The opportunity to get a “peek behind the curtain” is a rare occasion and I’m grateful to @vigilantecoffee for providing me a glimpse of how coffee beans are roasted.
“Vigilante Coffee” Founders Chris and Ashley facilitated an interesting and interactive demonstration of the coffee bean roasting process that included sampling their “Suke Quto” coffee made from beans they source themselves from a farm in Ethiopia.
Chris increased my knowledge of coffee bean roasting by 100% (since I knew absolutely nothing about it when I walked through his door) as “we” roasted a batch of beans “together.” Our assigned roles consisted of him doing all the work and me sniffing the beans mid-roast and drinking as much of his coffee as I could while I was there. 😉
I was intrigued by how much science is involved as I watched him make adjustments during the roasting process on his computer screen while explaining how the endothermic nature of the beans require certain adjustments at key intervals.
The beans actually crack open twice during the 12-15 minute roasting process as the water contained within them evaporates. Constant monitoring is required as allowing the beans to roast for 18 minutes results in them baking (instead of roasting) and allowing them to reach a temperature of 460 degrees risks them bursting into flames. 🔥😳
Chris recommends purchasing your beans within a week of their roasting and within 6 months of their harvesting.
He also advises that while you can store your beans in the freezer to slow the aging process, that does not help dramatically.
Names are important here so get them right! “Little Red” is the name of their first roaster, “Vigilante” is the maiden name of Chris’ mother (and not a call to organize to suppress and punish crime), and their “Tin Lizzie” beans are not a veiled reference to a rock band (but an homage to the old garage where Model T’s were once repaired and later the site of their initial roasting efforts).
If you want to learn more about coffee bean roasting you should try one of their free tastings each Friday at 11:00 (no appointments necessary).
And that’s…Henry’s Take.
Vigilante Coffee
1575 South Coast Highway
Oceanside, California
www.vigilantecoffee.com
