Better Beans, Better Coffee Part II
For 30 years we have roasted our coffee to perfection, using only the top 2% of beans grown in the world, Specialty Grade 1 Arabica to give you the best cup of coffee. Yes, you read that right, Top 2%, meaning 98% of the coffee grown in the world does not meet our standards. As the second installment of our Better Beans, Better Coffee series, we will dig a little deeper into how we roast Specialty Grade 1 Arabica coffee.
There are 2 main types of roasting - Drum Roasting and Hot Air Roasting. We use Hot Air Roasting in Fluidized Air Bed roasters and we made this decision when we started roasting over 30 years ago. We knew we wanted every bean to be roasted to perfection, and to the same degree every single time and Fluidized Air Bed Roasters do just that!
Fluidized Air Bed Roasters were invented by Michael Sivetz, who actually trained us in his roastery in Corvallis, Oregon in 1993. We worked privately with him as he explained why his process is the best. It was so cool to see him explain as all the beans were suspended in hot air and the roaster was programed to the desired temperature. The goal is for the beans to reach a desired temperature and even the slightest deviation can make a huge difference in the taste of coffee. Generally, our roasts range from a light roast at 447 degrees to a dark roast at 475 degrees and that’s based on the type of beans, the blend and our desired outcome for the taste of coffee in the cup. That’s our true goal, ensuring that Door County Coffee is roasted to perfection based on the various roasts – from Sunrise to Espresso! This type of roasting is similar to a popcorn popper, suspending the beans in hot air so they roast evenly and never sit and burn on the bottom of the roaster! We chose this method because it is reliable, repeatable and oh so delicious!
Drum Roasters work by transferring the heat from a large cylinder that is constantly rotating. As the cylinder rotates, the beans shift and based on gravity go to the bottom of the roaster. With each rotation they are moving, but are generally in contact with the heated cylinder. This leaves more room for fluctuations in the degree of roastand unintentional burning or burnt spots. Once the beans have reached their desired temperature, they are cooled in a large cooling bin where there is typically a metal arm stirring the beans until cool.
Our roastmasters learn to roast from our team who has perfected their craft for over 30 years. We’ve developed recipes for each blend to bring out the best taste profiles to make the perfect cup and it is an art and a science! Our roasting team learns our methods, because that’s what our customers have learned to love! They spend time learning qualities and characteristics of all the beans so they can come up with new roasts and continue on our tradition of roasting truly specialty coffee.
As you sip your next cup of Door County Coffee, take a second to savor that every sip tastes just as good as the last, and think about the care and quality time that went into each and every bean. There are so many reasons we are proud to air-roast Specialty Grade 1 Arabica beans the way we do. From Dark Voyage to Black and Tan, we hope you can truly taste the difference in each and every sip. Stay tuned for more fun facts about the coffee we roast! Coffee Cheers! Coffee Cheers!