Deep-frying young coffee beans

[Hiroyuki]

Have you every deep-fried green coffee beans instead of roasting? If not, won't you try that? Me? No. I don't want to try that.

According to the following site, deep-drying green coffee beans in oil at 180 degrees centigrade allows them to be heated uniformly, resulting in good-tasting coffee. The oil in coffee beans will not dissolve in water, so the coffee will not contain any oil.

http://www.ntv.co.jp/megaten/library/date/01/02/0218.html

(Japanese only. This is the website of a Japanese TV program.)

EDIT: Sorry, not 'young' but 'green' coffee beans.

Edited July 6, 2004 by Hiroyuki (log)

[phaelon56]

You've piqued my curiosity more than just a bit. I'm skeptical but might just try this to satisfy my curiosity. I do see a fundamental problem in that smell, color and an approximation of internal bean temperature are all indicators used to measure roast time and level. It would seem that the oil cooking process would eliminate the opportunity to use these metrics.

[Hiroyuki]

Sorry about my 'misinformation'! I hope you haven't tried that yet.

I finally found additional information about deep-frying coffee beans. A man who runs a coffee shop has tried deep-frying coffee beans twice, first at 180 degrees centigrade and then at 225 degrees. He says that he felt that both the taste and flavor were clearly weaker than those of beans roasted with a regular roaster.

http://www.flavorcoffee.co.jp/fla-52.html

(Japanese only)

[Hiroyuki]

I think that the reason why the people in the TV program found deep-fried coffee beans good-tasting was that the deep-frying process was done by the chef of a very famous tempura restaurant, Mikawa.

According to the site I provided above, deep-frying was mentioned under "Other roasting methods" on page 128 of the book titled "Coffee Baisen No Kagaku to Gijutsu" (Chemistry and Technology of Coffee Roasting), as follows: "a technique of roasting coffee beans by bringing them into contact with vegetable oil heated at 180 to 260 degrees for a given length of time and removing the oil with a centrifugal machine after cooling" (translation by me).

That man, which I mentioned in my previous post, is quite interesting. He is the first to succeed in roasting coffee beans in a direct-heat, superheated steam roasting system. Do you know what 'superheated steam' is? I think I'll report on his unique system if I think it worth mentioning, in a new thread.

[Katherine]

I think that the coffee might cook evenly, but I would think there would be frying oil clinging to the beans afterwards, giving the coffee some unwanted nuances.

[Beto]

Guatemalan Huehuetenango - a well-rounded cup with flavors of nuts and bacon.

[SL28ave]

Noooo, not the Huehue!!!

Coffee fryers can have all the Jamaica Blue Mountain or Kopi Luwak they want, but no Huehue. You've got me worried, I'm gonna purchase all the Huehuetenango coffee and store it in a secure warehouse where only authorized drum-roasters may enter.

Kopi Luwak fried coffee, how about that for you compulsively exotic coffee lovers.

[Hiroyuki]

Well, anyway, judging from a reply to my inquiry from Mr. Nakagawa, who has tried deep-frying coffee beans, deep-frying coffee beans is not worth the trouble.

The following is a summary of his reply:

Deep-frying coffee beans at a low temperature (about 180 degrees centigrade) is no good at all because the beans absorb oil.

Besides, if the water (in the beans) is fully replaced by oil, you cannot roast them well because cracking, which occurs due to the expansion of water, does not take place.

At a high temperature (about 250 degrees), the expansion of water occurs before the water is replaced by oil, allowing the beans to crack fine.

Because, however, roasting is done in a short time, chemical change does not take place, resulting in insipid coffee.

After all, roasting coffee beans is causing chemical change to them and, therefore, time is a very important factor.

Deep-frying coffee beans at such heat that cracking occurs in 14 minutes, which is required for chemical change to take place, is no good because all the moisture in them is replaced by oil.