After arriving in the consuming country, coffee beans must be roasted in order to become a consumer product. That’s where the coffee roaster comes in, playing a fundamental role in the coffee value chain.

Thanks to the roaster’s knowledge regarding the commodity and the variables that influence the roasting process, we can obtain an outstanding final product with varied profiles. Moreover, the roaster takes the responsibility of diffusing coffee culture, thus ensuring that all the work done upstream in the supply chain reaches the final consumer.

During the roasting process, the coffee beans undergo multiple chemical reactions, which must be skilfully manipulated by the roaster, so that the intrinsic qualities of the bean (terroir, cultivation and processing) can be expressed. Properly interpreting and managing these reactions is the key to ensuring that the final product is of high quality.

 
QUALITY CONTROL 
 
The work of a coffee roaster starts by choosing green coffee lots that meet their quality standards.

For that, the roaster uses his skills in coffee cupping, which allows her to identify the sensory attributes contained in each lot and to manage the roasting process in order to bring out the full potential contained in the beans. The roaster knows about origins, processing and varieties, as well as sensory characteristics, such as fragrance, flavour, body, acidity, etc., which help her measure with precision the final result of a roasted batch and to attain a specific cup profile, having as a point of departure the assessment of the raw commodity.

CONTROL OF THE ROASTING PROCESS

The roaster controls all variables that influence the roasting process: variety, size and density of the green bean, as well as the charge temperature, airflow, rate of rise, among others. The roaster knows how to adapt the variables of the roasting process to each individual lot of green coffee.

Each roaster develops his own techniques in order to bring out all the characteristics of the bean, adding her personal touch to each roasted batch.

Moreover, depending on the future use of the coffee, the roaster develops roast profiles that are adequate for each extraction method (immersion, percolation, espresso, etc.), knowing which attributes are enhanced in each roast profile and obtaining different results from the same beans.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONSUMER COFFEE MARKET 

In many cases the roaster is the last operator in the chain before the final consumer. She transforms the commodity into a consumer product and prepares it for being sold in the consumer market, keeping at all times the traceability of the lots.

The roaster’s knowledge regarding markets, distribution, sales, etc., play a fundamental role in delivering coffee to the last element of the chain.

DIFFUSION OF COFFEE CULTURE

As someone who knows the whole value chain, the roaster usually assumes the responsibility of diffusing coffee culture to the consumer market.

Thanks to the management of traceability throughout the chain, the consumer gets to know the country of origin, the region, the farm and even the story of the farmer who grew that coffee, thus adding a lot of value to coffee drinkers.

Therefore, coffee roasting is an essential step of the supply chain, since it transforms the green bean into a consumer product. Most importantly, the value added by a roaster comes from her skills in balancing aromas and flavours contained in the raw commodity, thus influencing the final cup profile and bringing out the best attributes of each coffee lot.