Mill Bay Coffee roasts your coffee in a Sivetz roaster which is a fluid bed roaster. "Fluid bed" refers to the constant movement of beans and hot air. The beans never rest on any surface. The beans are levitated by the hot air, which totally engulfs the bean. The air is what roasts the coffee. The beans never contact a surface that is hotter than the air that is roasting the beans. This ensures that the beans are individually and uniformly roasted, and decreases roast times to 8 to 12 minutes. Shorter roasting times create less acid in the beans.

The other advantage of a fluid bed roaster is that it cleans the beans of debris while roasting. In a traditional barrel roaster, burning chaff from the beans smolders on the surface of the barrel and coats the beans with tars and residues which have collected on the surface of the barrel. This does not occur in the Sivetz roaster used by Mill Bay Coffee!

Beans that go "Bump!"

In a fluid bed roaster, the roaster cleans the beans of debris while roasting. The beans, being totally engulfed in hot air, are uniformly and simultaneously heated on all surfaces. The beans bump into each other and remove the natural bean chaff which is in the process. The beans are smoother for this interaction, aiding heat transfer through the beans. This is not true of traditional roasters.

In comparison with traditional roasters, our roaster produces a more uniform and predictable product, fuller drying of the beans, less acid, and cleaner beans.

How does properly roasted coffee get its flavor?

Flavor is described and broken down into three categories: body, acidity, and aroma. It can be said that the three components together make up coffee's flavor. The first two categories, body and acidity, are somewhat stable factors. Depending on the variety of the bean, these factors do not change dramatically. Body refers to the thickness of the feeling in your mouth. Acidity refers to the freshness of the crop -- the fresher the green bean, the brighter the acidity. This is not to be confused with the acids we spoke about earlier; rather, this is the pleasant bright flavor that initially hits your palate.

Aroma is a variable factor. Aroma is largely composed of the volatile gases which determine the coffee's smell. These volatile gases are created when the coffee bean reaches about 420 degrees (Fahrenheit). At around this temperature, the beans will make a cracking noise. This is referred to as a "thermal bump." This crack occurs twice: the first at 420 degrees, and the second around 440 degrees. When cracking occurs, the beans give off a number of chemical compounds that contribute to the coffee's character. The greatest component is an organic compound that makes up almost 20% of the coffee's aroma.

Between the temperatures of 440 and 450 degrees, coffee produces the greatest amounts of aromatic gases. These temperatures are known respectively as "City Roast" and "Full City Roast." Full City Roast has been the standard roast for the American coffee industry. Once the coffee passes this point, the amount of aromatics begins to decline as they are driven off by the heat of roasting. Mill Bay Coffee, however, roasts beans at a higher than customary temperature.

Hot Stuff! or, Why does Mill Bay roast at such high temperatures?

You may wonder why we roast at temperatures as high as 458 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the coffee is roasting, the amount of acidity is declining. Lighter roasted coffees have a greater amount of acid. We strive to find the perfect balance so that acidity is not the overwhelming factor in the flavor of the coffee. Even though there are more aromatics present in the coffee bean at 440 degrees, the amount of acidity is still too high. It is better to take the coffee closer to 460 degrees, to a temperature where the acidity and character balance.

Our Sivetz roaster tends to produce more aromatic gases than conventional roasters. Aromatic intensity is critical to good tasting coffee. Coffee's flavor comes from its aroma. Once you drink an intensely aromatic fresh coffee, it is difficult to drink anything else!

Roasting Terms

There are some generally agreed terms for roast colors. They are:

• Cinnamon (or Continental) Roast
• City Roast
• Full City Roast
• Viennese Roast
• French Roast
• Italian Roast (sometimes called Espresso Roast)

Most roasters use these terms to describe one of more of their roasts. The Sivetz roaster, unlike other roasters which can produce variable and unpredictable results, correlates the roast color with temperature and sets the final roast temperature -- from Continental Roast at 430 degrees to Italian Roast at 480 degrees.

The terms City and Full City Roasts are American in origin. City Roasts are common on the east coast, while Full City Roast is the norm on the west coast.

Most of our varietal coffees, such as Columbian, Guatemalan, Ethiopian, and Malinal, are roasted to a Viennese Roast. The Sumatran is roasted to a French Roast. The coffees we sell as French Roast and Italian Roast are Columbian beans roasted to the higher temperatures.

Our roasting of only select specialty coffee beans is based solely on what temperature produces the best balance of flavor characteristics, body, aroma, and acidity, in the final brewed coffee beverage.

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