Roast Profiles Matter!

Ever wondered why the coffee you get from one company tastes so different from the coffee you get from another company? It’s more than just the beans; it’s also the roast profile.

A roast profile is how a coffee roaster treats the green coffee beans to create a desired flavor in a roasted coffee. It means what happens during the roasting process, including things like timing and temperature adjustments, that affect the outcome of the roasted beans. The roast profile creates the flavor profile, which is how the coffee tastes, its mouthfeel, acidity, balance, and so forth. When a coffee roaster has created a roast profile that he or she  likes, it allows them to consistently achieve the same flavor in beans roasted at different times.

When I work on a new roast profile for a green coffee, I start by looking at where the green beans come from (their origin), how they were processed, and how I want to brew them. All these things influence the roast profile.

• The origin of a coffee is simply where the coffee beans come from. Coffee producing countries have different climates, soil types, altitudes, and more. These environmental factors affect the characteristics of the green beans.
• Different coffee growers also use different methods to process the beans before they send them to their customers. For example, some growers use a wet process that can depend on some fermentation, while others use a dry process that does not.
• How you intend to brew the coffee is also a factor in selecting a coffee roast. For example, beans that taste great when brewed in a drip coffee maker may not taste nearly as good when brewed in a French press. Other factors that affect the taste of your coffee are the water temperature, brew time, and how small you grind the beans.

All of these things ultimately lead to entirely different flavors and the beans need to be roasted differently to compliment those flavors.

​When I receive a new green bean, I spend a lot of time developing a roast profile that complements the beans. I experiment a lot and see what tastes best. I often run through quite a few batches before I find a profile that works for the bean.    

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