The Complete Journey of Our Custom Medium-Dark Roast
Roasting coffee is both an art and a science, a carefully tuned process that we’ve refined to create our signature custom medium-dark roast here at Coffee on Mars. From the moment we select our green coffee beans, we take you on a meticulous journey that ultimately delivers the robust, complex flavors of dark chocolate and tobacco to your cup. Let’s delve into this process’s intricacies that bring our beans from a women-owned farm in Peru to your coffee mug.
Starting Point: The Green Coffee Beans
Why Sourcing Matters
For us, everything begins with the green coffee beans. These beans are not just any beans; they come from a women-owned, single-family farm in San Ignacio, Cajamarca, Peru. This farm’s unique location, situated at an altitude of between 1600 and 2100 masl and enriched by clay minerals in the soil, allows for optimal bean development.
Beans with Promise
The quality of the green beans sets the stage for our custom medium-dark roast. When these beans arrive at our San Rafael, CA facility, they’re subject to strict quality control. This ensures that only the best beans, carrying the distinct dark chocolate and tobacco flavors, proceed to roasting.
Equipment Essentials: The Roaster
The Machine Matters
Roasting is where we translate our green beans’ potential into our coffee’s realized taste profiles. The roasting equipment allows us to control specific variables like temperature and time, ensuring the unique characteristics of our medium-dark roast come to life.
Calibration for Customization
Each roasting session is customized. Our machine is calibrated to accommodate the particular requirements of each batch of green beans. This level of customization lets us produce coffee that’s consistent in quality and true to its unique medium-dark roast profile.
Mastering the Roasting Process
The Art of Heat and Time
Roasting is not merely heating the beans; it’s about doing so with an acute sense of timing and temperature control. Our medium-dark roast requires temperatures between 430°F and 450°F, and the duration of roasting is adjusted to optimize the bean’s flavor profile while reducing its acidity.
The Eureka Moment
When the beans reach the desired medium-dark stage, we know we’ve locked in the very essence of what makes our coffee special. This includes the rich flavors of dark chocolate and tobacco, reduced acidity, and enhanced nutrient absorption.
Quality Checks: The Final Seal
Not Just Taste, Complete Quality
Post-roasting, each batch undergoes rigorous testing. We use cupping sessions to evaluate taste and aroma and welcome customer feedback. This ensures that each bag of our custom medium-dark roast meets the high standards our customers have come to expect.
Continuous Improvement
Your feedback is the secret ingredient in our recipe for perfection. It keeps us aware, grounded, and eager to improve. Through this cycle of feedback and refinement, we ensure that our custom medium-dark roast continually evolves, staying true to its essence while meeting your ever-changing needs.
Every step, from sourcing the green beans from our trusted women-owned family farm in Peru to the careful calibration of our roasting machines to the detailed quality assurance tests, plays a pivotal role in creating our custom medium-dark roast. The next time you indulge in a cup of our coffee, we hope you’ll savor the taste and the love and craftsmanship that goes into each bean. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your daily routine, enhancing your day one cup at a time.
