Coffee Bean Roasting

How Coffee Roasters Work And Why Your Choice of a Commercial Coffee Roaster Matters

Roasting coffee beans, like making beer or wine, is an art. Although one can buy home roasters or employ any number of do-it-yourself methods for roasting beans at home, it takes a true master coffee roaster to do justice to coffee beans. First, your commercial coffee roaster must know her coffee beans. Different beans taste best when roasted for different periods of time and at different temperatures. For instance, a Sumatran bean has different qualities than a Brazilian bean, and will be roasted differently by a master roaster.

Second, a master commercial coffee roaster must trust her nose. All of the equipment in the world, including the highest end infrared commercial coffee roaster machines, can't compare to the trained nose of a master coffee roaster. She knows that coffee beans in the early stages of the roasting process have a grassy smell which then deepens to a chocolaty smell as the beans begin to caramelize. A darker roast results in a more bittersweet chocolate smell. Of course, state-of-the-art commercial roasters are essential, but unless a coffee roaster can trust her nose, she will not be successful at providing her customers with a superior coffee.

Third, a master coffee roaster must understand the life-cycle of a coffee bean. Once the green coffee bean is harvested and properly roasted, its life as a delicious product is limited. By roasting coffee in small batches, and by properly packaging and delivering it, a master roaster ensures the integrity of the coffee from the field to the table, whether that table is in a large restaurant chain, or in a small independent café.

As with all innovations, the widespread availability of coffee roaster machines and commercial coffee roasters has led to the idea that anyone can roast coffee beans. Sadly, some people must find out the hard way that such is just not the case. Coffee roasting is an art, and it takes a master roaster many years to perfect her art. Master roaster Kristy Virtue has been perfecting her art for 30 years. She understands coffee beans and coffee roasting in a way that few others do. Her love of her craft can be tasted in her coffee.