I roast coffee.
I am in the peculiar position of having a job that I really love.
I’d been working for Victrola Coffee for quite a stretch as a barista (which in optimal circumstances is the second coolest job behind NYC bike messenger). In the last year Victrola began roasting its own coffee with Chris (the co-owner with his wife Jen) and my barista colleague Sam taking on the task of learning the art of roasting on a new Diedrich gas fired roaster and developing blends for our espresso and drip coffees. The early results were astonishingly good, which was fortunate as we had previously been using Vivace’s coffee and thus the bar was set very high for the drinks we delivered. When Sam left for the big city I took over his spot as roaster and, after a steep learning curve, have become proficient at turning green coffee beans into a great cup of coffee - a process I will describe for you here…
The green beans come from all over the world and each one has been carefully selected for its unique characteristics. These beans are coming most often from relatively small coffee estates and plantations producing much higher quality beans than the large, lower-grade commodity coffee which makes up the vast majority of coffee consumption worldwide. Such beans therefore command much greater prices in the emerging specialty coffee world and offer an economic viability to the producers that lower grade coffees (overproduced globally as a result of flawed World Bank and IMF development policies) can no longer deliver.
The Diedrich IR-12 is an impressive looking machine tucked away in Victrola’s back room (sadly, building codes interfered with the original plan to set it up in view of the cafe). It uses infrared gas-fired burners to heat the roasting drum. The gas powered afterburner attached behind it controls emissions.
Green beans enter the the rotating, hot roasting drum in batches ranging from 3 to 30 pounds. The drum temperature drops dramatically when the beans enter depending on the size of the batch. There is a lever for flame control that is continuously adjusted throughout the roast.
A window lets you see the beans turning in the drum and another window looks into the IR burners and lets you gauge how they are responding to the flame control.
Each green bean varietal is roasted according to a very specific profile, coaxed out through careful trial and error, to produce its essential flavor characteristics. Matching that profile involves a moment-to-moment vigilance of the rate of temperature change and rapid prediction of its course. Anticipating momentum, accounting for batch size, airflow and the unique and transforming characteristics of each bean, quick decisions are made, the efficacy of which may not be felt until minutes later. Slight deviations from profile, moments of intense heat, incorrect airflow or stalling of momentum can all introduce errors that dramatically alter the final bean.
The bean itself undergoes rapid and dramatic changes at different stages of the roast that must be monitored. The “trier” lets you scoop beans for closer examination during the roast. Developing a familiarity with each varietals appearance, smell, and sound throughout the process makes it possible to diagnose problems early and can lead to refinements of the roasting profile. As the temperature reaches above 360 degrees the bean undergoes first crack: a rapid expansion in size and a sudden release of heat energy from the bean as steam breaks out from the cell walls accompanied by a sound not unlike popcorn popping. A second crack occurs towards the end of the roast at a higher temperature when sugars carmelizing and a rapid transformation of the cellulose structure of the bean causes further changes extremely fast. The roast is stopped by lifting the door to the drum spilling the beans into the cooling tray when the desired color or degree of roast is reached, a process that is often like trying to stop on a dime driving a speeding, fully loaded 18 wheeler.
As the roasted beans cool, the next batch goes into the roaster. Roast profiles range from around 12 to 18 minutes giving the previous batch time to cool before the next one drops. To make our Streamline espresso and Moderne drip blends many different beans will be roasted in each session. Once the roaster has been fired up, I’m standing near it till the finish, even if it means ignoring a full bladder.
Each bean is weighed after roasting, numbers that will enter a spreadsheet that tracks weight loss for each varietal (the beans gain in size but lose weight from roasting). The correct portions for each blend are carefully weighed and mixed together in the cooling bin.
Two days out of the roaster the beans reveal their best flavor and aroma characteristics. “Cupping”, the systematic sensory evaluation of the coffee, is done regularly. Beans are ground coarsely, the fragrance noted, and near to boiling water is added for an infusion. The grounds float to the top forming a crust. After 3+ minutes the cupper breaks the crust with the spoon examining the aroma with an almost exaggerated long, deep inhalation. The crust begins to sink as the coffee cools. A spoonful of coffee is slurped loudly (a method that results in the coffee evenly dispersing on the tongue) and held in the mouth for a moment in an attempt to parse its taste and flavor. The qualities of the mouthfeel and lingering aftertaste are then examined and this process continues as the coffee cools revealing further subtle changes in character.
