Drake’s Defines Roast Levels.
A roast can be defined two ways: by how it looks and by how it tastes. Most
people would agree on what different roast levels look like. No two people
would use the same words to define what it tastes like. Even a group of
coffee tasting experts, when test tasting coffee in “cupping” sessions, will
produce widely varying descriptions of flavor. At Drake’s, we believe that
fancy language and the odd metaphor has little value. For each coffee that
Drake’s roasts, we will describe for you the degree of the roast and explain
why we like it – in unadorned Anglo-Saxon language.
First, some important terminology: Crack
As the bean develops through the roast it will physically pop its shell.
This is the first crack and typical bean temperature is between 382 and 394
degrees F. The first crack is caused by moisture swelling the bean and
cracking the outer shell. After the first crack there is a pause and then
the bean begins the second crack. It is during the second crack period that
the bean is rapidly developing its distinct flavor and special characteristics. This is the art of roasting, deciding when to drop the roast during its second crack.
Think about roasting popcorn in a pan on the stove. It takes a while for the
first kernels to pop and then the popping picks up rapidly. And it will start to burn a few seconds after it’s finished popping. This is sort of like the “crack” of coffee bean roasting.
Light Roast
A light roasted bean has a dull skin and chestnut brown color with no
visible oils. The light roast is complete when the bean has gone through the
first crack completely and is just beginning the second crack. A light roast
is delicate. We must judge when it is just done and drop immediately. It’s
easy to make the outside look consistently brown but sometimes a cross
section will show irregular roasting. An underroasted bean is bitter.
Light/Medium Roast
Ten or fifteen seconds after a light roast would be dropped, the bean is
popping nicely. They are a chocolate brown color and the skin is still dull
with no visible oils. Many single origin beans from Central America are
dropped at this stage.
Medium Roast
In another ten to twenty seconds, the roast is going strong with lots of
noise and beans are developing quickly. A medium roast bean is a deep brown with very slight lighter brown hints. The bean will develop very small amounts of surface oil several days after the roast date. Many coffee blends using Indonesian beans are roasted to this point, including Drake’s popular Signature Roast.
Medium/Dark Roast
Popping activity slows even as the temperature continues to rise. The bean
has a complete rich deep-brown color, and a nice oily sheen. We have found that most beans roasted this long will brew a cup with a burnt taste, strong overtones and unpleasant aftertaste. We are working on a blend that will deliver a quality cup that is dropped at this stage.
Dark Roast
Popping has nearly stopped and the roast is smoking. The bean has now gone past the brown colors and reached ebony. Sorry, Drake’s has not found a bean that is worth brewing at this stage. We mean it. A dark roast just does not make good coffee.
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