Freshly roasted coffee drops into the cooling basin to stop the roasting, and lock in flavor.
At Vienna Coffee Company, we love pulling back the curtain on the world of coffee roasting. Every month, our “Caffeinated Catchword” highlights a term from the coffee-world’s lexicon, giving you a peek at words that shape your morning cup of coffee.
This month’s word is First Crack, a moment that marks a turning point in roasting and sets the stage for the flavor in your coffee.
What is First Crack?
When green coffee beans are roasted, they go through a series of chemical changes. Around 385°F, the beans release steam and gases with enough force to make an audible cracking sound, almost like popcorn popping. This is called First Crack.
First Crack signals that the coffee has entered the light roast stage. The beans are expanding, sugars are beginning to caramelize, and the flavors you know and love are starting to form. Roasters listen carefully for this sound because it tells them the coffee is developing, and that they’re in the driver’s seat to shape its final profile.
Why It Matters
The time just after First Crack is when roasters decide whether to keep the coffee light and bright, push it to a medium roast, or extend it toward the bold, smoky qualities of a dark roast. Every choice impacts sweetness, acidity, body, and aroma.
As Trace, our Production Manager and Lead Roaster, explains:
The Loring roaster shows us key points in the roasting process, including the First Crack, on this handy digital line graph.
“First Crack is where the coffee tells us it’s ready to show its character. From there, it’s about how we guide it. Do we highlight the fruit notes with a lighter roast, or draw out richer chocolate tones with more development? At Vienna, we approach this moment with both precision and respect for the origin.”
Vienna’s Approach
At Vienna Coffee Company, our roasting method is rooted in balance. We pay attention to the science behind roasting, but also to the artistry, knowing when to let the bean speak for itself and when to coax out deeper flavors. First Crack is the milestone that helps us find that balance.
Trace checking the roast progress on our Loring Roaster, which roasts Vienna about 180,000 lbs of coffee a year.
AT VIENNA COFFEE COMPANY…
Our dedication to ensuring that we are a market leader in craft coffee throughout the southeast dictates that we apply the same critical scrutiny used for our complete coffee lineup to any product we offer.
This commitment demonstrates our continued pursuit to provide craft coffee that enriches the lives of customers and producers alike by providing an experience grounded in excellence and hospitality. We custom pick our green coffee beans from regions across The Coffee Belt and always seek responsible sourcing from seed to cup.
Our roasting team ensures each bean varietal is roasted according to its characteristics to enhance its peak flavors. Vienna Coffee Company goes further by evaluating each varietal harvest through coffee cuppings to evaluate and adjust its roasting profile.
Explore our complete line of coffees online or stop by the Coffee House and let our baristas do the brewing for you. We hope that exploring what we offer (whether its organic, single-origin, a VCC custom blend or your favorite flavored coffee) continues your journey in discovering that “Great Coffee is an Adventure”.