The Art of Island Roasted Coffee
There’s a well-known quote in the coffee industry that ‘anyone can turn a coffee bean brown’ but most people don’t realise exactly how much is involved. Between picking the bean and pouring the cup, your coffee is in the hands of the roasters, experts and artists in bringing out the best flavours from the bean. Dan Burgess from Island Roasted Coffee gives us an insight into the process.
W
hen you roast a coffee, you have a par- ticular end result in mind, for example beans that I might choose for an espres- so blend are likely to be quite different
to those I might choose for a nice single origin filter coffee. Espresso is an unforgiving process, single origins don’t tend to be balanced enough on their own, so you would be looking for a base bean that has the main characteristics you are seeking and blend it with other beans to achieve a final balanced drink. But then you have to know how to roast each bean to get the best results. “Roasting coffee is as much an art as it is a science”, says Dan, “and only those truly passionate about coffee will develop the art, this is what makes artisan roasters stand out from the crowd.”
But equally important is the science, you need to understand a lot about the physics of heat transfer and how your particular roaster works. It’s all about treating the beans to the correct temperature at the right time throughout the roast. You need to know how to read the signs that the beans give out when they reach different stages and adjust the tempera- ture and airflow accordingly. For example watching for colour changes through the sampler window and listening out for popping and crackling sounds which are indicators of certain phases within the roast being reached. It takes years of practice to master this.
We have 3 different types of drum roaster and each has its different characteristics and optimum load size. The temperature range will vary for each type
iow expresso office no. 857670
www.iow-espresso.co.uk
Caffè Isola Tel. 524800 59 Pyle Street, Newport
of roaster but coffee typi- cally enters the drum some- where between 200-240 degrees C; you then adjust heat or air flow to follow the ‘profile’ (bean tempera- ture curve) you have deter- mined is best suited to the particular bean/blend you are roasting. Many factors affect the roasting process such as ambient tempera- ture and humidity so there are no short cuts, you must be highly focussed for the whole roast. The choice of bean will also influence your approach, for exam- ple you may need to roast beans grown at high alti- tude for longer as they are denser. The entire roasting process can take anywhere from about 12 to 18 minutes depending on the type of bean or blend, the desired finished roast colour and the type of roaster you are using.
You then need to check for defects in the finished coffee like scorching or tiping (craters formed in the beans) and finally, most important of all, you need to taste the coffee! This is called ‘cupping’ to check the flavour is as you expected and hopefully enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
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