Roasting | Grinding | Brewing | Storing

For most of its history, coffee was roasted in the home. Factory roasting was invented at the end of the 19th century. The forerunner of the modern coffee roaster was invented by Jabez Burns in 1864 to meet the increasing demand for coffee. In the early 1900's as gas replaced coal and heat became more easily controllable, Burns continued to modernize his invention. In 1935 he came up with the "Thermalo" process, utilizing hot air blown at high speed through the roasting cylinder.
To this day, however, proper coffee roasting is always supervised; for it is important to see the color of the bean. Each coffee variety has its own idiosyncrasies and no two batches of coffee roast exactly alike. Coffee roasting shrinks the bean roughly 15%… up to 20% for darkest roast in weights, but doubles the volume, as the result of beans cracking and expanding as they roast. The darker the roast, the greater the volume of coffee. Color change is caused by carmelization of the sugars.
The caffeine component in coffee is fairly stable and does not decrease significantly in the roasting process. Coffee acidity is highest with lightest roasts.
The basic coffee roasting principles are : Heat should be applied evenly to the bean...... Heat should be applied at the lowest temperature possible for shortest amount of time.....
Coffee should be quickly cooled when roasting is finished. Temperatures for roasting range from about 380 degrees for a light roast; through about 400 degrees for a medium roast and 425 degrees for a dark roast. And 425 degrees for a dark roast. Having the temperature too high burns the coffee and having the temperature too low, or roasting the coffee for too long, bakes the bean. Both are problems to be avoided.

Roasting your own coffee at home can be fun. Start with an iron skillet or any heavy frying pan. Cover the bottom of the pan with beans, being careful not to pile on too many, as it becomes harder to roast them all evenly.
Cover your skillet to keep the aroma from escaping, and turn your heat to medium high. Keep a careful watch on the color of your beans as you stir them every few minutes. When you reach the desired roast, take the beans off the heat and put them in a large glass bowl to cool. They are now ready for grinding and brewing. The sooner you grind and brew your coffee, the fresher and more delightful you will find your cup.
This might not be an activity you will want to engaged in every morning, but it can be an exciting process. As you develop your coffee roasting skills, you may find that you are creating your very own special blend. You can keep your unused roasted beans in you freezer, locked in an airtight container. Remember that ground coffee losses its unique individual flavor in about a week unless it is properly packaged.

Green beans

: Raw beans

Yellow

: Bean begins to roast, losing moisture. In addition to being judged by its species, country of origin, growing altitude it is also judged by its roast. It is often named after a region in which the particular roast is popular. (E.g.: Italian Roast) Terms like city, full city, Normal, Regular, Cinnamon, and special are also used.

Light City Roast

: Most supermarket coffee, or institutional coffee: color is light and cinnamon, the bean is dry and not fully developed, coffee taste is thin.

City Roast

: Because this is relatively light roast, the coffee bean will still be high in acidity. However it may not have reached full flavor potential.

Full City Roast

: Nice, even, dark brown beans. Beans show no oil on the surface, or just the hint of oily patches. Give a full-bodied cup. American roasts in specialty shops are often a full city roast.

Brazilian Roast

: Slightly darker than full city, not to be confused with coffee grown in Brazil. Traces of oil show on the bean.

Viennese Roast

: Falls between full city and French roasts. There is sometimes a little confusion regarding this roast, even in Vienna. Generally dark in color, the beans are shiny with the coffee's oils.

French Roast

: Oil easily seen on the bean. Dark, flavorful bean, this approaches espresso roast in flavor; but remains smoother. Chicory flavor is sometimes added for " Louisiana Style" coffee.

Turkish/Greek Roast

: "Turkish" refers to grind as well as roast. The grind for " Turkish Coffee" is especially fine, leaving the coffee somewhat textured. The roast is very dark, comparable to an espresso or Italian roast. Acidity qualities of the coffee have been roasted away.

French/Italian Roast

: When you want espresso style flavor without the bit; mix Italian and French roast.

Espresso Roast

: The darkest roast, beans are roasted nearly black. Heaviest, darkest and pungent. The bean is oily and shiny, nearly devoid of acidity.

{Source: Classic Pleasures - Coffee by Media Castle Inc.}

Coarse

: If you must use a percolator this is the grind for it. The coarse grind prevents the coffee from dropping through the filter holes; also a good grind for plunger pots and open pots. A coarse grind used in the dripper may let the water pass through too quickly robbing you all the flavor the coffee has to offer.

Medium

: This grind is popular and versatile. It is suitable for most brewing methods and the grind of most super market brands.

Fine

: A fine grind is good for coned shaped filters and the vacuum pot.

Extra fine

: Good for Professional espresso makers or home espresso machine. This grind is like fine sugar granules. Also suitable for cone shaped filters and flittered coffee pots.

Pulverized

: It is finer than Extra fine. This grind is used for Turkish coffee. Most home grinders cannot achieve this powder like coffee but you can find it commercially.

Mortar & Pestle

: This is interesting and kind of fun, but is time consuming and hard to get an even grind.

Hand mill

: Drop the beans into top of the mill and turn the crank. The beans will then crush between two discs and fall into the box or drawer at the bottom of the grinder. You can determine the fineness of the grind by adjusting the discs.

Electric

: Popular because of ease and simplicity. You adjust the fineness of the grind by the length of time you run the machine.

For an exotic change of pace you may want to try grinding different flavors into your coffee. Chicory is a well-known coffee substitute and additive: popular in the south. Chicory is a root and its greens are sometimes used for salads. The root part of the plant is roasted and ground; its color resembles that of ground coffee. If you feel like experimenting use about one part Chicory to 4 parts coffee. Some other flavors that go well with coffee are Cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and coca. With ground spices, add a healthy dash and grind as you normally would. With cocoa, you can buy the beans whole, and then grind in a teaspoon of beans per pot for a light touch of flavor.

{Chicory: An addition or filler in coffee made from the plant, cichorium intybus.}