Coffee Basics: Roasting
Coffee Basics: Roasting
BY SHOETOWN COFFEE PUBLISHED MON 24 MAR 25
Roasting coffee is the final stage in the coffee journey. It’s part science, part craft, and a whole lot of passion. It’s the skill, craftsmanship, and attention to detail of the producers that makes the coffee special, once that green coffee lands with us it’s never getting any better in quality and so it’s our job to make sure we preserve that by carefully roasting it in small batches, unlocking and highlighting their incredibly complex flavours.
Here’s a crash course in coffee roasting, how we take the green coffee and transform it into that golden brown bean, that we grind up, brew and enjoy. Here’s a quick guide to how it goes down:
The Process
1: Drying
The first step is the drying stage, it’s where we evaporate as much moisture out of the green coffee as we can. Raw coffee contains about 10-12% water and while it’s got that moisture locked in, the beans aren’t going to develop.
2: Yellowing
Once we’ve got rid of the moisture the first browning reactions can start. As the beans heat up, they start to expand and their skins flake off, the sugars begin to caramelise and we begin unlocking their aromas. The beans start shifting from a pale green to a golden brown and you’ll start to getting aromas similar to fresh bread.
3: First Crack
This stage is the turning point in the roasting process, as the browning reactions begin to ramp up, the build up of pressure gets too much and the beans start to crack open, popping like popcorn and nearly doubling in size.
4: Development
We’re now at a critical part, this stage is all about control, here’s where the coffee roaster determines the final colour of the beans and whats known as the roast profile, it’s where we balance acidity and bitterness. Get it right, and you’ll get a beautifully balanced cup.
5. Second Crack
If the beans keep roasting, you’ll hit whats called the second crack. This is where darker roasts come into play, with oils beginning to surface on the bean and much of the acidity being lost. A new kind of flavour develops, that generic bold, smoky and bitter flavour. It’s really a result of burning the beans rather than working with the inherent flavours and it will have lost many of the beans distinctive qualities, it’s generally used with lower grade coffee as it disguises any defects in the coffee.
While alot of people enjoy this type of coffee it’s not what we’re looking for, we want to honour the time and hard work the producers have already invested in the coffee highlighting it’s distinctive qualities and flavours that a particular variety or farm have produced. Letting you explore the unique flavours and characteristics of high-grade speciality coffees across the globe.
Different Roast Styles
Just as with brewing there’s many different styles and approaches to roasting, and each one will have an impact on the flavour and characteristics of the coffee. While technology provides real-time data on temperature and airflow, a skilled roaster brings something irreplaceable, intuition. They read the beans, listen for that first crack, and they’ll make split-second adjustments to ensure balance, complexity and consistency in every batch.
As a general rule of thumb you’ll find roast profiles around the following three areas:
Bright, acidic, fruity & floral
Balanced body & sweetness
Bold, smoky, bitter
Every roast level has its fans, and the right one for you depends on your personal preference. But no matter the roast, the key with roasting is consistency, something expert roasters spend years perfecting.
How We Roast
We tend to roast our coffee light to medium but well developed, dodging under-roasted, under developed coffee and steering clear of dark, over roasted coffee that tastes bitter and lacks the delicate flavours you’ll find in well roasted speciality coffee.
Instead of roasting for specific brewing methods, we’re trying to highlight what makes a particular variety or farm exciting, we find the sweet spot for each bean, making it versatile across all brewing styles.
Every new coffee we craft goes through extensive testing, our crew cups and tastes our coffees on a regular basis and we test each coffee rigorously through different brew methods; filter brewing using a V60, immersion brewing using an Aeropress and espresso brewing to ensure we’re getting the best flavours out of our coffee however you brew at home.
When crafting our headliner blends, Unlucky Cobbler and Factory Blend, the brief was simple, we wanted their complex flavours to shine through while allowing for effortless espresso extraction. Even if you’ve only just started experimenting with espresso our blends are pretty forgiving so you can’t go too wrong when pulling a shot. Our blends also offer fantastic filters and Unlucky Cobbler is awesome if you’re looking for some serious cold brew.
Our singles not only offer incredible filter but pack a punch when used for espresso based drinks too. Every coffee comes with its own tailored brew recipe for you to play around with and tweak until you find the perfect brew.
Our headliner blends and singles are the perfect intro to specialty coffee, ideal for both coffee virgins and home espresso nerds, grab your favourite brewer and sling some beans.
