Coffee Basics
Roasting
Roasting turns a green seed into something worth brewing, and the roaster's choices show in every cup. These guides explain what a roaster does, what Vienna roast and charcoal roasting mean, whether oily beans are a bad sign and where third wave coffee came from.
What Is Vienna Roast Coffee?A dark roast taken to the very start of second crack, where the surface just begins to shine. One step past full city, one step short of French.
Are Oily Coffee Beans Bad?It depends entirely on why they are oily, and there are only two reasons. One is a roast decision and the other is age.
Sumiyaki Coffee and Kopi Joss: The Two Charcoal CoffeesOne is coffee roasted over charcoal in Japan. The other is a glass of coffee with a burning coal dropped into it in Indonesia. They share a word and nothing else.
What a Coffee Roaster Actually Does, and Why It Shows in the CupGreen coffee tastes of almost nothing. Everything you recognise as coffee flavour was created in about twelve minutes of carefully controlled heat.
What Is Third Wave Coffee?Coffee treated as an agricultural product with an origin, rather than a commodity with a brand. The waves are a useful story and a rough one.