Rainer Perren

Coffee Roasting and Aroma Formation: Application of Different Time−Temperature Conditions

The impact of time-temperature combinations of roasting processes on the kinetics of aroma formation in coffee was investigated. The development of 16 aroma compounds and the physical properties of coffee beans was followed in a commercial horizontal drum roasting process and in laboratory scale fluidizing-bed roasting processes at high temperature-short time and low temperature-long time conditions. All trials were run to an equal roast end point as defined by the lightness of coffee beans. In addition, the effect of excessive roasting on aroma composition was studied. Compared to low temperature-long time roasting, high temperature-short time roasting resulted in considerable differences in the physical properties and kinetics of aroma formation. Excessive roasting generally led to decreasing or stable amounts of volatile substances, except for hexanal, pyridine, and dimethyl trisulfide, whose concentrations continued to increase during over-roasting. When the drum roaster and the fluidizing bed roaster were operated in the so-called temperature profile mode, that is, along the identical development of coffee bean temperature over roasting time, the kinetics of aroma generation were similar in both processes.

Roasting and aroma formation: effect of initial moisture content and steam treatment.

Initial moisture of green coffee may vary as a function of green coffee processing and storage conditions. The impact of initial moisture and steam treatment on roasting behavior and aroma formation was investigated. Steam treated coffees as well as coffees with initial moisture content of 5.10, 10.04, and 14.70 g water per 100 g wb were roasted. Light and dark roasting trials were carried out using a fluidizing-bed roaster with a batch size of 100 g of green beans. Differences in roast coffee attributes, that is, color, density, and organic roast loss, and odorant concentrations were more marked in light roasted than in dark roasted coffees. The results of roasting steam treated coffee suggest that this step affects roasting behavior primarily by extracting some aroma precursor compounds.

Aroma recovery from roasted coffee by wet grinding.

Aroma recovery as determined by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was compared in coffees resulting from conventional grinding processes, and from wet grinding with cold and hot water. Freshly roasted coffee as well as old, completely degassed coffee was ground in order to estimate the relationship of internal carbon dioxide pressure in freshly roasted coffee with the aroma loss during grinding. The release of volatile aroma substances during grinding was found to be related to the internal carbon dioxide pressure, and wet grinding with cold water was shown to minimize losses of aroma compounds by trapping them in water. Due to the high solubility of roasted coffee in water, the use of wet-grinding equipment is limited to processes where grinding is followed by an extraction step. Combining grinding and extraction by the use of hot water for wet grinding resulted in considerable losses of aroma compounds because of the prolonged heat impact. Therefore, a more promising two-step process involving cold wet grinding and subsequent hot extraction in a closed system was introduced. The yield of aroma compounds in the resulting coffee was substantially higher compared to conventionally ground coffee.

Continuous evolved gas analysis and thermal analysis in micro-scale roasting of foods

In roasting processes of foods, non-enzymatic browning reactions lead to the formation of water and carbon dioxide. Continuous monitoring of the evolution of moisture and carbon dioxide would offer an interesting tool fordetermining reaction kinetics of non-enzymatic browning and optimising roasting processes. Isothermal and dynamic heating of small specimens of hazelnuts in a differential scanning calorimeter which was linked to a non-dispersive IR gas analyser presents a possibility to simulate roasting processes on a micro-scale. Formation of water and carbon dioxide was dependant on the initial moisture content of the hazelnuts, heating rate and composition of gas atmosphere (nitrogen vs. oxygen). Depending on the heating conditions, evolution of carbon dioxide is not only caused by degradation of amino acids and sugars but also by lipid oxidation.