When coffee is roasted perfectly, the physical appearance of the beans will change during the roast – the beans will expand in size and any wrinkles on the surface will be smoothed out. The beans will also crack open as they explode like popcorn. This is caused by the increase in pressure as water vapour ruptures the cellular structure of the coffee and the natural oils in the bean reach critical mass and move to the outer surface. It’s these oils that contribute to the overall flavour of the drink. This stage in the roast causes the fruity notes in the coffee which are delicate and can be destroyed if too much heat is applied initially.
The key is getting the heat balance just right so the fruity notes are balanced and complemented by the sugar browning in stage two. We design our specific roast profiles tailored to the post-harvest processes and thereby highlight these different flavours. We seek to bring out the wild strawberry fruits of a natural coffee, jammy redcurrant, sugar cane and brown sugars of the honey process, or the vanilla, chocolate and caramel and fudge of the fully washed process coffees.
