Re: How Fresh is your coffee??
Roasting coffee.... just like extracting coffee.... is an art more than a science.
Commercial roasters will get far more consistent, repeatable and uniform results. They also need to sell all the coffee they roast - so many roasters sell stale coffee.
But do we want / need consistent uniform roasts? - we DO want freshly roasted beans!!! The variation in roasts, both between roasts and within the bean mass itself adds interest to the flavour of the resultant espresso.
One of my personal favourites is Mals PNG peaberry blend at two different roast levels. Ive tried this with other beans.... some are very successful - others less so...... but the results have all been pleasant to drink and I know that the beans are fresh.....
So if you want consistent roasts (which may at times be less fresh) there is no doubt commercially roasted is better - with the caveat that the roaster must be selling freshly roasted beans if you want optimum espresso....
But if you like to experiment with different flavours from the same bean, have fun doing it, and you like to know the beans are always fresh - then home roasting is for you. Its not hard to get excellent results - they wont be exactly the same as their commercial counterparts - but will make excellent espresso.
After all - its whats in the cup that counts - and a significant contributor to that is bean freshness..... and with many (probably most) commercial roasters that cant always be guaranteed. :-/
Roasting coffee.... just like extracting coffee.... is an art more than a science.
Commercial roasters will get far more consistent, repeatable and uniform results. They also need to sell all the coffee they roast - so many roasters sell stale coffee.
But do we want / need consistent uniform roasts? - we DO want freshly roasted beans!!! The variation in roasts, both between roasts and within the bean mass itself adds interest to the flavour of the resultant espresso.
One of my personal favourites is Mals PNG peaberry blend at two different roast levels. Ive tried this with other beans.... some are very successful - others less so...... but the results have all been pleasant to drink and I know that the beans are fresh.....
So if you want consistent roasts (which may at times be less fresh) there is no doubt commercially roasted is better - with the caveat that the roaster must be selling freshly roasted beans if you want optimum espresso....
But if you like to experiment with different flavours from the same bean, have fun doing it, and you like to know the beans are always fresh - then home roasting is for you. Its not hard to get excellent results - they wont be exactly the same as their commercial counterparts - but will make excellent espresso.
After all - its whats in the cup that counts - and a significant contributor to that is bean freshness..... and with many (probably most) commercial roasters that cant always be guaranteed. :-/

).
Comment