What is "extremely light roasted coffee"? The difference between Nordic roasted coffee and Japanese deep-roasted coffee

Guest: "What degree of roasting are you (coffee beans)? "

Front Street: "Medium and Shallow Baking"

Guest: "Do you have lightly roasted coffee beans? "

Front Street: "No! "

In the world of Chinese cuisine,"cooking" is usually the first priority, and most ingredients will be completely cut off, because we believe that this is the only way to "force" the delicacy. If deep-baked coffee is completely cooked, then "extremely lightly roasted coffee" sounds like a medium-rare steak in Western food. We only see its slightly charred surface, but we don't know what it tastes like inside. Today, Qianjie let's talk about "extremely lightly roasted coffee" that many people are very unfamiliar to.

Where did "extremely light roasted coffee" first come from?

The term "extremely light baking" comes from "Nordic Roast," which is sometimes called "Nordic light baking," because it first emerged in Nordic countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. It has only been developed since about 2004. It belongs to a characteristic baking genre in the current coffee circle.

Nordic baking is usually applied to fine coffee beans from a single origin in Africa or the Americas. The purpose is to present the "regional flavor" of the coffee beans as much as possible. After baking, the surface will be a yellowish light brown and dry without any oily shine. Ideally, Nordic light roasting can highlight the bright and lively acidity, delicate aroma of flowers and fruits, and light and clean charm of coffee. It is often described as "like drinking tea or juice." But correspondingly, this ultimate lightly baked bean will show a lighter color, thinner taste, and higher acidity whether it is made into Italian concentrate, hand-brewed, or milk coffee.

What is the difference between Nordic light baking and traditional baking?

During the roasting process of coffee beans,"pop" is usually considered to be a symbol of "cooked", so they can be baked at any time after the pop. The earlier they are baked, the lighter the roasting degree of the coffee beans will be; the later they are baked, the deeper the roasting degree of the coffee beans will be.

Experienced friends basically know that coffee roasting can be divided into three major systems: light roasting, medium roasting, and deep roasting. The color and general taste of coffee beans change with the degree of roasting. Deep-roasted coffee is dark brown and has a bit bitter taste, such as Qianjie Mantinin; lightly roasted coffee is light brown and has a more sour taste, such as Qianjie Yejia Shefei; while medium-roasted coffee has a maroon color and a relatively balanced taste. It can also be said to be bitter, sour and sweet, such as Qianjie Blackberries. By understanding these three basic baking styles, we can combine extraction methods and personal tastes to quickly find target coffee beans.

So compared with the conventional baking style (shallow, medium deep), can Nordic baking directly shorten the heating time? The answer is no, because it does not refer to a certain degree of baking, but more to a baking rhythm.

If Japanese deep-roasting uses low heat, slow pace and long time to present the strength, sweetness and aroma of coffee, then Nordic shallow roasting pursues "speed, accuracy and ruthlessness." Based on the characteristics of a certain coffee, it will use high temperature and fire to roast the beans in the shortest possible time until they are baked as soon as they pop, reducing the caramelization reaction and Maillard reaction during baking, hoping to retain the coffee beans themselves. The acidity and clean fruit flavor make it more recognizable and avoid the "bitterness" cover up. Therefore, in addition to higher requirements for the quality of raw coffee beans in Northern Europe, shallow roasting also requires roasters to have more professional skills, otherwise the shortcomings of beans will be highlighted.

You should know that the transformation of coffee from raw beans to mature beans is not just a simple process of heating. As the temperature, time and roasting stage change, a series of complex chemical reactions will occur inside the coffee beans, which ultimately directly affect the appearance of color, aroma, acidity, sweetness, bitterness, mellow, oil performance, etc. Therefore, from a professional perspective, Nordic light baking does not blindly shorten the time, but also combines equipment, baking parameters, color values and other aspects to summarize its commonalities.

Why are there no very light roasted coffee beans on Front Street?

I don't know if you have noticed that most of the coffee beans sold in domestic boutiques are medium and light roasted, and there are very few coffees that are truly "extremely light", and Qianjie is no exception. As a store that specializes in self-roasting coffee beans, Qianjie first targets domestic consumers, especially those who make coffee themselves at home. Therefore, the first priority of our production is to ensure that coffee beans do not lose their regional flavor. Make the ideal extraction easier to achieve.

For example, the reason why Qianjie tomatoes are baked in medium and light is because their main theme is the rich fruit acid of berries, Sydney, and black brin. Then we hope to enhance the mellow and viscous texture of the coffee by enhancing the caramel feeling. In this way, whether it is brewed by hand, cold extracted, or simply soaked in hot water, the "Kenyan flavor" can be better demonstrated.

On the other hand, most people who use espresso machines actually prefer to drink it with milk. At this time, it is obvious that the "extreme style" lightly baked beans are not their dish. In order to make coffee with a stronger taste and better appearance, such customers should give priority to low-acid, mellow, and caramel beans, that is, medium/medium deep/deeply roasted coffee.

Although, like the common medium and lightly roasted coffee on the market, it belongs to the fruit acid faction, the ultimate lightly roasted coffee has a short development time, a hard interior, and a large amount of chlorogenic acid, malic acid, citric acid and other substances. Therefore, it lacks the ability to provide sweetness. When brewed while brewing, the coffee can easily get a sharp sour taste due to insufficient extraction. This is why many people say that "extremely lightly roasted coffee beans are particularly difficult to brew."

A cup of well-baked Nordic light roast coffee can explode in the mouth like a "fruit bomb", making people feel the flavor of highly recognizable regions, such as the fragrance of bergamot and jasmine in Panama rose summer, and the sweet and sour Chamomile and apricot peaches in Ethiopia rose summer. However, if you don't grasp the baking properly, the coffee may turn into "undercooked" or it may not be fully baked at all, and it will taste grassy and raw when it is drunk. Then using "extremely lightly baked" coffee becomes meaningless.

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473