Roast Styles

Everyday alchemy, coffee roasting coaxes golden flavor from a bland bean. Unroasted beans boast all of coffee’s acids, protein, and caffeine—but none of its taste. It takes heat to spark the chemical reactions that turn carbohydrates and fats into aromatic oils, burn off moisture and carbon dioxide, and alternately break down and build up acids, unlocking the characteristic coffee flavor.

A note on flavor: Describing the tastes of different roasts is as subjective as putting a wine into words. In both cases there’s no substitute for your own personal taste, so sample away!

Light

Aliases: Cinnamon roast, Half city, New England

Roaster Watch: After about seven minutes the beans “pop” and double in size, and light roasting is achieved. American mass-market roasters typically stop here.

Surface: Dry

Flavor: Light-bodied and somewhat sour, grassy, and snappy

Medium

Aliases: Full city, American, Regular, Breakfast, Brown

Roaster Watch: At nine to eleven minutes the beans reach this roast, which U.S. specialty sellers tend to prefer.

Surface: Dry

Flavor: A bit sweeter than light roast; full body balanced by acid snap, aroma, and complexity

Dark

Aliases: High, Viennese, French, Continental

Roaster Watch: After 12 to 13 minutes the beans begin hissing and popping again, and oils rise to the surface. Roasters from the U.S. Northwest generally remove the beans at this point.

Surface: Slightly shiny

Flavor: Somewhat spicy; complexity is traded for rich chocolaty body, aroma is exchanged for sweetness

Darkest

Aliases: Italian, Espresso

Roaster Watch: After 14 minutes or so the beans grow quiet and begin to smoke. Having carmelized, the bean sugars begin to carbonize.

Surface: Very oily

Flavor: Smokey; tastes primarily of roasting, not of the inherent flavor of the bean

Roasting 101

The earliest method was by roasting the green coffee in a heavy pan over charcoal fire (some hard-core cowboys still roast this way). Late last century, a new process was introduced where beans were spun in a hot air chamber heated by natural gas; this system is still the most widely used to date. With the birth of the computer technology has evolved and when coupled with light heating (as with Halogen) temperatures can now be maintained within +/- 1ºC.
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The chemical make-up of the coffee bean changes during the roasting process: water dissipates in the bean and a series of chemical reactions change sugars and starches into oils, which give coffee much of its aroma and flavor. When roasted the coffee bean doubles in size and the caramelization of the sugar turns it from green to brown.

The color and appearance of the roasted bean depends on how long it has been roasted for. The longer it is roasted, the darker the roast. Coffee is usually roasted for about 10 to 20 minutes at temperatures ranging from 400ºF to 425ºF (204ºC to 218ºC).

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The secret to developing the aroma and flavor of coffee is found in the roasting of the coffee beans. The length of time, as well as temperature of the roast, are crucial in producing a quality cup of coffee, as well as determining which characteristics will be emphasized or muted. If roasting is too short, the oils won't be brought to the surface and the coffee will have a nutty flavor and lack consistency.

Dark roasted beans contain less acid, have slightly less caffeine than lighter roasted beans and have a shorter shelf life, due to the amount of oils on the surface. In darker roasts, it is the roast's smoky, pungent, burnt taste that dominates overtaking the bean's natural flavor. Many times the dark roast's burnt taste will mask beans that are low in flavor and quality. Contrary to popular belief, a dark roast does not equal a richer, stronger cup. Roasting plays no part in determining the strength of a cup of coffee. It is the amount of water and coffee to be used when brewing that determines the strength.

Lightly roasted coffee beans have a sharper, more acidic taste than darker roasts. The coffee suffers less heat exposure, which maintains the bean's qualities. Because flavor is revealed, light roasts are used with higher quality beans.

