ON-SITE COFFEE ROASTING

From Our On-Sight Coffee Roasting Expert:

Coffee roasting is a combination of equal parts technical skill and art; it very much is a form of modern-day alchemy. Coffee is the backbone and lifeblood of our café, and we take our roasting very seriously. Roasting coffee is a very sensory-based experience. The look, smell and sound of the coffee beans as they roast all provide essential information as to what is happening during this dramatic process.

Coffee beans go through several specific changes while roasting. During the first several minutes, the process is entirely endothermic: the beans absorb all of the heat energy created in the roaster, while slowly increasing in temperature, until the whole bean is the same temperature as the air around it. The beans at this stage smell something similar to wet grass. The actual roasting of the beans doesn’t begin until this has taken place. During the next phase of the process, the beans continue to heat up, turning from a green/brown color to a yellowish tint. During this time, the water inside of the bean heats up and turns to steam. The smell of the bean begins to change as well, now giving off an odor similar to hay. Once the pressure inside builds up enough, the steam begins to break down the cellular integrity inside the bean, creating a popping sound. This is known as “first crack” the bean continues to heat up, turning brown in color, and they begin to smell more like toasted bread. At this stage, CO2 begins to build up inside of the beans, and once the pressure reaches a critical point, the bean expands again, and a new series of popping sounds occurs. This is the “second crack” of the roasting process. The beans are now dark brown in color and are now roughly twice the size they were when roasting began. At this stage in the process, the roast level of the beans is medium, or a full city roast. If the beans continue in the roaster, they will keep getting darker and the oils

from inside of the bean will begin to coat the outside surface of their surface, bringing them to a dark, or French roast.

All of our coffee is hand roasted right on the premises by experienced roasters with a passion for their craft. Our Diedrich IR12 roaster is capable of roasting up to 26 pounds of coffee at a time, to meet the high demand from our loyal customers and friends. We offer a wide variety of single origin coffees from around the world, roasted to differing levels, as well as several blends, utilizing different types of coffees which complement each other, creating amazing coffee experiences which keep people coming back for more.