Comments on: Roasting for brew method

By: Uppsala Coffee Roaster

Uppsala Coffee Roaster — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:30:34 +0000

In my experience and from a roaster’s perspective, some beans have a very small sweet spot (a few seconds too little or too much and you’ve missed it) whereas other beans have a much larger range in which they shine. In other words, some beans seem to have only one best profile whereas others can have different profiles and still be at their best. The beans that have the wider range pf best profiles of course have a range of taste profiles to match…
For example, I might roast a Yirgacheffe slightly more when I want to use it in certain blends, but I would often roast the same bean slightly less if I wanted it by itself. roasting it less will give it slightly more brightness, fruit and citrus tones whereas roasting it more will smooth it out and allow it to blend with other beans better, IMHO…(I have always and probably will always roast different beans separately before blending. This is along the lines of Steve’s original post in which beans are roasted to get the optimal quality out of them…)
In short, I like to find the ideal profile, or _range_ of profiles that bring out the best in a bean. I sometimes try _different_ brew methods to see which roasting profile brings out the best in the bean, though the “cupping” brew method is the standard brewing method when comparing…
Another note: @Ola: I actually do chew on a bean or two sometimes to see where the roast is going and to see if I got it right or not…no kidding…I really do this…

By: Ed Benton

Ed Benton — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 21:49:15 +0000

Roasting for brew method is putting the horse before the cart somewhat. It is inevitable however that certain roast profiles will certain beans and that those roast profiles will shine through better in certain brew methods.

I think everyone has their own internal coffee dogma through which they judge coffee. A kinder word would be taste but sometimes that’s what it is, personal dogma.

Anything that widens the horizons and challenges this dogma is a good thing.

By: JohnC.

JohnC. — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:27:26 +0000

Certainly coffee should be roasted to bring out its essence(s) optimally. That said, with equal certainty, different brewing methods are better suited to different flavor profiles. Roast optimally and brew optimally. Compromise nothing…. Why not?

By: Blazejowicz

Blazejowicz — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 23:07:21 +0000

I agree with U Steve. The most important thing in it is to have clean cup, teasty and suitable for a person who drink it. In some cases the same bean roasted in a different way could give U some changes in a taste profile and thats the magic of coffee. Isn’t it the same as different dose and scale of grinding with espresso ? Diferent amount of coffee connected with a combination of different dose will giwe different taste. The whole thing is to have CLEAN CUP with a good coffee. Cheers

By: Kon

Kon — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:56:44 +0000

I think first of all u should not compromise, the full potential of the coffee bean u supply, that is u should try to reveal the full, most complex characteristics of the bean u roast regardless of the brewing method.

Sometimes simpler is better and less is more, so i think your method is great as long as u have a good evaluation of the bean u supply in order to pick the right roast. Now if someone wishes to have some fun and mix things up a bit to “personalise” his every day coffee experience he can do that by purchasing green beans and roasting them as he wishes. That’s how i see it.

By: Laurent

Laurent — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:01:09 +0000

Depending on what brew method you’ll use for your coffee, you should adjust the roasting time. Offcourse this will also make a huge difference on your entire profile. But from experience, i can tell that for espresso you will have to do a longer roast and for filter coffee you will have to do a much faster roast so the bean cells expand more and it is more easy for the water to take the all taste when brewed.

By: Gerry Penman

Gerry Penman — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:04:57 +0000

There are many variables in the chain of materials and actions involved in making a drink from a roasted, crushed and brewed coffee bean. Then, there is individual palate, taste and preference. Think about it for a moment and the size and complexity is apparent. Thankfully, over centuries, people have. Skilled operators can narrow the range of variables down to a manageable size, but personal preference, and chance, to a degree ultimately play the major part in realising the ‘perfect’ cup of coffee. It hardly needs saying then that coffee is highly subjective.

A quality fresh coffee bean, properly roasted by a skilled person, then competently brewed fresh, is as close to a ‘perfect’ cup of coffee, whatever the degree, shade or style of ‘roast’ that has been used. The paramount requirement is quality materials and skill, then its up to you.

A roaster’s primary consideration is the bean and how to bring it from raw material to finished product using skill and judgement to bring out maximum flavour potential. What the consumer subsequently does with it is not really the roasters concern. Enthusiasm for different roasting levels for different brew methods, etc, is therefore, in my opinion, misguided.

By: Steve Peel

Steve Peel — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:58:26 +0000

Having said that, it is only the blend coffees which get pushed and if you want to make espresso with the other SOs then yes, you’re going to have to get your skills out to a) get a good shot, or b) realise you’re flogging a dead horse and the coffee is unsuitable, go try another method.

By: Steve Peel

Steve Peel — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:49:34 +0000

Yup, horses for courses here. We got coffees in the blend which also go on the counter for single origin, but with the occasional exception we can rarely achieve the best of both worlds, so we go gentle on the SO version, and push the blend level. It’s rare that the espresso level doesn’t taste a little roasty for filter on our gear.

By: Ola Brattås

Ola Brattås — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:14:41 +0000

I’m with David and Tim on this one.

First of all: How do you judge that the coffee is roasted to it’s very best? Not by chewing on the bean for sure. You’d have to brew it first, and then you’ve already chosen a brew method which will “put it’s mark” on the coffee.

Also rather than always only talking about roast degree I like to stress the importance about thinking about the roast profile. Same roast degree but two different profiles = two very different coffees.

Interesting discussion. I don’t everyone will or should agree in the end, though.