Coffee Bean Roasting - Terms and Explanations

The coffee roasting business has it's own language and set of technical terms that can be confusing to those not in the know. The information below is a brief collection of the most common terms used to describe the process of roasting coffee.

• Slow Roasted
  There are two main types of commercial roasting, 'slow' roasting and 'flash' roasting. Slow roasting refers to the traditional process of roasting small batches of green coffee in a drum roaster at a temperature of between 190-250 degrees centigrade for 13-20 minutes.
• Flash Roasting
  Flash roasting is a high volume roasting technique, that roasts hundreds of kilos of green coffee within 30-90 seconds. Flash roasting is a cheaper process than slow roasting, but produces inferior coffee, more suitable for the bulk 'supermarket' buyer.
• First 'Crack'
  Once a coffee has been slowly roasting for about 11-14 minutes, it will begin to make 'popping' noises like popcorn. This is where the alkaloids in the coffee displace the steam trapped in the cells of the coffee bean.
• Second 'Crack'
  After the first crack we wait for the second crack, which usually occurs between 30 seconds and 4 minutes of the first crack. This is where some of the essential oils begins to burst the cellular structure of the coffee bean.
• Cinnamon Roast
  If you stop roasting just after the first crack, you have a cinnamon roast. The cinnamon roast is characterised by a grassy / porridge type of aroma and flavour, and is not very popular in the UK.
• City Roast
  Darker than a cinnamon roast, the city roast is where some of the grassiness is being replaced by acidic and bright flavours. Ideal for those after a taste of a coffee's unique attributes, rather than the bold coffee flavours that are more commonly desired
• Full City
  Darker again than the city this is where the coffee becomes less bright and acidic, and begins to develop more body. Professional coffee tasters usually cup coffee roasted to this level, as there is still flavours relating to the uniqueness of the bean, while at the same time giving the cupper and indication of how the bean will perform when more darkly roasted.
• Pre French
  At this level of roast, the bean is a dark-chocolate brown but without any surface oils. At this point the bean has exchanged most of its bright and acidic flavours for body and depth. This is the maximum roast for most UK consumer as each coffee is still unique - but the coffee has a very full and satisfying flavour and aftertaste.
• French
  All of the coffee's unique characteristics have been replaced by the flavour of the roast, which is reminiscent of burnt caramel. Supermarket coffee is roasted to this level to mask defects in cheaper quality beans.
• Viennese
  Its now just oily charcoal, and tastes like very burnt toast. Caffeine is still present. This roast level is not usual for UK consumers.
• The CoffeeBeanShop Roast
  We slow roast all of our coffees to between Full City and Pre-French, so that the coffee is at it's absolute best for both espresso extraction and cafetiere brewing. Our coffees have a 'darker than milk chocolate' average colour and are not oily - but may develop a small amount of patchy surface oil over time.