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FRESHLY ROASTED COFFEE AND

ITS PEAK FLAVOR POTENTIAL

Max Parakhi . 04 March 2022

“While most of a coffee’s specific attributes are influenced by where it is

grown and how it is handled, roasting is responsible for the majority of its
flavor. Coffee requires a little bit of rest after roasting before it can have
its full potential in your cup. How to know the point where coffee is at its
best and what should you do to maximize your coffee experience?

Let’s find out!”

 WHAT IS A FRESHLY ROASTED COFFEE AND ITS PEAK FLAVOR
POTENTIAL

The coffee as soon as it comes out of the roaster is the freshest coffee. It
can and is commonly defined with the roasting date. The recent is the
roasting date, the fresher is the coffee. It is a very general understanding
of freshness of food and drinks.

We would like to have the freshest food prepared for the best value.
However, a similar choice is not applicable to the freshest roasted coffee
beans. This is because as soon as the roasting is complete, the beans
start to degas ( Carbon dioxide and aromatics) and the coffee will
undergo an evolution of flavors over time.

This evolution includes development of flavors to their peak, generally

referred as ageing and decline in the flavor intensity, referred to as staling.
This means roasted coffee ages and then stales after roasting. The coffee
after ageing when the taster feels it tastes the best and before that best
taste start to decline is said to have its peak flavor potential.

(Source: https://coffeecourses.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-coffee-
freshness/)

WHAT HAPPENS DURING ROASTING?

The initial phase of roasting process is drying phase which is followed by

roasting phase including pyrolysis, Maillard reaction and caramelization.
During the roasting process, the exposure of heat brings out physical and
chemical changes in the coffee beans.

Color change from green to brown, coming off of chaff or silver skin,
moisture loss, texture becoming brittle, increase in porosity, becoming
less dense and more soluble and migration of oils from the center of the
cell towards the surface of the beans are major physical changes during
roasting process.

Simultaneously, Maillard reaction, Strecker degradation and caramelization

of sugars are the major chemical changes. All these chemical changes are
responsible for the formation of color compounds and volatile and non-
volatile compounds that contributes to the aroma and taste or a cup of
coffee.

WHAT COMPOUNDS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AROMA AND FLAVOR?

WHAT COMPOUNDS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR AROMA AND FLAVOR?

A range of aromas such as sweet/caramel, earthy, roasted, smoky, fruity

and spicy are formed during the roasting process. Volatile compounds are
organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature.
These volatile compounds evokes the pleasing aroma for most people,
assessable directly through the nostrils of the nose. More than 800
volatile compounds with a wide range of functional groups have been
identified.

Among them only a small fraction of the volatiles, which are produced in
the roasting process of coffee and the concentration of which surpass
their odor thresholds is aroma-active, for example 4 out of 86
alkylpyrazines. Obviously the olfactory system is so selective that only a
relatively small number of compounds is perceived in the complex
mixture of volatiles occurring in coffee. Carbon dioxide is a volatile
compound that doesn’t contribute to aroma, but which does have an
impact on body.

The reactions during roasting also lead to non-volatile substances, of

which two are the main contributors to bitterness in coffee: melanoidins
from the browning reactions and the fragmentation of chlorogenic acid
into quinic and caffeic acid. Caffeine is another source of bitterness, but
the natural content of caffeine in the green beans is hardly affected by
the roasting process, due to the heat stable nature of the molecule. In
addition to the natural content of aliphatic acids already mentioned,
carbohydrates are fragmented into smaller aliphatic acids such as formic,
acetic, glycolic, and lactic acid, which contribute to acidity in different
phases of the roast.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER ROASTING?

During storage, detectable taste changes occur to roasted coffee over

time. Regarding the taste the coffee will undergo an evolution of flavors
over time to their peak, stay there for certain period and then decline.

Coffee taste changes results from the various physical and chemical
activities at molecular level. The two main phenomena to be discussed
here are:

i) Desorption/degassing and absorption & ii) Chemical reactions

i) Desorption/degassing and absorption

The migration of carbon dioxide and volatiles from the coffee matrix to
the surrounding atmosphere is known as degassing/desorption. Chemical
absorption, on the other hand, refers to the transfer of carbon dioxide,
volatiles, water, air, and all other chemicals from the environment back
into the coffee.

About 1% of freshly roasted coffee is gas that is gradually released with

storage. Degassing is primarily influenced by the roast profile; darker and
faster roasts produce more gas and release it faster; however, degassing
can also be influenced by storage temperature, coffee origin, variety, and
processing.

Desorption causes change in aroma profile of the roasted beans.

Individual aromas can have a variety of sensory descriptors and can
resemble a variety of odors. Their respective proportions alter
dramatically throughout time. When we smell them in various
concentrations or in different environments, we notice changes. As a
result, the aroma of a coffee will alter with time.

