Gourmet flavored coffee can best be described as coffee that has been enriched with flavors right after the roasting process is complete. The flavors are usually concentrated and are added in small amounts to achieve the desired taste.

First of all, when gourmet coffee beans are roasted, they will lose weight or shrink in the roasting process. While the beans are roasted, they will swell to twice their normal size, but they will shrink down after they have been roasted. This means that if you start out with a pound of green unroasted coffee beans, you will end up with less than a pound when you are done roasting. This is something to keep in mind if you ever decide to home roast your coffee because 1 pound of green coffee beans will not yield 1 pound of roasted coffee beans.

The longer that the gourmet coffee beans are roasted, the darker in color they will become. This will also cause a greater amount of shrinkage or weight loss, which means that it will take more coffee to make up a pound. Basically, if you are roasting a lighter roast of coffee, then it will take less green coffee beans. If a darker roast is being roasted, it will take more green coffee beans to make up a pound.

Gourmet coffee beans will normally shrink up to 20%, but a darker roast can shrink up to 25%. If it is an extremely light gourmet roast, it can shrink as little as 11% during the roasting process. One thing to understand is that many types of commercial coffees are under roasted to save costs overall for the business. With more gourmet brews on the market and an increase in gourmet coffee sales, it shows that the customer truly prefers a fully and authentically roasted coffee over the shortcuts often found on the market.

When it comes to roasting gourmet coffee, there is something called the Optimum Degree of Roast, which will bring out the best flavor characteristics for each type of coffee. This will provide the customer with the perfect taste and aroma within the specific coffee blend. This is something that is unique to each different roast, based on the characteristics of the coffee beans themselves.

Last of all, if coffee is under roasted, it will have an astringent or grassy flavor because the beans will still be partially green. If a gourmet coffee is over roasted, it will taste burnt or smoky, which will be apparent in the brew. There are many different flavor combinations and characteristics available with each specific roast, but it is still important to know the step-by-step process of roasting gourmet coffee to pick the best roast and blend for you. Gourmet coffee is more popular than ever, and for a reason. This is a premium method of roasting fresh and high-quality coffee beans for your cup of Joe!