Roasting For Sweetness Guide
Sweetness is one of the universally popular characteristics of a good cup of coffee. In fact, almost all roasting and brewing techniques are also in pursuit of sweetness. Whether you like a light roast with a bright, acidic taste or medium-deep roasted coffee with rich taste, the development and emphasis on sweetness are to form a cup of deliciousness - the key to a pleasant and well-balanced coffee.
And this can also be checked by getting decaffeinated coffee. Although some adjustments are needed to roast decaffeinated coffee with a sweet feel, there is nothing to prevent the sweetness of roasting decaffeinated coffee.
Let's take a look at some of the factors that influence the sweetness of coffee, explore some practical roasting techniques for enhancing sweetness, and examine the changes that need to be made when roasting decaffeinated coffee.
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What Is Sweetness?
When talking about the sweet aroma of the coffee, we often think of the aroma of sugar browning, such as roasted nuts, caramel, chocolate, etc. But what causes these flavors?
The protein and carbohydrates in green coffee beans will be broken down into caramel and amino acid complexes during the roasting process. These are the reasons for the sweetness of the coffee.
In particular, carbohydrates in coffee account for more than one-third of the soluble compounds. These compounds contribute to the formation of coffee flavor, which is why sweetness can be found in various roasting recipes. Although the light roast used in the cup test has almost no bitterness, and the deep roast has no sour taste, the coffee of both roasts will have a sweet taste to some extent.
However, it is not as long as sweetness is good. The human tongue can detect five basic tastes: sweet and sour, bitter and salty. These are not independent; on the contrary, they are adjusted in different proportions in different permutations and combinations. If drinking a cup of coffee has only a sweet taste but no sourness, it will form a flat and dull cup of coffee that is defined as roasted.
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In addition, in certain permutations, the presence of one taste can actually increase the perception of another taste. For example, salt or acid can increase the perception of sweetness.
Therefore, don't just focus on developing the maximum sweetness of coffee (converting most carbohydrates into caramel), but develop other flavors and flavors that already exist in coffee and let the sweetness complement this.
How To Roast Sweetness?
What is the most important element to roast the sweetness of coffee? The author found several European roasters with rich experience and knowledge. They all agreed on three things: the selection of green beans, the stage of development before the first explosion, and the stage of development after the first explosion.
Selection Of Green Beans
In the beginning, of course, we must choose green beans with good quality and flavor characteristics. Of course, green beans with better quality have the potential to develop sweetness. Dimitri Grodwohl, the roaster of Oven Heaven, said: "If the quality of the beans is not there, the sweetness cannot be magically created by roasting."
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Another important consideration is the acidity of beans. As mentioned earlier in the article, the appearance of sweetness and acidity results from mixing and adjusting each other in various ways. However, if you deal with extremely bright or strong acidity, you need to roast the sweetness to find an ideal balance.
In the third wave of coffee, sometimes the sweetness of coffee is ignored in pursuit of lively acidity. However, for roasters who are interested in exploring complex sweet combinations, roasting sweetness may be their ideal choice.
When roasting coffee with a strong sweetness, one usually avoids green beans that are above 1800 meters above sea level and tends to choose green beans that are 800-1300 meters above sea level, such as Brazilian Minas.
Coffee emphasizing sweetness will have a clearer sweet aroma than simply roasted nuts, caramel, and chocolate. It includes nut cream, cane sugar, dark chocolate, cocoa, and cloves. These flavor descriptions themselves are memorable. More importantly, their corresponding flavors can often satisfy various drinkers.
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Pre-Crack Development
When it comes to roasting coffee, the key is to find the balance between sweet, sour, and bitter. The chemical reaction begins at the end of the dehydration phase, at which time the coffee begins to turn yellow, indicating that the caramelization and Maynard reaction have begun. This stage is important for converting the substances in the green beans into sweet reaction compounds.
In the SCA article, Rob Hoos wrote: "Maynard's reaction affects the weight of the coffee, which in turn affects the body and the complexity of the coffee flavor (think about roasted aromas, spices, nuts/cocoa)."