Big flame-spewing machinery, geekery of limitless granularity, and drinking some of the best coffee in the world - it sure beats working in an office.
I’ll soon be adding a section of coffee related links to the frontpage with more detail about roasting, cupping, and growing coffee.
Tags:
August 19th, 2004 at 12:21 pm
holy crap! you sure know lots about that coffee stuff! so proud to have you for a brother! :-P
August 20th, 2004 at 12:04 pm
Drool…
Suddenly, my poor little WestBend Poppery I seems oh so small and weak…
August 20th, 2004 at 1:50 pm
The Poppery I is nothing to sneeze at, I doubt there is a better value in all of coffee roasting.
August 20th, 2004 at 2:00 pm
Wow. Got the link to this through Gizmodo. What does it take to get into a job like this? I think I would change careers immediately if I had an opportunity to do that job.
August 20th, 2004 at 2:00 pm
The swill I’m drinking is sooo not up to the magical nectar your story has me imagining. I’ll stop cheating on my local roaster - promise!
August 20th, 2004 at 2:56 pm
Excellent description of the roasting job on a one of these big machines. I hope to make it to Seattle in the near future and will make it a point to drop by and try your roasts.
August 20th, 2004 at 8:51 pm
Really well written article. Got the roasting bug years ago when I got an espresso machine as a wedding gift. Have never looked back.
August 21st, 2004 at 9:43 am
I’ve had no idea of area of expertize. I might have a little something for you.
August 21st, 2004 at 9:43 am
your
August 21st, 2004 at 10:29 am
ummm, is that 360F or 360C?
August 21st, 2004 at 4:42 pm
Sarah, it’s 360F, if it was 360C(680F) the roaster would be aflame.
Excellent description of roasting. Thanks for the tale.
August 21st, 2004 at 9:35 pm
[this is good]
August 22nd, 2004 at 7:04 am
Great description, thanks a lot!
I was wondering, does the environment (humidity, temperature) of the specific day have a significant effect on the roasting outcome?
August 22nd, 2004 at 5:03 pm
Clint - I haven’t noticed any effects yet in my experience… but the microclimate of a roaster this size (still a relatively small one by commercial standards) is probably pretty resiliant. I suspect I might see some changes when the rainy season kicks in. Humidity would have the biggest impact as it increases the convective heat of the air inside the drum.
Steve - What does it take to get into a job like this? I guess a combination of luck and an unhealthy obsession with coffee. I shook off a number of years of working real jobs in favor of the lower paying but more rewarding coffee shop gig. Just the sort of lower-impact job I’d hoped to get when I moved from NYC to figure out my life. Now this coffee thing is sort of taking on the characteristics of a “career” which is kind of frightening, but I roll with it recognizing it as an opportunity to learn a pretty rare craft and work out some atrophied geek neurons. There are enough short term ambitions (mastering the new skillset, learning the chemistry, tasting new beans, shooting for the best blend in town) to give me momentum. I’m reluctant to think too far into the longterm.
If I were put into the position of giving advice… I’d say the first thing to do when contemplating a major career change is to learn to enjoy living a bit frugally. Its pretty hard to give yourself latitude to explore a new path when car payments, high rent, debt etc. are keeping you glued to an unpleasant paycheck.
August 23rd, 2004 at 1:03 am
I’m suffering an attack of acute jealousy. :)
August 23rd, 2004 at 8:40 am
Good article. I recently learned about coffee roasting with air poppers and modified mine so the two heating coils are separately switchable and the fan is boosted to 140V and controlled by a dimmer switch. When the temp stops rising I can back off the fan a bit and get the heat to continue slowly rising.
I know that when to stop roasting is a matter of taste, but do you stop right at the beginning of the 2nd crack (or where)?
Thanks for any response!
August 23rd, 2004 at 8:45 pm
[…] 9 pm
I saw a coffee related article on Gizmodo and I knew I had to click it. The article linked was from Tonx of Victrola Coffee. It’s a local shop up in Seattle, j […]
August 23rd, 2004 at 10:00 pm
CheekyGeek -
Most of our beans drop near the start of first crack. Some at the first glimmer of it, others in a blaze of crackling. Most tend to be lighter in degree of roast, preserving more of the delicate flavor characteristics of each bean. In general I think successful light roasting requires a good deal of fine control throughout the process. I’m still amazed at how much difference I see in the cup from seemingly slight changes to a profile early in the roast.
