Brunswick @Brunswick - 3mo
When roasting coffee, there are three natural boundaries that differentiate light, medium and dark roast. If you've ever made popcorn in a pot, you know it has to get to a certain temperature before the kernels start popping. It seems to take forever, then if you are heating them evenly, all of a sudden they all seem to want to pop at the same time. Coffee is similar, but instead of popping they "crack". It sounds like a quiet popping, and its the sound of the bean forming microcracks and slightly expanding. With coffee, there are three phases to "cracking". You roast it to one phase and the beans all begin to crack. This goes on for about a minute then the cracking stops. Now you have a light roast. Keep roasting it and it will start cracking again, this is the second crack. This is now a medium roast. The "third crack" which happens for a longer period of time, kind of like trying to pop that last layer of popcorn seeds at the bottom of the pot, and this is where the skill comes in; to dark roast it without burning it. Because the darker roast requires more time, it deterioriates the caffeine as a result, and this is why it isn't as potent. Its also this dark roast that is more appropriate for mixing with sweeteners and fat. This is why they use espresso bean (always dark roasted) for these drinks. #coffeestr #☕
One can roast coffee the same way as you pop popcorn. Many swear by roasting in cast iron. If you have a cast iron chicken fryer with a lid, that also can be used to pop popcorn with good results (no scorching)
