The Coffee Roasting Process With Luiz
Have you ever wondered what it takes to transform raw coffee beans into your favourite cup of coffee?
Meet Luiz, our coffee roaster with a great sense of humour and a wealth of coffee and roasting knowledge.
We decided to spend some time with him at the roaster so he could share some of the knowledge he’s gained throughout his roasting years.
According to Luiz, the secret for the perfect roast “starts with high-quality beans and understanding the different stages of the roasting curve for each type of bean. Each blend has its own special recipe, meaning we use specific ratios of green beans from different regions. Every roast requires its own unique times and temperatures to bring out the best flavours.”
Here’s a glimpse into Luiz’s roasting process:
1. Prepping up the roaster: First, the roaster is programmed based on the blend or single origin coffee we’re working with. This sets the temperature for each stage of the roasting process, creating the ‘roasting curve’.
2. Loading the beans: For blends, we load the perfect ratios of green beans from various origins into the scale. Once we’ve poured the right amount of each origin for the number of kilos we want to roast, the load is ready to be transferred to the hopper.
3. We roast: The beans are released from the hopper into the roasting drum. If a batch was previously roasting, the beans wait in the hopper until the drum is free. Roasting takes about 14-16 minutes (on average), depending on the beans and the desired flavour. We also carefully adjust the heat applied for how the beans were processed at their farm of origin (washed, natural, etc.).
4. Monitoring and adjusting: Throughout the roast, we keep an eye on the roasting curve to make sure we’re getting the colour and aroma described in the profile. We may tweak the time or temperature as needed, especially when switching blends or working with different origins.
5. Cooling down: Once the roast is perfect, the beans are emptied onto a cooling tray to bring them to room temperature.
6. Ready to go: Finally, the cooled beans are collected, packed, and shipped off to our customers to enjoy.
Some fun facts about the roasting process