Coffee Knowledge
Inside the coffee roastery
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A mug of coffee is full of fun, flavour, and culture and consumed by millions around the world, but what happens inside a coffee roastery and why? Learn more.
What is a Coffee Roastery?
A coffee roastery is at the heart of our delicate, smooth and simply irresistible coffee blends. Our specially hand-picked and carefully sourced beans are sent around the world to the roastery where coffee beans are roasted before being crushed down to make coffee.
Coffee roasters have to source the coffee through warehouse and catalogue sales or through direct trade, which is the most popular way to find the best coffee. Coffee roasting is an art that requires a high degree of knowledge and experience to produce level roast profiles. Coffee must be closely monitored during the roasting process and scientific principles of heat transfer, thermodynamics and coffee chemistry must be applied to ensure the highest standard of quality and flavour come through in the final product — the roasted bean.
The History of the Coffee Roastery
Coffee, as we all know has a long, rich history, and the preparation of roasting coffee beans to make a drink, is much the same today as it was hundreds of years ago. The first known roasting tools were tin, perforated pans that were used over an open flame. The roaster would then use spoons to circulate the beans around to ensure even roasting. Only a small amount could be roasted at one time, and the stirring meant that the roaster had to pay great attention throughout the whole process. This prompted coffee lovers to start experimenting with new methods, as the old ways proved to be messy and inconsistent.
The Cylindrical Coffee Roaster
The Cylindrical coffee roaster is said to originate in Grand Cairo in the 17th century. These devices enclosed the coffee beans, allowing the heat to develop inside its inner chamber. The chamber featured a hand crank to move the beans around consistently whilst the beans were held over an open fire. The design spread through Europe and the Americas as the coffee industry grew with colonialism.
The Industrial Coffee Roaster
Coffee roasting was not left behind in the industrial revolution. Many early industrial roasters used large cylinders placed over a heat source. Until the introduction of gas supplies throughout urban centres, wood or coal would be used. This resulted in coffee having a smoky flavour, so when natural gas became available, it’s no surprise that it quickly became the roaster’s preferred heat source.
Fluid-Bed Roasters
Drum roasters based on 19th century ideas are still the roaster design choice today. However, in the 1970’s, fluid-bed or hot-air roasters entered the coffee bean roasting scene. The fluid-bed roaster forces air through a screen under the coffee beans with enough strength to lift the beans. Heat is then transferred to the beans as they tumble around. Roasters have largely dismissed fluid-bed roasters, as they do not provide the same quality of roast.
What happens inside the coffee roastery?
Once the coffee beans have arrived at the NESCAFÉ Roastery, in the green bean reception, the process has started. The coffee beans are filtered, cleaned and then sent to the next stages of its roasting journey. The beans move easily around the factory using compressed air, which literally blows them from one stage to the next! 175,000 jars of roasted coffee are produced in the factory, enough to supply the city of Manchester for a whole month. Beans are taken from different silos to create the infamous 5-bean blend.
Once in the factory, coffee beans are each given a grade depending on their quality. Great care that goes into making the perfect coffee to the highest standard. Beans that are burnt can have detrimental effect on the overall flavour of the roastery coffee, and are therefore pre-heated before being roasted. Once roasted, the beans are dropped into a cooler to stop the roasting process. The beans don’t continue to roast before being sent to be ground down.
Overall, the coffee bean undergoes total transformation on every level. One of the immediate obvious changes is the colour of the bean itself, their brown-green colour becomes a dark-yellow as they heat up and then changes to dark brown, when the sugars and amino acids in the bean combine under the heat to produce what is called melanoidins. The longer the roast, the darker the bean becomes and the stronger the flavour, which is why coffee roast types are often referred to as being a light, medium or dark roast.
With modern coffee roasting being better informed by the understanding of coffee chemistry and the changes that occur during the roasting process, it’s no wonder we have such extraordinary flavours and combinations available today. Roasters are better equipped to measure variables and analyse why a roast was successful or not. With technologies such as temperature readings and modern software, they can be more efficient and consistent than ever before.
So, now that you’ve had a small insight into the coffee roastery and what goes on behind the scenes, you may just enjoy your specially created blend that little bit more. Next, discover 8 of the best coffee beans in the world, or learn about the rich history of coffee.
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