Why is coffee roasted?
Most people go in to a coffee shop and have no idea what they are ordering. Likely, they have a favorite, but they don’t know why?!
Lets start with the Roast. There are a lot of things going on in the roast. It is all based on what is going on with the bean. Some of the roast is getting rid of some of the flavors. Not everything in the bean is flavorful and desirable. Mother Nature gave coffee beans maybe 150-200 chemicals, but when its roasted we can have 1000’s! It’s all based on what is IN THE BEAN. How was it grown, where was it grown, how was it cared for, what was going on in the environment. You can’t make a flavor come out that weren’t already there in the bean.
Roasting is all about time and temperature. Roasting has several ways of introducing heat to the coffee. The roaster compares what’s going on to the roast profiles. The roast profile is the magic of the process, the model, it is what makes one roast different or better from another.
The crack. The first crack, an audible sound, that occurs when the coffee starts to change into the color we recognize. It enters the roaster as a “green” wet bean, then as it dries it turns more of a yellowish color. Sound, color and smell are cues we use to decide when a coffee is finished. Floral, Fruit, Chocolate, Caramel, Smoky…. all qualities that are brought out by the differences in time and temperature inside the roaster.
Experiment with some roasts and don’t be afraid to seek out what you truly enjoy. Many of us are influenced by the classic smells and tastes of over roasted commercial coffees our parents drank. Try something new, explore! Our Texas French is a French roast, I am sure you will love it.
TXPO Nick