I’m still trying to get a handle on the vast world of home roasting. I remain a bit skeptical of it, though I’m prepared to be turned around. I’m currently trying to figure out roasting on our sample roaster - a really nice Probat (the gold standard of sample roasters) but I’m still failing to achieve comparable results to the finely tuned profiles we’ve gotten from the Deidrich.
Maybe there is just something inherently quixotic about roasting coffee, even for those of us that get paid for it. Less chemistry than alchemy. Mastery can be approached but never fully achieved…? Will I still feel this way when I am less of a nyoob?
September 2nd, 2004 at 11:18 am
What is the difference in minutes for your typical roasting time for espresso vs your typical roasting time for drip machines?
September 5th, 2004 at 6:57 pm
God bless you. I too roast coffee, but not on that scale. Usually 4.7 oz. per batch, of the Ethiopian or Brazilian variety, but I like Kenyan too.
September 6th, 2004 at 9:13 pm
Javier -
no time difference with espresso vs drip per se… at Victrola we roast each bean varietal to a specific profile before blending. Some beans require longer/shorter roasting times to bring out their best flavors. A couple of beans we use in both our drip and espresso blend with a single profile.
September 24th, 2004 at 7:12 am
Great description of the roasting process. Would you please do a similar description of the mysterious Swiss water decaf process? I’m drinking a cup of it from Victrola now and it’s the best I’ve ever tasted!
February 27th, 2005 at 12:42 am
Selam.
Great story.
If you have not yet done so, then you should try Ethiopia’s Harar coffee beans sometime.
When you roast them just right Harar beans make the world’s finest richest coffee.
Of course, coffee originated just eat of Harar in Kaffe Ethiopia, from which Coffee gets it’s name. Check out the URL for better info.
For we Ethiopian people coffee is much like wine is to the French.
February 28th, 2005 at 2:55 pm
Really awesome! I have had the privilege to go through the exact experience newly roasting coffee for a company here in Montana. We used batdorf and bronson coffee and needed a great espresso. … The results we came up with are great and it is amazing what just 5% of a coffee can do in a blend. It makes that difference between an awesome sweet tasting shot to a disgusting sour shot. The first batch of espresso we tasted it made me sick to my stomach. Though the thing that I love the most about this job is that you can never get it just right and that it is an eternal endeavor and quest to reach the unobtainable perfection of blending. Especially true for espresso. Then it copies itself to pulling the espresso itself. It would be very cool to work for a company such as yours that doesn’t stop for its endeavors for excellence and consistency. One thing that we have is a computer hook up for our Dietrich IR12; I don’t like it because all you do is drop the coffee in and the computer does the rest. It takes away from the old craft feel. But for consistency you can’t beat it with all of the variance in roasting profiles. We also have a destoner which removes all of the rocks and corn and all sorts of stuff that can ruin your grinder. I believe that to be an excellent investment due to first hand witnessing of roasting a dirty Sulawesi and getting 5 or so large stones per 30# batch. Now since we are not only going to be roasting for just our stores but all over we got a hundred pound capacity Dietrich roaster! YEAH! What I could do on the IR12 in a day I could do on the big boy in a couple hours. It took up way too much space but I am looking forward to roasting on it soon this week! The afterburner on this guy is three times the size of the IR12’s; another cool thing is there is a bottom hopper where the bean then are vacuumed up to the top hopper then dropped into the drum. :-) Just keep up with excellence and it’s all for the bean! It’s always best to be a passionate barista first and a roaster second, but at least for me… I know that I will always be more partial towards being behind the counter pulling shots, talking, and striving for excellence with my customers and not just for the easy green dollar bill
March 31st, 2005 at 2:11 pm
Hey Gary,
Got a question for you: how do you go about roasting small batches in your IR-12? Diedrich claims you can go as low as 1-lb, but every small batch (3-5lbs) so far has come out underdeveloped.
Any wisdom you can share with me?
April 12th, 2005 at 2:38 am
Dear Sir, I was looking @ your pictures at Flickr. Can I use them as wallpapers and furthermore can I share them on my webpage as wallpapers ? (of course signed that those are your pictures).
Regards,
Simon from Poland
May 25th, 2005 at 7:50 am
Any chance you could send me a lb to sample your supreme roasting skill? hehe ;)
June 25th, 2005 at 6:22 pm
Hey, Cheeky Geek, I would love to know how you modified the Poppery II to switch off the elements and leave on fan. Would it be possible to explain here?
