Get lost in a warm cup of Lost Mountain coffee
Our Roaster
In order to get the best cup of coffee it is important to roast the highest quality beans. In order to extract the best flavor from our beans we use a traditional drum roaster built in America by US Roaster Corp. This machine roasts exactly the same way as roasters 100 times its size. It is actually able to produce better results because it is more precise. When we purchased our roaster we made a trip to Oklahoma City to see how our roaster was built first hand and meet the people who made our roaster. What we learned is that with the exception of the lights and a few buttons everything on our roaster is made by hand from scratch. It is an amazing experience to see the fabrication of these roasters in person.
Turning Green Coffee Into Great Coffee
First, green coffee beans are loaded in the hopper above the roaster.
Once the correct temperature (usually 420 degrees depending on the bean) the beans are dropped into a rotating stainless steel drum.
The drum is heated from below by natural gas. As the beans heat up they begin to brown and a delicious aroma fills the air.
Once the beans reach 380 degrees they begin to pop like pop corn. This is known as "first crack."
At this point the coffee can be consumed, but this is when the real art of roasting begins.
By controlling air flow and temperature the next few minutes of the roast determines the flavor profile or the coffee beans true potential. If the roaster decides to roast the bean to a darker roast (like one you might find at a popular chain) it will be a more robust cup of coffee lower in acidity.
It will lack subtle flavors and it will be more bitter.
This type of roast often is stopped by the roaster just after "second crack" or another round of popping as the beans release more gasses (around the 15 min mark).
Sometimes the roaster may decide that the roast should end sooner with a lighter roast.
The temperature may be adjusted after the first crack to slow down the miard reaction (the browning of a coffee bean). This will allow the interior of the bean to develop and while the exterior of the bean remains light brown. This type of roasting called a "City Roast" is becoming a popular trend because it gives a sweeter more delicate tasting coffee.
Because the bean is not burnt the individual flavors are more pronounced and the coffee has a more refined taste. This type of coffee is slightly lower in caffeine content because there is more of the bean left by volume after the roast.
A true roastmaster is able to roast the beans many different ways and taste each roast in a process called cupping. Through the cupping process the roastmaster will learn which roasting method works best.
Next, a detailed set of instructions will be developed to roast the beans to produce the desired flavor profile in a repeatable process.
There is no right or wrong way to enjoy your coffee. Your personal preference is what matters. It is something that is fun to experiment with though and we recommend you trying our light roast and dark roast coffees to decide what your pallet enjoys best.