Infrared Roasting

Infrared Roasting

The Value of Infrared Roasting

While coffee has been around for centuries, it wasn’t until the 1800’s, when industrial sized roasters made their presence known and the act of buying roasted coffee began.

Since the 1800’s, roasting equipment and techniques have evolved and facilitate the expansion of coffee consumption around the world. Two of the most popular roasting techniques currently are conventional and infrared roasting.

At California Coffee Authority we support infrared roasting for it’s craftsmanship, and refined process of developing a consistent, less acidic and burnt-free flavor, while helping mitigate the formation of Acrylamides. According to the National Cancer Institute, Acrylamides were reported to be found in food products that have been heated in high temperatures above 120 degrees Celsius and may cause higher risk for several types of cancer.

 

Conventional Roasting

Conventional Roasting
VS.
Infrared Roasting

Conventional roasters use flame-heated hot air or flame-heated drums to roast the coffee beans. The drums are heated to very high temperatures and then the coffee beans are dumped in, exposing them to the high temperatures often burning and unevenly roasting the beans resulting in an unpleasant bitter, burnt flavor and changing the integrity of the compounds inherent to the natural green (unroasted) coffee been.

Unlike conventional roasting, infrared roasting exposes the coffee bean to infrared heat that is generated by heating a drum, but allowing only the radiated (Infrared) heat to touch the coffee beans. The green coffee beans are therefore never subjected to high temperature, rather the temperature of each bean is gently and evenly raised to perfection. It is then dropped into a cooler, exposing it to ambient air and quench water to instantly stop the cooking process without raising the moisture and achieving the desired  caramelization (color specification) and roasting consistency.

 

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