Roasting
Since 1934 OUR CORE BUSINESS
A KEY PHASE
During roasting, the green beans are grilled. The sugars and amino acids in the coffee combine under the effect of heat to create thousands of aromatic compounds (“Maillard reactions”). Burners heat a chamber to 220 °C. The green coffee is then fed into this chamber via an opening. The arrival of this cold mass of coffee rapidly reduces the temperature to 120°. The temperature will increase to 220° once again in 20 minutes.
Roasting is automatically controlled for the first 17 minutes. An operator will then monitor the process, trusting on sight, hearing and odour. The operator will mainly use a probe, which can be used to remove a few beans, for this purpose. After roasting, the coffee will have lost 20% of its initial weight, but gained 60% in volume.
Experience, expertise and intuition. Roasting involves the senses, sight, smell and taste, not to mention good sense.
Experience, expertise and intuition. Roasting involves the senses, sight, smell and taste, not to mention good sense.
THE DIFFERENT ROASTING METHODS
Traditional 20-minute roasting: Thanks to the guidance of an expert roaster, this method brings out the true finesse of the aromas of the greatest Arabica coffees. The coffee is baked at a temperature which is progressively increased from 110 to 220°C. This is the only method which bakes the core of the bean, and the only method used by Malongo.
However, many industrial operators prefer quick, more cost-effective methods.
Quick 10-minute roasting: The coffee is roasted at 400 – 500°C for 8 – 10 minutes. The coffee only develops 30% of its aromas and cannot simply be water cooled.
90-second flash roasting: The coffee is roasted under a ton of waves at extreme temperatures of up to 900°C. The beans are raw on the inside and burnt on the outside.
While volumes and product references vary, the degree of excellence remains unchanged. All of our coffees are roasted using traditional methods to ensure consistency. This is the Malongo method for guaranteeing authentic taste.
The coffee is left to cool as soon as it leaves the roasters. The blue smoke released during cooling is carbon dioxide, and this gas carries aromas. Only air cooling is used in our plants, with mixing, to optimise conservation while maintaining every little component of coffee aromas. The level of humidity in the coffee bean will never exceed 2%.
The different cooling processes have an impact on aromas, level of humidity and the conservation of the coffee. Water cooling is quick and used by most roasters, but the coffee will not last as long and will lose some of its aromas.
