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By: Hamish Sentori on Mon Mar 17, 2008

If you’re looking to make the perfect cup of coffee at home, it’s important to select beans of impeccable quality, that have been properly dried. Spend all the money you want to on a grinder or a brushed steel coffee machine with a fancy German name, but if the beans aren’t up to snuff, your coffee will suffer.

Many times, bean producers will soak the beans before drying to remove any of the fruit husks from the exterior of the bean. As the beans float at different levels, it’s easier to separate them. Another complicated and involved drying process that separates the fruit often adds more time, and as such, is reflected in the price that the consumer pays.

The dry processed beans do, however, tend to be less acidic, whereas the wet process will leave a more acidic taste that can be off-putting to some. A bit of acidic taste is good in coffee, but often times, wet-processed beans will tend to be overpoweringly so.

As beans are heated up during the roasting process, the beans absorb heat, changing the color of the beans from green to a slight yellow tint, and producing an aroma similar to popcorn or toast.
At around 170 degrees the combination of heat and internal moisture will cause the sugars in the bean to start to caramelize, which is an important thing to keep in mind when choosing beans. Look for a good moisture content, and proper drying, as when sugar is caramelized, it’s not nearly as sweet.

At 205 degrees, the beans will begin to swell, double in size, and brown: losing 5% of their initial weight, by 220 degrees, another additional 13% of their mass will be reduced, and they will release carbon dioxide.

If the temperature of the roasting oven reaches 230 degrees, the beans will turn to dark brown and the surface acquire a glossy sheen. At this stage, the beans may crack yet again, and it’s important to exercise caution – as going further could burn the beans, thus ruining them and making them unsuitable and flavorless.

It’s important to perfect the roasting process in order that you’ll have a satisfactory and well-balanced bean. A coffee taster or critic who refers to the “body of the coffee” is not talking about the liquid’s thickness, it’s actually the somewhat intangible qualities of the coffee as it is being tasted.

The coffee hitting the palate produces a very particular sensation. It’s a sensation which varies depending on the coffee’s fat content, a quality that varies according to the growing conditions of the bean, but mostly by the roasting process.

If you roast your beans too lightly, then the taste will be acidic and bitter by the brewing stage. If the roast, however, is too dark, then the coffee will taste burn and unpleasant. Experiment with your roasting to find a happy balance and create the perfect cup o’ joe!


Hamish Sentori loves his coffee so much, he married it!