Fresh Roast: Some Beans Roast Faster than Others
I was so excited by my new arrival of Peruvian Swiss Water Processed Decaf beans from The Merchants of Green Coffee that I toasted these babies up almost to the point of ash. Oops. Apparently, these beans don’t tolerate much heat and while they didn’t even get to the second crack (my usual means of telling when the beans are done), they were so dark they were almost charcoal. After letting my roaster cool down for the requisite 20 minutes, I decided to try again, and kept a much closer eye on the beans as they were popping around the roaster. Even at 8 minutes, these beans were very, very dark just past the first crack.
The trick, I learned, is that roasting decaffeinated beans requires even more attention and even more trial and error than regular beans. I might have known from the moment I opened the package and saw the beans, which were much darker than typical green coffee beans. Removing the caffeine removes much of the internal moisture and changes the way the beans roast, specifically making them less tolerant to heat. Roasters recommend starting at a lower temperature (not something that my home roaster allows me to do), and to roast carefully, right at the mid-range for your roaster. And, the normal “crack” cues are far less noticeable, so it’s important to look for color changes in the beans. This is tricky since they are popping around, and it’s hard to tell the difference between a nice dark chocolate color and jet black. However, getting this timing right is key because too light and the beans will have no flavor. Too dark, and you’ll end up with burned beans. However, just because your beans look burned, doesn’t mean they are! The appearance of the beans before grinding may be considerably darker than after… so unless they are clearly crumbling, you might give them a shot.
I decided to do a taste test with both batches that I roasted… the dark and the darker. Both actually made a decent shot, and although I did detect a hint of burned flavor in the darker beans it did make a nicer looking crema.
While the slightly lighter roast was smoother, the darker roast’s complex flavors grew on me over the course of the cup. Which is better? Well, that’s up to you and your own preferences… but regardless, don’t expect your decaf beans to roast up like the rest of your beans do.
