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The
Bean
 
The coffee bean begins its journey to your cup as
the seed of a coffee cherry. Normally grown in warm climates and at higher
altitudes, a myriad of factors affect a bean's quality beyond simply growing
conditions.
Surrounded by several layers of skin and pulp, the seed must be picked, processed
or dried in some manner, and cleaned up to become roaster-ready. It can be dried
with the fruit still around the seed, it can be washed first and then set to dry,
or a hybrid where some of the pulp is left on while it dries. No processing method
is inherently better, but each provides a distinctly different character to the
bean, and therefore to your cup. Each region and processing method can provide
excellent beans and terrible beans, sometimes in the same year.
In the end, the only way to know is by roasting it, brewing it, and tasting it in
your cup.
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The
Roast
Roasting is the method by which an inedible, bitter green seed is
transformed to a delicious, flavor infused coffee bean. It can be done in a pan on
the stove, in a converted hot-air popper, or in a $20,000 commercial roaster, all
accomplishing the same thing albeit with varying degrees of quality. Heated through
air or hot metal contact of between 400 and 500 degrees farenheight, the bean
sugars begin to carmelize, moisture begins to vaporize, and the color begins to
darken (frames 1 through 5). Once internal bean temperature approaches 380 degrees,
pyrolysis or "first crack" occurs which signifies the beginning of drinkable coffee
(frames 6,7).
Now a third larger and 30% lighter in weight, the bean processes through first
crack towards second crack as its internal temperature rises and the internal oils
begin to seep out, producing flavors unique to its origin and processing method
(Frames 8-11). Most beans achieve their optimum roast somewhere in this range,
between first crack and slightly into second. After achieving second crack, the
smoke increases dramatically and the bean begins to take on more of the flavor of
the roast and loses some of its individuality (Frames 12,13). Finally reaching over
470 degrees internally, the bean's woody structures break down and a bitter,
charred brew will soon ensue (Frames 14-16).
Knowing just when to stop the roast for each type of bean is the key to that great
cup of coffee.
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