Coffee is a beverage that is very popular with many people around the world due to its taste, aroma and post-drinking effects. For some people, drinking coffee has even become a way of life. When creating the COGEN roaster, we worked not only on the technology of the machine, but also on everything related to coffee. That’s why we’re going to share 7 interesting facts about coffee roasting.
- Roasted beans weigh less than green beans.
When you start roasting a coffee bean, it contains 10 % moisture. The water content of the green beans will decrease as they evaporate during the roasting process. After roasting, the water content will drop to 1 or 2 %. This means that 8 to 9 % of the water evaporates during the roasting process.
- There are 4 types of roasted coffee beans depending on their colour
Light roast is light brown in colour and has a non-oily bean surface. Light roasts have a strong aroma and taste of nuts and fruit.
Medium roast has a medium brown colour and a slight sweetness. The level of flavour and acidity is the same.
Medium dark roast has a rich colour and the surface of the beans looks slightly oily. Medium-dark roasts have a bitter taste and low acidity.
Dark roasts have a darker colour, an oily surface and a high level of bitterness. Dark roast can be achieved by roasting the beans to the second crack.
- The aroma of the coffee beans will change during roasting
At the beginning of roasting, coffee beans smell like hay. After the first crack, the beans take on a new aroma, similar to the smell of homemade popcorn. After the second crack, the smell changes to burnt sugar or roasted nuts.
- The average roasting time is approximately 12 minutes.
The average time required for roasting is approximately 12 minutes. But the most important thing about the roasting process is not how long it takes to roast, but the degree and stages of roasting based on the characteristics of the coffee beans. The roasting time directly depends on the characteristics of the bean and the desired roasting degree.
- Freshly roasted coffee beans are not the best
The reason why freshly roasted coffee is not the best is because the coffee beans that have just finished roasting must go through a process known as “degassing”. Degassing is a process where the coffee beans have to release the carbon dioxide that is produced during roasting. The carbon dioxide must be released from the coffee beans to ensure that they get the optimum flavour. However, if the degassing time is too long, there is a risk of losing the flavour of the coffee altogether. Therefore, it is important to find the right time to release the carbon dioxide as much as possible without losing the flavour.
