Coffee roasting begins after it is cleaned/processed, but is separate from brewing it.
Generally, coffee beans are grown and processed on a farm, then sent to a roaster, and the roaster then sends it either directly to the consumer, or to a business that will sell it to the consumer.
When the green coffee beans first arrive at a roaster, then they are generally dumped into a hopper where they are screened and have the debris and other junk separated.
In large scale operations, they are weighed and put on a conveyor belt to make sure that proper quantities are being dealt with, and then are put into a roaster. The roaster goes up to 385°F to 473°F depending on the type of coffee roast, and then the roaster’s heat has to be adjusted as the beans will be so hot at that point that they’re essentially heating up themselves.
The whole process is pretty quick- lasting 8 minutes on the low end and 20 minutes on the high end. It varies depending on whether you’re applying heat directly or indirectly, as well as the type of roast you are looking for (light, medium, medium-dark, dark), and to a small degree in the type of green coffee bean.
At this point in time it is cooled in another area, generally by drafts of cooler air. And, after being cooled, it is usually the roaster prerogative to ship the roasted coffee ASAP. Green coffee beans last much longer than roasted coffee beans, so the sooner you brew the coffee compared to its roast date (not harvest date), the better.
We have considered offering a coffee roaster option and green coffee bean shipment as one of our subscription options, is that something you’d enjoy? If so, let us know here or on Facebook. Thanks, guys!
