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How does the texture and color of coffee change as it's roasted?

Posted by Erin Plett on

This is how roasted coffee is transformed from green (raw) to brown (roasted). Also notice how the beans almost double in size. Top left is green coffee, bottom left is a light roast and bottom right is where dark roast would start. Because this roast was stopped at the beginning of a dark roast the surface oil will only start to show up a week or two later.

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Some fun facts about green bean decaf

Posted by Erin Plett on

Some fun facts about decaf: since caffeine gives coffee the majority of its bitterness decaf tends to be much sweeter, the decaf process affects the cellular structure of the bean so that even at light-medium roasts you'll still get surface oils whereas with regular coffee you'll only get that with a dark roast, also with some decaf coffees you'll get a very savoury smell (like meat) after roastingLeft: decaf coffee before it's roasted. Right: regular caffeinated coffee before its roasted.

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What is an espresso roast?

Posted by Erin Plett on

Well, there is no short or clear answer! In traditional Italian coffee an espresso roast would be a very dark and oily roast that probably contains a percentage of robusta (a cheaper more bitter coffee variety). By roasting dark and using robusta they were able to create a coffee that isn't too picky about grind, doesn't significantly change taste as it ages and creates a lot of crema (the light brown foam on an espresso shot).We at Other Brother Roasters like to keep it simple - an espresso roast is anything you would put into your espresso machine. Any coffee...

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Did you know coffee is actually the seed of a fruit called a coffee cherry?

Posted by Erin Plett on

It grows on trees (more like shrubs) and there are usually two coffee "beans" per cherry. The photo shows under ripe (yellow, orange) and ripe fruit (red). In high quality coffee only the ripe cherries are picked but in cheaper coffee all the cherries are picked and even in some cases the entire trees are stripped bare using machines.

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How does coffee processing affect the taste of coffee?

Posted by Erin Plett on

There are two main methods to get the coffee out of the cherry - washing the cherry or not washing it - and there are many variations in between. In the washed process first you remove the fruit by putting it through what looks like a large grater to remove the fruit and then you wash it in a large tank.A fully washed coffee will accentuate a brighter, cleaner and lighter taste of coffee.A natural coffee will not be washed at all but have the whole cherry (with the coffee inside) dried and then the dried fruit is removed later...

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