Why Do Coffee Beans Need to be Roasted?
Did you know that coffee beans are stored when they’re green? They’re stored this way so that they can be kept for longer periods of time without compromising their quality or taste. A green coffee bean doesn’t have any of the characteristics of the roasted coffee beans you’re used to seeing at the grocery store. Instead, green coffee beans often smell like grass and are soft and spongy to the bite.
Roasting the coffee beans causes chemical changes to them. Green coffee beans are rapidly brought to very high temperatures. When they reach the roaster’s desired peak of perfection, they are quickly cooled. These roasted beans smell like coffee and end up weighing less due to the loss of moisture. These beans are like the beans you see in the grocery store or at the office when you order your coffee supplies from Pot O’Gold Coffee in Kirkland, WA.
What Is the Difference Between Light, Medium, and Dark Roasted Coffee?
The degree to which your coffee beans are roasted is one of the most crucial factors when it comes to the taste of your brewed coffee. Other factors that affect the coffee’s taste include the variety of coffee bean, its age, the processing method, the grind, and the brewing method.
Light Roasts
Light roasts are typically light brown with a light body and no oil on the surface of the beans. Typically, light roast coffee beans have a taste similar to toasted grains. Light roasts retrain the origin flavors of the bean to a greater extent than darker roasted coffee beans. Additionally, despite popular belief, light roasts typically have more caffeine than darker roasts.
Light roasted beans reach an internal temperature between 356 degrees and 401 degrees Fahrenheit. At around 401 degrees Fahrenheit, the beans will pop, crack, or expand in size. To coffee roasters, this is known as the “first crack.” A light roast means that the coffee bean has not been roasted beyond the first crack.
Medium Roasts
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Medium roasted coffee beans are medium brown in color with more body than light roasts. Similarly to light roasts, they don’t have any oil on the surface of the bean. However, medium roasts don’t have that same grainy taste as light roasts which allows for a more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. While caffeine is slightly reduced in medium roasts, there’s still more caffeine than in dark or extra dark roasts.
Medium roasted coffee beans reach internal temperatures between 410 degrees Fahrenheit and 428 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if you’re keeping up with us, medium roasts are cooled between the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.
Medium-Dark Roasts
Medium-dark roasts are, you guessed it, richer and darker in color than light or medium roasts. Additionally, some oil begins to show on the surface of the beans. Compared to light or medium roasts, a medium-dark roasts has a heavier body.
Medium-dark roasts are brought to temperatures to the beginning or middle of the second crack (between 437 degrees Fahrenheit and 446 degrees Fahrenheit). This makes the flavors and aromas in the roasting process much more noticeable and the taste of the coffee can be a bit spicy.
Dark Roasts
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have a cultural affinity for dark roasts. Dark roasted coffee beans are typically dark brown in color, similar to chocolate. Some dark roasts almost appear black. These beans typically have a sheen of oil on the surface and you can tell when you brew the coffee. For dark roasts, the flavor profile of the coffee’s origins are usually obscured by the flavors brought out in the roasting process. When dark roast coffee beans are brewed, the amount of caffeine is substantially less than light or medium roasts. Additionally, the coffee will often taste bitter, smoky, or burnt.
To reach the level of a dark roast, coffee bean roasters increase the internal temperature between 464 degrees Fahrenheit and 482 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures beyond 482 degrees Fahrenheit often thin the body of the beans to the point of the coffee tasting like tar and charcoal.
Pot O’ Gold Coffee Service in Kirkland, Washington
No matter your (or your employees’) personal preferences in coffee roasts, the team at Pot O’Gold Coffee Service in Kirkland, Washington can provide coffee supplies for your office. Keep your employees motivated with a light roast (more caffeine) in the morning and a darker roast in the afternoon. Or try multiple varieties!Pot O’ Gold Coffee Service works with businesses in the greater Puget Sound area to provide their employees a high-end and affordable office coffee program. We provide all coffee equipment, water coolers, and an extensive list of coffee and breakroom supplies. Let us help you raise employee morale and productivity, educate you and your staff on the importance of implementing sustainable and compostable products in your breakroom, and allow you to get back to your job.
Office Beverage and Snack Service
We don’t stop at coffee. Contact us today to learn about our other services for your office, including beverage and snack services!