QARR Coffee Roasting Club - Home Roasting Basics

Basics of Coffee Roasting

Coffee roasting is fun. Not only does it allows you to roast the beans to your own palate, you will be able to experiment with different roast
styles of a particular bean origin to fully realize the potential of its taste and aroma profiles. With roasting, you will also get consistently good cup
of coffee from the freshest possible coffee beans, roasted by yourself. Most importantly, coffee roasting gives you an in-depth understanding of
the coffee that forms the foundation for true coffee appreciation.

How to Roast?

Coffee roasting is easy. Depending on what home coffee roaster you use, make the settings, dump in the beans and press the button to start
roasting. Then, monitor the roasting process until it finishes and cooling starts (if this function is available in your roaster).

At the beginning of the roast, the beans absorb heat and lose their color, turning yellowish with a grassy smell, followed by a steam that smells
grainy or toasty. Here, the beans lose water content, in the endothermic stage, whereby heat transfer from the bean surface inwards to the
core, forcing out every bit of moisture every minute. after about 3 to 8 minutes depending on the roaster and approach, you will hear the first
crack, a signal from which you can stop the roast anytime as you wish depending on the roast style required based on the smell and color of the
roasted beans. Here, the beans have expanded in size and changed into light brown. Due to loss of water content, the beans also shed some
weight. The first crack also signals the second, or exothermic stage of the roast where the beans begin to release heat/energy. At this time,
caramelization sets in as sugars/sucrose degrades and melts.

Depending on the roast style that you're aiming for, you can stop the roast anytime and let the beans to cool down immediately. If you continue
to roast, you will reach the next or 2nd round of cracking sound, signalling that the beans have reached the Full City roast style, or commonly
known as the espresso roast. If you're roasting for espresso, cappuccino and latte, then you should end the roast immediately and bring the
bean down to room temperature as soon as possible, to prevent further roasting from within the beans. Roasting beyond the 2nd crack, the
bean surface starts to look shiny followed by a sheen of oil oozed out from the beans. Stop the roast before the beans turn black.

When to stop the roast?

So what are the different roast styles in roasting? As we know, the 1st crack marks the 1st roast style, ie. light or cinnamon roast. The beans
are dry and light brown with a distinctly uneven roast. At this stage, it amplifies the qualities of the green beans, whether good or bad. Most of
the origin characters or chemicals are still intact or just beginning to degrade, thus featuring more pronounced acidity than body and depth. As
you roast into the 1st crack and beyond, the next roast style is light medium where a balance of flavor and aroma surface. You will still get more
acidity but with some body, aroma, complexity, depth and be able to detect the varietal characteristics at their peak. If you have some great
beans, this is the roast style to shoot for. Just before you hear the 2nd crack, the most popular medium or City roast style, among specialty
roasters, sets in. This is my favorite roast style (together with light medium) because it produces the most balanced flavor and aroma with the
best of all worlds. Acidity starts to mellow a bit while body, aroma and depth increases. Complexity is at its maximum together with the varietal
characters, and you may get the sweet spot that you're looking for. Once the 2nd crack begins, light espresso roast or Full City lights up your life
as this is the most common roast style for easy and general consumption because body, aroma depth and sweetness dominate the cup while you'll
still get some acidity for a balanced flavor. Pungency also kicks in at this stage. Fruitiness and complexity still prevail (if they exist in the beans)
when you pull the shot. In terms of the physical appearance, the beans are moderately dark brown with a dry surface covered with occasional
taints of oil. If you notice that the bean surface is shiny or more oily and shiny, that means you've reached the espresso roast style. Sweet, full
body, bold and pungency are the keywords to describe the taste profile of the roasted beans. Roasting beyond espresso, you're entering into
the world of dark roast styles, ie. French and Italian roasts. There will be no acidity but only some body, depth , sweetness and aroma.
Pungency with burned undertones dominates the cup.

In terms of roasting for a particular brewing method, I will recommend a medium to light medium for the drip-method, French press, vacuum brew,
pour-over and Aeropress. City roast is also suitable for these non-espresso brewing methods, where milk and sugar mingle well with the brewed
coffee. Unless you're adventurous or experienced in roasting or just got hold of some really great green beans, do not go for the light roast, else
you'll be slapped with disappointment and some wasted beans. As the names suggest, light espresso and espresso, or City and Full City, are
meant for espresso machines. The rest of the roast styles, French and Italian, are up to the individual in terms of the brewing method, because
most of the time, such roast styles are usually meant to work with milk and sugar.

Coffee roasting as a lifetime hobby?

Coffee roasting is also a craft and science. Coffee is an agricultural product that changes according to the seasons, weather and other
environmental changes. It takes years to train the olfactory and gustation senses of professional roasters and years to understand and identify
the characteristics of the beans from each origin, more so from different estates and markets, with different varieties, sizes and processing
methods. Once one has mastered the different beans from these various factors, depending on the market targeted, the next step is to work on
the strengths and weaknesses of the different beans and create the best blend that suits the taste profile of the target market segment.

So, whether you're a casual coffee drinker or a coffee lover, roasting your own coffee will bring you closer to the nature, as we find that this
single ingredient can create such limitless beverages, consumed in amount second only to water.