Several roasting levels have their own characteristics and may be suitable to different tastes or specific uses; they are the following:

LABEL	APPEARANCE	COLOR	CHARACTERISTICS
Cinnamon Roast	light roast, light cinnamon tone		Pronounced nut-like flavor, high coffee acidity
American Roast	Medium roast, chestnut hue		Pronounced caramel like flavor
City Roast	Medium roast, medium brown with no surface oils		Full coffee flavor, with some loss of acidity
Full City Roast	Chestnut brown, slightly darker than the City Roast		Full coffee flavor, good balance of acidity and sugar
Vienna	Dark brown, with traces of oil on the surface		Dark roast flavor
French Roast	Dark brown, nearly black, oily on the surface		Bitter, smoky taste and pungent aroma
Italian	Dark chocolate brown, oils on the surface		Burnt flavor
Espresso	Dark roast, used specifically for espresso machines		Burnt flavor that is strong and sweet

The 5 Requirements For A Great Cup Of Coffee

1 - Freshness Start with fresh roasted coffee. Consumption closest to the roast date produces better flavor and aroma. Therefore only buy what you will drink within two weeks.

2 - Water Use fresh water. Bottled or distilled water is always best.

3 - Grind Use the correct grind. Too fine a grind will over-extract the coffee flavor thus making it bitter. Too coarse a grind no flavor.

4 - Proportion Use the correct proportion. The industry standard is two rounded tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of water. Everyone should start from this point, then make adjustments to your taste or the tastes of your fellow drinkers.

5 - Equipment Use clean brewing equipment. Clean out your brewer once a month with a mix of vinegar and water. This will help clean out the accumulated oils that coat your equipment. Expired coffee taste is the taste that these oils leave.

Coffee may lower risk of uterus cancer: Japan study

9/1/08 TOKYO (AFP) - Women who drink a lot of coffee may have less risk of developing cancer of the uterus, a Japanese study said Monday.

The study led by Japan's health ministry monitored some 54,000 women aged 40 to 69 over about 15 years, during which time 117 women developed cancer in the womb, according to the medical team.

The researchers at Japan's National Cancer Center divided the women into four groups by the amount of coffee they drank.

They found the group of women who drank more than three cups of coffee every day were more than 60 percent less likely to develop uterine cancer than those who had coffee fewer than two times a week, the study said.

"Coffee may have effects in lowering insulin levels, possibly curbing the risks of developing womb cancer," the study said.

The medical team also studied the effects of drinking green tea, but did not find any link to uterine cancer.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women.

Coffee Facts - Decaffeination processes

To make coffee caffeine free, the stimulating supplement needs to be derived from the beans. Since coffee develops most of its flavour during roasting, the caffeine is extracted from the raw green coffee beans. Various methods exist to achieve this, of which the water-carbon (H2O/C) and dichloromethane (commonly known as DCM) methods are the most used. Both of these techniques extract the caffeine with a caffeine-selective solvent, which therefore leaves the other substances in the bean. Modern decaffeinating methods have no effect upon the flavour and aroma of the coffee. Good decaffeinated coffee therefore tastes almost the same as coffee containing caffeine.

Water-carbon method
This process uses water (H2O) as a solvent. The green beans are rinsed with water for a long period, during which time the caffeine dissolves into the water. The water, with its dissolved caffeine, is then pumped through an active carbon (C) filter which absorbs the caffeine. The decaffeinated beans are dried using warm air and then cooled with cold air. They are then roasted, ground and packed in the usual way. The water is re-used for the decaffeination process.

Dichloromethane process
This method employs dichloromethane (DCM) as a solvent and has been developed to suit the requirements of the out of home industry. The green beans are moistened with water in order to make the surface of the bean porous, and soaked in the solvent for 30 minutes. This is repeated several times. The beans are removed from the solvent once the caffeine has dissolved. They are then steamed for some time in order to remove any remaining solvent. Afterwards the beans are dried using warm air, then cooled with cold air. They are roasted, ground and packed in the usual way. The dichloromethane is reused for further decaffeinating.

Coffee Facts - Decaffeinated coffee

Coffee naturally contains the active supplement caffeine. The stimulating power of coffee is as well known as the outstanding taste. A lot of people appreciate this stimulating power, but there are some people that do not handle caffeine so well or do not like the stimulating effect every time of the day. For them there is decaffeinated coffee on the market. This decaffeinated coffee lacks the stimulating power of caffeine.

Normal coffee beans contain between 0.8 percent and 2.5 percent caffeine depending on origin and variety. Decaffeinated coffee is not entirely caffeine-free. In European Community (EC) countries, roasted decaffeinated coffee may contain a caffeine residue of 0.1 percent and coffee extract 0.3 percent.