The Art of Coffee Making

From Seed to Cup: Understanding Your Brew

What Are Coffee Beans?

Coffee beans are actually the seeds of the coffee cherry. Once the fruit is harvested, the seeds are processed and dried into what we know as green coffee beans. At this stage, they’re green in color with a beany, grassy aroma, and they don’t smell or taste anything like the coffee we love.

The magic happens during roasting, when 800 to 1,000 different aroma compounds are developed. These compounds are what give coffee its rich flavor, aroma, and character. Through a process called roast profiling, we control how these compounds evolve, shaping the final taste in every cup.

The Coffee Roasting Process

Roasting transforms green coffee beans into the brown, aromatic beans we brew. Without this step, coffee would be bitter, acidic, and undrinkable.

Roasting Stages:

1. Drying Stage

Green beans contain 8–12% moisture. This stage typically lasts 4–8 minutes in a traditional drum roaster and ends at about 160°C. It's crucial for building up the energy needed for later stages—too much heat early on can burn the beans.

2. Browning Stage

At 160°C, the beans start to smell like toast and hay. The Maillard reaction begins, where sugars and amino acids react to form the aroma and color compounds (melanoids) we associate with roasted coffee. Toward the end of this stage, the beans begin to pop, called the first crack.

3. Development Stage

This is where flavor really comes to life. The beans release stored energy in an exothermic reaction, and proper control here ensures balanced, complex flavors. If rushed, it can result in smoky or overly sharp-tasting coffee.

4. Cooling & Chaff Removal

Once roasting is complete, beans are cooled quickly to stop the roast. They also shed their outer layer, or chaff, which is removed by tossing them between colanders. A little leftover chaff won’t affect flavor, but we aim to remove as much as possible.

Brewing Basics: It's All About Balance

Adding more beans doesn’t always mean more flavor or caffeine. Brewing coffee is all about balance and extraction.

Hot water extracts soluble compounds from coffee grounds. Extract too little, and your coffee will taste sour and salty (under-extracted). Extract too much, and it becomes bitter and dull (over-extracted).

Our Ideal Ratio:

We recommend a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16 for optimal flavor measured by weight (e.g., 22g coffee to 352g water). This helps you hit the sweet spot of extraction, every time.

Factors like grind size, brew time, and water temperature matter too—but the biggest game-changer is how much coffee you use compared to water.

The Final Cup

From the green bean to the final pour, every step affects your coffee's taste. Whether we’re roasting or brewing, we treat each step with care so that you get the bold, smooth, and flavorful cup you deserve.

Want to learn more about our process or try it yourself?
Visit our shop or book the Cawfee Truck for your event today!