Each fragrance component has a unique behavior, and the same chemical
might have both a positive and negative odor quality that changes only
with its concentration. For example, beta-Damascenone is a molecule that
smells nasty and smoky at high quantities but pleasant and flowery at low
doses. When discussing the evolution of coffee flavor over time, it quickly
becomes evident that we are dealing with a very complicated problem.

ii) Chemical reactions

All chemical reactions that take place over time, in and around the roasted
coffee, are referred to as time-dependent reactions. Oxidation, reduction,
polymerization (including dimerization), hydrolysis, and other chemical
reactions are examples of these. Over time, the interactions alter the
chemical makeup of coffee, altering how it tastes and smells.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN FACTORS THAT PLAYS ROLE IN POST ROASTING
CHANGES?
There are four most important external factors that are involved in all the
post roasting changes:

1. Headspace

The volatile aroma molecules are abundant in freshly roasted coffee

beans. Aroma will seek to escape into every open area accessible
surrounding the beans.

2. Oxygen

Some of the delicate aroma components in coffee beans can be

degraded when they come into contact with oxygen from the air. In
addition to this, the oil naturally present within the roasted coffee bean
can also be degraded by oxygen. In darker roasted coffees the oxidation
of oil migrated to the bean surface are fast and extremely unpleasant.

3. Temperature

Molecules move according to temperature, and the higher the

temperature, the faster they travel. When they move quickly, it’s more
probable that the beans will lose their aroma and react with oxygen. With
every 10°C rise in temperature, the aroma lost from coffee beans generally
doubles. Similarly, at higher temperature, oxidation processes can speed
up even more, therefore exposing the beans to high temperatures (>50
°C) for even a short period of time might harm the aroma of the coffee.

4. Light

Strong light can destroy coffee qualities too.

5. Humidity

It has been found that higher humidity in ground coffee increases the
release rate of aroma loss from coffee.

6. Time

None of the processes that lead to the loss of freshness are

instantaneous; they all take time.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS WE CAN APPLY TO ACHIEVE THE PEAK POTENTIAL
AS WE WANT OR FOR LONGER PERIOD OF TIME?

Packaging:

The best packaging minimizes aroma loss outside of the packaging and
does not allow oxygen to infiltrate within the package (high barrier
material), while allowing carbon dioxide to escape through a one-way

valve. When the beans are packaged in an inert environment (nitrogen) or

under vacuum, the aroma is best protected from oxidation.

The amount of protection the package needs to provide the beans

depends on how long the coffee will be stored until it is opened and how
vulnerable it is to aging. For the non-flushed coffee package with
integrated one-way valves stored under room temperature the flavor is at
peak from 1 week to 3 week after roasting. Whereas for gas-flushed
coffees in a bag with laminated aluminum layer and one-way valve stored
under room temperature the peak flavor period is from 2 week to 8 week
after roasting.

Storage:

The most important storage parameter is temperature. We could

theoretically keep coffee fresh eternally if we cooled it to absolute zero
temperature. It’s best to avoid exposing coffee to temperatures over room
temperature.

The easiest way to keep coffee fresh for longer is to freeze it. Freezing the
coffee beans seals in the flavors and keeps the coffee in the same
condition as it would be a few days after roasting.

Because roasted coffee beans have very little moisture, freezing them just
cools them; no ice is created, and the substance does not alter as a result
of the freezing process. The freshness of coffee may be extended by
around ten times by storing it in the freezer.

When freezing roasted coffee, there are a few factors to keep in mind:

1. Keep coffee beans in well-sealed bags or an airtight container in the

freezer to prevent humidity and odor from other foods in the freezer from
migrating into the beans.

2. Break up the coffee into little batches to make it easier to handle the
required quantity without disrupting the larger batch.

3.Before opening the bag/container, let the beans completely thaw to

room temperature. When a bag is opened and the beans inside are chilly,
the humidity condenses on the beans, causing them to age faster. A 250 g

bag should be left outside for at least 1 hour and a 500 g bag for at least 2
hours before opening.

Extraction:

As the roasted coffee matures, it will act differently due to the degassing
and chemical transformation processes. As the roasted beans get older,
the extraction conditions need to be adjusted.

Time:

This is an inevitable parameter. It will be best to enjoy the coffee while it’s
still fresh and most flavorful. Coffee requires a little bit of rest after
roasting. Most coffees require at least a few days after roast to taste their
best. Buying fresh roasted coffee gives you the maximum number of days
where it is tasting its best. In addition, the brewing process, roast style,
coffee kind, and personal preference all have a role. Explore what works
best for you and your coffee, and learn from the experience. This is what
makes coffee so intriguing!

MAX PARAKHI
dedicated “for coffee cause”
From Food Scientist to Coffee Processing Specialist.

He studied Food Science, Technology and Engineering with one hand

training on food processing, preservation and fermentation in Nepal, India
and Thailand. Today, he is a coffee processing and roasting specialist and
natural product technologist with years of experience working with coffee
producers, Q graders and entrepreneurs throughout Thailand and Nepal.
He is also exploring the revisiting of fluid bed roasting technology from the
last century.
He advocates the cause of coffee which has been long observed and
experienced can transcend the whole human civilization. There is an
immense opportunity to add value on coffee with a multidisciplinary
approach.

He is dedicated to close the information gap between the scientists,

quality seekers, producers and consumers.

parakhiroasters@gmail.com

+66-829560943

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Max Parakhi March 12, 2022 Uncategorized

One response to “FRESHLY ROASTED
COFFEE AND ITS PEAK
FLAVOR POTENTIAL”
Oko Ono says:
May 28, 2022 at 9:55 am Edit

This article is very useful.

 Like

Reply

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