• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Coffee Review

The World's Leading Coffee Guide

Advanced Search

Shop for Award-Winning 100% Kona Coffees at Hula Daddy

  • Reviews
    • Latest Reviews
    • Top-Rated (94+)
    • Espressos
    • Best Values
    • Taiwan Coffees – 台灣送評的咖啡豆
    • Top 30 Coffees of 2020
    • Top 30 – Past Rankings
    • Pods and Capsules
    • Reviews by U.S. City
    • Advanced Search
  • Reports
    • Latest Reports
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia-Pacific
    • Espressos
    • Annual Top 30
    • Processing Method
    • Social/Environmental
    • Tree Variety
    • Blends
  • Equipment
    • The New Fellow Ode Brew Grinder
    • Mid-Range Burr Coffee Grinders
    • Electric Gooseneck Kettles
    • Interpreting Equipment Ratings
  • Journal
    • The Year 2020 in Coffee
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Kenneth Davids
    • Our Team
    • Our Advertisers
    • Our Sponsors
    • Learn
      • Interpreting Coffee Reviews
      • Reference
      • Glossary
    • Contact Us
  • Trade
    • 2021 Editorial Calendar
    • Becoming an Advertiser
    • Campaign Package Deals
    • Getting Coffees Reviewed
    • Quoting Reviews
    • Award Certificates
    • Media Kit
  • 中文 – Chinese
    • 台灣送評的咖啡豆
    • 如何將您的咖啡送評
    • “行銷攻略” 促銷活動
  • Members
    • WHY BECOME A MEMBER?
    • Member Benefits
    • Our Sponsors
    • Programs and Initiatives
    • Member Support

Home Coffee Roasting : The Listening-to-the-Beans Approach

As they roast, coffee beans communicate to us by sound and smell as well as by changing color. Although both darkening color and the changing scent and volume of the roasting smoke are helpful indicators of roast development, the sounds of what roasters call the first crack and second crack are the most telling and dramatic of indicators.

Here are the acts in the roasting drama and what they mean for roast flavor:

  • Overture. As the roast begins, beans silently turn brownish yellow and smell like bread or burlap. Never stop the roast at this point because the coffee has not yet started to roast.
  • First act. Beans turn light brown, begin to smoke slightly, and start smelling more like coffee than bread. Most importantly, the beans begin to produce a rather loud popping or crackling sound. This is the onset of the first crack, the moment the roast transformation begins.
  • Second act. Beans turn light to medium brown and the popping of the first crack reaches a crescendo. Stop the roast here, in the middle of the first crack, for a cup that is acidy and sweet but also grain-like and tea-like in flavor.
  • Third act. Popping gradually trails away in frequency. Beans turn medium brown. As the popping stops completely the roast smoke may begin to darken slightly and smell sweeter and fuller. Stop the roast here, in the lull at the end of the first crack, if you want a bright, acidy, high-toned, classic "breakfast"-style medium-roast cup.
  • Fourth act. A new, more subdued, crackling begins. If the first crack sounds like corn popping, the second crack sounds more like paper being crinkled. Immediately before the second crack begins the roast smoke increases in volume and becomes sweeter and more pungent. Stop the roast here, just at the beginning of the second crack, if you prefer a round, sweet, but still bright cup of the kind roasters often call "full city" or "Viennese."
  • Fifth act. From here on, we enter the realm of the "dark" roasts. The crackling of the second crack becomes almost continuous. The smoke thickens and becomes dark and intensely pungent-smelling. The beans turn dark-brown in color. Stop the roast here, just as the second crack rises toward a crescendo, if you enjoy a balanced dark-roast cup: without acidity, pungent yet sweet, full-bodied, with a roasty but not burned flavor.
  • Denouement. As the second crack reaches a frenzied climax and a dark, heavy, sweet-smelling smoke fills the air, we reach the end of the roast story. Go no further. Stop the roast here if you enjoy the ultimate dark roast, the kind often called "dark French": burned tasting, thin-bodied, with only a vague overlay of sweetness and little nuance.
  • Introduction
  • Home Roasting Methods
  • Home Roasting Devices
  • The Tricky Part: Timing the Roast
  • The Imitate-the-Color Approach
  • The Listening-to-the-Beans Approach
  • After the Roast
  • Home Roasting Annoyances and Precautions
  • Buying Home Roasting Equipment and Supplies
  • Primary Sidebar

    Receive 30% Off First Order at Trade Coffee

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Kakalove in Taiwan

    Shop for top-rated coffees at GoCoffeeGo

    Shop for No. 15 Coffee of 2020 at Hala Tree Kona Coffee

    Shop at Rhetoric Coffee

    Shop for Top-rated coffees at Barrington Coffee Roasters

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Paradise Roasters

    Dragonfly Banner - 300x250

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Amavida Coffee Roasters

    Shop for 100% Hawiian Coffee at Big Island Coffee Roasters

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Durango Coffee Company

    Become an advertiser

    Shop for top-rated coffees at JBC Coffee Roasters

    Get Coffees Reviewed

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Paradise Roasters

    Shop for Kona peaberry at Big Island Coffee Roasters

    Connect with Us

    Sign Up for Our Free E-Newsletter

    Enter your email address below to receive our free e-mail newsletter
    • Coffee Reviews
    • Tasting Reports
    • Reference
    • Glossary
    • Please Support Our Advertisers
    • Contact Us
    • Journal
    • Kenneth Davids
    • Interpreting Coffee Reviews
    • Roast Definitions
    • Caveats about Coffee Ratings
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Getting Coffees Reviewed
    • Advertising Opportunities
    • Quoting Reviews
    • Copyright
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Site Security

    Copyright © 2021 Coffee Review. All Rights Reserved.