Can we talk about the trick I used to fix a bad roasting batch at my coffee shop last Tuesday

I pulled a shot of Ethiopian beans that tasted like straight dirt, but after tossing them in the pan for 90 seconds at 400 degrees with a splash of water, the sourness vanished and the customer said it was the best cup she'd had all month, anyone else try this weird steam trick?

3 comments

3 Comments

zarar672mo ago

Honest to god, I bet 90% of coffee problems are just people not trying this. I had a bag of Guatemalan beans last winter that tasted like licking a fireplace, and 60 seconds in a hot pan with a mist of water basically resurrected them. It's like the steam pushes out the weird volatile stuff without burning the good flavors. My buddy Mike runs a cafe in Austin and he swears by this for any batch that got over-roasted or has a musty smell. Just don't overdo the water or you'll end up with sad, soggy beans that taste like steamed broccoli.

ruby4502mo ago

Thank you for sharing this, I'm going to try it with my burnt batch tomorrow.

oliver21mo ago

Funny you mention that, @zarar67, but I’ve actually had the opposite luck with that pan trick. Tried it on a bag of over-roasted Ethiopian beans and it flattened out all the subtle fruit notes, left them tasting like stale toast no matter how careful I was with the water. Maybe your buddy’s cafe magic doesn’t translate to home kitchens, because for me it just turned decent beans into a mug of sad, flat coffee.