Oh and yes, I too am very, very, jealous of the roaster photos above. How I wished my career were like yours. Unfortunately, I’m connected to the weekly pay check.
Thanks, CG from Omaha, NE as the College World Series comes to a close w/Texas pounding the Gators.
July 11th, 2005 at 4:41 am
SUB:DEMAND OF CATALOGUES +PRICE LIST+ SAMPLES OF PRODUCTS OF THESE MACHINES
DEAR SIR,
WE BIO ALIMENTARY INDUSTRIES COMPANY WE EXPRESS HIGH APPRECIATION AND WE WOULD LIKE TO IN FORM YOU THAT WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN YOUR PRODUCTS OF COFFEE MACHINE ESPECIALLY INSTANT COFFEE& VACUUMED COFFEE
WE ARE COMPETENT TO OF INDUSTRIES COFFEE SINCE THE YEAR 1988 AND OUR CENTER IS DAMASCUS CITY,AND WE HAVE BRANCHES IN ALL SYRIAN CITIES ,AND WE HAVE SPECIAL BRANCH TO DISTRIBUTE AND MARKET PRODUCTS COFFEE&TEA BAG IN ALL SYRIAN CITIES
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO COOPERATE WITH YOU TO DEVELOP OUR PLANT MACHINES TO MANUFACTURETEA COFFEE,SO WE ASK YOU KINDLY TO SEND DETAILED CATALOGUES +SAMPLES OF PRODUCTS OF THESE MACHINES +PRICE LISTON OUR POSTAL ADDRESS
P.O.BOX4695 DAMASCUS SYRIA
FOR THE FOLLOWING MACHINES
1-PACKING LINES EITHER VACUUMED OR IN AMOST
2-MILL COFFEE
3-BLENDER
4-ROASTER
5-ENVELOPE MACHIN
6-PACKING KG
7-ESPREESO MACHIN
8- COFFEE BACKING MACHINE
………………….ETC
B\R THANKING YOUR COOPERATION ,AND WAITING YOUR PROMPT REPLY
B\R
GENERALMANAGER DAMASCUS 5/7/2005
TALAL KNEFED
July 27th, 2005 at 4:24 am
SUB:DEMAND OF CATALOGUES +PRICE LIST+ SAMPLES OF PRODUCTS OF THESE MACHINES
DEAR SIR,
WE BIO ALIMENTARY INDUSTRIES COMPANY (IBN SINA)WE EXPRESS HIGH APPRECIATION AND WE WOULD LIKE TO IN FORM YOU THAT WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN YOUR PRODUCTS OF COFFEE MACHINE ESPECIALLY INSTANT COFFEE& VACUUMED COFFEE&TEA BAG
WE ARE COMPETENT TO OF INDUSTRIES COFFEE SINCE THE YEAR 1988 AND OUR CENTER IS DAMASCUS CITY,AND WE HAVE BRANCHES IN ALL SYRIAN CITIES ,AND WE HAVE SPECIAL BRANCH TO DISTRIBUTE AND MARKET PRODUCTS COFFEE&TEA BAG IN ALL SYRIAN CITIES
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO COOPERATE WITH YOU TO DEVELOP OUR PLANT MACHINES TO MANUFACTURETEA COFFEE,SO WE ASK YOU KINDLY TO SEND DETAILED CATALOGUES +SAMPLES OF PRODUCTS OF THESE MACHINES +PRICE LISTON OUR POSTAL ADDRESS
P.O.BOX4695 DAMASCUS SYRIA
FOR THE FOLLOWING MACHINES
1-PACKING LINES EITHER VACUUMED OR IN AMOST
2-MILL COFFEE
3-BLENDER TEL:0096393335003-00963115236070
4-ROASTER FAX:00963115212509
5-ENVELOPE MACHIN P.O.BOX:4695 DAMASCUS SYRIA
6-PACKING KG
7-ESPREESO MACHIN
8- TEA BAG PACKING MACHINE
………………….ETC
B\R THANKING YOUR COOPERATION ,AND WAITING YOUR PROMPT REPLY
B\R
GENERALMANAGER DAMASCUS 25/7/2005
TALAL KNEFED
August 12th, 2005 at 11:58 pm
Raheem Devaughn
I roast coffee.