the powder used in commercial or household coffee machines.
In fact, the many taste qualities of coffee actually emerge during roasting because almost a thousand different fragrant chemicals form and give coffee its flavour.
Since the presence of the different components is controlled during the process, the various roasting methods can have an impact on the coffee’s flavour.
Coffee can also be roasted at home
Typically, we get our coffee already roasted and pre-packed, in specialised stores or in supermarkets. The roasting procedure is done industrially, and both roasted grains and powdered blends are sold on the market.
Can coffee be roasted at home, though?
In fact, home coffee roasting was entirely normal until a few decades ago. There are coffee roasters that use heat and can be used on kitchen appliances, in fireplaces, and on stoves.
During the roasting, smells with acidic, herbaceous, or full-bodied and more strong scents flooded the homes.
When you roast coffee at home, you may achieve various levels of roasting, giving the beans a more faded and dried-out appearance, an intense brown with an oily consistency, a dark brown that tends to black, and a strong aroma.
The advantage of carrying out the procedure at home is having control over how the beans are roasted.
In essence, there are three kinds of home roasting systems:
- gas or electric oven;
- home roasting machine;
The latter is the more straightforward method since it enables you to roast the beans to your desired level of doneness without guaranteeing that they are all roasted uniformly.
What are the stages of the roasting process
Roasting consists mainly of three steps:
- drying;
- gilding;
Let’s see what happens to the beans and how each of these phases takes place.
Drying phase
To ensure that the roasting process goes as smoothly as possible, the moisture from the coffee must be removed at the first stage.
Coffee beans have a humidity content that ranges from 8 to 12%. To get rid of it, the beans must go through a first drying process that involves exposing them for a short period of time to a temperature of about 160 °.
Gilding phase
Gilding follows drying the beans, which is when some of the coffee’s smells start to come through.
Up to a thousand melanoidins, the chemical compounds that give beans their distinctive scents and chromatic subtleties, start to form during this stage.
Development or roasting
The final step in the process is roasting, where timing is crucial to prevent burnt or overpowering coffee.
Because the beans acquire or “develop” the organoleptic qualities required to produce a superior espresso, this process is also known as “development.”
How to roast coffee at home
Let’s begin the practise right away! The directions for roasting coffee at home in the oven are provided below. Just be sure to observe the temperature and timing guidelines.
The thermostat needs to be set lower for the convection oven whereas higher heat is required for the static oven.
The beans must be moved in order for the roasting to be consistent and to ensure the homogeneity of the beans. Take the grains out of the oven as soon as the roasting is finished and allow them to cool.
The gas oven’s temperature should be close to 250 °. On a baking sheet, the grains should be neatly stacked and placed in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes. It is worthwhile to check the cooking toward the finish and turn it off as soon as the desired amount of roasting is obtained.
The temperature of the electric oven must be lower than that of the gas oven, which should be set at about 200 °C.
Once more, the beans must be arranged on a baking sheet without touching and then placed in the middle of the oven.
The beans are roasted after 6 or 7 minutes using this speedier way of heating.
Different scents with different roasting methods
One of the most crucial steps in making coffee is roasting since it controls the flavour and organoleptic properties of the beverage.
There are three different forms of roasting, depending on the rate of the procedure and the temperature at which the beans are cooked:
- Light roasting: light roasting preserves the coffee’s acidic and delicate undertones, which are extremely comparable to the beans’ original flavour and have fruity and floral overtones.
- Middle roasting: the greatest coffee quality can be produced from this kind of roasting. The taste is highly reminiscent of dried fruit and has a dark brown colour with a mixture of sweet and sour undertones.
- Dark roasting: the flavour is more robust and full-bodied, with toasty undertones and traces of chocolate.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if you cook something too quickly, you might taste more acidity, whereas if you roast something slowly, the finished product will be more powerful and full-bodied with fewer acid components.
The blends and scents will be different and richer if the beans are not cooked equally, a situation that happens frequently when roasting beans at home.
You need the best coffee machine for your homemade coffee.
A high-quality coffee machine for home is unquestionably necessary if you are a real coffee lover who wants to learn the art of home roasting.
Lever coffee machines, which also let you regulate the speed of extraction, are the ideal for enhancing all the organoleptic qualities of the espresso.
Therefore, discover all the Pontevecchio lever coffee machine models to better boost your homemade coffee beans! You will be able to appreciate each fragrant note and create the ideal espresso, which has a low acidity and are full-bodied.
