Let’s take a look at some of the most common points of interest going through an Artisan roasters mind when developing a roast recipe for a particular coffee-

—Flavour formation in the roasting process
A complex and interesting flavour profile cannot be created if the potential is not there to begin with. Higher quality, well processed coffees will have this potential. A good artisan roaster will also look to the genetic background and/or reputation of the variety in question and use this information in recipe development.

—Modulating cup characteristics via degradation and formation of various compounds
The degradation of Trigonelline (Bitter) to the derivation of Nicotinic Acid (Clean and sweet) is just one example.

—Acid formation, degradation and preservation
Positive associated acids contribute an important structural component to a coffee. Most of the time, when we talk about positive acids – it’s fruit related. Good acidity gives the coffee liveliness and is essential as an aspect of what makes a coffee great together sweetness, bitterness, mouthfeel, flavours, aromas, etc. It’s getting all of these – in a balance that is unique for each coffee – that will make your cup great. Examplesof positive-associated fruit acids are preformed citric and malic acids. These exist in fairly high concentrations in fresh unroasted coffee. They tend to taper off as the green coffee ages. This is one of the reasons why abiding to seasonality is paramount – the highest quality coffee should be used at an optimal time after the harvest. Commercial roasteries can roast coffees that were harvested much farther from the roasting date as these nuances are less important.

Packaging Origin Artisan-Roasted Speciality Coffee

Formation of melanoidans

Melanoidins are brown, high molecular weight heterogeneous polymers that are formed when reducing sugars react with amino acids (constituents of protein) through the Maillard reaction. Melanoidins are commonly present in foods that have undergone some form of non-enzymatic browning such as various baked goods and, of course, Coffee. Because of the high molecular weight of melanoidins, they impart a heavier body and thicker texture to the brew. This is one reason why darker roasted coffees are associated with a bigger body. But Coffee doesn’t necessarily have to be roasted darker for body and mouthfeel to be enhanced. Saying a coffee is dark is merely a reference to the level of sugar caramelization of a given roast and is limited in its classification (this is a topic for another post.)

Sugar preservation and transformation

Caramelised sugar will yield various sweetness associated aroma compounds which we still to some degree experience as sweetness via olfaction (on the nose). Residual sucrose left over and preserved in the coffee after the roasting process ends up being experienced via gustation (in the mouth). A good artisan roaster will know how far they need to go.

A cup of Origin Artisan-Roasted Speciality Coffee

The 5 basic taste’s modulation. The balance of the five basic tastes

Sweet, salt, sour, bitter and savoury all exist in coffee and need to be juggled in a way that makes the cup interesting and tasty. This juggling act changes depending on the Coffee being roasted.

Conclusion

There are many more points that will make a difference in profile development, and sadly, there are roasters out there that don’t even consider the few mentioned above. Artisan roasters generally have more interest in their work as they know that the potential is there for them to unlock in the first place, allowing for more of a creative playground where maximum self-expression is possible. As with anything else, the raw materials will dictate potential outcomes and Artisan roasters generally have plenty of excellent raw materials.

Until next time.

Read “Artisan-Roasted Speciality Coffee Explained” Part 1

All the dictionaries out there state the word Artisan as denoting goods produced on a small scale using traditional methods by skilled craftsmen.

That sounds about right when you think about specialty coffee roasting as opposed to commercial grade roasting (think of supermarket and other large commercial brands)

Mike MacDonald – Origin’s Head Roaster

Go for the green

The highest quality coffees have unique characteristics determined by varietal, terroir, climate, and the care and attention paid by the farmer pre-harvest, during picking, and when processing the coffee.  Lots of green coffee – even coffees from the same country, the same region or even the same farm – can have substantially different levels of quality and different character. Speciality beans meet specific higher minimum quality standards and the best of these coffees are typically produced in smaller lots which cannot be used by larger roasters without blending them to reach the volumes they need (often blending with lower quality lots from the same producer or even other origins). The best speciality roasters will select specific lots from each producer.

Roasters Tip: If the coffee packaging does not state where the coffee is from, along with farm specs, then it’s probably not specialty-grade coffee, and consequently not from an Artisan Roaster.
Be aware that words describing origin or region are sometimes used by non-speciality roasters to make a commercial coffee sound like it’s “high quality”. But the only true measure of speciality coffee is in the cup. For example, even if a bag of coffee says “Ethiopia Sidamo” or “Guatemala Antigua” (country+region), that does not necessarily imply anything in terms of quality (or what the price should be). It’s like saying a bottle of wine was made from grapes from Stellenbosch –an “origin” which could include wines from top cellars like de Trafford, Saxenburg, Rust en Vrede or De Toren costing R1,000, 2,000 or even more per bottle together with everyday, much lower quality wines at R50 a bottle. No one expects these to be the same even though they are all made from red wine grapes grown near Stellenbosch.

Mike MacDonald – Artisan-Roasted Speciality Coffee

Turning green beans into roasted coffee

So the best artisan roasters start with better quality green than most commercial roasteries. These high-quality coffees have a great deal of flavour potential, which needs to be unlocked through various chemical reactions in the roasting process. A dedicated and experienced artisan roaster has spent years building the skills and experience to unlock the full potential of each of the coffees they select. That does not mean that the larger commercial roasteries are not skilled at producing a consistent product, but there are certain advantages to working by hand with smaller batches in a smaller roastery.

Roasting machines, and particularly drum roasters are basically rotating cylindrical ovens. They normally have temperature probes attached at various points to track temperature development in all roasts.

Temperature tracking and manipulation in the roasting process is the key to optimizing a coffee’s flavour profile. Most compounds in coffee have a particular flavour or sensation that can be identified via cupping. In this way, the roaster uses their skills (including ongoing experimentation) and sensory evaluation to achieve the result they want and feel is best for that coffee (and sometimes a specific brewing method). Sensory evaluation become one of the most important aspects of a coffee professional’s job. Sensory evaluation will occur at a more intensive level with Artisan roasted coffee compared to commercially roasted coffee, and in my opinion is one of the most fun parts of the job.

Continue reading about “Artisan-Roasted Speciality Coffee Explained” in Part 2