ROASTING

 Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and

physical properties of green coffee beans into
roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what
produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by
causing the green coffee beans to expand and to change
in color, taste, smell, and density.
 Unroasted beans contain similar acids, protein, and
caffeine as those that have been roasted, but lack
the taste. Heat must be applied for the Maillard
and other chemical reactions to occur.
 As green coffee is more stable than roasted, the roasting
process tends to take place close to where it will be consumed.
This reduces the time that roasted coffee spends in
distribution, giving the consumer a longer shelf life. The vast
majority of coffee is roasted commercially on a large scale,
but some coffee drinkers roast coffee at home in order to have
more control over the freshness and flavor profile of the
beans.
 The most common roasting machines are of two basic types:
drum and hot-air, although there are others including packed
bed, tangential and centrifugal roasters. Roasters can operate
in either batch or continuous modes
 Drum machines consist of horizontal rotating drums that
tumble the green coffee beans in a heated environment. The
heat source can be supplied by natural gas, liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG), electricity, or even wood.

 The most common employ indirectly heated drums where the

heat source is under the drum. Direct-fired roasters are roasters
in which a flame contacts the beans inside the drum; very few
of these machines are still in operation.
 Hot-air roasters force heated air through a screen or perforated
plate under the coffee beans with sufficient force to lift the
beans. Heat is transferred to the beans as they tumble and
circulate within this fluidized bed
Degree of roasting
 Many coffee companies have specialized
terminology for their different roasts and there is
not much industry standardization. The different
names for flavored roasts can cause confusion, but
in general, the types of roasts fall into one of four
color categories:
 light, medium, medium-dark, dark
Determining degree of roast
 The most popular, but probably the least accurate,
method of determining the degree of roast is to
judge the bean's color by eye (the exception to this
is using a colorimeter to measure the ground
coffee reflectance under infrared light and
comparing it to standards such as the Agtron scale)
As the beans absorb heat, the color shifts to yellow
and then to increasingly darker shades of brown.
 During the later stages of roasting, oils appear on the surface of
the bean. The roast will continue to darken until it is removed
from the heat source. Beans will also darken as they age, making
color alone a poor roast determinant. Most roasters use a
combination of bean mass temperature, smell, color, and sound to
monitor the roasting process.
 Sound is a good indicator of bean temperature during roasting.
There are two temperature thresholds called "cracks" that roasters
listen for. At about 205–207 °C (401–405 °F), beans will emit a
cracking sound much like popcorn does when it pops, only much
quieter. This point is called "first crack," marking the beginning
of light roasts. When the beans are at about 224–227 °C (435–
441 °F), or a medium roast, they emit a "second crack." This is
the dividing point between medium and dark roasts.
Degree of roast pictorial
 Theseimages depict samples taken from the same
batch of a typical Brazilian green coffee at various
bean temperatures with their subjective roast
names and descriptions.