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Unfortunately this frequently allows him to use inferior quality or damaged grains. Watch out for this when buying coffee! Speciality coffees, on the other hand, are generally roasted in small batches. The two most common roasting methods are drum and hot-air roasting. Drum Roasting: Drum-type roasting machines roast the coffee beans as they tumble in a rotating drum that is typically heated by gas or wood. When the desired roast is achieved, the beans are poured into a cooling hopper to keep them from overcooking. There are three main parts in a traditional drum roasting machine: a heat generator, a vessel, where coffee is continuously agitated by rotation of the vessel or by forced heated air, and a cooler where the coffee temperature is reduced. Hot Air Roasting: The hot-air roaster, also known as a fluid bed roaster, roasts the coffee beans as they tumble on a current of hot air. Most green coffee is roasted at approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The roasting process causes the coffee beans to swel l and increase in size by over 50%, while at the same time greatly reducing their weight. Once the beans have left the roasting machines they must be cooled immediately to prevent autocombustion from modifying the proper grade of toasting that has been achieved. There are three ways of cooling roasted beans: Water cooling: a shower of water chills the hot roasted beans. Since coffee absorbs water easily this process increases the specific weight considerably. Cooling in normal air. Cooling in forced air. A lightly roasted bean may range in colour from cinnamon to a light chocolate tan. Lighter roasts are generally not used for espresso since they produce a sharper, more acidic taste than do darker roasts. Darker roasts, in contrast, have a fuller flavour approaching a bittersweet tang. As the roast darkens, caffeine and acidity decrease proportionately. Dark roasts can range in colour from a medium-chocolate brown with a satin-like luste, to an almost black bean with an oily appearance. The darker the roa st, the more you will taste the char, rather than the flavour of the bean. As a result of this, extremely dark roasts will tend to have a smoky flavour and are better suited for brewed coffee rather than espresso. The amount of oil drawn to the surface of the bean increase proportionately to the length of roasting time. Beans can be roasted at home by using an ordinary fring pan. Stir often or the beans will burn. A hot-air popcorn popper also does very well. The temperature is just right for roasting coffee, and the motion of the air will keep the beans moving quickly so they don't scorch. At first, the beans will be too heavy for the hot air to move them, so stir them constantly until they start moving. After roasting, coffee does not keep its aroma for long; it is, therefore, better not to roast or not to buy coffee exceeding one's needs. It is advisable to keep it in jars with well fitting lids or, alternatively it keeps exceptionally well in the freezer if certain guidelines are followed. Grinding is the last operation through which coffee has to go before being actually made. Ideally, coffee should be ground immediately before being made, as ground coffee quickly loses its aroma. In times past, coffee was ground in wooden or marble mortars with a pestle. Later on the scene were different kinds of crank and drawer coffee grinders, and finally the modern-day electric ones. The old coffee grinders are considered better than the modern-day electric ones, because coffee is "ground" by the wheel where the beans pass and not "minced", as happens with the various electric-blade coffee-grinders which, among other things, heat the coffee, thus further roasting it and causing it to lose some of its flavour. The amount of grinding necessary has to be determined by the kind of coffee-maker used. There are four basic methods of brewing coffee: boiling, steeping, percolating and filtering. Coffee experts consider filtering the best method of extracting the soluble essences of ground coffee. The coffee is contained in a paper or cloth filter. Very hot, but not boiling, water is poured over the grounds and allowed to flow into a container where it will not come into contact again with the grounds. For perfect coffee, earthenware or glass receptacles should be used, since contact with metal lowers the quality of the drink. For more information on brewing that perfect cup of coffee and the multitude of different ways of making coffee, please visit the Making Coffee section. The number of products which aim at replacing coffee is considerable. This is usually done in order to bring the cost of the coffee down. Various grains and roots have been used to this effect, or for adulterating purposes. Apart from chicory, the most important adulterants are the following: fig, date, acorn (mildly astringent), malt, barley, and other roasted cereals, often flavoured with steam passed through coffee, chick-pea and lupins, are used a great deal in Brittany. This is by no means a complete list. The majority of these products, even thoug h their flavour may have only a very remote resemblance to that of real coffee, are at least harmless. The aim of decaffeination is to produce a coffee which retains its aroma and taste despite the processes which are necessary to remove the caffeine. The outer coverings of the bean (dried coverings of the original cherries in dry process, hull and dried parchment layer in wet process) are then removed. This process is known as hulling and is usually done just before the coffee beans are sold for exporting . Polishing of beans is an optional process. The polishing process is used to remove the outer-filament and any of the parchment like husk that remains on the bean after hulling. While polished beans are considered superior to unpolished ones, in reality there is little difference between the two. Although coffee beans are of fairly uniform size and proportion they are graded first by size and then by density. (The elephant bean is the only exception). Beans are sized into different grades by running the beans through sieves and screens with specifically-sized holes. They are then sorted by using an air-jet to separate heavy and light beans. Over-fermented or unhulled beans are now removed. This is usually done by hand as the beans move along a conveyor-belt - it is accomplished with amazing speed and skill. It can, however, also be done by electronic sorting - the advantage of this is that electronic machines can remove beans known as 'stinkers' which are defective but cannot be distinguished by eye. Any flawed or discoloured beans are removed before bagging into sacks marked with grade, plantation and country of origin. The beans are then ready to be exported. It is through the exporting of coffee from the grower country that the beans end up in your early morning cuppa. Coffee cultivation and export from the areas of production has increased constantly, especially over the last century. Coffee is drunk in virtually every country in the world, which means it is important for porudcer and consumer alike. It is a huge business being second only to oil in international trade. In particular, the economies of many developing countries depend largely on coffee exports, the mainstay of their standard of living and national prosperitiy. The principal coffee markets are the New York and London Commodity Exchanges, which trade Arabica and Robusta respectively. Naturally, the price of coffee varies in relation to supply and demand. It is influenced not only be the quality and quantity of the coffee produced, but also by atmospheric factors (freezing temperatures, for example) and changes in the political order. Before coffee beans are shipped, however, they inevitably have to be stored somewhere. In order to prevent them spoiling or losing quality, a number of precautions have to be taken. These include paying particular attention to humidty, storage facility location and storage duration. Preferably, the safest place to store coffee is in the vicinity of its native site i.e. a relatively high altitude with a typica lly low air moisture. Because it is normally too humid, beans are not usually separated from their husk (sun-dried pulp) or hull (parchment membrane) until the moment before sending them to the harbour. Coffee beans should be stored in low moisture conditions so as not to be attack by mould. The maximum water level safe in the bean is 12% by weight. After reaching this through thorough drying any re-wetting and airborne moisture absorption must be prevented (e.g. rain, fog, condensation). Raw coffee beans are often stored for years before roasting. Their sturdy structure usually prevents them from being spoiled by external agents, however, nothing can be done against the inherent biochemical activity in the seed. In this case, some minor compoonents transform into other components which seem to taste woody and harsh after roasting. The coffee beans are therefore stored in specially controlled covered warehouses near to where they were grown. When ready to be shipped, they are moved by conventional transpor tation to the docks. There, stevedores experienced in the careful handling of coffee see that the bags are properly stowed aboard the ship ready for their journey. More than 1/3 of the world's coffee is address to the USA, followed next by Germany. The top export grade of bean is SHB (strictly hard bean) or strictly high grown, which means that the coffee beans are produced at a minimum altitude of 4,000 feet above sea level. Between five and six million tons of unroasted or 'green' coffee are produced each year. Beans are often kept and transported in coarse hessian bags.
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