Coffee roasting is an art for the detail oriented and luckily, we’ve got a patient perfectionist in Head Roaster Andrew. The most important piece of the saazaa puzzle is to produce the highest quality, consistent beans on the market and to do so takes a combination of skill and top notch machinery in our roaster of choice.

 

 

The Roaster

After months of research, talking directly to manufacturers and hands-on training, we went with the 22kg Phantom Coffee Roaster from Coffee Roasters Australia.

 

 

Buying Australian owned and made was very important to us for three reasons: it’s the more sustainable choice, it’s about supporting another local business and growing our coffee community, and it means that when we need servicing or technical support, help is just around the corner.

Efficiency is what we need with our roaster so we can continue to supply you with the freshest beans possible – and it’s what we get with the Phantom Coffee Roaster. It can pump out 22kg of premium saazaa beans every 10-17 minutes.

Quality comes first and with our team, factory and beans well and truly up to scratch, we needed a quality roaster to match. The 22kg Phantom Coffee Roaster is beautifully constructed using modern manufacturing processes. It has a double wall carbon steel drum design for optimal heat transfer, high quality Italian made three phase motors and gearboxes with long life bearings and Italian made burners with very low turn down ratio. What does all that mean? Essentially, it gives us absolute control over the roasting process which is what sets an incredible bean apart from an okay one.

Now it’s time for some tech. The next generation Coffee Sweet PC control system is designed specifically for the Phantom Series of roasters. Providing real time graphing of all four thermocouple temperatures, gas, fan, drum speed and rate of risel. We can control the roaster in 1% increments allowing for more precise control over the roasting process, enabling us to create very specific flavour profiles in each blend. The cooling and destoning process can be controlled through the software, meaning the process is identical every time (we’ve already told you how important consistency is to us).

 

 

The Three Stages of Coffee Roasting

We’ve got the machine… now what? There are three stages of coffee roasting, before the beans hit your cup. Here’s what goes into the process:

 

1. The Drying Phase

During this phase, the room temperature beans start to absorb the heat in the pre-heated roaster, until the bean and roaster temperatures meet in the middle. This is known as the turning point. The moisture in the beans slowly starts to turn into steam, which then builds some pressure up within them. The main transformation we can see in the drying phase is an increase in bean volume and internal pressure.

 

2. The Maillard Phase

This is the beginning of colour change in the beans where they turn yellowish and have a hay/earthy aroma. Time spent in this phase changes the taste; the longer the maillard phase the more complexity and body is developed, with richer flavours.

 

3. The Final Phase

The third phase is where caramelisation and acidity are introduced to the bean with many reactions occurring at once – literal seconds spent here can determine whether or not your beans are too bitter or acidic. In this phase, the sugar in the beans is caramelising which creates the complex flavours. If you take it too far, the caramalisation can turn into a sharp bitterness.

Interested in learning more? You can book in for a tour of our Ringwood space where you’ll be taken through the roasting process in detail, and get eyes on the Phantom. You can also head to our online shop and try some of our beans yourself. Stay connected on IG and FB as we roll out our event series where you can turn your coffee education up a notch.

Talk to us here to book a tour.