The degree of roasting of coffee largely determines the flavor of the coffee. When purchasing single-origin coffee beans, you can pay attention to the degree of roasting indicated on the label, such as light roasting,medium roastOr dark roast. Some are also marked with cinnamon baking, urban baking, French baking, etc. This makes many newbies confused. This article will take you through how to distinguish the roasting degree of coffee beans.
In the beginning, there were no standards for coffee roasting?
Coffee is grown in the producing countries between the Tropic of Cancer and the South.coffee roastingUsually, green beans are transported to the place of consumption and then roasted. Every country and region considers light roasting, medium roasting, and dark roasting to be different, and lacks comparability. Everyone does not agree with each other's definition of roasting degree. As one of the authoritative representatives of the coffee industry, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and the Agtron company use the coffee Agtron value as the standard, so that everyone can use each other's roasting experience to communicate on the "same channel."
SCAA baking standards
SCAA uses infrared caramelization analyzer technology (Agtron) to measure the color of coffee beans to determine the degree of roasting of coffee, and divides the color into eight equal parts from light to dark to make eight standard color blocks for the coffee industry to identify as roasting. FrontStreet Coffee’s current roasted coffee beans are basically between cinnamon roast and medium roast. The medium-light roasted coffee beans of Front Street continue to caramelize for about 1-3 minutes according to the characteristics of the coffee beans after the first crack. This improves the overall level of the coffee beans. While caramelizing, the acidity decreases and the body increases. The medium-dark roast of Front Street is actually a medium roast and will be released when it is close to the second crack.
Agtron color value #95: Light Roast
Bean dropping time: The first burst is about to end
Agtron Color Value #85: Cinnamon Roast
Bean dropping time: before and after the first burst
Agtron color value #75: Medium Roast
Bean dropping time: after the first burst
Agtron color value #65: High Roast
Bean dropping time: the quiet period between the first crack and the second crack.
Agtron Color Value #55: City Roast
Bean dropping time: the second burst begins
Agtron Color Value #45: Full City Roast
Bean dropping time: before the second burst.
Agtron color value #35: French Roast
Bean dropping time: when the second explosion is intensive
Agtron color value #25: Italian Roast
Bean dropping time: oil begins to seep out of the bean surface
Flavor expression of coffee with different roasting levels
The above description may be difficult for newcomers to understand. Front Street here divides the 8 roasting levels into 4 categories, so that everyone can understand at a glance the direction of coffee flavor caused by different levels of coffee bean brewing.
Medium roasting (medium roasting and dark roasting respectively): After brewing, medium roasted coffee beans have obvious mellowness, reduced acidity, and a full and solid taste.
Dark roasting (including French roasting and Italian roasting): After brewing, dark roasted coffee beans are very mellow, without acidity, with a thick and solid taste and rich oil.
So how does Front Street roast its cinnamon-roasted Yirgacheffe Tintin Cooperative coffee beans and its medium-roasted Indonesian PWN Gold Mandheling coffee beans?
FrontStreet Coffee——Yirgacheffe Cooperative Coffee Beans
Production area: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Native species (Heirloom)
Treatment method: washed
Grade: G1
Like Yirgacheffe beans, roasters on Front Street often roast them lightly to bring out their floral aroma and fruity notes. For this washed Ding Ding coffee beans, the Front Street roaster uses low heat to extend the dehydration time of the beans.
When the furnace temperature reaches 175℃, put the pot into the pot, open the damper 3, and the firepower is 120; the temperature return point is 1'32". When the furnace temperature is 140℃, the firepower remains unchanged, and the damper is opened to 4; at this time, the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. At 166℃, the firepower drops to 100, and at 176℃, the firepower drops to 80, while the damper remains unchanged. At 8'28", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the surface of the beans, and the smell of toast obviously changes to the aroma of coffee. It can be defined as the prelude to the first crack. At this time, you should listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. 9'38"Start the first explosion, adjust the damper to 5 (be very careful when adjusting the heat, not so small that there is no popping sound), after the first explosion, it will develop to 1'30'', and cook at 193.5℃.
How to brew FrontStreet CoffeeYirgacheffe Cooperative Coffee Beans？
In order to better express the rich floral and fruity aroma and layered texture of this coffee bean, Front Street decided to use a V60 filter cup for brewing. The spiral pattern design of the V60 filter cup not only prolongs the contact time between coffee powder and water, but also allows the water flow to concentrate along the spiral convex groove toward the center of the filter cup. The gravity of the falling water flow causes the coffee powder to be squeezed to create a higher level of hierarchy.
