Table of Contents
Introduction
Roasting raw green coffee beans into the rich, aromatic coffee is a very well-known process. The best extraction of flavor, like deep caramel or chocolaty undertones, will come out of the beans if properly roasted. But sometimes roasting turns out unexpectedly, and at that time a very common and general question is whispering in minds about re-roasting. So, can you re roast coffee beans…
In this article we are going to find out the possible answer to this question and discuss every essential parameter regarding can you re roast coffee beans.
Why would someone want to re-roast coffee beans?
To understand can you re roast coffee beans, let’s understand why people think and want to re-roast their coffee beans. There are several reasons for it. Some are given as follows
Trying to refresh old coffee beans
After the first time roasting, the freshness and flavor are at their peak in coffee beans, and they remain within two to four weeks of roasting, but after that taste and freshness are gone, and beans become stale. The reason for this staleness is exposure to air and moisture that causes the beans to go stale. In this case, usually people think about re-roasting.
Fixing over-roasted and under-roasted beans
If the roasting process is performed incorrectly by the roaster, then an unwanted result like over-roasted beans or under-roasted beans will be obtained. So in this case, people think about re-roasting. If beans have been roasted too dark or too light, then people think that putting them back into the roaster can help to extract remaining oils and aroma.
Experimenting with flavor
Some coffee lovers want to enhance their beverage taste more and more, and for that purpose, they are performing multiple experiments. Re-roasting coffee beans is one of those experiments. In that experiment, coffee lovers perform re-roasting coffee beans to enhance sweetness or reduce acidity and also to develop custom blends by mixing different roast-level beans.
What happens when you re-roast coffee beans?
Now, the second important thing that you must understand before going towards can you re roast coffee beans? Is what happens when you re-roast coffee beans.
Loss of essential oils and aroma
As we know, roasting fresh beans can enhance our essential oils and aroma. These compounds are heat sensitive and volatile in nature and they can dissipate once the beans are exposed to air for a long time or go through the re-roasting process.
Risk of burning beans
The first roast changes the internal properties of beans. During the first process, the Maillard reaction takes place, which creates a caramelized flavor and then the first crack and second crack occur, which expands the beans and releases oils.
Thereafter, going for re-roasting can heat the beans too fast, and for that reason, the burning chances of coffee beans are very high.
Change taste profile
Because of the loss of essential oils and aroma, the taste profile will also become more bitter and dull after re-roasting coffee beans. The high temperature during re-roasting destroyed the sweetness and brightness and burnt the natural compounds of beans. For that reason, the fruity and chocolaty flavor changes into a smoky and ashy flavor.
Can you re roast coffee beans?
So, can you re roast coffee beans…
The answer is NO. Our short suggestion is to try not to re-roast your coffee beans.
Basically, roasting is a one-time process. While transforming from green beans into aromatic roasted beans, irreversible chemical and physical changes occur in beans, and this will never occur again at the time of the second roast.
Science behind coffee roasting
Now, after getting the answer of can you re roast coffee beans? Let’s explore the actual phenomenon of re-roasting.
Caramelization and Maillard reaction
The two basic chemical reactions take place at the time of roasting, which are caramelization and the Maillard reaction. These two chemical processes are responsible for producing sweetness and creating a dark brown roast color and aroma in beans, but this process is a one-time process.
If you apply the re-roasting process to already roasted coffee beans, then it will over burn the remaining sugar content and generate a bitter and burnt taste.
Structural Changes and Moisture
Green beans contain almost 10 to 12% moisture. At the time of the first roast, this will evaporate, and after mixed with some internal gases, this will produce an extremely delightful aroma. But re-roasting these dry beans can burn them quickly and create an ashy taste.
In short: Re-roasting is a bad idea, this will not fix staleness, under-roasting, and over-roasting. Actually, it will worsen it. Instead of thinking about re-roasting, it is better to find some other alternative.
Alternative solution instead of re-roasting
Now, after understanding why you shouldn’t think about re-roasting. Let’s move towards another section of our article that is alternative solutions of re-roasting. It is also necessary to counter the query that is can you re roast coffee beans.
Blending beans to fix under-roast and over-roast
The first alternate solution that we are suggesting to our readers is blending different roast levels together. Let’s suppose that if you have under-roasted beans, then you have to mix them with some dark roast beans. You can select a quantity ratio of almost 50% to 50% or 70% to 30% of both beans for a balanced flavor.
After that, you have to blend this mixture of beans. This will adjust the sour, grassy flavor of under-roasted beans with the extreme flavor of dark beans.
The same procedure can be applicable for over-roasted beans. You have to mix it with medium-level roast beans and follow the same above procedure. Hence, you will get a balanced, flavorful cup of coffee.
Grinding and brewing adjustments
The second option that we will suggest to our reader is going towards brewing and grinding adjustments.
As we know, a fine grind can increase more extraction as compared to a normal grind size. If you have under-roasted beans, then you can grind them into a very fine size. After that, you have to use hot water with an ideal temperature of 195°F and 205°F (90°C–96°C). This will help in extracting more depth of flavor and finally taking more steeping time, like French press or pour over takes.
If you have over-extracted beans, then the same above-mentioned technique is applied but in a different way. Coarse grind reduces over-extraction and prevents bitterness. This will be used in this case. You have to grind your over-roasted coffee beans into a coarse grind size. And use a little bit of cold water with almost 195°F (90°C) or much cooler. This will help to prevent ashy or burnt flavor. And finally take a short steeping time like espresso and AeroPress takes.