Many specialty coffee roasters spend weeks developing specific profiles that highlight the desirable characteristics of their coffees. To experience as much of a coffee’s terroir as possible, light-to-medium roasts work best. This is especially true for exclusive or limited-edition lots with more delicate tasting notes.

But as coffee prices are only just falling from record highs, many roasters have shifted their sourcing practices. They have started to buy more affordable lots or focus on blends to manage their margins more effectively. Similarly, as living costs remain high, consumers are still price-conscious.

To thrive in this ever-evolving market, roasters need to offer variety. Sourcing different origins is an integral part of this, but now more than ever, offering a range of roasts is also key. In turn, brands can adapt to changing consumer behaviour while still stocking coffees that meet their high standards for quality.

I spoke to Roberto Pedini, sales coordinator of business development at IMF Roasters, to learn more.

You may also like our article on what roasters need to know when upgrading their facilities.

Why roasters need to cater to different consumer preferences

Most specialty coffee roasters pride themselves on their dedication to offering light roasts, and for good reason. Third wave coffee culture’s proclivity for lighter roasts stems from a push to showcase “pure” flavour and quality. These profiles allow us to detect more delicate tasting notes and taste complex acidity. In contrast, as a coffee’s development time increases, it can lose these nuances.

However, consumers don’t always want light roasts. The vast majority of coffee drinkers prefer traditional flavour profiles. Even if they stick to lighter roasts, third wave coffee consumers also value choice – and they want to try different flavours and origins. For instance, a consumer who prefers Central or South American medium roasts may be interested in trying fruit-forward, light roast coffees from East Africa to expand their palates.

Ultimately, by offering a variety of origins and roasts, coffee brands can cater to a wider range of preferences, and potentially retain a loyal consumer base.

Roberto Pedini is the sales coordinator of business development at IMF Roasters – a roaster manufacturer in Italy.

“Roasters can attract a more diverse range of customers and meet their specific needs – whether they prefer light, medium, or dark roasts,” he explains. “Different roast profiles bring out different and unique flavours and aromas in coffee, appealing to a wider variety of personal tastes.”

A washed Guatemalan coffee with notes of brown sugar, for instance, will taste different when roasted light, medium, or dark. As a light roast, this coffee will have a thinner body, and those brown sugar notes may not be developed enough. On the other hand, when roasted dark, the sugars in this coffee will overdevelop – causing it to taste burnt or baked. 

In this case, a medium roast profile is then likely to be most suitable as the sugars will have hit a “sweet spot”, highlighting this coffee’s characteristics in the best way.

Creating different roast profiles for coffee

We often talk about light, medium, and dark roasts in the coffee industry, but there are many shades in between. Roasters can use Agtron spectrophotometers, which use infrared technology, to accurately determine roast levels. Higher numbers indicate a lighter roast, while lower measurements signify more developed profiles. 

Coffee professionals adjust several variables to develop different roasts, which include:

• Timing of first crack (an audible cracking noise that marks the beginning of a light roast)
• Charge and roast temperatures
• Airflow
• Total roast time

Different roasts help to highlight a coffee’s best characteristics, as well as to maintain quality. For example, a bright and juicy Kenyan coffee will benefit from a more developed profile to bring out its sweetness while also retaining its clean acidity. Reduced development time for a full-bodied and earthy Sumatran coffee, meanwhile, means its sugars won’t overdevelop and burn.

However, it can be all too easy to overdevelop roast profiles, and quickly lose a coffee’s unique attributes and terroir, especially with darker roasts.

“Roasting dark or very dark profiles, such as French roast, is a delicate process,” Roberto says. “It can sometimes be dangerous as the beans can self-combust if temperatures are too high. 

“This is why it’s so important to create profiles and use technology that roasts uniformly throughout each bean, especially at higher temperatures, without carbonising the sugars and resulting in an overly bitter taste.”

Roasters can then achieve a “classic” flavour profile with balanced sweetness, acidity, and bitterness that many consumers enjoy.

Similar to overdevelopment, roasters can easily underdevelop coffees. If temperatures are too low or the coffee hasn’t been roasted for long enough, the flavour compounds won’t fully develop – resulting in grassy and sour tasting notes.

Using technology to get the best results

As well as relying on their skills and knowledge to develop precise and consistent profiles, roasters need to understand how to use machines to their advantage.

There are several types of commercial machines, but convection roasters are considered the most modern and efficient. As hot air flows into the machine, it lifts green coffee beans and circulates them around the roasting chamber. Hot air is in constant contact with the surface of the beans during the entire roasting process, which results in greater uniformity and better consistency.

“IMF machines use convection technology, allowing complete control over the amount of heat transferred to the beans,” Roberto explains. “Roasters can quickly and effectively tweak variables in response to how the coffee changes in the drum during the roasting process.

“The thermodynamic technology in our machines forces hot airflow into the perforated drum and through the entire mass of coffee beans, ensuring uniformity in roasting,” he adds. “Roasters can then achieve consistent profiles for various origins and roasts, allowing the organoleptic characteristics to shine through.”

How to fine-tune different profiles

Even for the most skilled roasters, developing different profiles for a wide variety of coffees can be challenging. However, when using excellent equipment and adopting the right approach, the process is more straightforward.

One of the most important steps is to invest in a high-quality machine. Convection roasters, or machines that rely on similarly advanced technology, allow coffee professionals to control different variables. This means they can make precise adjustments to different profiles, ensuring consistent and quality results across various origins and roasts.

When developing a new profile, it’s essential that roasters record all the input data used for different test batches. Analysing these variables will help them to understand how different coffees react to different roasting parameters, such as temperature and time. By doing this, roasters can experiment with various profiles to get the best results.

“IMF roasters are equipped with software that provides immediate feedback to the user, even for small variations in roasting parameters,” Roberto explains. “This high level of precision allows them to refine different profiles down to the smallest detail, ensuring the nuances in aroma and flavour can be extracted.”

Tasting coffee is key

As any roaster knows, regularly cupping coffees is imperative when developing different roasts. Roasters can pick up on any defects and assess whether certain flavours and aromas are present in the final sensory profile.

Many factors affect a coffee’s flavours, which inevitably impacts the best approach to take when developing a roast profile. Origin, variety, processing method, and bean density and size all play a key role, and roasters must take each variable into account when deciding to roast light, medium, or dark.

Roasters need to stay true to their brand identity, but they must also consider how they can appeal to a wider range of consumers. One of the best ways to do this is by offering a variety of roasts.

Investing in a high-quality machine means roasters can achieve consistent results across various origins and profiles.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how AI is changing coffee roasting.

Photo credits: Tall Order Coffee Roasters

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: IMF Roasters is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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