What is So Special About Charcoal Roasting?

1. It removes the excessive water hidden inside raw coffee beans 

One of the most important aspects of roasting coffee beans is the removal of excess water from the beans. If the water is not completely removed through roasting, the remaining moisture within the coffee gives it an unpleasant smell and acidity.

To effectively remove moisture from within the coffee beans, it is crucial to transfer heat to the core of the beans. One of the things that charcoal grilling does very well is to transmit heat directly to the core of the beans, which in turn removes any unwanted taste or flavor profiles from the resulting roasted coffee.  

2. The fire reaches deep into the core of the beans and gives the beans a fluffy finish

Far Infrared rays are given off when charcoal such as Binchotan charcoal is burnt ( Binchotan is a type of activated charcoal that is traditionally used in Japanese cooking and is also known as white charcoal. Click here to read more about Binchotan).

Far infrared rays have the property of being easily absorbed by substances other than metals. This tendency of Far Infrared rays to be easily absorbed by the coffee beans makes the heat reach the center of the beans, resulting in plump coffee beans that are baked uniformly throughout its body.

As we can imagine, when each bean has been uniformly baked with a fluffy finish, a cup of coffee brewed from this roast would have a balanced, well-rounded taste and flavor profile, as well as a smooth mouth-feel.

3. Preserve the Special Chemical Ingredients within the coffee beans so that they don’t lose their originality

In the case of the charcoal roasting method, the outer surface of the coffee beans can be roasted by “the heat generated from charcoal”, and the inner surface of the coffee beans can be cooked by the “heat generated by Far Infrared rays”.

These two processes of heating the outer surface and the inner surface of the coffee beans happen simultaneously and Voilà!

This results in a coffee roasting process that can not only occur at a lower temperature than the gas burner process but within a shorter period of time.   This also means that it is easier to control the heat reaching the outer surface and the inner surface of the coffee beans, and therefore the overcooking or “burning” of the coffee beans can be avoided easily. This in turn helps to preserve the special chemical ingredients within the coffee beans so that they don’t lose their originality.

Since the coffee beans are able to retain the ingredients that give them their unique flavors and taste, when charcoal roasted coffee is brewed, it results in a full-bodied, well-rounded cup of coffee with richness and depth in flavor, taste, and aroma.

4. Acidity and Sourness of coffee decreases

Moreover, as the heat can reach the core of coffee beans easily, the acidity or “sourness” of the coffee tends to decrease. There is a clear difference between the levels of sourness between a medium roast made using the gas-burning method and the charcoal roasting method.

Also, unlike gas roasting, which can only be controlled using a valve, charcoal roasting has a bigger scope of adjustment. However, this adjustment is not easy and requires a high level of expertise. Depending on a roaster’s knowledge and skills, the path taken by the fire in charcoal roasting can change slightly on each roast.

5.The luxury of One of the Most Expensive Cooking Approaches in Japan 

Bichotan charcoal is considered one of the most expensive cooking methods in the world of Japanese cuisine.

Binchotan is a sensitive material that changes the heat’s character based on the weather, such as temperature and humidity, and mastering cooking with it requires years of practice.

Because of the high cost and difficulty in handling, many restaurants do not prefer Bichotan, and they are often found only in the Top-class chefs in high-end restaurants.

The coffee you are about to taste is one of the most luxurious coffee roasted by Japanese craftsman masters with years of experience using exclusively selected and hand-picked and hand-selected coffee beans suited specifically for charcoal roasting.

We hope you enjoy it. 15% discount, Use code: stimulife