Roasting brings out the aroma and flavor that is locked inside the green coffee beans. Beans are stored green, a state in which they can be kept without loss of quality or taste.  A green bean has none of the characteristics of a roasted bean — it’s soft and spongy to the bite and smells grassy.

Roasting causes chemical changes to take place as the beans are rapidly brought to very high temperatures. When they reach the peak of perfection, they are quickly cooled to stop the process. Roasted beans smell like coffee, and weigh less because the moisture has been roasted out. They are crunchy to the bite, ready to be ground and brewed.

When it comes to different styles of coffee, most people will just give you the name of their favourite drink and think that’s all there is to it. However, when you dig a little deeper you will find out that what makes coffee different isn’t so much where it comes from, but how it’s made and where it is consumed. Coffee is a cultural thing, and different cultures see coffee in very different ways.