Common Mistakes That Can Happen During Coffee Roasting
Just like everything in life, mistakes can happen at any time when roasting coffee, either by the human or from the equipment. Coffee roasters should find ways to avoid, limit or mitigate the mistakes and learn from the experience. By understanding the common mistakes that can happen during coffee roasting and taking all the necessary precautions, coffee roasters can achieve the desired roast profile and bring out the best from the green coffee beans.
Read the full article about the common mistakes that can happen during coffee roasting and how to avoid them.
The Common Mistakes That Can Happen During Coffee Roasting
1. Not understanding the green coffee
Coffee roaster should spend time and effort to get to know their green coffee beans. The more details they know about their coffee (variety, elevation, processing, characteristic etc) the better they will be able to process it and bring out the beans’ highest potential.
2. Not preheating the roasting equipment
When a roasting machine is not preheated enough, the heat is not distributed evenly. Preheating the equipment is crucial, as it allows better consistency when the green coffee beans are loaded into the machine and a more accurate temperature reading throughout the process. This step is crucial to achieving the best flavor and bean development.
3. No between batch protocol
Keeping a standardized procedure between batches is important for achieving constant roasts and minimalizing defects. The goal is to contain the heat inside the coffee roaster, as well as allowing clean air to circulate through the roaster machine between each batch.
4. Not taking notes
Without proper documentation, it might be hard to track why one roast tastes different from the next. It is recommended to log temperatures periodically from beginning to end, log changes to the heat application and airflow, log the time of the process from loading to cooling, and log the visual examination of the beans.
5. Overloading or Underloading
Knowing the optimal capacity of the roasting machine is essential. Overloading the machine will take a longer time to roast the beans and the result is often baked and bland. Underloading the machine will make the roast difficult to control due to increased sensitivity to heat, resulting in uneven roasts.
6. Baking and Scorching
Baking can happen when the roasting temperature drops or the roasting time gets too long, resulting in bland coffee that is devoid of complex flavor profiles, sugars and acids. Scorching happens when the beans are loaded into the coffee roasters at too high a temperature, resulting in coffee beans with overpowering smokey or ashy flavor while the inside is still raw. Coffee roasters should learn to avoid these flavor defects.
7. Not cupping the roast
A solid quality control regime includes regular cupping of the coffee roasts. Aside from making sure the end product adheres to the desired roast profile, coffee cupping and comparing with other roasts will allow you to note the differences, adjust the roasting process or the green coffee beans selection, while still aiming at your roastery’s vision.
8. Inadequate maintenance
Operating a dirty roaster is very hard on the machine. Oil build-up strains the motor, material build-up reduces airflow, and a high risk of fire can happen when combustible materials are built up in the roaster and ventilation system. Also, keeping the roasting equipment clean will help avoid having anything left over from the previous roast that might affect the flavor of the next batch. So it is crucial to set a maintenance schedule according to the manufacturer’s recommendation and the machine usage.
Conclusion
Roasting coffee is an art, and honing skills as a coffee roaster takes time. Getting creative in the blends and making subtle adjustments in the roasting process will yield vastly different end products. This is partly what makes the coffee industry so exciting.
By recognizing and eliminating the mistakes we mentioned above, coffee roasters will find themselves in an advantaged position to successfully roast different varieties of coffee beans and unluck the beans’ true potential. With practice comes better consistency and higher repeatability on each roast. This will impress the customers and make them come back for more.
Berto Roaster Machine is there every step of the way. Our advanced technology enables coffee roasters to perform smoothly with consistent end results. Our features such as automated curve control, data logging, flame failure detector, and low maintenance need can significantly help coffee roasters to yield the best results at every roast. Choose Berto Roaster Machine for your success in roasting coffee. Get in touch with our team now.