There are two points to note here: the development of sugar browning related to sweetness and mellowness adds to the sweetness of the coffee. (Think about "milk chocolate" or "cream milk chocolate" which one attracts you more?)
Therefore, sufficient development time is very important for caramelization from the beginning of the yellowing stage to the first burst. In addition, spending longer time here will result in the complexity of the flavor after sugar browning, as well as coffee with a more mellow taste, and it will also help improve the sweetness.
At the same time, if the time at this stage is too long, the bright acidity of the coffee may be wiped out, making the low acidity unable to bring out the sweetness of the coffee. Mike Strumpf, Director of the Swiss Decaf Coffee Company, warned: "To create a good flavor balance and emphasize sweetness, there is no need to over caramelize."
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Post-Crack Development
After the first explosion, several chemical reactions will happen very quickly. The organic acids still present at this stage will quickly burn out and begin to taste bitter. If you are pursuing a balanced sweet and sour coffee, your goal is to grind away some acid through this stage of development, but not to make the acid too low.
It is indeed necessary to degrade some compounds during roasting. These compounds will give the coffee a grassy taste and dry taste, allowing the natural sweetness to be expressed. If you roast for a long time after the first burst, the grassy taste may be replaced by the bitter taste of burnt sugar.
Before the second explosion, almost all the acidic substances will be worn off by the roasting process, and sweetness and bitterness are the main flavors. For Ignasi, his personal preference is for the sweetest coffees that have been roasted to the second burst or even almost half a minute after the second burst.
How long roasting should last depends on the coffee and market acceptance. However, if done correctly, roasting for a longer period of time can produce a richer and more complex sweetness. The key is to put the beans before the coffee is too deep, burnt, or smokey.
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How To Adjust The Method To Roast Decaffeinated Coffee?
What if the coffee to be roasted is decaffeinated coffee? Mike explained that the process of decaffeinated coffee involves adding water to the green coffee beans to extract the caffeine and then drying it again. He emphasized that in their company's decaffeination process, they will be as gentle and careful as possible to remove the caffeine without affecting its flavor as much as possible. But in the end, the cell structure of coffee has changed, so it needs to be roasted in a different way.
This means that the roasting process before the first explosion requires a gentler method. Mike said: "During the roasting process, the decaffeinated coffee will follow a similar temperature profile, but the heating speed is a bit different because the decaffeinated coffee also has a decaffeinating process...so the coffee beans retain a different degree of heat."
Dimitri agreed and said that the amount of roasted beans and boiler warm-up time may need to be adjusted for decaffeinated coffee. He added: "We usually roast decaffeinated coffee with a milder roasting curve than usual, such as a lower and slower heating rate, and then a curve that slowly drops after the heating rate reaches the maximum until the roasting is complete.".
There are two keys to maximizing the sweetness in the roasting of decaffeinated coffee: extending the time and lowering the temperature. The goal is to caramelize before the first burst slightly.
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Mike said that when the first burst is roasted, the reaction of decaffeinated coffee will be very different from that of ordinary coffee. Once decaffeinated coffee begins to release heat, the development will be different. The energy maintained in the coffee beans will not be tight. The special cellular characteristics of decaffeinated coffee may pose challenges to roasters. On the one hand, beans are prone to over-roasting and over-developing; on the other hand, because they cannot maintain the same amount of heat in the beans, they can't just be roasted like normal coffee and wait for the beans to cool down. "
What should the roaster do? Fran chose a shorter development time than the average time, placing the beans about 30 seconds after the first burst. He also stated that one of his colleagues further slowed down her roasting speed before entering the first burst, resulting in a slower and more controllable momentum.
The development of roasting techniques depends on the coffee beans and roasters used. But few attributes are as popular as sweetness, and the good news is that this can be achieved in most coffees, including decaffeinated coffee.
So, look for high-quality raw beans. Ensure that the first burst has enough but not excessive caramelization, and after the first burst, the roasted beans are cleverly controlled to achieve the correct balance of sweet, sour, and bitter flavors. To roast delicious and sweet coffee, you still need to continue roasting to gain experience.
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