How to store green coffee
The right storage condition of green coffee makes a significant difference in the quality of the cup. It is important to preserve the freshness and keep the flavours intact. But, what is the best way to do it? Hard Beans decided to find the right answer for these questions.
“Roest Sample Roaster is the best machine to maintain repeatable batches, especially during the research and development projects we are working on.”
The Research
Krzysztof Barabosz is the Co-Founder of Hard Beans roastery in Poland. The roastery focuses on high quality coffee and they love to spoil their customers with very exclusive lots. Exclusivity often comes with a high price. Wondering how to store the coffee without losing its beauty and the investment, Krzysztof decided to start researching. The goal was to find the ideal green coffee storage technology, and to increase quality while controlling freshness. To fulfill the needs of his research, he contacted us. ROEST was his #1 choice for this challenging task.
Read more about the ideal sample roaster from Nordic Approach.
The research is not over yet, but we’ve got a sneak-peek for you!
The routine
Samples in the storage room //Photo: Krzysztof Barabosz
The storage rooms // Photo: Krysztof Barabosz
At the beginning of the research, right after arrival of the coffee to the roastery, the beans were packed by 100 g bags in two different materials: Grain Pro and Jute Bags. Divided into the groups they were stored in six different conditions:
-10 °C / 38 % RH
5 °C / 50 % RH
10 °C / 50 % RH
18 °C / 50 % RH
20 °C / 50 % RH
Without control
Each month a sample of each coffee are taken out for evaluation. They are divided in three categories for the next evaluation: green samples for further measurements, roasted samples for further measurements and roasted samples for cupping. Samples are roasted using Power Profile, to maintain the heat application with same development time (53 seconds).
Both green and roasted samples (from the categories for further measurements) are vacuum-packed and transported to the Institute of Heavy Organic Synthesis and to JARS for a detailed measurement of: the weight loss over time, volatile aromatic compounds, fatty acids, caffeine, bacteria, mold, yeast and more…
Every 3 months a sensory summit is held with Q-Graders and CSP Sensory Skills people, who are blindly assessing samples using SCA Cupping Scoresheets.
Read about another research done with ROEST.
Over to Krzysztof
Do you already have some results to share?
The results are fascinating! I’m not ready to share it before it’s complete, but what keeps us excited is every small discovery.
To give you an example: Storing coffee in conditions above 18 °C is degrading the beans very fast, no matter if it's stored in Jute Bag or in Grain Pro.
Luis Rosales and Krzysztof Barabosz. Luis is son of the producer Mauricio Rosales. One of the coffees for the research is from his Finca La Maravilla in Guatemala, Caturra Washed.
Producer: Diana and Hector Ovalle, owners of Finca El Oregano in Guatemala. One of the two coffees used for the research is their Caturra Natural.
What value does ROEST sample roaster bring to this research?
For every research, high quality and consistent equipment is needed if we want to receive valid results. With ROEST, all parameters during the roasting are stable and every adjustment is visible. It’s comforting to know I can rely on my sample roaster.
THE ROEST PROFILE
The research will be completed in October this year. We will make sure to share the results with you, so we can all store our green coffee better and thus increase the quality of our coffee. The profile used for the research is based on Power Profile, with the following details:
PWR: 75 %* AIR: 75 % RPM: 63
Charge: 180 °C Power drop after 1st Crack: 15 % Development: 53 s
*Power depends on voltage, so 75 % might be too high or too low for your location.
