四種極端的咖啡煎焙手法
To illustrate the range of roasted flavors in a single coffee variety,several coffee roasters were asked to participate in a roaster challenge.
Roasters were challenged to roast faster, slower and longer—breaking away from the preferred roast profile.
為了說明單一咖啡的不同風味，多組烘焙師參與挑戰。跳脫原本喜愛的PROFILE，挑戰快速、慢速、長時間的各種烘焙法。
The results ,Simply cupping the coffees revealed both great and awful roasting results.
Interestingly, when these profiles were repeated and cupped in a blind cupping, the cupping volunteers (consumers) were surprised to learn that there was only one coffee on the table.
盲測品嚐了這些咖啡後，這些品嘗的志願者(消費者)很驚訝的發現原來桌上只有一種咖啡。
The differences in flavor, body and aftertaste were so dramatic that they assumed there were several offees.
風味、韻味、後韻的差異這麼截然不同，以至於他們認為品嘗了很多種咖啡。
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technique #1
“i forgot to turn on the heat”
This is a surprisingly common technique that occurs most often when roasters are distracted and forget to turn the heat on, or up, after the green coffee is dropped into the roaster. Phone calls and texting are a common cause for practicing this technique; the interruption of answering the phone takes the operator away fromthe task just long enough that the heat is forgotten. Then, about halfway through the roast time, full heat is applied, resulting in what is referred to as catching up.” The coffee turns the correct color and reaches the final temperature in the right amount of time. The S-curve for this profile would appear flat in the first half of the roast with little increase in bean temperature, with a sharp climb in the second half of the roast. The point of equilibrium was 150 degrees F; the slow start also produced a noticeably quiet first crack as a portion of the free moisture in the bean evaporates. The bean appeared to be well developed and had a slight oil sheen to it.
Common cupping comments: Light fragrance/aroma, little to no sweetness, flat acidity and a chalky alkaline aftertaste.
An exaggerated slow start to a roast with an extreme and aggressive finish did not produce a favorable cup result. When roasters experience a flat, chalky-tasting coffee, it could be linked to an extreme profile like the one experienced here.
technique #2
“i have to roast a lot of coffee”
Many roasters feel the need for speed. Time is indeed money for any roasting company, and the more batches that are produced per hour, the better. Or, in some cases, the faster the work is finished,the sooner the roaster can go home. The fast-roast exercise was completed by dropping the coffee into a hot roasting environment at full heat. The application of full heat pushed the roast to completion in half the time of the control roast profile. The roasted coffee was dropped at the same temperature and looked pretty much the same as the other test roasts. A loser visual inspection revealed several scorch marks and some blowout marks from the extreme- heat environment.
The cupping results did not bode well for the hot-and-fast roast technique. The aromatics were leasant and berry-like, more apparent than in Technique No. 1, but the attributes were less flattering as the upping proceeded for this sample. One cupper experienced a severe case of “bitter beer face” after the first slurp,
not expecting the cup to be so astringent and medicinal. The cup produced no sweetness, with harsh acidity, herbal flavor, very light body and a lasting aftertaste of dirt.
The fast roast produced an undeveloped-tasting coffee, making it difficult to identify what coffee was in the cup. The sweet caramel notes did not appear, and the fruit acids were masked by the harshness. Though production is nearly doubled using this
technique, the coffee was very bitter and unpleasant.
technique #3
“My roaster is too hot”
This roast technique involves a highly heated drum combined with minimal heat application to slow the roast down, which makes the roast appear to be controlled. This technique employed high initial heat with a point of equilibrium of nearly 250 degrees F and low heat application to prevent the coffee from gaining momentum and roasting too quickly. The heat was maintained at about 50 percent until first crack was reached; at this time, maximum heat
was required to hit the desired time and final temperature of the roast profile. First crack was light with minimal noise. As with the previous two techniques, the coffee looked fine, with no reason to
assume otherwise. The profile has a bit of an S-curve to it, and the prescribed time and temperature were reached.
Cuppers’ notes included a range of descriptions for this technique. Aromatics included marshmallow and toasted nuts, even warm brown sugar. Other notes: a hint of sweetness, bittersweet chocolate, moderate acidity, slightly skunky by one cupper, aftertaste was lingering and slightly ashy. The body of this
coffee was considered moderate rather than light, as in the first two techniques.
This was not a perfect cup as evaluated by the panel, but this technique did develop some of the sweeter characteristics of caramel and chocolate of the Maillard reaction. There was some improvement over the other samples, but it was still difficult to
identify the coffee in the cup and even more difficult for the panel to accept that this was the very same coffee cupped in the previous round.
technique #4
“can it get any worse?”
With this technique, the roasters were challenged to roast out everything good about the coffee. Can a roaster take a remarkable sweet and bright coffee and turn it into something that even the most skilled cupper can’t recognize? The answer is simple: Yes. This technique starts out very hot, and then all heat is pulled as the beans dance around in the roaster. There is enough residual heat to keep the roast moving forward and not stalling out. One-third of the way into the roast time frame, the heat is introduced at 50 percent; a very dull first crack follows. Then at two-thirds time, full heat is applied to bring the roast in on time. The roast finished at the right time and the correct temperature. Good news for the roaster: the roast log looks great, the coffee has a dull look to it but otherwise looks okay—not too bad at all. The proof will be in the cupping. The S-curve looksslightly like a stair-step.
Cuppers’ comments were not positive for this technique; the notes were blunt and pulled no punches. The aroma of the coffee was compared to burnt peat moss, compost and bitter dirt. After the
break, one cupper noted a hint of roasted peanuts. No sweetness was found, flavor was nutty and slight. No acidity; the coffee was scored as flat, all sparkle was roasted out. Aftertaste was lingering compost, and body was described as watery by all cuppers.
This radical S-curve technique brought out the worst in this coffee, taking a very respectable sweet, bright and hard bean and transforming it into brown water that wasn’t palatable. Yes, it really was that awful. This technique produced undesirable results and
should be avoided.
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