Help keep Nespresso honest - is there really anything to the long/slow roast? - Page 3

#21: Post by **yakster** » September 6th, 2012, 4:24 pm

I actually played with making my own capsules last year when the company Nespresso Pro machine was still working, but wasn't satisfied with the results. I like my MyPressi Twist better.

September 6th, 2012, 6:27 pm

jbviau wrote:Absolutely. I do use one of these from time to time; it's manual, so I cut the shots off earlier than Nespresso would probably suggest.

Yes, if you use the system, stop the flow or pull the cup when it blondes (about 8 to 10 seconds in.)

September 10th, 2012, 10:47 pm

Back to roasting, I'd appreciate a link (if anyone has one) definitively showing (or at least more strongly suggesting) that Nespresso coffee in particular is, indeed, usually roasted in the manner described here, i.e. in continuous fluid bed roasters within, say, 6 min. Some people I've mentioned this to were skeptical. Thanks in advance for any pointers.

#24: Post by **yakster** » September 11th, 2012, 1:22 pm

About the closest I came is this link:

The coffee from cultivation to roasting (http://www.yoppi.com)

Yoppi wrote:Roasting: The most critical phase in coffee processing, roasting gives coffee its unique aroma, taste and color. Seventy percent of the final characteristics that make coffee one of the most enjoyable beverages in the world, and Nespresso the most perfect of espressos, are realized during roasting. As the temperature rises in the huge rotating cylinders of the roasting machines, the beans lose 20% of their weight through moisture evaporation. At the same time, the beans expand, increasing by 60% in volume due to physio-chemical reactions that activate substances inside the cells which are responsible for coffee's flavor and its over 900 volatile aromas. Temperature is precisely controlled to never exceed 230° C (446° F) and to never vary from batch to batch of the same blend. The longer the roast and the higher the final temperature, the stronger and more intensive is the final flavor. Roasting times of Nespresso varieties vary between 6 and 11 minutes, producing the exquisitely subtle differences in each blend's flavor and bouquet.

This information looks to be based on the following source:

"Coffee", Documentation Centre, Nestec Ltd: Vevey, 1989

September 11th, 2012, 3:30 pm

They are describing Burns Thermalo style roasters -- rotating drums with recirculating airflow. The design is used for medium scale roasters (by today's standards), 200 to 500 pounds, but not the large 1000 pound plus ones. Kestrel makes a scaled down version for craft roasters; and Green Mountain uses one for their limited release coffees. So it seems many people trust the design for high quality roasting.

September 11th, 2012, 3:35 pm

Thanks, guys. That gives me a good launching pad for further exploration. I do worry a little about the Yoppi info. being dated/suspect.

#27: Post by **yakster** » September 11th, 2012, 4:14 pm

This scale of roasting is interesting. I remember discussing with the table leader at the defect cupping class at the SCAA Symposium that for the bulk roasters they would line a whole shipping container and blow green coffee into the container rather than the traditional coffee sacks which allowed them to fit more coffee into the container. The containers would be lifted at their destination to feed green coffee for storage or roasting by conveyor.

The grade of coffee involved (sub specialty) didn't justify formal SCAA cupping but rather a simplified evaluation.

I think that this is where the six minute total roast time comes into play, really large volume roasting.