Coffee beans are air roasted by suspending them in streams of hot air, which evenly envelops each bean.
Understanding Air Roasting
Air roasting, also known as fluid-bed roasting, is a method that uses hot air to roast coffee beans. Unlike traditional drum roasters where beans are tumbled in a heated drum and make contact with hot surfaces, air roasters levitate the beans.
Here's how the process works based on the provided reference:
- Suspension: Coffee beans are suspended in streams of hot air.
- Even Heating: This flow of hot air envelops every single bean evenly.
- Control: This method provides a high level of control over the roasting process.
Benefits of Air Roasting
The even and controlled heating offered by air roasting provides distinct advantages:
- Showcasing Unique Characteristics: The precise control allows the roaster to showcase the unique characteristics of coffee beans from different origins or varieties.
- Consistent Roasts: It helps in achieving a consistent roast every single time.
- Even Development: Since each bean is surrounded by hot air, they tend to develop more evenly, reducing instances of scorched or tipped beans.
In essence, air roasting uses hot air as the primary medium for heating and agitating the coffee beans, ensuring rapid and consistent heat transfer to each individual bean.