Water temperature: 91~92 degrees Celsius
Powder amount: 15g
Pink to water ratio: 1:15
Grinding degree: medium-fine grinding (80% screening rate with No. 20 mesh)
This time, staged brewing is used. First, 30g of water is injected and steamed for 30 seconds. At this time, the coffee expands into a "burger" shape. Make a small circle in the center of the second section and inject 125g of water. The height of water injection is 4cm, and the intensity should be gentle to reduce the tumbling intensity of the powder layer as much as possible. The water flow rate should be 4g per second. When the water level drops to 1/2 of the powder layer, start the third section of water injection. This section of water injection also gently circles from the center outward until it reaches 225g and ends. End the extraction after all the coffee liquid in the filter cup has dripped. The time is 2'01". After the coffee extraction is complete, shake gently and wait until the coffee liquid is fully even before tasting.
Yirgacheffe Tintin Cooperative Coffee Bean Brewing Flavor:There are citrus and black tea in the mouth. As the temperature changes, there are cream, caramel, and almond aftertaste. The aftertaste is obvious and the taste is clean and sweet.
FrontStreet Coffee——PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee Beans
Production area: Sumatra Aceh Mount Gayoo
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Ateng
Treatment method: wet planing
PWN Gold Mandheling Coffee BeansThe sun treatment method is used, and the moisture content is between 12% and 15%. Green beans with a relatively high moisture content have a higher moisture deviation value than sun-dried beans, so special attention should be paid when dehydrating. For green beans with high moisture content, you can try putting in the green beans, immediately close the damper, steam for 30 seconds, and then open the damper to 3 until the color of the raw beans turns light green or white. Open the damper to 4, and after the first explosion, open to 5 (maximum).
Bring the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius and put the pot into the pot. Open the damper to 3. After 1 minute, adjust the heat to 160 degrees with the damper unchanged. Bake until 5°40° and the temperature is 148°. The surface of the beans turns yellow and the grass smell disappears completely. Dehydration is completed. Adjust the heat to 140° and adjust the damper to 4. At 9°40°, the beans The appearance of ugly wrinkles and black spots, and the smell of toast has obviously changed to the aroma of coffee, which can be defined as the prelude to the first crack. At this time, you should listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. The first crack will start at 9°54°, turn down the heat to 60 degrees, fully open the damper (be very careful when adjusting the heat, not so low that there is no popping sound), and cook at 204.5 degrees.
How does FrontStreet Coffee brew Indonesian PWN Gold Mandheling coffee beans?
In order to highlight the mellow, clean and fragrant characteristics of PWN Golden Mandheling, Front Street uses the famous KONO filter cup for brewing. The guide channel of the "rib" of KONO's famous filter cup extends to the bottom of the hole where the coffee liquid flows out. Because the rib is at the bottom and is very short, and has a high fit with the filter paper, the flow rate will be slower than that of the V60, which is suitable for brewing coffee that wants to express its full body.
Water temperature: 86~88 degrees Celsius
Powder amount: 15g
Pink to water ratio: 1:15
Grinding degree: medium-coarse grinding (65% screening rate with No. 20 mesh)
After wetting the filter paper, pour the ground coffee powder into it. Slightly smooth the powder bed. The amount of coffee powder is 15 grams. Inject 30 grams of hot water at 89 degrees Celsius into the first section for steaming. The steaming time is 30 seconds. After steaming, pour into the second section. The total water volume reaches 125 grams. Take a gentle twist. The circular water injection method prevents the powder bed from collapsing. After water injection, let the water slowly filter and extract on its own. When the liquid level drops to one-third, inject the last section to bring the total water volume to 225 grams. The injection is completed in about 1 minute and 32 seconds, and the extraction ends in about 2 minutes and the filter cup is removed.
PWN Golden Mandheling Brew Flavor:Sweet herbs, cinnamon spices, orange and grapefruit peel notes, mellow and rich sweetness, buttery walnut chocolate. The fruit acid is restrained and soft, with a strong melon aroma in the aroma. As the temperature decreases, the herbal aroma comes out, with a hint of spice, and the herbal aroma is mellow and rich in sweetness.
For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
