transformation is occurring—the beans are literally
soaking up the heat passing through the roasting drum.
The free moisture that is contained in the cell structure
of the beans is heating up and will eventually start
boiling and evaporating. Now, look at picture A. The
roast process is 3–4 minutes underway, and the color
of the beans will slowly start turning a golden brown.
If you pulled a small sample from the roasting drum
with the trier, you would smell a floral, sweet, almost
fresh bread-like aroma. From this moment on, it is
important to watch the increase in bean temperature.
By the sixth or seventh minute, the coffee develops a
more brownish color and the beans start expanding. A
hint of coffee aroma starts to emerge from the coffee
and the first crack gets closer. As picture B. shows, the
color approximates hazelnut brown and the surface of
the beans is quite smooth.
These Nicaraguan coffee beans can be classified
as semi-hard beans, grown at an elevation of
approximately 1,250 meters, which causes the beans
to look quite even at this stage in the roast. Highergrown
beans—1,400 meters and up—will have a
different appearance in this stage, with a rough surface
and an uneven color development