Coffee Roasting Milestones

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1 Introduction
2 A Walk Down The Memory Lane
3 Back To 2007
4 Coffee Roasting Milestones

[edit] Introduction

The objective of this page is to capture all significant milestones in the history of coffee roasting (both commercial and domestic). Initially, it will be bare, your contribution is most welcome.

[edit] A Walk Down The Memory Lane

As early as in the mid-19th century most people roasts their own coffee at home. This is mainly due to the fact that green beans have a longer shelf like and as such, could be bought from your local convenience store even in remote areas.

The commercial coffee roasters started to proliferate in the mid-19th century. The profitability of these business ventures had created a demand for better roasters. As a result, a lot of improvements on the roaster designs had emerged (Jabez Burns had contributed his genius to this goal).

The main reason for the success of these pioneering commercial coffee roasters is due to the fact that they are focused on offering the public quality coffee. As a result the roasted coffee they offer is better that most people can roast at home (mainly because the tool available for coffee roasting at home is very basic).

Just over a hundred years later, the world coffee consumption is on the decline (1970s). One of the main reason, of course, is that the people are not happy with the quality of coffee they are getting. That does not seem logical. Thus, with the advances in technology and knowledge, one would assume that the roasted coffee that the commercial roasters offers would have improved in quality.

That the commercial roasters could improved the quality of their roasted coffee is true. However, either the competitive atmosphere or greed had shifted the focus of most commercial coffee roasters (especially the multinationals) from quality to profit. To maximize profit the roasters who focus on profit would:

buy the cheapest beans
choose roast level with minimum shrinkage
introduce some outrageous practises like quenching roasted beans with more water than is necessary to make the end product heavier
dishonest labeling (i.e., calling a blend a Kona Blend when only a minute amount of Kona is in the blend)

The introduction of instant coffee is also a step backwards for coffee lovers. The coffee bean used is mostly (or is it purely) Robusta. A much better quality coffee is Arabica, which is used by most Specialty Coffee Roasters. The Robusta coffee is cheaper than Arabica because it is easier to cultivate and would grow in lower elevation. Again the main reason for the use of Robusta is profit. additionally the Robusta used in the production of instant coffee is over-extracted. So, the price for convenience is high in this case (can I have more sugar and coffee cream to mask the bitterness please).

[edit] Back To 2007

The bad news is there are lots of mediocre coffee out there. The good news is that home coffee roasting is having a renaissance. Another good news is that there are a growing number of Specialty Coffee Roasters that focus more on the quality than on the profit (yes, they have to make money too :) Also, these Specialty Coffee Roasters are more than likely would be happy to share their coffee knowledge.