Profile Of A Perfect Roast

The process of roasting coffee transforms the hard green seeds of the coffee
tree into the marvelously aromatic brown beans you purchase for sale. All
the coffee we sell at Distant Lands Coffee is roasted in our plant in Tyler.

During roasting, four major things occur to the coffee seeds. First, they
lose some of their internal water content, making the beans lighter. Second,
some of the sugars inside the seeds are caramelized into flavor oils (in darker
roasts, you can actually see these oils on the outside of the beans) contributing
to the body of the coffee beverage. Third, the natural acidity, or the brighter
flavor notes of the coffee, is gradually reduced. Forth, the cell walls of the
seed itself are broken down. This breaking down of the cell structure is what
causes the coffee to begin rapidly staling after the coffee is roasted, carbon
dioxide gases are released from inside the bean, carrying with it the vital
flavor elements of the coffee.

Achieving the perfect roast profile is critical to the overall flavor of a particular
coffee. A long slow roast will result in a lifeless cup of coffee devoid of
flavor. A fast roast will leave the center of the bean underdeveloped with a
sour taste as the cup cools. The person roasting the coffee must be an artist,
trying to find the perfect balance of the delicate taste components: body and
acidity.

Like any artist, our roasters have been trained through a long process of
apprenticeship, and all of them have a minimum of six years experience working
with our roasting equipment. At all times they know by the smell, appearance,
or the sound of the beans in the roasting chamber the precise stage of bean
development.

Through minor changes in the amount of heat applied or the flow of air through
the roaster they make subtle adjustments to the roasting profile, ensuring that
each batch of beans is roasted to its peak of flavor.

The only measure of the roasters' success is at the cupping table. We "cup"
beans from each roast together with the roasting staff, every day, to confirm
the judgments of the roaster. We discuss the almost imperceptible variations
in each roast and how to coax the maximum amount of flavor from each
coffee we produce.

Remember, each coffee has its own perfect degree of roast depending upon
how it was grown, processed and stored. The roaster must account for
these variations for every coffee we offer. We invite our customers to come
visit us in Tyler for a tour of the facilities and to watch our roasting staff at work.



Distant Lands Coffee Roaster
11754 State Highway 64 West
Tyler, Texas 75704-9493

(800) 346-5459 Toll Free
(903) 592-9771 Voice
(903) 593-2699 Fax
(888) 262-JAVA Mail Order Line

Copyright - Distant Lands Coffee, Inc. 2003 - All Rights Reserved