How to Roast Coffee

The Symphony of Coffee Roasting: Creating Unique Flavors

Welcome everyone to the heart of the specialty coffee world, where alchemy meets the science of roasting to transform humble green Arabica coffee beans into the aromatic, flavorful elixir we all love.

As a coffee roaster, you are not just an artisan; You are a curator of flavor, an ancient sage roasting coffee beans through a meticulous process that highlights their unique character.

When I enter the roastery, where the magic happens, I only think about getting the most out of the green coffee beans that come to me, understanding them, learning how heat affects them and what they need to show their full potential. Roasting is not a unique process for all coffees, but you have to adapt the different parameters to each type of coffee; It is the coffee that guides you through its changes during the roasting process .

The roast profile, meticulously crafted, determines the flavor, aroma and body of the final brew and can range from light roasts that preserve delicate floral notes to dark roasts with smoky characteristics, each profile is a symphony of flavors waiting to be tasted.

The roasting process, from Green to Brown

Green coffee selection

The journey begins with the careful selection of green coffee beans. Single-origin beans, sourced from specific regions, provide distinctive flavors. As a roaster, you become an alchemist, choosing beans that embody the aromatic characteristics of their origin.

Preheating

You turn on the machine and the drum begins to rotate, the roasting chamber begins to heat up and the fan makes the air flow from inside to outside to spread the heat evenly, heat and precision make the induction act on the beans of green coffee.

This step ensures uniform roasting and sets the stage for the transformation of the beans.

Load the toaster

You weigh the green coffee beans, loaded with potential, introduce them into the roaster in the rotating chamber and the art begins to emerge with a drop in the temperature of the drum due to the cold beans. But the force of the fire soon causes the temperature to begin to rise to give way to the beginning of a symphony, with each grain waiting for its solo in the orchestra of flavors.

Drying phase

The grains, still green, go through a drying phase. Here, the moisture evaporates and the grains become more malleable, changing their color to yellow tones as if it were dry straw. You can also smell how the green smells give way to cereal smells. This phase lays the foundation for the subsequent development of flavors.

Maillard Reaction

Where the reducing sugars, the carbonyl group and amino acids present in the grains begin to decompose due to the action of heat, giving rise to the browning of the grains. This caramelization produces a large amount of flavors and aromas in the coffee.

First Crunch

As the temperature increases, the grains experience a change in color and size, they seem to resist the change and contain the energy inside until it finally breaks through and the grains begin to explode. It is a crucial moment that signals the release of internal gases and the development of complex flavors. For a light roast, this might be the end point; for a medium or dark roast, the process continues.

Development phase

After the first crunches, the grains enter the development phase. The roaster's skill shines here, determining the balance between acidity, sweetness and body. Sampling, continuous observation of the grain and appreciation of smells are the tools we have at our disposal.

Cooling period

Once outside, we must cool these specialty coffee beans quickly so that their interiors stop developing and prevent flavor malformations. The roasted beans, having reached the desired profile, are quickly cooled. This stops the roasting process, preserving flavors and preventing over-roasting.

Rest period

Freshly roasted beans, like a good wine, benefit from a rest period where they expel the gases produced during roasting. This allows the flavors to harmonize and intensify, ensuring that each cup is a symphony of well-integrated notes.

Packaging and distribution

The final act involves carefully packaging the freshly roasted beans. The attention to detail, from the label to ensuring airtight seals to preserve the integrity of the roast, the perfect grind, until it reaches our coffee lovers' hands.

Art of preparation

Where your journey as a barista begins, coffee becomes something personal, something we all know how we like and what techniques to use to achieve our best cup. This is where all my effort is present and your hands create harmonies.

Continuous learning

The art of roasting is a perpetual journey of learning. New grains, techniques, evolution and a commitment to sustainability propel you forward, ensuring each batch is a testament to your passion and experience.

In the world of coffee roasting, precision is your brush, and the roaster is your canvas. As you navigate the complexities of heat, time, and bean characteristics, remember that each batch tells a story: a story of flavor, aroma, and the craftsmanship of roasting.

Types of Roasting

We can find an infinite number of roasts and names given to them, this is because many roasters classify their roasts by degrees of color and temperature, but these parameters do not follow a strict rule and what for some may be a medium roast, for others it may be medium-dark. We classify the roasts into 4 large groups and we usually do a medium roast depending on the beans and their aromatic nuances.

In this article you will find all the information about coffee roasting

Arabica vs Robusta

In the roasting room, you navigate the subtleties between Arabica and Robusta beans. Arabica, the darling of the Rubiaceae, is considered the true specialty coffee, offering unique and varied flavors with a lower caffeine content. On the other hand, Robusta, with its robust cereal flavor and a higher caffeine hit, until recently was completely outside of specialty coffee, but the progress in research on this plant suggests that in a few years we will be able to have some Robust with quite an aromatic quality.

Do you want to know more about coffee and its varieties? Click here

The Tasting Ritual

The tasting sessions become my favorite part, the playground of the palate. In them, you meticulously evaluate the notes that you have extracted from the coffee during the roasting process, its imperfections and investigate how you can squeeze those green coffee beans while taking note of the acidity, body and sweetness and evaluating its balance. It's not just a ritual; It is a sensory exploration that guides your decisions, ensuring that only the best coffees reach the hands of your customers; and there you stay waiting for that feedback, that appreciation that gives you ideas of where to go next time.

Sustainability as a growth philosophy

On this journey, sustainability is not just an implemented idea; It is at the core of development. We roasters are very aware of the difficulties of our suppliers and that without them this culture would not be possible, therefore, we work with certified fair trade companies, we are interested in social and economic development projects and above all we try, with our choice , that our economic spending falls into good hands.

At Hortelano Coffee Roasters, we use environmentally friendly roasting equipment, always trying to seek energy efficiency, recycled materials in our packaging and we work with partner companies of Klimaneutral (an association committed to the goal of 0 carbon emissions) and we try to guarantee a Fair compensation for farmers, your commitment to sustainability resonates in every cup.

Conclusion

In the world of coffee roasting, you're not just a roaster; You are a storyteller, weaving tales of craftsmanship and flavor, transporting the consumer to those remote places in the world. Each batch is a chapter that connects you to the people behind the coffee beans, each cup is a testament to the art and science of coffee roasting that attracts customers.

Let the aroma of freshly roasted beans be the prologue to the sensory journey that awaits every coffee lover.